John Frederick Lange Jr. (born June 3, 1931) is an American writer who, as John Norman, has authored the '' Gor'' series of

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

novels. Norman was also a philosophy professor.

Early life and education

Lange was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, to John Frederick Lange and Almyra D. Lange (née Taylor). He began his academic career in the early 1950s, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in 1953, and his Master of Arts degree from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1957.

Personal life

Lange married Bernice L. Green on January 14, 1956 while he was still a student at USC. The couple have three children: John, David, and Jennifer.

Academic career

Lange earned his PhD in 1963 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His dissertation was named: "In defence of ethical naturalism: an examination of certain aspects of naturalistic fallacy, with particular attention to the logic of an open question argument". Lange summed it up in an interview by saying "if one cannot make sense of morality within some sort of satisfying, natural context, then one is likely to end up with no morality, which is less than societally reassuring, or is likely to end up with a competitive plethora of moralities in which ninety-nine percent of the world's population is convinced that the other ninety-nine percent is unclean, stupid, uninformed, vicious, depraved, in need of coercive correction, and such. That too, seems less than reassuring." He was a professor at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

before retirement.

Writing career

Norman's fiction attained popularity in the 1970s and early 1980s with an estimated 6 to 12 million copies sold. John Norman's Gorean Saga is a long-running series of adventure

novels, starting in December 1966 with ''Tarnsman of Gor''. The series was put on hold after its twenty-fifth installment, ''Magicians of Gor'', in 1988, when DAW refused to publish its successor, ''Witness of Gor''. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a trade publishing outlet, the series was brought back into print in 2001 with the publication of ''Witness of Gor''. Norman has also produced a separate science fiction series, the ''Telnarian Histories'', plus three other fiction works, five non-fiction works, and a collection of thirty short stories. Norman has said that the three major influences on his work are

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

, and

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

Themes

According to Norman, his Gor books are

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

or adventure fantasy works which are also "intellectual, philosophical, and psychological novels". His fiction depicts fantastic worlds where male-dominated bondage relationships are natural and widely practiced and respected culturally, whereas characteristics of modern society are criticized and philosophical themes are explored, especially from a

an view. Although the bondage in his '' Imaginative Sex'' guide is directed to sexual practices, the bondage and slavery presented on "Gor" follows along the lines of societal or legal slavery; a common way of life as reflected in ancient Rome and other societies. While the philosophy presented is unquestionably that of male dominance, male characters are themselves occasionally enslaved by powerful females. In an interview with '' Polygraff'' magazine, Norman stated that he believes that it is obvious that all societies are based on dominance and hierarchy. Despite his books being associated with

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

, Norman is openly critical of the community. In a 2011 interview with

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

, he stated, "I dissociate myself from BDSM, at least as I understand it. I may, of course, misunderstand it. I wonder if one would settle merely for 'real-life Gorean slavery', because, as I understand it, BDSM is not Gorean. If something is not beautiful, it is not Gorean." His non-fiction works cover

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

and

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

Gorean subculture

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

based on his ''Gor'' novels, known as the Gorean subculture, has developed without Lange's direct involvement. Scholars have discussed the way that Gorean subculture groups on media such as IMVU, ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...

'', and

Internet Relay Chat IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for Many-to-many, group communication in discussion forums, called ''#Channels, channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via instant mess ...

have influenced the development of online role-playing and even the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

genre.

Works

Fiction

''Gor'' series

# ''Tarnsman of Gor'' (1966) # ''Outlaw of Gor'' (1967) # ''Priest-Kings of Gor'' (1968) # ''Nomads of Gor'' (1969) # ''Assassin of Gor'' (1970) # ''Raiders of Gor'' (1971) # ''Captive of Gor'' (1972) # ''Hunters of Gor'' (1974) # ''Marauders of Gor'' (1975) # ''Tribesmen of Gor'' (1976) # ''Slave Girl of Gor'' (1977) # ''Beasts of Gor'' (1978) # ''Explorers of Gor'' (1979) # ''Fighting Slave of Gor'' (1980) # ''Rogue of Gor'' (1981) # ''Guardsman of Gor'' (1981) # ''Savages of Gor'' (1982) # ''Blood Brothers of Gor'' (1982) # ''Kajira of Gor'' (1983) # ''Players of Gor'' (1984) # ''Mercenaries of Gor'' (1985) # ''Dancer of Gor'' (1985) # ''Renegades of Gor'' (1986) # ''Vagabonds of Gor'' (1987) # ''Magicians of Gor'' (1988) # ''Witness of Gor'' (2001) # ''Prize of Gor'' (2008) # ''Kur of Gor'' (2009) # ''Swordsmen of Gor'' (2010) # ''Mariners of Gor'' (2011) # ''Conspirators of Gor'' (2012) # ''Smugglers of Gor'' (Oct. 2012) # ''Rebels of Gor'' (Oct. 2013) # ''Plunder of Gor'' (August 2016) # ''Quarry of Gor'' (June 2019) # ''Avengers of Gor'' (May 25, 2021), Open Road Distribution, # ''Warriors of Gor'' (Aug 30, 2022), Open Road Distribution, # ''Treasure of Gor'' (April 23, 2024), Open Road Distribution,

'' Telnarian Histories'' series

# ''The Chieftain'' (1991) # ''The Captain'' (1992) # ''The King'' (1993) # ''The Usurper'' (2015) # ''The Emperor'' (May 2019)

Other novels

* ''

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance (, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) is a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the millenarian teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), pro ...

'' (1970) * '' Time Slave'' (1975) * ''The Totems of Abydos'' (2012)

Short-story collections

* ''Norman Invasions'' (2009)

Nonfiction

* ''Values and Imperatives: Studies in Ethics''. (1969) s John Lange, ed.; written by C. I. Lewis">C._I._Lewis.html" ;"title="s John Lange, ed.; written by C. I. Lewis">s John Lange, ed.; written by C. I. Lewis * ''The Cognitivity Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Claims of Philosophy'' (1970) s John Lange * '' Imaginative Sex'' (1974) * '' The Philosophy of Historiography'' (2010) s John Lange * '' Philosophy and the Challenge of the Future '' (2012) s John Lange

References

External links

John Norman's Chronicles of Gor

* ttp://www.rdrop.com/users/wyvern/john.norman.html Older (1998) sketch of John Norman's life * * *
Norman, John
at

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

The Complete John Norman
a bibliography *
March 2011 interview by Charlie Jane Anders with Norman on io9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, John 1931 births Living people Writers from Chicago Writers from New York City 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers American libertarians University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni University of Southern California alumni Princeton University alumni BDSM writers American erotica writers American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Illinois Gor 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers