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- Gabaldon, Diana
- Gaddy, Eve
- Garlock, Dorothy
- Garnett, Juliana
- Gerritsen, Tess
- Goudge, Eileen
- Gould, Judith
- Gower, Iris
- Graham, Elizabeth
- Graham, Heather
- Grant, Tracy
- Grasso, Patricia
- Grayson, Elizabeth
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Presumed Guilty
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £5.14
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 Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.
A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!
IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'
Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century.
Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
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Dragonfly in Amber
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.71
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Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.
A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!
IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'
Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century.
Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
Almost a disappointment, 20 Jan 2008
The first book in this series ("Cross-Stitch" or "Outlander", depending which side of the Atlantic you're on) was rather sheepishly recommended by a friend when I said I needed a "light but intelligent read". I lapped it up, with half my brain telling me it was tosh, but the rest loving every sentence. And the fact is, the book got well under my skin. I even found myself playing around on the internet to see if there were any film versions due (there so should be!!) and, biggest accolade of all, I actually had to discipline myself to read a few other books first, before moving on to "Dragonfly in Amber".
I could hardly wait. Was it a disappointment? Well, curate's egg. In places, yes. But only by Diana Gabaldon's own amazingly high standards.
In this book, we find our heroine, the spunky, brave, outspoken and utterly believable Claire, back in the 20th century. We're not told how or why.. All we know is that she was found wandering and pregnant.. She now has a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is tall, willowy and has red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes.. Ring any bells?? For yes, Brianna is the daughter of the wondrous Jamie Fraser, the hero of the first book, and of this one.
Then, very quickly, we go into flashback. And that, for me, is where the problems start. Claire is once more with Jamie, trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland... Because she knows, and has convinced Jamie, that hundreds of his friends and relatives will die in the fateful Battle of Culloden, in 1746. Alas, it's as if the author was so pleased with this idea that she sort of stopped focusing, for a while, on how to achieve it. We have Claire and Jamie in Paris in the mid 1740s, passing the time as successful merchant (a role Jamie handily takes over from a cousin) and his wife, and vaguely trying to influence decisions made by Bonnie Prince C, then also living in Paris. Neat idea. The trouble is, this section drifts on interminably, with details about the minutiae of everyday life (which would normally enthral me), and the inrtoduction of endless characters, some of whom are terrific creations and vital to the plot, but many turn out to be completely irrelevant..
But then, it was as if the author draws a deep breath.. And the old pace picks up and works towards a climax which I found absolutely shattering. For me, it wasn't at the very end, but in the immediate approach to Culloden. For about 50 pages I bawled my eyes out.. But I'm not in the Spoiler business, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say, I don't cry easily!
My other reservation about "Dragonfly in Amber" was simply that the author seems to have fallen too much in love with her hero! I would defy any red-blooded female not to be totally smitten with Jamie Fraser in the first book. But in this, we feel too often like uncomfortable voyeurs as the (rather good!) sex scenes give way to endless descriptions of Jamie's beauty.. I got to the point where I was ready to lob the book across the room if I hit one more adoring description of the sunlight on his fabulous red head -- or body! -- hair.
But these are quibbles. Diana Gabaldon can write, and then some. She sucks us into her stories until we're actually dreaming about them. I started a sneering cynic, and ended a devoted fan. And now I'm back to forcing myself to read other things before starting on the next in the series..
Wish I could give it more stars, 17 Sep 2007
I have just recently re-read this book, the second in the series, and what a delight it is to join up with Jamie and Claire Fraser again, like meeting old friends! Diana Gabaldon's books in this series are just so amazing I cannot begin to describe how incredible and compulsive these books are.
If you haven't read any before, start with the first in the series which is Cross Stitch and I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll feel the need to buy the rest in the series because you just have to join Claire and Jamies on their amazing adventures.
book two in the best series ever, 13 Aug 2007
You have to read Cross stitch first to make sense of this book. The book follows the relationship between Jamie and Clare and their quest to stop the battle of Culloden. Be prepared to cry at the end - I have read it three times now and I howl each time!!!! Honestly!!! I really loved this book - the relationship between Jamie and Clare is so real and believeable - you can`t put the book down! The only other books that come close for me are the Marsha Canham books The Pride of Lions and The Blood Of Roses - again about the battle of Culloden.
I cried!, 14 Sep 2006
I am not joking, this book actually got me all teared up. It's amazing, Gabaldon is a true artist. Back with characters from CrossStitch (Outlander in the U.S.) you're once again taken back in time with Claire, and this book truly will break your heart. You get swept into the magnificent story, and I think I'm understating this when I say that the Outlander series is the best around. Read it and I know you'll love it too.
great story, historical fantasy, 15 Mar 2006
I am truly loving this series of books. You just get swept along with them. A real page turner.
Although complete fantasy, I love the historical aspects of the story, my one HUGE issue with this book, is the fantasy attached to the geography, this may sound weird, but Gabaldon has been a little lazy in researching this aspect of the book, She states the English army is considering marching North from Perth, when Edinburgh is due south of Perth!, and she seems to be confused with Prestonpans in Scotland (the site of the first battle) and Preston in North England, interchanging the names (i live in central Scotland so know the places she mentions, and it is annoying), I can cope with the liberties taken in history, Gaelic and the Scottish Dialect, but the geography bit annoys me.
Sorry for moaning on, all in all a good story and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in Jamie and Claires saga.
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Voyager
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.91
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Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.
A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!
IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'
Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century.
Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
Almost a disappointment, 20 Jan 2008
The first book in this series ("Cross-Stitch" or "Outlander", depending which side of the Atlantic you're on) was rather sheepishly recommended by a friend when I said I needed a "light but intelligent read". I lapped it up, with half my brain telling me it was tosh, but the rest loving every sentence. And the fact is, the book got well under my skin. I even found myself playing around on the internet to see if there were any film versions due (there so should be!!) and, biggest accolade of all, I actually had to discipline myself to read a few other books first, before moving on to "Dragonfly in Amber".
I could hardly wait. Was it a disappointment? Well, curate's egg. In places, yes. But only by Diana Gabaldon's own amazingly high standards.
In this book, we find our heroine, the spunky, brave, outspoken and utterly believable Claire, back in the 20th century. We're not told how or why.. All we know is that she was found wandering and pregnant.. She now has a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is tall, willowy and has red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes.. Ring any bells?? For yes, Brianna is the daughter of the wondrous Jamie Fraser, the hero of the first book, and of this one.
Then, very quickly, we go into flashback. And that, for me, is where the problems start. Claire is once more with Jamie, trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland... Because she knows, and has convinced Jamie, that hundreds of his friends and relatives will die in the fateful Battle of Culloden, in 1746. Alas, it's as if the author was so pleased with this idea that she sort of stopped focusing, for a while, on how to achieve it. We have Claire and Jamie in Paris in the mid 1740s, passing the time as successful merchant (a role Jamie handily takes over from a cousin) and his wife, and vaguely trying to influence decisions made by Bonnie Prince C, then also living in Paris. Neat idea. The trouble is, this section drifts on interminably, with details about the minutiae of everyday life (which would normally enthral me), and the inrtoduction of endless characters, some of whom are terrific creations and vital to the plot, but many turn out to be completely irrelevant..
