What do you think?
Rate this book
The savage sands
Book by Nicholson, Christina
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Christina Nicholson
6 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Christopher Robin Nicole was born on 7 December 1930 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), where he was raised. He is the son of Jean Dorothy (Logan) and Jack Nicole, a police officer, both Scottish. He studied at Queen's College in Guyana and at Harrison College in Barbados. He was a fellow at the Canadian Bankers Association and a clerk for the Royal Bank of Canada in Georgetown and Nassau from 1947 to 1956. In 1957, he moved to Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom, where he currently lives, but he also has a domicile in Spain.
On 31 March 1951, he married his first wife, Jean Regina Amelia Barnett, with whom he had two sons, Bruce and Jack, and two daughters, Julie and Ursula, they divorced. On 8 May 1982 he married for the second time with fellow writer Diana Bachmann.
As a romantic and passionate of history, Nicole has been published since 1957, when he published a book about West Indian Cricket. He published his first novel in 1959 with his first stories set in his native Caribbean. Later he wrote many historical novels set mostly in tumultuous periods like World War I, World War II and the Cold War, and depict places in Europe, Asia and Africa. He also wrote classic romance novels. He specialized in Series and Sagas, and continues to write into the 21st century with no intention of retiring.
He signs his books as Christopher Nicole and uses several pseudonyms, some of them female. Pseudonyms used include: Peter Grange, Andrew York, Robin Cade, Mark Logan, Christina Nicholson, Alison York, Leslie Arlen, Robin Nicholson, C. R. Nicholson, Daniel Adams, Simon McKay, Caroline Gray and Alan Savage. He wrote disaster thrillers in collaboration with his wife, Diana Bachmann, under the penname Max Marlow. Under his different pseudonyms he has worked with many publishing houses: Jarrolds, Hutchinson, Simon & Schuster, Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, Jove, Michael Joseph, Mills & Boon, and Severn House.
Christopher Robin Nicole was born on 7 December 1930 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), where he was raised. He is the son of Jean Dorothy (Logan) and Jack Nicole, a police officer, both Scottish. He studied at Queen's College in Guyana and at Harrison College in Barbados. He was a fellow at the Canadian Bankers Association and a clerk for the Royal Bank of Canada in Georgetown and Nassau from 1947 to 1956. In 1957, he moved to Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom, where he currently lives, but he also has a domicile in Spain.
On 31 March 1951, he married his first wife, Jean Regina Amelia Barnett, with whom he had two sons, Bruce and Jack, and two daughters, Julie and Ursula, they divorced. On 8 May 1982 he married for the second time with fellow writer Diana Bachmann.
As a romantic and passionate of history, Nicole has been published since 1957, when he published a book about West Indian Cricket. He published his first novel in 1959 with his first stories set in his native Caribbean. Later he wrote many historical novels set mostly in tumultuous periods like World War I, World War II and the Cold War, and depict places in Europe, Asia and Africa. He also wrote classic romance novels. He specialized in Series and Sagas, and continues to write into the 21st century with no intention of retiring.
He signs his books as Christopher Nicole and uses several pseudonyms, some of them female. Pseudonyms used include: Peter Grange, Andrew York, Robin Cade, Mark Logan, Christina Nicholson, Alison York, Leslie Arlen, Robin Nicholson, C. R. Nicholson, Daniel Adams, Simon McKay, Caroline Gray and Alan Savage. He wrote disaster thrillers in collaboration with his wife, Diana Bachmann, under the penname Max Marlow. Under his different pseudonyms he has worked with many publishing houses: Jarrolds, Hutchinson, Simon & Schuster, Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, Jove, Michael Joseph, Mills & Boon, and Severn House.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 23, 2023
This was exhausting in a good way, moreso than The Power & The Passion. It was also more improbable than P&P, though highly entertaining. My attention was fixed, so I can’t complain…but relaxing late-night fodder, this book is not.
- spoilers -
ABDUCTED by a titled adventurer, she was sold to the Dey of Algiers for his carnal amusement...
Our heroine, Catherine, is living a happily in a convent when her stepmother arrives to take her back to Paris & use her as an excuse for assignations with lusty Baron Ricimer. But Ricimer secretly works for the Dey, who wants a nubile pale-haired wench for his harem. Ricimer promptly kidnaps Catherine, her stepmom, & her stepbrother, leading to extreme levels of WTFery as he instructs Catherine in the arts of love. Catherine, for her part, is totally keen to do the nasty with Ricimer (nevermind her twu wuv for some Polish artist in Paris). She's not nearly so keen to pleasure her new master, but hey—when you're faced with death vs faking enthusiasm for BJs, it's easy to justify survival. As for The Dey's reaction, it’s precisely what you'd expect from a fat old guy who's presented with a willing Daenerys Targaryen clone.
RAVISHED by her own husband, the sanctity of her marriage became still another kind of sin...
Eventually, an assortment of political perils combine to dethrone The Dey. Ricimer decides to take Catherine as a spoil of war, & they hide in the desert. After several years in a harem, Catherine's body is totally ready for a shotgun marriage to her kidnapper-turned-rescuer...but then he turns into Captain Douchebag & true love is derailed.
LOVED by a man she could not have, she crossed burning sands and years of shame to reach his heart!
Ricimer's neglect gradually morphs into abuse, which she suffers for several more years until he leaves her for dead, which drives her to plans of revenge. Cathy then teams up with Ricimer's Arabian buddy & they hatch a multi-year campaign of war against French occupation of Northern Africa. No longer a pampered harem chit, Catherine becomes the most trusted warfare strategist for said general (did I mention she loved learning about military strategies when she was little? 🙄) because she knows things about how the French think & what the Arabs need to become a more unified military force.
If that sounds ridiculous...well, yeah, it's ridiculous. But whatever. 😇
Meantime, Catherine is reunited with her lovelorn Polish artist, who joined the army to be posted in Algeria (can't fault that devotion). They live as a couple with local nomads for several years, after which there's a come-to-Jesus meeting with Douchebag Ricimer. Finally a tentative truce with France gives Catherine & her artist the chance to escape to Boston for a HEA.
And...end scene.
This is one of the more notorious examples of male-penned rippers, & its reputation is somewhat deserved, but it's more than a capsule of trashy 70s romance. There are true villains but no purely noble heroes, & they interact on a strong historical background buried amongst the WTFery. I'm tempted to say the author wanted to make a statement about the objectification of women; there are precious few characters who don't treat Catherine as an object, whether as a ladder for social advancement, a sex toy, or a political figurehead. *shrug* In any case, it’s an interesting piece of bodice-shredding, but it's not for the easily offended.
THE SAVAGE SANDS - squick list
-porny sex
-porny voyeuristic sex with captive stepmother
-blowjobs on blindfolded sailors
-rape
-marital rape
-lesbian snuggling in the convent
-bizarre semi-threesome with stepbrother
-castration
-general violence
-much discussion of orgasms
-heroine with high sex drive
-heroine unfaithful to douchebag husband
-military bloodspray
But hey, if you're willing to wade into the melee of torrid adventures...
...Enjoy. 😈
- spoilers -
ABDUCTED by a titled adventurer, she was sold to the Dey of Algiers for his carnal amusement...
Our heroine, Catherine, is living a happily in a convent when her stepmother arrives to take her back to Paris & use her as an excuse for assignations with lusty Baron Ricimer. But Ricimer secretly works for the Dey, who wants a nubile pale-haired wench for his harem. Ricimer promptly kidnaps Catherine, her stepmom, & her stepbrother, leading to extreme levels of WTFery as he instructs Catherine in the arts of love. Catherine, for her part, is totally keen to do the nasty with Ricimer (nevermind her twu wuv for some Polish artist in Paris). She's not nearly so keen to pleasure her new master, but hey—when you're faced with death vs faking enthusiasm for BJs, it's easy to justify survival. As for The Dey's reaction, it’s precisely what you'd expect from a fat old guy who's presented with a willing Daenerys Targaryen clone.
RAVISHED by her own husband, the sanctity of her marriage became still another kind of sin...
Eventually, an assortment of political perils combine to dethrone The Dey. Ricimer decides to take Catherine as a spoil of war, & they hide in the desert. After several years in a harem, Catherine's body is totally ready for a shotgun marriage to her kidnapper-turned-rescuer...but then he turns into Captain Douchebag & true love is derailed.
LOVED by a man she could not have, she crossed burning sands and years of shame to reach his heart!
Ricimer's neglect gradually morphs into abuse, which she suffers for several more years until he leaves her for dead, which drives her to plans of revenge. Cathy then teams up with Ricimer's Arabian buddy & they hatch a multi-year campaign of war against French occupation of Northern Africa. No longer a pampered harem chit, Catherine becomes the most trusted warfare strategist for said general (did I mention she loved learning about military strategies when she was little? 🙄) because she knows things about how the French think & what the Arabs need to become a more unified military force.
If that sounds ridiculous...well, yeah, it's ridiculous. But whatever. 😇
Meantime, Catherine is reunited with her lovelorn Polish artist, who joined the army to be posted in Algeria (can't fault that devotion). They live as a couple with local nomads for several years, after which there's a come-to-Jesus meeting with Douchebag Ricimer. Finally a tentative truce with France gives Catherine & her artist the chance to escape to Boston for a HEA.
And...end scene.
This is one of the more notorious examples of male-penned rippers, & its reputation is somewhat deserved, but it's more than a capsule of trashy 70s romance. There are true villains but no purely noble heroes, & they interact on a strong historical background buried amongst the WTFery. I'm tempted to say the author wanted to make a statement about the objectification of women; there are precious few characters who don't treat Catherine as an object, whether as a ladder for social advancement, a sex toy, or a political figurehead. *shrug* In any case, it’s an interesting piece of bodice-shredding, but it's not for the easily offended.
THE SAVAGE SANDS - squick list
-porny sex
-porny voyeuristic sex with captive stepmother
-blowjobs on blindfolded sailors
-rape
-marital rape
-lesbian snuggling in the convent
-bizarre semi-threesome with stepbrother
-castration
-general violence
-much discussion of orgasms
-heroine with high sex drive
-heroine unfaithful to douchebag husband
-military bloodspray
But hey, if you're willing to wade into the melee of torrid adventures...
...Enjoy. 😈
November 27, 2010
A fantastic, sexy piece of Historical Erotica. Written "70's" style, and the author is really "Christoper Nicole" as it is definitley written from a male's POV. I never have tired of this novel and the idea of a much older, villianous male taking control of the gorgeous heroine in his bedchambers works really well. Is it exploitative? Sure, but still "hot" from an erotic point of view. But, I have a couple of problems with the novel.
1. The final 1/3 of the Novel, a white, female American sex slave, (Christian on top of that) is basically a legend, and is not only unquestionably followed by Islamic male warriors, but is all of a sudden a Desert Warrior herself, capable of defeating hardened men in battle? Come on...nice fantasty, but put Christina Aguilera in the middle of a nineteenth century battlefield in the Sahara and she would do nothing except be captured and really be "Catherine Scott" lol.
2. A young fertile woman, is taken prisoner and becomes part of a male's harem. This male is aproximatley 65 years old has some problems with occasional impotency, according to the novel, but generally speaking is still able to perform, to the point of pleasuring her in bed. She is "The Favorite" and called to the bedchambers 3 times weekly. Even if this man is only able to ejaculate once a week inside her, the odds are, that she would at some point become pregnant. She is his slave for 3 years, doesnt get PG although the Dey wants her to be, and then is rescued by Richimer, who is with her only a few weeks and she is missing periods? Hmmmm. Historically accurate yes, biologically accurate? Nope, strictly fantasy. Catherine would have been pregnant within the first 3-6 months of her capture if not sooner. The novel would have been much more interesting had she bore Hussein an heir.
3. She falls in love with a 45 year old Richimer almost instantly, after he rapes her stepmother, and does everything to her except penetration on board ship to Algiers. Crazy, it doesnt work, but it makes things interesting.
Ok, now lets go over some more things that make this novel the ULTIMATE Bodice Ripper/70s Ultra sultry, sexually explicit "naughty" novel.
1. Heroine is a virginal schoolgirl in a convent no less! CHECK'
2. Heroine is engaging in lesbian acts with a fellow convent roomate, of the same sex and liking it..CHECK'
3. Heroine is kidnapped and put onboard a ship bound for Algiers and gets to watch her 30 year old Stepmother have forced intercourse with Richimer, and the Stepmom actually gets off on it! CHECK'
4. Heroine is forced to perform fellatio on a blindfolded sailor and she enjoys it as much as the sailor!!! CHECK'
5. Heroine falls in love with the Kidnapper after basically being taught how to have sex, without penetration and being told she is to be sold to his boss ANYWAY!!! CHECK'
6. Standard and erotic scenes of her being shaved and bathed/prepared for a night with the dastardly evil and ancient Dey of Algiers CHECK'
7. Surreal Scene of her nakedly making out with her stepbrother, after Hussein "handles" the guy, and then Hussein does her, so good she nearly has a powerful climax!!!! This is after she is devirginized on the floor, after she has to perform oral sex on Hussein to get him "prepared"
7.5. Stepbrother is then castrated and made her personal slave!!! Wow. Meanwhile her Stepmom and another French girl are also Hussein's love slaves!
8. Another classic sex scene as Hussein has passionate intercourse with her after he mistakenly thinks he has conquered the French! Hussein is the greatest villain in Historical Erotic History. 66 years old. Bearded, wrinkled, sinister eyes, fat, ugly, (bald?) dark skinned, lustful, greedy, bloodthirsty, power mad, and cowardly. Has complete control over an entire nation, and loves Catherine like he has never loved another woman, so much that she is hated by the rest of the women of the Seraglio. In all Harem genres, the Sultan or Vizier, or Grand Turk, or Dey is always what Hussein is written to be. He is an artists dream, and I have drawn this man literally humdreds of times and have his image tattooed on my arm. Physically I picture him as a perfect combination of Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif, with a bit of Ben Kingsley thrown in for good measure. I will draw two works of art in the year 2011. One will my own rendition of what the cover of Savage Sands should look like, and one will be what my interpetation of a movie poster for it should look like and Hussein will be my star. These will hang in my bedroom in 2012. Great conversation pieces!
9. Catherine Scott. Irish Lass, 19 years old, Boston Bred, blue eyes, ash blond hair, swimsuit edition body. Could be an NFL Cheerleader. I picture her as a combination of Christina Aguilera, Brigitte Bardot, and perhaps a dash of a young Kim Basinger. Innocent, good hearted, passionate, and very sexual, so much that she is comfortable enough with her own sexuality to climax with the dastardly and hated Hussein in the heat of sexual intercourse. She seems to accept her erotic fate fairly well and in scenes is rubbing his back, or lying with him, post coitus....she both hates and fears him, but lies naked in his embrace and talks with him through the nights, encouraging his war with the France, while naked? Wow, "Christina Nicholson" was definitley a male writer. I will use some cover shots from other obscure novels, to capture the raw passion between both Hussein and Catherine and Catherine and Richimer, who I do not picture as he is drawn by Coconis, but instead see as an older Sean Connery, perhaps as he looked in "Entrapment"....
1. The final 1/3 of the Novel, a white, female American sex slave, (Christian on top of that) is basically a legend, and is not only unquestionably followed by Islamic male warriors, but is all of a sudden a Desert Warrior herself, capable of defeating hardened men in battle? Come on...nice fantasty, but put Christina Aguilera in the middle of a nineteenth century battlefield in the Sahara and she would do nothing except be captured and really be "Catherine Scott" lol.
2. A young fertile woman, is taken prisoner and becomes part of a male's harem. This male is aproximatley 65 years old has some problems with occasional impotency, according to the novel, but generally speaking is still able to perform, to the point of pleasuring her in bed. She is "The Favorite" and called to the bedchambers 3 times weekly. Even if this man is only able to ejaculate once a week inside her, the odds are, that she would at some point become pregnant. She is his slave for 3 years, doesnt get PG although the Dey wants her to be, and then is rescued by Richimer, who is with her only a few weeks and she is missing periods? Hmmmm. Historically accurate yes, biologically accurate? Nope, strictly fantasy. Catherine would have been pregnant within the first 3-6 months of her capture if not sooner. The novel would have been much more interesting had she bore Hussein an heir.
3. She falls in love with a 45 year old Richimer almost instantly, after he rapes her stepmother, and does everything to her except penetration on board ship to Algiers. Crazy, it doesnt work, but it makes things interesting.
Ok, now lets go over some more things that make this novel the ULTIMATE Bodice Ripper/70s Ultra sultry, sexually explicit "naughty" novel.
1. Heroine is a virginal schoolgirl in a convent no less! CHECK'
2. Heroine is engaging in lesbian acts with a fellow convent roomate, of the same sex and liking it..CHECK'
3. Heroine is kidnapped and put onboard a ship bound for Algiers and gets to watch her 30 year old Stepmother have forced intercourse with Richimer, and the Stepmom actually gets off on it! CHECK'
4. Heroine is forced to perform fellatio on a blindfolded sailor and she enjoys it as much as the sailor!!! CHECK'
5. Heroine falls in love with the Kidnapper after basically being taught how to have sex, without penetration and being told she is to be sold to his boss ANYWAY!!! CHECK'
6. Standard and erotic scenes of her being shaved and bathed/prepared for a night with the dastardly evil and ancient Dey of Algiers CHECK'
7. Surreal Scene of her nakedly making out with her stepbrother, after Hussein "handles" the guy, and then Hussein does her, so good she nearly has a powerful climax!!!! This is after she is devirginized on the floor, after she has to perform oral sex on Hussein to get him "prepared"
7.5. Stepbrother is then castrated and made her personal slave!!! Wow. Meanwhile her Stepmom and another French girl are also Hussein's love slaves!
8. Another classic sex scene as Hussein has passionate intercourse with her after he mistakenly thinks he has conquered the French! Hussein is the greatest villain in Historical Erotic History. 66 years old. Bearded, wrinkled, sinister eyes, fat, ugly, (bald?) dark skinned, lustful, greedy, bloodthirsty, power mad, and cowardly. Has complete control over an entire nation, and loves Catherine like he has never loved another woman, so much that she is hated by the rest of the women of the Seraglio. In all Harem genres, the Sultan or Vizier, or Grand Turk, or Dey is always what Hussein is written to be. He is an artists dream, and I have drawn this man literally humdreds of times and have his image tattooed on my arm. Physically I picture him as a perfect combination of Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif, with a bit of Ben Kingsley thrown in for good measure. I will draw two works of art in the year 2011. One will my own rendition of what the cover of Savage Sands should look like, and one will be what my interpetation of a movie poster for it should look like and Hussein will be my star. These will hang in my bedroom in 2012. Great conversation pieces!
9. Catherine Scott. Irish Lass, 19 years old, Boston Bred, blue eyes, ash blond hair, swimsuit edition body. Could be an NFL Cheerleader. I picture her as a combination of Christina Aguilera, Brigitte Bardot, and perhaps a dash of a young Kim Basinger. Innocent, good hearted, passionate, and very sexual, so much that she is comfortable enough with her own sexuality to climax with the dastardly and hated Hussein in the heat of sexual intercourse. She seems to accept her erotic fate fairly well and in scenes is rubbing his back, or lying with him, post coitus....she both hates and fears him, but lies naked in his embrace and talks with him through the nights, encouraging his war with the France, while naked? Wow, "Christina Nicholson" was definitley a male writer. I will use some cover shots from other obscure novels, to capture the raw passion between both Hussein and Catherine and Catherine and Richimer, who I do not picture as he is drawn by Coconis, but instead see as an older Sean Connery, perhaps as he looked in "Entrapment"....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2014
I was a bit apprehensive about picking up Christina Nicholson after 16 years - I so enjoyed the Power and the Passion as a kid I was afraid most of the pleasure was due to my naivete.
