Warrior Daughter by Janet Paisley

 

If you had to categorise Warrior Daughter, it would definitely fall into the historical/fantasy/porno genre. Paisley’s latest novel is set in a tropical Scottish island (the fantastical bit), in a culture that revolves around the Celtic fire festivals, most significantly Beltane (the historical bit), and in a society dominated and necessitated by public carnal knowledge of each other (the porno bit). Glaswegian vernacular (‘aye right pal’) is spoken in 1AD Scotland in this ‘coming of age’ story, mainly featuring the sexual rites of passage a girl must ‘endure’. She is Skaaha, lusty daughter of a warrior queen, (loosely based on Scáthach, a warrior woman featured in Celtic mythology), and the story is about her fight for justice against her foe: the evil warrior queen who usurped and killed the former queen, Skaaha’s mother. While the context has potential – a matriarchal society abounding with druids and warrior women set in mysterious Scottish Isles – the plot lines are weak, characters boring, and ultimately the story revolves around sex. While akin to Clan of the Cave Bear, Paisleys novel harks of Mills & Boon more than Auel, and fails even the basic task of keeping this reader interested in the sex scenes. [Renée Rowland]