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Outlander Series  

post #1 of 42
6/25/08 at 3:50pm
Thread Starter 
I want to publicly thank whoever it was that posted about the Outlander series a month or so ago. It sounded interesting so I picked up the first book from the library last week. OMG, I'm hooked! I finished the first book (over 600 pages for those of you not familiar) in 2 days, and I'm into the second book now. I love Diana Gabaldon's style of writing, and I love the rich storytelling and deep, complex characters.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I read a lot, and it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book this much.
post #2 of 42
6/25/08 at 3:58pm
I wasn't the person who recommended it, but I love this series as well. I haven't loved every direction that the story has taken, but in all, it's one of my favorite series, and the one I go back to when I need something comforting to read.
post #3 of 42
6/25/08 at 7:13pm
I really enjoy the first three. After that, I've kept reading because I'm a sucker for Claire and Jamie. But...eh.
post #4 of 42
6/25/08 at 10:23pm
I'm starting to feel a bit antsy about closure, myself. But I looovee the books.

Unfortunately, I let somebody borrow the ENTIRE series and she hasn't given them back. I'm a big rereader, so this is making me nuts.
post #5 of 42
6/27/08 at 9:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinemama View Post
I really enjoy the first three. After that, I've kept reading because I'm a sucker for Claire and Jamie. But...eh.
I was the same way. But still, I can't wait for the next one. Yum, Jamie!
post #6 of 42
6/27/08 at 9:36pm
Funny you posted this....I've been thinking of re-reading them (again, lol). I really enjoy them! Wonder when the next one will be coming out?
post #7 of 42
6/27/08 at 9:45pm
I love this series, cant wait for the next one. I think I read that she hopes to be done writing it by the end of this year.
post #8 of 42
6/29/08 at 2:22am
2008 the graphic novel is coming out
2009 the next novel should be published

Have you read her Lord John Grey series too? It might hold you over for a bit while you wait.
post #9 of 42
6/29/08 at 1:30pm
The LJG series is SO much better than I expected!
post #10 of 42
6/29/08 at 10:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinemama View Post
I really enjoy the first three. After that, I've kept reading because I'm a sucker for Claire and Jamie. But...eh.
Now that I've finished the 3rd book, I see what you mean. The first was awesome, the second was really good, but I found the third book to be a bit contrived and formulaic. Too many coincidences. And then the tedium of 'Claire and Jamie go on an adventure, Jamie tells Claire to stay where she is, Claire leaves, Jamie rescues her' repeated several times. I'll continue to read because I'm invested in the characters and I want to see what happens. I've got my fingers crossed that the plotline doesn't drag too much in the fourth and subsequent books.

As an aside, I was telling my mom about this fantastic book I was reading and she told me that she had read Outlander when it was first published. At first I was a little miffed that she hadn't recommended the book to me, but then I realized that I was a teenager when the book came out, and Outlander really isn't the type of book that one would recommend to 14yo girl
post #11 of 42
6/29/08 at 11:30pm
I just recently read the first one- I'm so hooked.
post #12 of 42
7/1/08 at 5:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinemama View Post
I really enjoy the first three. After that, I've kept reading because I'm a sucker for Claire and Jamie. But...eh.
I also like the first two, but book 3 just went a little to far in the "Jamie the hero can escape from anything" scenario. My library doesn't carry the series after book 3, so I've stopped reading it.
post #13 of 42
7/25/08 at 2:25am
Thread Starter 
So I've finished all of the currently available books, and I'm ready to discuss further. Book 3 (Voyager) was my least favorite- it was just too outlandish for me.

I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of the books. I do feel quite invested in the characters now. I LOVE that this is a series of romance books that *starts* with a marriage, as opposed to most of the romance stories in popular culture that end with a marriage. As a married woman I was enthralled with the concept of love and lust that continues unabated after so many years. I'm a sap and cried at some of the sweet expressions of love.

On the other hand, I did feel that the quality of the books declined as the series went on. Part of it is that the first book (and the second to some extent) required so much character development. I thought that Diana Gabaldon did a fabulous job setting up the story and with character development. But once she had taken care of that, the subsequent books were mostly concerned with the adventures rather than character development, which made it less interesting to me. By the sixth book, the constant adventures were growing a little old- I found myself thinking what next??? with an internal groan. I was especially disbelieving when Tom Christie pulled a Sidney Carton, and just shook my head about the eventual fate of Stephen Bonnet.

While I do plan to read the seventh book when it is released, I don't feel an overwhelming urge to see how it all turns out. A Breath of Snow and Ashes seemed to tie up a lot of loose ends to the story, I didn't feel like there was any sort of cliffhanger. It will be interesting to see what happens in the last book of the series, though.

I don't mean for this review to be negative. I really have enjoyed the books (I don't think I would've slogged through 5,000 pages in the last month if I didn't enjoy them!).
post #14 of 42
7/25/08 at 11:41am
Yeah, I found myself saying, "No, really. Is everybody in the family going to be raped?" in BOSAA. But I still really enjoyed the book. I thought Bonnet's end was satisfying, and I actually felt real pain at Breanna and Roger's decision.

To sum up: dying for the sequel. Going frapping crazy for it.
post #15 of 42
7/25/08 at 3:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wordmommy View Post
Yeah, I found myself saying, "No, really. Is everybody in the family going to be raped?" in BOSAA. But I still really enjoyed the book. I thought Bonnet's end was satisfying, and I actually felt real pain at Breanna and Roger's decision.
Really? I was so pissed off at Bonnet's death. They had been tracking him for how many years, trying to kill him, and then they turn him over for someone else to do the dirty work? Yeah, we've been trying to track you down and kill you for 4000 pages, and we know that you've escaped from prison a couple times in the past and you have tons of connections with wealthy and influential people, but we'll hand you over to the authorities so they can hang you anyway ugh. I did like the way Bree came back to finish the job, but just ugh. I expected more of Jamie. :
post #16 of 42
7/25/08 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wordmommy View Post
Yeah, I found myself saying, "No, really. Is everybody in the family going to be raped?" in BOSAA.
ITA! That was too much.

SPOILER ALERT

Warning :: Spoiler Ahead! Highlight to read message!
I feel really stupid for asking this, because I've read all the books twice. But I don't understand what happened with the newspaper clipping at the end of A Breath of Snow and Ashes regarding the house fire. Why did the article still say Clare and Jamie were killed? And it seemed like the date was wrong because the typesetters were lazy? I was just confused.

I did totally love how Jamie was having visions of Bree and Roger with their family at Lallybroch in the 20th century - it gave me chills.
post #17 of 42
7/25/08 at 4:21pm
Aunt Ni:

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I think that whole thing with the note and the fire is foreshadowing of something coming up in the next book. My suspicion is that something semi-insurmountable is going to come up to threaten Jamie & Claire's lives, and they're going to have to go forward in time. Whether that will put them forward with Brianna and Roger, or if it will put them through another time, I don't know. Wait...didn't we say Jamie can't go forward? Forgot about that. So maybe Claire is going to have to go forward and Jamie is going to die? I don't know!
post #18 of 42
7/26/08 at 9:53pm
Wow, I read every page of this book and I don't remember a thing about any of the stuff you're talking about! I guess that means I need to re-read it, but it seems like such a huge commitment when I have so much other reading to do! When the new one comes out, I want to have some clue about what's going on!
post #19 of 42
7/26/08 at 11:53pm
Thread Starter 
AuntNi and Valkyrie9:

Warning :: Spoiler Ahead! Highlight to read message!
I got a different impression from the newspaper article clipping. I gathered that the date of the fire was changed because if a typesetting issue. The story of the fire was just a 'filler' and not considered to be important news by the publisher. As to why they reported that Claire and Jamie died, I assumed that either the report was wrong (which would be no surpise), or something else happened that made it imperative the Claire and Jamie appear to be dead. I don't forsee any further time-travelling for Claire- she made that quite clear in BOSAA- and Jamie isn't able to go through the stones. I have read interviews with Diana Gabaldon, and she says that Book 7 will end in the year 1800, give or take.
post #20 of 42
8/3/08 at 2:22pm
I am a big fan of these books too. Diana Gabaldon's website has 3 excerpts from the next book. there is also info on there about the Graphic Novel version of Outlander she is working on. i can't eait to see the various characters as she pictures them.
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Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › Books, Music and Other Media › Outlander Series