But, it's not. Christopher Nicole is a skilled story teller. He builds a believable world that is not simply an excuse for a dirty romance, but a world that strongly impacts the course of events and the key story line - the romantic and sexual life of our heroine, Catherine.
The sex and the romance unfold as a natural consequence of the events and the cultural restrictions that occur in a misogynistic North Africa, quite unlike what the usual "let's dump her in a harem, just because, a harem!")
For me, the most fascinating character is the primary villain, the Baron Ricimer - which is as it should be, the strength of a story is mostly based on the character and power of the villain, after all. Ricimer is a complex man that straddles east and west convincingly, a man that you can hate and desire at the same time. His actions and behavior are logical and perfectly consistent with his history. The reader goes from hating him to loving him to hating him again, as does the Catherine. The sex scenes with Ricimer aren't particularly great - but they serve to make all her other encounters absolutely delicious (which may have or may not been done intentionally?).
***Spoilers below
My favourite moment was Catherine's time with the Tuareg people and her fleeting encounter with their beautiful leader. I felt sorry Nichols did not prolong (even with just one more sex scene)her time with El Gormarchi.
The only thing I wish was done better was the transition chapter when Catherine was being shipped off to North Africa. The sex in the boat scenes (I thought how Ricimer ended up f-king Madeline on the boat in front of Catherine was a bit ludicrous). And it could have been steamier, because really, the heat doesn't pick up again till after the death of the Dey.
But, it's not. Christopher Nicole is a skilled story teller. He builds a believable world that is not simply an excuse for a dirty romance, but a world that strongly impacts the course of events and the key story line - the romantic and sexual life of our heroine, Catherine.
The sex and the romance unfold as a natural consequence of the events and the cultural restrictions that occur in a misogynistic North Africa, quite unlike what the usual "let's dump her in a harem, just because, a harem!")
For me, the most fascinating character is the primary villain, the Baron Ricimer - which is as it should be, the strength of a story is mostly based on the character and power of the villain, after all. Ricimer is a complex man that straddles east and west convincingly, a man that you can hate and desire at the same time. His actions and behavior are logical and perfectly consistent with his history. The reader goes from hating him to loving him to hating him again, as does the Catherine. The sex scenes with Ricimer aren't particularly great - but they serve to make all her other encounters absolutely delicious (which may have or may not been done intentionally?).
***Spoilers below
My favourite moment was Catherine's time with the Tuareg people and her fleeting encounter with their beautiful leader. I felt sorry Nichols did not prolong (even with just one more sex scene)her time with El Gormarchi.
The only thing I wish was done better was the transition chapter when Catherine was being shipped off to North Africa. The sex in the boat scenes (I thought how Ricimer ended up f-king Madeline on the boat in front of Catherine was a bit ludicrous). And it could have been steamier, because really, the heat doesn't pick up again till after the death of the Dey.
July 23, 2015
The heroine spends far too little time in the perfumed, sex laden world of the harem; instead, she traipses around the desert in dusty, unflattering robes while advising Arab rebels on their military maneuvers, getting pregnant, and running into the French Foreign Legion. A dreary, rambling romance.
October 16, 2013
An erotic little story. Easy reading. I enjoyed it when I read it in 1980. Must be worth a read as someone always seems to be borrowing my copy.
February 7, 2018
I had read another book by this author years ago, so when I found this one, I knew I wanted to read it. It did not disappoint me!
October 1, 2011
The pacing was as slow as a snail and the characters were paper thin. At times the heroine, Catherine, got on my nerves. I skimmed through the last part of the book. I was expecting good, trashy fun. Instead I got a huge YawnFest. Maybe at the time it was written (1978) the sex scenes were hot and spicy. Now they're just... well, they're just there.
March 15, 2013
I know I know this is a Romance novel. A girl's book. I picked it up in a train station and I saw a great opportunity to learn a lot about Muslim/Arabian culture. And I did. It was putrid in parts. It was awfully sad, brutal book in parts. I guess something kept me going though, reading it.
May 2, 2014
It was a pretty good read for me. It definitely had the feel of being written in a male's perspective and was action packed. Many times I was on the edge of my seat.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews