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From: barry@ames.UUCP (Ken Barry)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: John Norman - (nf)
Message-ID: <509@ames.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Sep-84 15:01:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.509
Posted: Wed Sep  5 15:01:05 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Sep-84 09:08:21 EDT
References: <24800004@uiucuxc.UUCP> <2371@ihuxf.UUCP>, <448@oliven.UUCP>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 31

[*************=8>:)         (snort)]

	Some years back, I heard a radio interview with Donald A. Wollheim,
the owner of DAW Books, who publishes John Norman's books. When asked
about John Norman, he made a few statements which I think are worth repeating.
First, he said that Norman has not allowed a word of his books to be
edited since they became successful enough for Norman to get away with
this (and at the time of the interview, Norman's "Gor" books were DAW's
biggest sellers). Those of you who've read them may therefore stop wondering
why they went from fairly innocuous and routine heroic adventure in the
first 2-3 books, to kinky S/M in all the later ones. That element was
there from the beginning, but only came to dominate the foreground by
about the fourth book.
	Rick Hawkins doesn't believe Norman could be serious about the
picture of women's roles in these books, but according to Wollheim he
IS serious. Though I wouldn't necessarily conclude he would literally
want women to be slaves, he apparently is fond of the slave mentality
in women.
	Wollheim was also asked if he received much mail about the books.
He said he did, that it was mostly fan mail, and that it came mostly
from women(!). I'm content to leave an explanation of this to the wisdom
of the net, except to say, no flames, please, I'm just reporting what
Wollheim said.
	Well, you'll have to excuse me now; I have to get back to my
harem :-).

-  From the Crow's Nest  -                      Kenn Barry
                                                NASA-Ames Research Center
                                                Moffett Field, CA
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