This is the sixth book in the Outlander series, and really not the place to start reading. You will have missed out on literally thousands of pages of plot developments, intrigue and characterisation. If you are interested in checking out the series (which thanks to the current TV show, I suspect more and more might be), start at the beginning with Outlander.
Ok, where do I even begin to summarise the plot here. The mass market paperback is over 1400 pages long and the action spans at least three years of story. The book starts in 1772, with the beginning of the American Revolution right around the corner, and as such, there is rebellion afoot. Jamie Fraser knows what is coming thanks to his wife, daughter and son-in-law, all time travellers from the mid-20th Century. He needs to make sure he doesn’t get arrested for treason against the British Crown (again), but doesn’t exactly want to declare for King George either. At one point, Claire is kidnapped by bandits who want the location of the Fraser’s still. That section, and the following rescue (I’m NOT going to spoiler tag a book that came out in 2006 – also, Claire is the protagonist of the whole series, big surprise she doesn’t get killed by her abductors), makes for uncomfortable reading. Stephen Bonnet still pops up every so often like a malevolent mushroom to make life difficult for the assorted Frasers. Fergus and Marsali and their ever-increasing brood of children move away from Fraser’s Ridge after it becomes obvious that Fergus really isn’t cut out to be a farmer and needs a change in careers. Brianna and Roger work on having another child and Roger trains to become a minister. Towards the latter half of the book, there is a terrible betrayal of trust, when Jamie is suddenly accused of fathering a young woman’s child. Shortly after, the pregnant woman winds up murdered in Claire’s garden. Will Jamie and Claire be able to prove their innocence?
I read this book when it first came out, and it turns out, I barely remembered a single detail of plot, with the exception of Claire’s abduction (although even that wasn’t exactly clear in my mind) and the murder in the latter half of the book. Apart from that, I may as well have been reading the book for the first time. So much of the story came as a complete surprise to me, to the point where I was wondering if I’d made up the hazy details I could recall until I got to the relevant parts of the story. Parts of the book are extremely entertaining and well plotted, and I would rate them 4 stars or higher. But just as with The Fiery Cross, this book is just so big, and there is so MUCH happening and quite a lot of it is just not all that interesting and drags the rest of the reading experience down. I have yet to read the next two books in the Outlander series, specifically because when I last read this book, I was so bored by the end that I just couldn’t bear the thought of reading any more Gabaldon. Luckily, I liked it a lot more re-reading and am now quite excited to catch up with books 7 and 8 in the coming months.
Also posted on my blog.
“It is myself who kills for her.” That is my favourite line in the entire series. I mention it all the time because it is true all the time. It gave me chills the first time I read it.
I really liked this one. My memory is that it basically stayed with Claire and Jamie and it made for a great book.
Ah! Just started Outlander the First today. /bandwagon
Godspeed! People either love it or want to throw it across the room.
Malevolent mushroom is going to be the name of my new punk band that I’m totally forming. I think I’ve blocked out most of what happens in this book but reading your review has brought it all back and I’m 100% in agreement with you. This was officially the last book I read in total. Bought Echo in Bone and couldn’t get through 20% because “quite a lot of it is just not all that interesting and drags the rest of the reading experience down.” That being said I’ve heard things tighten up in Heart’s Blood which I’m going to… Read more »
That seems to be the problem with the people who write these epic tomes. After a certain point, nobody edits them and they end up with a lot of things that could have benefited from the judicious application of a red pen. [cough] J.K. Rowling [cough].
Hush! I loved every single superfluous word of Harry Potter!
*cough*George R.R. Martin*cough* even more so. I lost count of the amount of times the same event or scene was recounted by three or more characters in the last book. So many unnecessary pages, just because they don’t need to edit the books, millions will buy them no matter what.