Telnarian Histories

The Telnarian Histories are a series of four space opera novels which express philosophical messages consistent with those of author John Norman's other works of fiction. The individual books in the series are:

1. The Chieftain (1991) ISBN 0-446-36149-6
2. The Captain (1992) ISBN 0-446-36254-9
3. The King (1993) ISBN 0-446-36240-9
4. The Usurper (2015) ISBN 978-1497679269

The setting of the novels is a galactic realm closely parallel to the later history of the Roman Empire and its wars with Germanic barbarians. The ruling family of the empire is human, but extraterrestrials exist, while individuals pursue destinies of freedom and slavery. The depiction of slavery in the books resembles that found in the Gor series, with female slaves dominated by male masters.

The Telnarian Histories were critically and popularly regarded as an unfortunate deviation from Norman's Gor series. One novel concept explored in the second and third books of the series, is that Dira, the goddess of love and beauty in the pantheon of the Telnarian empire, is also the goddess of slave-girls, and herself enslaved among the gods.

External links

• Telnarian Histories series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database