But then, it was as if the author draws a deep breath.. And the old pace picks up and works towards a climax which I found absolutely shattering. For me, it wasn't at the very end, but in the immediate approach to Culloden. For about 50 pages I bawled my eyes out.. But I'm not in the Spoiler business, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say, I don't cry easily!
My other reservation about "Dragonfly in Amber" was simply that the author seems to have fallen too much in love with her hero! I would defy any red-blooded female not to be totally smitten with Jamie Fraser in the first book. But in this, we feel too often like uncomfortable voyeurs as the (rather good!) sex scenes give way to endless descriptions of Jamie's beauty.. I got to the point where I was ready to lob the book across the room if I hit one more adoring description of the sunlight on his fabulous red head -- or body! -- hair.
But these are quibbles. Diana Gabaldon can write, and then some. She sucks us into her stories until we're actually dreaming about them. I started a sneering cynic, and ended a devoted fan. And now I'm back to forcing myself to read other things before starting on the next in the series..
Wish I could give it more stars, 17 Sep 2007
I have just recently re-read this book, the second in the series, and what a delight it is to join up with Jamie and Claire Fraser again, like meeting old friends! Diana Gabaldon's books in this series are just so amazing I cannot begin to describe how incredible and compulsive these books are.
If you haven't read any before, start with the first in the series which is Cross Stitch and I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll feel the need to buy the rest in the series because you just have to join Claire and Jamies on their amazing adventures.
book two in the best series ever, 13 Aug 2007
You have to read Cross stitch first to make sense of this book. The book follows the relationship between Jamie and Clare and their quest to stop the battle of Culloden. Be prepared to cry at the end - I have read it three times now and I howl each time!!!! Honestly!!! I really loved this book - the relationship between Jamie and Clare is so real and believeable - you can`t put the book down! The only other books that come close for me are the Marsha Canham books The Pride of Lions and The Blood Of Roses - again about the battle of Culloden.
I cried!, 14 Sep 2006
I am not joking, this book actually got me all teared up. It's amazing, Gabaldon is a true artist. Back with characters from CrossStitch (Outlander in the U.S.) you're once again taken back in time with Claire, and this book truly will break your heart. You get swept into the magnificent story, and I think I'm understating this when I say that the Outlander series is the best around. Read it and I know you'll love it too.
great story, historical fantasy, 15 Mar 2006
I am truly loving this series of books. You just get swept along with them. A real page turner.
Although complete fantasy, I love the historical aspects of the story, my one HUGE issue with this book, is the fantasy attached to the geography, this may sound weird, but Gabaldon has been a little lazy in researching this aspect of the book, She states the English army is considering marching North from Perth, when Edinburgh is due south of Perth!, and she seems to be confused with Prestonpans in Scotland (the site of the first battle) and Preston in North England, interchanging the names (i live in central Scotland so know the places she mentions, and it is annoying), I can cope with the liberties taken in history, Gaelic and the Scottish Dialect, but the geography bit annoys me.
Sorry for moaning on, all in all a good story and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in Jamie and Claires saga.
Fantastic Series of Stories, 31 May 2008
Diana Gabaldon writes a terrific time travelling story about Claire (from modern times) and Jamie (from an earlier times) and their adventures together.
This is the third book in the series and I have read all the books. I am currently eagerly awaiting the next book which Diana keeps promising will be soon.
Though Claire has time travelled to the past, that is where the majority of the story is based so please don't get the impression they are both jumping through time. Claire and Jamie experience the historial events that are happening at that time.
I can thoroughly recommend this series of books to you.
Where the Jamie & Claire series goes off the rails, 26 May 2008
I really enjoyed Crosstitch and loved Dragonfly in Amber, but this third outing for J&C is disappointing overall. The first third is good but once J&C are reunited, the plot goes mad and they're rushing around being chased by crocodiles and assorted villains... I have to confess that while I've read the remaining three novels in the series, I don't think they're a patch on the first two, and this is the pivotal book where the rot sets in. I know many die-hard J&C fans will disagree (which is fine) but for anyone contemplating the series, I would heartily recommend the first two books, and you need to read at least the start of this one after the wrneching ending to Amber, but after that I would do what I believe Gabaldon should have done - let the series rest at a high-point and move on to the Lord John books instead where Gabaldon's imagaination seems revitalised.
Great, 15 Dec 2007
I was fortunate when I first started reading Diana Gabaldon's intriguing series; fortunate, I say, because the first three books were already available, so I didn't suffer quite so terribly from Claire and Jamie withdrawal. From the moment I picked up "Outlander" I knew that I was reading what perhaps in time will (and should) become the standard for romance, although it is erroneous to categorize Gabaldon's works as simply being "romance". The ongoing saga of the Frasers is enjoyable regardless of what genre you prefer. Diana is just that good. But I digress...
In the third installment of the series, Doctor Claire Randall is vacationing in 1968 Scotland when she discovers that her husband, Jamie Fraser, who she thought was killed during the battle of Culloden, has in fact survived and is alive and well...in 1765. With the aid of their daughter, Brianna, and young historian Roger Wakefield, Claire arranges for the most difficult--and the most rewarding--undertaking of her life: reuniting with Jamie after twenty years of separation.
Full of surprising twists as well as the emotional depth and historical accuracy one has come to expect from Diana Gabaldon, "Voyager" is a novel that stands on its own, which is how a good novel is written, whether or not it is part of a series!!! And if you missed Tino Georgiou's--The Fates--I strongly recommend reading it.
I couldn't put it down!, 23 Aug 2007
This was the best of her novels so far. I read it cover to cover really quickly and couldn't put it down. My husband was amazed as he said he's never seen me so engrossed in a book before as I apparently was with this one. I really enjoyed Cross Stitch and Dragonfly in Amber but this was hard to put down. I can't wait to go out and buy the next installment. Sorry hubbie if our love life is suffering but I just can't resist!!!
Voyager Diana Gabaldon, 16 Jun 2005
This is the best series of books I have ever read. I am reading the series for the 6th time. Fantastic.
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Bargain Bride
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.80
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A Breath of Snow and Ashes
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.68
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Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.
A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!
IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'
Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century.
Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
Almost a disappointment, 20 Jan 2008
The first book in this series ("Cross-Stitch" or "Outlander", depending which side of the Atlantic you're on) was rather sheepishly recommended by a friend when I said I needed a "light but intelligent read". I lapped it up, with half my brain telling me it was tosh, but the rest loving every sentence. And the fact is, the book got well under my skin. I even found myself playing around on the internet to see if there were any film versions due (there so should be!!) and, biggest accolade of all, I actually had to discipline myself to read a few other books first, before moving on to "Dragonfly in Amber".
I could hardly wait. Was it a disappointment? Well, curate's egg. In places, yes. But only by Diana Gabaldon's own amazingly high standards.
In this book, we find our heroine, the spunky, brave, outspoken and utterly believable Claire, back in the 20th century. We're not told how or why.. All we know is that she was found wandering and pregnant.. She now has a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is tall, willowy and has red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes.. Ring any bells?? For yes, Brianna is the daughter of the wondrous Jamie Fraser, the hero of the first book, and of this one.
Then, very quickly, we go into flashback. And that, for me, is where the problems start. Claire is once more with Jamie, trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland... Because she knows, and has convinced Jamie, that hundreds of his friends and relatives will die in the fateful Battle of Culloden, in 1746. Alas, it's as if the author was so pleased with this idea that she sort of stopped focusing, for a while, on how to achieve it. We have Claire and Jamie in Paris in the mid 1740s, passing the time as successful merchant (a role Jamie handily takes over from a cousin) and his wife, and vaguely trying to influence decisions made by Bonnie Prince C, then also living in Paris. Neat idea. The trouble is, this section drifts on interminably, with details about the minutiae of everyday life (which would normally enthral me), and the inrtoduction of endless characters, some of whom are terrific creations and vital to the plot, but many turn out to be completely irrelevant..
But then, it was as if the author draws a deep breath.. And the old pace picks up and works towards a climax which I found absolutely shattering. For me, it wasn't at the very end, but in the immediate approach to Culloden. For about 50 pages I bawled my eyes out.. But I'm not in the Spoiler business, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say, I don't cry easily!
My other reservation about "Dragonfly in Amber" was simply that the author seems to have fallen too much in love with her hero! I would defy any red-blooded female not to be totally smitten with Jamie Fraser in the first book. But in this, we feel too often like uncomfortable voyeurs as the (rather good!) sex scenes give way to endless descriptions of Jamie's beauty.. I got to the point where I was ready to lob the book across the room if I hit one more adoring description of the sunlight on his fabulous red head -- or body! -- hair.
But these are quibbles. Diana Gabaldon can write, and then some. She sucks us into her stories until we're actually dreaming about them. I started a sneering cynic, and ended a devoted fan. And now I'm back to forcing myself to read other things before starting on the next in the series..
Wish I could give it more stars, 17 Sep 2007
I have just recently re-read this book, the second in the series, and what a delight it is to join up with Jamie and Claire Fraser again, like meeting old friends! Diana Gabaldon's books in this series are just so amazing I cannot begin to describe how incredible and compulsive these books are.
If you haven't read any before, start with the first in the series which is Cross Stitch and I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll feel the need to buy the rest in the series because you just have to join Claire and Jamies on their amazing adventures.
book two in the best series ever, 13 Aug 2007
You have to read Cross stitch first to make sense of this book. The book follows the relationship between Jamie and Clare and their quest to stop the battle of Culloden. Be prepared to cry at the end - I have read it three times now and I howl each time!!!! Honestly!!! I really loved this book - the relationship between Jamie and Clare is so real and believeable - you can`t put the book down! The only other books that come close for me are the Marsha Canham books The Pride of Lions and The Blood Of Roses - again about the battle of Culloden.
I cried!, 14 Sep 2006
I am not joking, this book actually got me all teared up. It's amazing, Gabaldon is a true artist. Back with characters from CrossStitch (Outlander in the U.S.) you're once again taken back in time with Claire, and this book truly will break your heart. You get swept into the magnificent story, and I think I'm understating this when I say that the Outlander series is the best around. Read it and I know you'll love it too.
great story, historical fantasy, 15 Mar 2006
I am truly loving this series of books. You just get swept along with them. A real page turner.
Although complete fantasy, I love the historical aspects of the story, my one HUGE issue with this book, is the fantasy attached to the geography, this may sound weird, but Gabaldon has been a little lazy in researching this aspect of the book, She states the English army is considering marching North from Perth, when Edinburgh is due south of Perth!, and she seems to be confused with Prestonpans in Scotland (the site of the first battle) and Preston in North England, interchanging the names (i live in central Scotland so know the places she mentions, and it is annoying), I can cope with the liberties taken in history, Gaelic and the Scottish Dialect, but the geography bit annoys me.
Sorry for moaning on, all in all a good story and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in Jamie and Claires saga.
Fantastic Series of Stories, 31 May 2008
Diana Gabaldon writes a terrific time travelling story about Claire (from modern times) and Jamie (from an earlier times) and their adventures together.
This is the third book in the series and I have read all the books. I am currently eagerly awaiting the next book which Diana keeps promising will be soon.
Though Claire has time travelled to the past, that is where the majority of the story is based so please don't get the impression they are both jumping through time. Claire and Jamie experience the historial events that are happening at that time.
I can thoroughly recommend this series of books to you.
Where the Jamie & Claire series goes off the rails, 26 May 2008
I really enjoyed Crosstitch and loved Dragonfly in Amber, but this third outing for J&C is disappointing overall. The first third is good but once J&C are reunited, the plot goes mad and they're rushing around being chased by crocodiles and assorted villains... I have to confess that while I've read the remaining three novels in the series, I don't think they're a patch on the first two, and this is the pivotal book where the rot sets in. I know many die-hard J&C fans will disagree (which is fine) but for anyone contemplating the series, I would heartily recommend the first two books, and you need to read at least the start of this one after the wrneching ending to Amber, but after that I would do what I believe Gabaldon should have done - let the series rest at a high-point and move on to the Lord John books instead where Gabaldon's imagaination seems revitalised.
Great, 15 Dec 2007
I was fortunate when I first started reading Diana Gabaldon's intriguing series; fortunate, I say, because the first three books were already available, so I didn't suffer quite so terribly from Claire and Jamie withdrawal. From the moment I picked up "Outlander" I knew that I was reading what perhaps in time will (and should) become the standard for romance, although it is erroneous to categorize Gabaldon's works as simply being "romance". The ongoing saga of the Frasers is enjoyable regardless of what genre you prefer. Diana is just that good. But I digress...
In the third installment of the series, Doctor Claire Randall is vacationing in 1968 Scotland when she discovers that her husband, Jamie Fraser, who she thought was killed during the battle of Culloden, has in fact survived and is alive and well...in 1765. With the aid of their daughter, Brianna, and young historian Roger Wakefield, Claire arranges for the most difficult--and the most rewarding--undertaking of her life: reuniting with Jamie after twenty years of separation.
Full of surprising twists as well as the emotional depth and historical accuracy one has come to expect from Diana Gabaldon, "Voyager" is a novel that stands on its own, which is how a good novel is written, whether or not it is part of a series!!! And if you missed Tino Georgiou's--The Fates--I strongly recommend reading it.
I couldn't put it down!, 23 Aug 2007
This was the best of her novels so far. I read it cover to cover really quickly and couldn't put it down. My husband was amazed as he said he's never seen me so engrossed in a book before as I apparently was with this one. I really enjoyed Cross Stitch and Dragonfly in Amber but this was hard to put down. I can't wait to go out and buy the next installment. Sorry hubbie if our love life is suffering but I just can't resist!!!
Voyager Diana Gabaldon, 16 Jun 2005
This is the best series of books I have ever read. I am reading the series for the 6th time. Fantastic.
Leaves a bitter taste, 27 Aug 2008
Traditionally my reviews of Gabaldon books tend to be long, wordy affairs analysing in depth their plot, dramatic strengths and weaknesses, while interspersing my observations with colourful metaphors and amusing remarks. Not so in this case, partly because I'm aware of the inherent irony of using long reviews to criticise books for being longwinded, but mainly because every precious second of my life I waste thinking or talking about this God-awful book is time that I'll never be able to get back.
Yes, I've finally finished A Breath of Snow and Ashes. It took months of painful slogging, but it's done, and I never want to speak about it again. What? You want to hear about it? Oh, all right then, but frankly I don't know where to begin - I feel like a Capri Sun with all the juice sucked out of it. This book has simply drained me - intellectually, emotionally and physically.
Okay, breathe...
Right, it's 1773 and the fires of unrest and Revolution are springing up all across Colonial America. Claire, Jamie and co are still struggling to survive on Fraser's Ridge, while at the same time dealing with political intrigue, betrayal, war, violence, rape and kidnapping. As usual.
That's about as deep as I care to go with this one. If I was to try to accurately convey the full scale of this book's plot, I'd probably exceed the Amazon word limit four or five times over.
Part of the problem with ABOSAA is the ridiculous, melodramatic, self-indulgent, bloated and overwrought story it tries vainly to tell. The other part is the sheer mind-crushing depth with which it insists on describing every single thing that happens. This book is like a chronic incontinence sufferer that's just drunk several pints of beer - so full to bursting with tedious dialogue and descriptions that they leak out at every turn. Everything that was bad about The Fiery Cross is worse here. ABOSAA is like a beached whale literally suffocating under its own weight.
The main plot is turgid enough, but the irrelevant side stories slow things down further, reminding me of the awkwardly tacked-on side quests to be found lurking in most below-par Role Playing Games. I could be missing something, but I really don't understand why we're meant to care about the dozens of periphery characters that come and go in the course of this book.
It gets no better on the main character front either. Claire and Jamie, once vibrant and lively, are like stale digestive biscuits now - still edible but boring and hard to digest. And despite being well into her fifties, Claire seems to suffer none of the complaints that one might expect of a woman of that age. She's still hale and healthy as always, and apparently as physically fit as she was thirty years ago.
Roger continues to be Diana's insipid whipping boy, getting punished and humiliated at every step for having the temerity to actually exist. And Brianna is starting to remind me more and more of Princess Toadstool from Super Mario - an utterly useless brat whose miserable parasitic existence is only occasionally livened up by a good kidnapping drama.
ABOSAA is a pretty difficult book to review with any degree of impartiality - partly because I went into it with the kind of dread normally reserved for condemned prisoners walking the green mile, and partly because I'm beginning to suspect that all the things I dislike about it are the same things that most fans find appealing. Some people just like that kind of thing, I guess.
If you're one of those people... well, I suppose you'll already have bought, read and reread ABOSAA. If on the other hand, you like your stories focussed, exciting and compelling, you'd do well to run away from it very fast. And never look back.
New Gabaldon Fan, 28 Apr 2008
I have just finished reading the fifth book in the series,and am pyching myself up for the sixth. I have read on some forums that Claire believes jamie is unfaithful in this book and maybe fathered a child with Mavla. This has put me off reading ABOSAA, I don't want to spoil the image I have of Jamie and Claires relationship. Anyone care to enlighten me.
A Breath of Snow and Ashes, 06 Mar 2008
Another great read though i'm sad to be on the last book that is out for now. I've really enjoyed the journey of Claire and Jamie and am lothed to hurry and finish this book because that means i've then got to wait til the next one comes out.
They are books that will always grace my book shelves so that i can go back and read them again and again.
I reccommend whole heartily for people to give the series a go. They have given me many hours of joy and escape.
Another one of Diana's successes, 21 Oct 2007
As a fan of the Outlander series, I have been waiting for the release of the 6th book and I am quite happy to say that the wait has been justified. Diana has come up with another fabulous read. I will even venture, that this is the best one yet. Diana has a beautiful way of writing that keeps you glued to the book. The story of Jamie, Claire and their children keeps unfolding across the space and time and it is absolutely impossible to put the book down. The only issue that makes the reading difficult is the pure size of the volume as it is most definitely will not fit into a small bag. However I didn't mind that so much as it meant a longer time to enjoy it. So as usual I will be waiting for Book 7....
Time to let go?, 05 Apr 2007
I have read all the other books in this epic series and bought this one in the hope that it would at last conclude the saga of Jamie & Claire. Gabaldon is a prolific writer and I have, on the whole, enjoyed her books but I find she often 'over eggs the pudding'. I have learned to speed read the bits where she rambles on about nothing of great consequence and slowly relish the interesting parts. Now I want to be released from the grip of Jamie & Claire and I feel that it's time to let these characters go. Gabaldon has wrung more than enough out of them and I'm getting bored with the repetitive details of how many scars they bear, how many red sparks she sees in his hair, and ongoing references to Brianna's thick red eyebrows. Please - change the record! Doubtless, I'll buy the next book - mainly because I have to see how the story concludes, but I hope I'm let off the hook then and Gabaldon stops supplying these books which feed my hopeless addiction!
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Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait. A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did! IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!' Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century. Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
Almost a disappointment, 20 Jan 2008
The first book in this series ("Cross-Stitch" or "Outlander", depending which side of the Atlantic you're on) was rather sheepishly recommended by a friend when I said I needed a "light but intelligent read". I lapped it up, with half my brain telling me it was tosh, but the rest loving every sentence. And the fact is, the book got well under my skin. I even found myself playing around on the internet to see if there were any film versions due (there so should be!!) and, biggest accolade of all, I actually had to discipline myself to read a few other books first, before moving on to "Dragonfly in Amber".
I could hardly wait. Was it a disappointment? Well, curate's egg. In places, yes. But only by Diana Gabaldon's own amazingly high standards.
In this book, we find our heroine, the spunky, brave, outspoken and utterly believable Claire, back in the 20th century. We're not told how or why.. All we know is that she was found wandering and pregnant.. She now has a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is tall, willowy and has red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes.. Ring any bells?? For yes, Brianna is the daughter of the wondrous Jamie Fraser, the hero of the first book, and of this one.
Then, very quickly, we go into flashback. And that, for me, is where the problems start. Claire is once more with Jamie, trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland... Because she knows, and has convinced Jamie, that hundreds of his friends and relatives will die in the fateful Battle of Culloden, in 1746. Alas, it's as if the author was so pleased with this idea that she sort of stopped focusing, for a while, on how to achieve it. We have Claire and Jamie in Paris in the mid 1740s, passing the time as successful merchant (a role Jamie handily takes over from a cousin) and his wife, and vaguely trying to influence decisions made by Bonnie Prince C, then also living in Paris. Neat idea. The trouble is, this section drifts on interminably, with details about the minutiae of everyday life (which would normally enthral me), and the inrtoduction of endless characters, some of whom are terrific creations and vital to the plot, but many turn out to be completely irrelevant..
But then, it was as if the author draws a deep breath.. And the old pace picks up and works towards a climax which I found absolutely shattering. For me, it wasn't at the very end, but in the immediate approach to Culloden. For about 50 pages I bawled my eyes out.. But I'm not in the Spoiler business, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say, I don't cry easily!
My other reservation about "Dragonfly in Amber" was simply that the author seems to have fallen too much in love with her hero! I would defy any red-blooded female not to be totally smitten with Jamie Fraser in the first book. But in this, we feel too often like uncomfortable voyeurs as the (rather good!) sex scenes give way to endless descriptions of Jamie's beauty.. I got to the point where I was ready to lob the book across the room if I hit one more adoring description of the sunlight on his fabulous red head -- or body! -- hair.
But these are quibbles. Diana Gabaldon can write, and then some. She sucks us into her stories until we're actually dreaming about them. I started a sneering cynic, and ended a devoted fan. And now I'm back to forcing myself to read other things before starting on the next in the series.. Wish I could give it more stars, 17 Sep 2007
I have just recently re-read this book, the second in the series, and what a delight it is to join up with Jamie and Claire Fraser again, like meeting old friends! Diana Gabaldon's books in this series are just so amazing I cannot begin to describe how incredible and compulsive these books are.
If you haven't read any before, start with the first in the series which is Cross Stitch and I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll feel the need to buy the rest in the series because you just have to join Claire and Jamies on their amazing adventures. book two in the best series ever, 13 Aug 2007
You have to read Cross stitch first to make sense of this book. The book follows the relationship between Jamie and Clare and their quest to stop the battle of Culloden. Be prepared to cry at the end - I have read it three times now and I howl each time!!!! Honestly!!! I really loved this book - the relationship between Jamie and Clare is so real and believeable - you can`t put the book down! The only other books that come close for me are the Marsha Canham books The Pride of Lions and The Blood Of Roses - again about the battle of Culloden. I cried!, 14 Sep 2006
I am not joking, this book actually got me all teared up. It's amazing, Gabaldon is a true artist. Back with characters from CrossStitch (Outlander in the U.S.) you're once again taken back in time with Claire, and this book truly will break your heart. You get swept into the magnificent story, and I think I'm understating this when I say that the Outlander series is the best around. Read it and I know you'll love it too. great story, historical fantasy, 15 Mar 2006
I am truly loving this series of books. You just get swept along with them. A real page turner. Although complete fantasy, I love the historical aspects of the story, my one HUGE issue with this book, is the fantasy attached to the geography, this may sound weird, but Gabaldon has been a little lazy in researching this aspect of the book, She states the English army is considering marching North from Perth, when Edinburgh is due south of Perth!, and she seems to be confused with Prestonpans in Scotland (the site of the first battle) and Preston in North England, interchanging the names (i live in central Scotland so know the places she mentions, and it is annoying), I can cope with the liberties taken in history, Gaelic and the Scottish Dialect, but the geography bit annoys me. Sorry for moaning on, all in all a good story and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in Jamie and Claires saga. Fantastic Series of Stories, 31 May 2008
Diana Gabaldon writes a terrific time travelling story about Claire (from modern times) and Jamie (from an earlier times) and their adventures together.
This is the third book in the series and I have read all the books. I am currently eagerly awaiting the next book which Diana keeps promising will be soon.
Though Claire has time travelled to the past, that is where the majority of the story is based so please don't get the impression they are both jumping through time. Claire and Jamie experience the historial events that are happening at that time.
I can thoroughly recommend this series of books to you. Where the Jamie & Claire series goes off the rails, 26 May 2008
I really enjoyed Crosstitch and loved Dragonfly in Amber, but this third outing for J&C is disappointing overall. The first third is good but once J&C are reunited, the plot goes mad and they're rushing around being chased by crocodiles and assorted villains... I have to confess that while I've read the remaining three novels in the series, I don't think they're a patch on the first two, and this is the pivotal book where the rot sets in. I know many die-hard J&C fans will disagree (which is fine) but for anyone contemplating the series, I would heartily recommend the first two books, and you need to read at least the start of this one after the wrneching ending to Amber, but after that I would do what I believe Gabaldon should have done - let the series rest at a high-point and move on to the Lord John books instead where Gabaldon's imagaination seems revitalised. Great, 15 Dec 2007
I was fortunate when I first started reading Diana Gabaldon's intriguing series; fortunate, I say, because the first three books were already available, so I didn't suffer quite so terribly from Claire and Jamie withdrawal. From the moment I picked up "Outlander" I knew that I was reading what perhaps in time will (and should) become the standard for romance, although it is erroneous to categorize Gabaldon's works as simply being "romance". The ongoing saga of the Frasers is enjoyable regardless of what genre you prefer. Diana is just that good. But I digress...
In the third installment of the series, Doctor Claire Randall is vacationing in 1968 Scotland when she discovers that her husband, Jamie Fraser, who she thought was killed during the battle of Culloden, has in fact survived and is alive and well...in 1765. With the aid of their daughter, Brianna, and young historian Roger Wakefield, Claire arranges for the most difficult--and the most rewarding--undertaking of her life: reuniting with Jamie after twenty years of separation.
Full of surprising twists as well as the emotional depth and historical accuracy one has come to expect from Diana Gabaldon, "Voyager" is a novel that stands on its own, which is how a good novel is written, whether or not it is part of a series!!! And if you missed Tino Georgiou's--The Fates--I strongly recommend reading it. I couldn't put it down!, 23 Aug 2007
This was the best of her novels so far. I read it cover to cover really quickly and couldn't put it down. My husband was amazed as he said he's never seen me so engrossed in a book before as I apparently was with this one. I really enjoyed Cross Stitch and Dragonfly in Amber but this was hard to put down. I can't wait to go out and buy the next installment. Sorry hubbie if our love life is suffering but I just can't resist!!! Voyager Diana Gabaldon, 16 Jun 2005
This is the best series of books I have ever read. I am reading the series for the 6th time. Fantastic. Leaves a bitter taste, 27 Aug 2008
Traditionally my reviews of Gabaldon books tend to be long, wordy affairs analysing in depth their plot, dramatic strengths and weaknesses, while interspersing my observations with colourful metaphors and amusing remarks. Not so in this case, partly because I'm aware of the inherent irony of using long reviews to criticise books for being longwinded, but mainly because every precious second of my life I waste thinking or talking about this God-awful book is time that I'll never be able to get back.
Yes, I've finally finished A Breath of Snow and Ashes. It took months of painful slogging, but it's done, and I never want to speak about it again. What? You want to hear about it? Oh, all right then, but frankly I don't know where to begin - I feel like a Capri Sun with all the juice sucked out of it. This book has simply drained me - intellectually, emotionally and physically.
Okay, breathe...
Right, it's 1773 and the fires of unrest and Revolution are springing up all across Colonial America. Claire, Jamie and co are still struggling to survive on Fraser's Ridge, while at the same time dealing with political intrigue, betrayal, war, violence, rape and kidnapping. As usual.
That's about as deep as I care to go with this one. If I was to try to accurately convey the full scale of this book's plot, I'd probably exceed the Amazon word limit four or five times over.
Part of the problem with ABOSAA is the ridiculous, melodramatic, self-indulgent, bloated and overwrought story it tries vainly to tell. The other part is the sheer mind-crushing depth with which it insists on describing every single thing that happens. This book is like a chronic incontinence sufferer that's just drunk several pints of beer - so full to bursting with tedious dialogue and descriptions that they leak out at every turn. Everything that was bad about The Fiery Cross is worse here. ABOSAA is like a beached whale literally suffocating under its own weight.
The main plot is turgid enough, but the irrelevant side stories slow things down further, reminding me of the awkwardly tacked-on side quests to be found lurking in most below-par Role Playing Games. I could be missing something, but I really don't understand why we're meant to care about the dozens of periphery characters that come and go in the course of this book.
It gets no better on the main character front either. Claire and Jamie, once vibrant and lively, are like stale digestive biscuits now - still edible but boring and hard to digest. And despite being well into her fifties, Claire seems to suffer none of the complaints that one might expect of a woman of that age. She's still hale and healthy as always, and apparently as physically fit as she was thirty years ago.
Roger continues to be Diana's insipid whipping boy, getting punished and humiliated at every step for having the temerity to actually exist. And Brianna is starting to remind me more and more of Princess Toadstool from Super Mario - an utterly useless brat whose miserable parasitic existence is only occasionally livened up by a good kidnapping drama.
ABOSAA is a pretty difficult book to review with any degree of impartiality - partly because I went into it with the kind of dread normally reserved for condemned prisoners walking the green mile, and partly because I'm beginning to suspect that all the things I dislike about it are the same things that most fans find appealing. Some people just like that kind of thing, I guess.
If you're one of those people... well, I suppose you'll already have bought, read and reread ABOSAA. If on the other hand, you like your stories focussed, exciting and compelling, you'd do well to run away from it very fast. And never look back.
New Gabaldon Fan, 28 Apr 2008
I have just finished reading the fifth book in the series,and am pyching myself up for the sixth. I have read on some forums that Claire believes jamie is unfaithful in this book and maybe fathered a child with Mavla. This has put me off reading ABOSAA, I don't want to spoil the image I have of Jamie and Claires relationship. Anyone care to enlighten me. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, 06 Mar 2008
Another great read though i'm sad to be on the last book that is out for now. I've really enjoyed the journey of Claire and Jamie and am lothed to hurry and finish this book because that means i've then got to wait til the next one comes out.
They are books that will always grace my book shelves so that i can go back and read them again and again.
I reccommend whole heartily for people to give the series a go. They have given me many hours of joy and escape. Another one of Diana's successes, 21 Oct 2007
As a fan of the Outlander series, I have been waiting for the release of the 6th book and I am quite happy to say that the wait has been justified. Diana has come up with another fabulous read. I will even venture, that this is the best one yet. Diana has a beautiful way of writing that keeps you glued to the book. The story of Jamie, Claire and their children keeps unfolding across the space and time and it is absolutely impossible to put the book down. The only issue that makes the reading difficult is the pure size of the volume as it is most definitely will not fit into a small bag. However I didn't mind that so much as it meant a longer time to enjoy it. So as usual I will be waiting for Book 7.... Time to let go?, 05 Apr 2007
I have read all the other books in this epic series and bought this one in the hope that it would at last conclude the saga of Jamie & Claire. Gabaldon is a prolific writer and I have, on the whole, enjoyed her books but I find she often 'over eggs the pudding'. I have learned to speed read the bits where she rambles on about nothing of great consequence and slowly relish the interesting parts. Now I want to be released from the grip of Jamie & Claire and I feel that it's time to let these characters go. Gabaldon has wrung more than enough out of them and I'm getting bored with the repetitive details of how many scars they bear, how many red sparks she sees in his hair, and ongoing references to Brianna's thick red eyebrows. Please - change the record! Doubtless, I'll buy the next book - mainly because I have to see how the story concludes, but I hope I'm let off the hook then and Gabaldon stops supplying these books which feed my hopeless addiction! The sex is good!, 09 Nov 2008
Oh come on everyone. We only read these books because the highland sex is so entertaining. Let's hope for lots more! Could have been so much more, 18 Mar 2008
The Outlander series and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship, much like the relationship between an obsessive-compulsive eater and McDonalds - I know it's bad for me but I feel oddly compelled to keep going back. On the one hand, I admire the spirit of what it's trying to accomplish and genuinely appreciate when it gets things right, as is the case with Cross Stitch and Dragonfly in Amber. However, as my review of The Fiery Cross proved, I find myself increasingly disgruntled with their bloated length, rambling plots and unlikeable characters. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I started on this instalment.
Weighing in at a hefty 1200 pages, Drums of Autumn certainly ticks my first box of annoyance. Still, it breaks with the traditional Outlander formula in that it divides its story more or less equally between Claire and Jamie in the past, and her daughter Brianna and Roger in the 1970's. Brianna has made a disturbing discovery about her parents and resolves to journey into the past to protect them, while Roger also learns the truth and soon sets out in pursuit of Brianna, Benny Hill style. Meanwhile, Claire and Jamie have decided to make a new life for themselves in colonial America, presumably because there was nothing particularly interesting left for the author to write about in post-Culloden Scotland. God forbid they would choose to live somewhere that isn't teetering on the brink of rebellion and war.
This two-pronged approach to the story is quite effective as the contrast between the two worlds makes for interesting reading, but it also creates its share of problems. The first and most obvious of which is that neither story gets the attention it deserves - Roger and Brianna's tale feels fragmented and incomplete, while Jamie and Claire's feels more like filler than a properly developed plot arc. There's no sense of urgency or development to their side of things.
It's not all bad, though. Seeing Brianna and Roger piece together the clues about her parent's life story is interesting in a Columbo-esque kind of way, helping to remind the reader that there's actually time travel involved in this story, and that Claire hasn't just gone to some exceptionally backward and remote place - like Wales.
But the real shortcoming is in the characters themselves. Firstly, Brianna and Roger. These are easily two of the most insipid, irresponsible and incompetent characters ever portrayed in a work of fiction since Scooby Doo and Shaggy took off in the Mystery Van. Brianna is so ridiculously arrogant and reckless that it's almost a relief when she falls foul of her own hubris - as a reader, I actually enjoyed seeing her suffer as one might enjoy seeing a particularly annoying villain get his just deserts. And Roger? Well, the expression `pussy whipped' simply isn't an adequate description of such a painfully weak and indecisive character. Jamie Fraser he ain't.
Speaking of which, Jamie is about the only character who comes off well in this decidedly below-par instalment; still a tough and reliable man of action, able to toss off glib remarks like an 18th century James Bond. It's just as well, really, since Claire seems to be letting the side down of late. Back in the days of Cross Stitch and Dragonfly in Amber, she was a lively, spunky young woman who spoke her mind and refused to back down in the face of danger. But now? Well, I don't know if it's the perceived age of her character that's changed her, but the old gal just comes across like an arrogant middle-aged woman. There's a certain knowing smugness to everything she says and does that starts out as a minor irritation and eventually develops into a festering boil of real annoyance.
Some of my friends, in between bouts of alcohol abuse and self-flagellation, have described this book as `hard to put down'. I suspect they were thinking of a different book however as I found this one particularly easy to put down; it was picking it up again that was the hard part, and not just because of its atrocious size. At some points while reading, I actually found myself wanting to go off and do other things like fix a broken light switch or wash my car or bury the corpse of a double glazing salesman that's been stinking up my dining room. That's right, I was seriously tempted to do WORK rather than read this book. For something which is ostensibly designed to entertain and excite, this is not a good sign.
Still, I slogged through to the end partly because at heart I'm a petty man who doesn't like to admit defeat to a book, and partly to maintain my treasured reviewer integrity, which is sometimes the only thing that stops me from shoving a sharp pencil up my nose and headbutting the table. Having finished Drums of Autumn, conquered the forbidding peaks of The Fiery Cross and now facing the towering summit of A Breath of Snow and Ashes, I'm beginning to wish I'd taken the pencil option.
Love her work-, 04 Feb 2006
Love Diane's work, she is amazing as an author. "Drums Of Autumn" is a wonderful romance. Anything she writes is well worth your time. Besides Katlyn Stewart, she is my next best author. The Frasers Build A New Life In America - Outstanding Drama!, 28 Feb 2005
"Drums Of Autumn" is the fourth book in Diana Gabaldon's extraordinary "Outlander" series. It amazes me that Ms. Gabaldon has been able to continue to delight readers with her consistently good writing, excellent plots, superb characters and meticulous historic research for thousands of pages and four novels. "Drums Of Autumn" most certainly will not disappoint fans of the series. If you have not read the three preceding novels, I strongly urge you to do so before beginning this book. "Drums of Autumn" may be able to stand as a novel in its own right, but I think it would be too confusing to enjoy it thoroughly without having read the historic and personal drama that Ms. Gabaldon details so well in her previous books. To label the "Outlander" series as merely historical romance fiction would be to do it a terrible injustice. This is an epic historical romance, yes...and so much more. The relationship between Claire and Jamie is one of the most caring and intimate I have ever encountered - in fiction or real life. This is a couple who are solidly committed to a life together for better or worse. Theirs is a love that truly transcends the boundaries of time. More than twenty years before this novel begins, Claire Beauchamps Randall, vacationing in post WWII Scotland, stepped through the ancient stone circle known as Craigh na Dun - and was suddenly sucked back in time to 1743 and war-torn Scotland. It was here that she met and married her own true love, highlander James Fraser. Before the tragic battle of Culloden Moor she was forced to return to the 20th century to protect herself and her unborn daughter, abandoning Jamie in the process. Two decades later Claire made the journey back through the stones to reunite with James in the 18th century, leaving their grown daughter, Brianna, behind. James and Claire both agreed that there was no possibility to build a life for themselves in Scotland. The clans had been forced to disband, the people were starving and living in abject poverty, most of the men were dead, crippled, imprisoned and or jobless as a result of the doomed Jacobite uprising. The Frasers along with a few friends and James' nephew, Ian, cross the Atlantic and make their way to North Carolina where Jamie's aunt has a plantation. At the same parallel time, 20th century Brianna and her beloved Scottish boyfriend Roger discover some terrifying information about Claire's and Jamie's fate. Brianna is determined to reach her parents somehow and warn them of coming events, hoping to change the future. The inevitability of these events and the frustration and inability to change the future continue to be strong themes. This is a phenomenal novel! Ms. Gabaldon details frontier life in beautiful 18th century North Carolina so clearly and accurately that one literally feels swept back in time. Claire and James have grown tremendously as characters, as have the love and intimacy between them. New characters are introduced, as well as a marvelously vile villain. This is also Brianna's story. She becomes a woman with a woman's responsibilities in "Drums Of Autumn." I cannot recommend this book and series highly enough.
JANA
enthralling, addictively enjoyable, 17 Mar 2004
I found this book one of the best of the Outlandish series I have read. The characters were all identifiable. Unfortunately, I felt that Claire had a less insignificicant part in this story than she had in the others and that possibly Brianna was being made the main subject of the adventure and of course Roger but it was still spell-binding and I found it a very enjoyable read and hopefully, am looking forward to the next book in the series.
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Customer Reviews
Gripping, 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderful and gripping book, I read it under a week, although I did stay up half the night and set the alarm early in the morning to get through it. Although not always historically accurate, it is a work of fiction. Clare seemed to go from one disaster to another in the 1700's, each time I felt completely on the edge of my seat wondering if she would escape relatively unharmed. The love scenes were equally descriptive!! Just got the next 3 books to read, can't wait.
A bit of a hoot mon! (sorry), 17 Aug 2008
I don't usually read romantic fiction and only tried 'Outlander' after a friend nagged me almost to death!
Fair enough, the reviewers who say it is a load of tosh are right. And yes, it was written by an American so the Scots are all noble/brave/loyal/strong/butch warrior types with ridiculous accents and the English are all sadists/rapists/homosexual (usually all three when I come to think of it) aristocratic types with ridiculous accents.
But if you just accept 'Outlander' as good old-fashioned escapism you might even enjoy it. I must admit I did!
IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!, 14 Jul 2008
I decided to give this book a go after reading many of the good reviews it got. At over 800 pages I knew the pace could be slow to start but was prepared to give it a chance. However after about 300 pages I just couldn't take anymore.
The pace was plodding at best. For instance, a whole chapter was given over to hunting a wild boar, and in my opinion didn't add anything to the story. The main character, Jamie, wasn't in the least bit appealing, and Claire seemed to relax into life two centuries before her time without too much difficulty.
But for me the worst part was that most of the speech was written in Scottish accents!! I have nothing against the accent. I have Scottish relatives, but it made for very stilted reading. Every other line was filled with talk of wee laddies and wee lassies. We know these people spoke with a Scottish accent. They live in Scotland for heaven's sake. We don't need to read with one. If a book is set in America do we all suddenly start reading with an American twang?
Sorry I just couldn't read it all, and failed to even get halfway through. If this is the first in the series, I would hate to see the sequels.
Please , please, if you're looking for a good time slip novel I would check out Barbara Erskine first.
Otherwise, 'Hoots mon, pass me those bagpipes, ye wee lassie. I'll tak a wee nip we it!!!'
Whit a load of ...!, 14 Jul 2008
A friend recommended this. What can I say to her? I only persisted with it because I had taken it on holiday. How can anyone find this mixture of inaccurate and lazy historical research, bad writing, soft porn and repetitive plotting enticing? Boars were extinct in Scotland by this time and how can a one-legged husband kneel at the bedside of his wife in labour? Ghastly book; it should have a mental health warning. Please, please don't think that this is an accurate picture of Scotland in the 18th century.
Seriously? some people actually gave this 5 stars!, 08 Jun 2008
Ok, I gave into the hype and after seeing the US version had over 1000 very good reviews I decided that i would buy it. After all, people accused Karen Marie Moning of ripping off these books in her highlander series, and I adored her books and devoured them all in a few weeks. So i was desperate for a new author.
I can only say how VERY dissapointed I was.
Firstly, call me narrow minded, but i DETEST books written in the first person. So to anyone out there like me ( I wish someone had written this in a review before i bought it) ITS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON!!
Secondly: I'm really not into ginger haired, virgin heroes that are described as the "young lad" and are all of 23 years old poverty stricken and constantly get hurt. its just not sexy.
Call me shallow i dont care. Nothing against ginger hair, but I just hate it in my heroes and heroines, yet writers constantly give them ginger hair and think by describing it as auburn or golden sunlight or many other trite euphemisms, that it will be gorgeous. Sorry, but with red hair comes millions of freckles and ginger pubes. My imagination cant assimilate it.
The story was boring, no explanation of how the hell she got sent back in time. She's married to two people at the same time. Great role model.
Either do an historical novel and make it exciting, like Ken Follett, or stick to romance and make it that. Romance. There is nothing romantic about not having a bath for months and having twigs in your mane of curly frizzy hair. And no matter what the author says, the smell of man sweat and earth (dirt) is NOT condusive to a good romantic read.
At 800+ pages, i was ready to hang myself by the end of it. It felt like a life sentence. I just wanted it to end. The descriptions went on for pages. Who cares what the hell the castle looked like from every angle, and the view from the hill, for that matter. Just get on with the blooming story woman.
Almost a disappointment, 20 Jan 2008
The first book in this series ("Cross-Stitch" or "Outlander", depending which side of the Atlantic you're on) was rather sheepishly recommended by a friend when I said I needed a "light but intelligent read". I lapped it up, with half my brain telling me it was tosh, but the rest loving every sentence. And the fact is, the book got well under my skin. I even found myself playing around on the internet to see if there were any film versions due (there so should be!!) and, biggest accolade of all, I actually had to discipline myself to read a few other books first, before moving on to "Dragonfly in Amber".
I could hardly wait. Was it a disappointment? Well, curate's egg. In places, yes. But only by Diana Gabaldon's own amazingly high standards.
In this book, we find our heroine, the spunky, brave, outspoken and utterly believable Claire, back in the 20th century. We're not told how or why.. All we know is that she was found wandering and pregnant.. She now has a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is tall, willowy and has red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes.. Ring any bells?? For yes, Brianna is the daughter of the wondrous Jamie Fraser, the hero of the first book, and of this one.
Then, very quickly, we go into flashback. And that, for me, is where the problems start. Claire is once more with Jamie, trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland... Because she knows, and has convinced Jamie, that hundreds of his friends and relatives will die in the fateful Battle of Culloden, in 1746. Alas, it's as if the author was so pleased with this idea that she sort of stopped focusing, for a while, on how to achieve it. We have Claire and Jamie in Paris in the mid 1740s, passing the time as successful merchant (a role Jamie handily takes over from a cousin) and his wife, and vaguely trying to influence decisions made by Bonnie Prince C, then also living in Paris. Neat idea. The trouble is, this section drifts on interminably, with details about the minutiae of everyday life (which would normally enthral me), and the inrtoduction of endless characters, some of whom are terrific creations and vital to the plot, but many turn out to be completely irrelevant..
But then, it was as if the author draws a deep breath.. And the old pace picks up and works towards a climax which I found absolutely shattering. For me, it wasn't at the very end, but in the immediate approach to Culloden. For about 50 pages I bawled my eyes out.. But I'm not in the Spoiler business, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say, I don't cry easily!
My other reservation about "Dragonfly in Amber" was simply that the author seems to have fallen too much in love with her hero! I would defy any red-blooded female not to be totally smitten with Jamie Fraser in the first book. But in this, we feel too often like uncomfortable voyeurs as the (rather good!) sex scenes give way to endless descriptions of Jamie's beauty.. I got to the point where I was ready to lob the book across the room if I hit one more adoring description of the sunlight on his fabulous red head -- or body! -- hair.
But these are quibbles. Diana Gabaldon can write, and then some. She sucks us into her stories until we're actually dreaming about them. I started a sneering cynic, and ended a devoted fan. And now I'm back to forcing myself to read other things before starting on the next in the series..
Wish I could give it more stars, 17 Sep 2007
I have just recently re-read this book, the second in the series, and what a delight it is to join up with Jamie and Claire Fraser again, like meeting old friends! Diana Gabaldon's books in this series are just so amazing I cannot begin to describe how incredible and compulsive these books are.
If you haven't read any before, start with the first in the series which is Cross Stitch and I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll feel the need to buy the rest in the series because you just have to join Claire and Jamies on their amazing adventures.
book two in the best series ever, 13 Aug 2007
You have to read Cross stitch first to make sense of this book. The book follows the relationship between Jamie and Clare and their quest to stop the battle of Culloden. Be prepared to cry at the end - I have read it three times now and I howl each time!!!! Honestly!!! I really loved this book - the relationship between Jamie and Clare is so real and believeable - you can`t put the book down! The only other books that come close for me are the Marsha Canham books The Pride of Lions and The Blood Of Roses - again about the battle of Culloden.
I cried!, 14 Sep 2006
I am not joking, this book actually got me all teared up. It's amazing, Gabaldon is a true artist. Back with characters from CrossStitch (Outlander in the U.S.) you're once again taken back in time with Claire, and this book truly will break your heart. You get swept into the magnificent story, and I think I'm understating this when I say that the Outlander series is the best around. Read it and I know you'll love it too.
great story, historical fantasy, 15 Mar 2006
I am truly loving this series of books. You just get swept along with them. A real page turner.
Although complete fantasy, I love the historical aspects of the story, my one HUGE issue with this book, is the fantasy attached to the geography, this may sound weird, but Gabaldon has been a little lazy in researching this aspect of the book, She states the English army is considering marching North from Perth, when Edinburgh is due south of Perth!, and she seems to be confused with Prestonpans in Scotland (the site of the first battle) and Preston in North England, interchanging the names (i live in central Scotland so know the places she mentions, and it is annoying), I can cope with the liberties taken in history, Gaelic and the Scottish Dialect, but the geography bit annoys me.
Sorry for moaning on, all in all a good story and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in Jamie and Claires saga.
Fantastic Series of Stories, 31 May 2008
Diana Gabaldon writes a terrific time travelling story about Claire (from modern times) and Jamie (from an earlier times) and their adventures together.
This is the third book in the series and I have read all the books. I am currently eagerly awaiting the next book which Diana keeps promising will be soon.
Though Claire has time travelled to the past, that is where the majority of the story is based so please don't get the impression they are both jumping through time. Claire and Jamie experience the historial events that are happening at that time.
I can thoroughly recommend this series of books to you. | | |