What do you think?
Rate this book
Winter Serpent
Doireann is the proud daughter of a Scottish chieftan, her beauty renown through the land of her father, and yet she chose to remain unbound and alone, free from submitting to the desires of any man. As the tides of war and pillage reach her homeland, she finds herself sold into the hands of the fearsome Viking pirate Thorsten, the wild leader of the frenzied Norse Bear Cult. She must survive the humiliation of being Thorstenâ€(tm)s woman, through pagan rituals and violent battles, as only her pride keeps her from submitting to his passion…
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
About the author
Maggie Davis
19 books4 followersaka M. H. Davis, Maggie Daniels, Katherine Deauxville
Maggie Hill was born in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, daughter of George Blair and Dorothy (Mason) Hill. She also writes under the pen names of M. H. Davis, Maggie Davis, Maggie Daniels, and Katherine Deauxville, is the author of over 25 published novels. She is a former feature writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, copywriter for Young & Rubican in New York, and assistant in research to the chairman of the department of psychology at Yale University. She taught three writing courses at Yale, and was a two-time guest writer/artist at the International Cultural center in Hammamet, Tunisia. She has written for the Georgia Review, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Holiday and Venture magazines. She is the winner of four Reviewer’s Choice Awards and one Lifetime Achievement Award for romantic comedy from Romantic Times Magazine, and received the Silver Pen Award from Affaire de Coeur Magazine. She is also listed in Who's Who 2000.
Maggie Hill was born in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, daughter of George Blair and Dorothy (Mason) Hill. She also writes under the pen names of M. H. Davis, Maggie Davis, Maggie Daniels, and Katherine Deauxville, is the author of over 25 published novels. She is a former feature writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, copywriter for Young & Rubican in New York, and assistant in research to the chairman of the department of psychology at Yale University. She taught three writing courses at Yale, and was a two-time guest writer/artist at the International Cultural center in Hammamet, Tunisia. She has written for the Georgia Review, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Holiday and Venture magazines. She is the winner of four Reviewer’s Choice Awards and one Lifetime Achievement Award for romantic comedy from Romantic Times Magazine, and received the Silver Pen Award from Affaire de Coeur Magazine. She is also listed in Who's Who 2000.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 16, 2016
I thought Bernard Cromwell's novel, The Last King, was the boring version of the Viking invasion of England. I was wrong. Next to The Winter Serpent, it was positively riveting.
Props to the ruthless Thorsten Eiricsson for raiding, pillaging, raping, mutilating, murdering, and plundering the entire Celtic populations of Scotland, Ireland, and England in the pursuit the always unpleasant Doreiann, the "heroine" of the tale. Foolhardiness or perseverance? Perhaps one and the same. They don't call him berserkr for nothing! Bless his heathen heart. All he wants to do is lay the glory of his victories and his sweet barbarian feels at Dorieann's feet. She, of course, rejects it at every turn.
And what about Dorieann? Talk about a bitch who can't catch a break. All the men want her. All the bitches hate her. Menfolk in this novel, be they relatives or strangers, desire her beautiful face and form. They barter for her, rape her, plot to use her for political gain, urge her to give up/kill her "heathen, Viking child" at every turn. So maybe she earned her unpleasant demeanor. I mean, when the only lover she remotely likes gets squeezed to death by a Viking, a girl could get bitter. Not to mention, wherever she goes, that stupid Viking shows up covered in the blood of her people, professing his love.
Because it was written in 1958, the smut/happiness factor was low, making this a long, unpleasant journey full of misery, betrayal, and very little happiness.
Props to the ruthless Thorsten Eiricsson for raiding, pillaging, raping, mutilating, murdering, and plundering the entire Celtic populations of Scotland, Ireland, and England in the pursuit the always unpleasant Doreiann, the "heroine" of the tale. Foolhardiness or perseverance? Perhaps one and the same. They don't call him berserkr for nothing! Bless his heathen heart. All he wants to do is lay the glory of his victories and his sweet barbarian feels at Dorieann's feet. She, of course, rejects it at every turn.
And what about Dorieann? Talk about a bitch who can't catch a break. All the men want her. All the bitches hate her. Menfolk in this novel, be they relatives or strangers, desire her beautiful face and form. They barter for her, rape her, plot to use her for political gain, urge her to give up/kill her "heathen, Viking child" at every turn. So maybe she earned her unpleasant demeanor. I mean, when the only lover she remotely likes gets squeezed to death by a Viking, a girl could get bitter. Not to mention, wherever she goes, that stupid Viking shows up covered in the blood of her people, professing his love.
Because it was written in 1958, the smut/happiness factor was low, making this a long, unpleasant journey full of misery, betrayal, and very little happiness.
March 28, 2020
Maggie Davis is one of my favorite authors. This is one of her earlier books and I wasn't expecting to love the story so much. It has been years now that I read it the first time, but it made such an impression that I still remember scenes from it.
April 5, 2023
It was a struggle at times, but I finished The Winter Serpent, a novel about Vikings, Scots, and Picts in the mid eighth century by Maggie Davis. It was a struggle largely because she wrote for her 1958 audience but I read it as a historian living in 2023. She propagates the horned-helmet myth of my Norwegian ancestors, which makes me wonder how much of her descriptions of the other featured cultures such as the Picts, was also false, based on an opera, or imagined.
Davis’s story is complicated by her use of ancient Scottish terms for people, roles, and topography. She also refers to most characters by their full names throughout the text even when none of the first names are shared. The story wasn’t sympathetic to any of the featured cultures, which was surprising, or to any of the characters. She even undermines the lead character Doireann nighean Muireach. She was neither hero nor antihero.
As a result, I’m disappointed with the story. I stayed with it to see if the supporting characters found favor with the author.
Davis’s story is complicated by her use of ancient Scottish terms for people, roles, and topography. She also refers to most characters by their full names throughout the text even when none of the first names are shared. The story wasn’t sympathetic to any of the featured cultures, which was surprising, or to any of the characters. She even undermines the lead character Doireann nighean Muireach. She was neither hero nor antihero.
As a result, I’m disappointed with the story. I stayed with it to see if the supporting characters found favor with the author.
October 30, 2021
One of the worst books I have EVER read. Maggie Davis seems to have an affinity for torture-porn. No plot or storyline whatsoever. Thanks to this mess, I'm now afraid to read anything Viking-related. How did this even get published?
August 31, 2011
Can I say "Formulaic?"
October 18, 2013
Complete waste of my time.
September 2, 2015
Viking attacks and a strong Celtic woman during the post druid and Roman occupation period. Sometimes difficult to follow whether in Scotland or Ireland.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews