The issue of Outlaw that I am using at the moment is a Del Rey reprint from 1988. This is probably the series of reprints that are most readily available.

The cover art shows a chained slave who is about to be branded by a rather unsavory looking character wearing only a ragged loincloth and a small topknot of hair. He holds the glowing branding iron in his hand and looks up to see a well-muscled redheaded warrior (Tarl?). The warrior wears only calf high boots lined with fur, and . . . I wouldn't make this up . . . green bikini briefs. He holds a helmet against his hip with his right hand and his left hand rests on the hilt of a large sword that resides in a sheath held to him by a belt. He also wears what look like metal gauntlets. A smoking brazier is between them. The credits for the art go to the renowned Boris Vallejo.

The teaser on the back cover, under the title "Exile's Return" says: "Tarl Cabot's long exile was over. Again he was back on Gor, the strange world of Counter-Earth, where he had once been the proudest warrior and mightiest tarnsman of that savage planet. But nothing was as it had been. His home city of Ko-ro-ba was destroyed, razed until not one stone remained standing. His beautiful mate, Talena, was dead or vanished. His family and friends were scattered across the globe. And Cabot was now declared an outlaw, with all men ordered to kill him on sight. His only chance was to find the strange Priest-Kings who ruled Gor and to submit himself to them. But Tarl Cabot was not about to submit!"

But let us see what is between the covers, eh?

Harrison, whose writing style is remarkably like Norman's (as well as Tarl himself, Jason Marshall, and a host of others), describes how he met Tarl at the college in New Hampshire. Harrison is the one who lent Tarl the camping gear and dropped him off in the White Mountains.

We now learn that seven years have elapsed and Harrison meets Tarl on the street in Manhattan. (That alone is a more fantastic tale than the existence of a Counter Earth!) They strike up an acquaintance of sorts and, finally, Tarl tells Harrison about Gor. That same night, Tarl vanishes.

He notes a grove of kalana and describes it as yellow. This is, of course, a reference to the kalana plant or tree itself and not the fruit from which the wine is made nor the wine itself. The yellow color refers to either the wood or the foliage. Tarl also notes a field of "tall yellow grain" which is Sa-Tarna. I've always pictured it as similar to wheat.

Tarl discusses the Goreans' love for their cities and their Home Stones. We were briefly exposed to Tarl's line of thinking regarding cities in Chapter 1 when he remarked about New York, "This city is not loved or it would not be used as it is, kept as it is." That gives me the impression of New York as a slut of a city, used and raped for simple pleasure, but entirely unloved. To be sure, I had that impression long before I read the passage in "Outlaw." We are told that Goreans are fiercely loyal to, and proud of, their own cities. Norman expresses it better than I can and there is little need to paraphrase him here.

Zosk is a rare glimpse into the lower castes. We note that Zosk is "genetically predisposed" toward his caste. He is extremely large and strong. He isn't very articulate. Zosk is exactly what we'd expect a group of humans to evolve into if all they did was cut and carry huge bundles of wood all day.

We also learn a bit about Gorean hospitality. Zosk, we are told, is pleased to share his kettle with Tarl (at least until he discovers he *is* Tarl). The price that Tarl must pay for this hospitality is to entertain Zosk. This is analogous to the minstrels of old who used to travel from place to place trading their skills at entertaining and storytelling for a meal.

But Zosk discovers who Tarl is and that ends that. Tarl is confused. We also learn something quite important about pity:

"According to the Gorean way of thinking pity humiliates both he who pities and he who is pitied. According to the Gorean way, one may love but one may not pity."

Zeb