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The Winter Serpent
Maggie Davis Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Winter Serpent
"This is a gritty story of a Scot's lass, beautiful and strong-willed, who will let no man break her pride. Dorieann is the beauty daughter of a Scots Chieftain and Pict mother. Her foster brother kills her father and assumes control of the Scots Clan. He desires Dorieann, but she refuses his advances. In his fury, he sells her to the Viking settles, fierce warriors of the Norse Bear Cult, believing she will kill herself rather than submit to them. Dorieann is surprised to learn she has been bought for Thorsten, their leader. She survives, adjusts, and earns Thorsten's approval so much that he takes her as his wife. This is not the way her stepbrother wanted her fate to go, so he begins to ferment trouble for her and the Vikings.

Yes, the plot sounds like a historical romance, but that is only a smaller element in context of this historical works. This is not a glossed over Viking tale, but a historical work of great depth, texture and attention to detail. "

DeborahAnne MacGillivray, Resident Scholar




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Review Analysis of The Winter Serpent
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - distant past/middle ages
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - fighting matchbreaker (parents/authorities)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Scandinavian
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Lover is - an historical enemy

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes
Eccentric: - obsessed - deluded - mentally ill - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Mountains/Cliffs Yes
Misc setting - fort/military installation

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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