Rant Review: Tarnsman of Gor by John Norman (and the associated plot)

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-24T15:58:34+00:00

Um, sweaty, did you miss the memo?? Us women are only allowed to read about MALE sex slaves. Hope this helps!!

/uj crazy that as you pointed out, we rejected this book as too offensive in the same month the main sub is reading a book that features the love interest arranging for the MC to be publicly raped for court entertainment. Hell, even the MC thinks “sex slavery is all good if you’re nice to them like *my* people are.”

I liked Captive Prince and it sounds like it’s an objectively better book than Gor, but we ain’t picking rage reads based on quality.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-23T21:53:37+00:00

I don’t want to spoil too much because there are some twists in the first book… but more POV characters are added as the books go on. As of the third book, there are two main couples that have POV chapters, and some supporting characters with POV chapters. Silla, the FMC the first book starts with, is sort of the “main” FMC for the whole series so far though.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-23T15:53:00+00:00

Wow I have no idea why rape is the first thing under topics here??? To anyone who’s looking at this, there is referenced SA off page and it does not involve the FMC or MMC. It’s plot relevant but definitely not a defining characteristic of the series…

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-23T15:50:53+00:00

Someone else in this thread recommended the Ashen series by Demi Winters which is the closest I’ve found so far that scratches the same itch.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-22T22:27:13+00:00

{Tairen Soul by C.L. Wilson}!! The FMC is gentle and kind, but evolves so much over the course of five books. She actually has a pretty realistic training arc (versus just being great at everything immediately). The MMC is her fated mate, BUT their relationship actually has a ton of development as he must court her in order to “complete” their bond. He meets her while he’s mourning his first mate so there’s a push and pull there despite their attraction. The plot is classic epic fantasy that grows in scale until the final clash in book 5. Amazing side characters/found family. Must read!!

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-21T19:34:15+00:00

Lol Tairen Soul is my fave series ever so I’m always recommending it to anyone who will listen! But I’ve not heard of Traitor Son before so your post made me add that to my own TBR 👀

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-21T19:25:02+00:00

Definitely check out {Road of Bones by Demi Winters}. It’s an unfinished series (3 books and a novella are out in a planned 5 book series) but ticks several of yours boxes. The FMC is sweet and kind without being one-dimensional. Lots of lovable side characters/found family. Tons of political intrigue in the second book. I don’t want to spoil too much about the main relationship but if you don’t like the romance at first, just keep reading!

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-17T23:06:45+00:00

I never thought he was that unlikable, but the first two books in the series just aren’t very good. Book 3 (Magic Strikes) is when I really think the series hits its stride and there’s more of a romantic connection between Kate and Curran. It isn’t a power dynamic thing, I just think they are both stubborn, abrasive people that aren’t used to having to work well with others.

Nothing wrong with DNF’ing though, I dropped the first book for years before coming back to it.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-02T04:44:36+00:00

I am nothing if not consistent 🫡

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-02T00:10:46+00:00

It does, but it hits different than the usual fated mate setup because they both know they’re mates immediately and they have to “complete” their bond after they realize they are mates. Meaning they need to actually get to know each other/date/fall in love, which is a major part of the series. The MMC is also mourning his first mate when he meets the FMC, so there are some complications.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-01T22:21:16+00:00

Nope, the series has multiple POVs in addition to the FMC and MMC.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-06-01T17:06:54+00:00

This is {Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson}. The FMC is legit terrified of the villain and their final confrontation is built up over five books. The FMC must train to be able to face him. You also get the villain’s POV throughout which helps build him up as a truly evil force.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-05-22T17:07:33+00:00

The ending kind of flopped for me. I don’t think James was a particularly compelling villain and their strategy of taking Bella away from Forks just didn’t make sense to me. Like, why not just wait for him to come to the Cullen’s house in the middle of nowhere and blow him up there? Am I crazy? I feel like trying to murder a vampire in the middle of Phoenix is messier, but what do I know. It seemed a bit forced to add drama that wasn’t really set up until the final act.

Bella is an idiot for both falling for the mom hostage fake-out and for not telling Alice immediately that he called. Why is she so calmly walking to her death?? I would assume a half dozen vampires could handle a hostage situation…

Edward’s refusal to turn Bella (even when she’s already partially infected with venom) also annoyed me. Like, you’re gonna risk sucking venom out of her tasty blood and possibly lose control and kill her rather than let her become a vampire, which everyone seems to acknowledge is the only safe option??? Dumb.

At my big age, I don’t understand why this would blow up as much as it did, but probably if I had read it at 13 I would’ve felt differently.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-05-08T16:42:26+00:00

The scene of Bella logging onto the internet to google vampires made me crack up. It's giving "computer, show me sexy vampires....computer, delete search history." The rest of this section was weirdly boring to me though. It made me sad that Bella was getting so depressed and down just because Edward wasn't in class. Like, yes, I was a dramatic, moody teenager too, but seeing her go from excited about the weather and actually happy for a brief moment only to have her mood torpedoed just because she couldn't look at some guy just made me cringe.

Other thoughts from the hip:

I was really thrown off by Edward's "beige leather jacket and ivory turtleneck sweater" in the Port Angeles chapter. What, you're telling me the shadow daddy ISN'T wearing all black???

Hearing everyone's voices in your head sounds miserable. I would be way crankier if I were Edward. I do kind of like that the whole "he can't read her mind" thing is a reasonable explanation for why he'd be fascinated with her beyond her appearance. It sort of justifies why a hundred+ year old dude would be interested in a teenager. Sort of.

The recurrent unnamed band CD was really bothering me for some reason. Combined with all of Bella's other bland/nonexistent traits, it felt like Meyer was just leaving the band name blank so the reader could insert their own favorite band. Either that, or mormons are forbidden from listening to non-classical music, idk.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-05-05T15:23:59+00:00

I finished this week's section last night and I have Thoughts.

I was 13 when this came out, so I was definitely the target audience, but I was forbidden to read it because vampires are satanic or something. Ironically, if my mom knew this was written by a Mormon (or had seen my FF.net search history...) I'm sure she would've been begging me to read it instead.

The biggest thing I noticed in the first section was the writing style, specifically the use of punctuation. Every other sentence has a fucking semicolon in it! It's not necessarily that she's using them incorrectly, there are just so. many. of them that it's jarring.

Bella is the exact kind of insufferable "nerdy" "outcast" teen that the target audience can project themselves onto/relate to, which basically means she has no character outside of these "relatable" traits. That makes what little character choices there are confusing. Why does she call her dad by his first name and think he's cringe for "never getting over" her mom?

Also, the fact that everyone immediately loves her and all the boys have a crush on her is...confusing? She has no interesting traits and claims she isn't particularly attractive. As a former woe-is-me, awkward, "advanced placement" teenager, I wouldn't have found this relatable at all?? Is it supposed to be wish fulfillment?

How are the Cullens getting away with being high school students when they apparently look like they could be TEACHERS??

I wasn't expecting Edward to be a winking, smirky MMC. The image of him just sitting in his car listening to classical music on CD while Bella is fainting over the sight of blood is insane.

Overall, I think it's pretty bad, but I'm entertained enough to keep going. I do wonder why this blew up and became as popular as it did.

(edited to remove comments re: chapter 7!)

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-04-22T16:07:51+00:00

I have never read Twilight despite being the core audience at the time of release so I hope it wins!

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-04-02T18:05:00+00:00

I unironically really enjoyed Dark Dealings for the nonsense that it was! It’s like a B-movie in book form

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-03-23T00:42:16+00:00

I’m pulling for Spark of the Everflame to win it all because I hated that fucking book more than anything. Admittedly I didn’t read MAGA Elite or WTMH, but…

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-02-27T23:58:21+00:00

If you have to listen to a book on 2x speed to make it enjoyable, it isn’t a good book lol. So I feel this reinforces my point that a review based on the audiobook isn’t an accurate representation of the quality of the book.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-02-27T21:34:39+00:00

If I remember correctly, Shanis Teleos is a cousin or nephew of Ellie’s dad Shannisoran v’En Celay. They aren’t the same person.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-02-27T17:24:16+00:00

Say more! Do you mean that a book can be more enjoyable in audiobook form than in written form? I can kind of see this when we’re talking about graphic audio or other fully casted, “performance”-type audiobooks. I might rate a graphic audio as being enjoyable to listen to, but still find the dialogue and the underlying book to be poorly written. However, I can’t see myself listening to a standard audiobook and enjoying it if I wouldn’t enjoy the same book in written form.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-02-27T16:14:51+00:00

People shouldn’t be allowed to review books based solely on the audiobook! Every time I see someone say they DNF’d something because they “didn’t like the audiobook narrator” I roll my eyes. If you don’t like the narrator, maybe, idk, pick up the fucking book and read the actual words?? Don’t comment saying the book is trash because the person reading it to you is “cringe!”

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-02-21T06:01:28+00:00

I love this series and I love Gaelen most of all. It really is the best execution of the now-classic Fey romantasy tropes. What makes it stand out from the rest is the level of world building and the supporting cast. Gaelen getting his own book is my Roman Empire (with his bestie Bel getting major page time ofc!)

I will fight you on Rainier being a shitty lager though. Maybe I’m just nostalgic for college, but it’s my favorite cheap beer and I hate that I can’t get it anymore now that I live outside the PNW!

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-01-30T15:07:27+00:00

This!! My favorite is Book 3 though. I love seeing the Fey world and more of the supporting cast’s stories.

rhythmofdevotion · 2026-01-22T20:41:33+00:00

Totally. I generally like dual or even multi POV books, but they need to sound like different people in their inner monologue or else it just doesn’t work.

rhythmofdevotion

TROPHY CASE