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... is out today (Sept 27th). I won't have a chance to get to it for a while, but I'm muchly looking forward to it.
For those who don't know: this is the 6th "Outlander" book by Gabaldon -- a series of historical adventures (with a few fantasy elements) set in Scotland and the Americas in the 1700s. It's a great series; the pace has slowed down some in the later books (even as the page count has increased), but they're still wonderful books -- Gabaldon has great characters, does good period detail research, and is overall just a wonderful storyteller.
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Are these books that you need to read in order, or do they work as stand alone books also? I had this book tagged just based off of the preview on Amazon, but then I saw it was "part 6 of the series" and I was a bit hesitant....?
Posts: 193 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Outlander is the first. I think that maybe the first three were the best, but that is probably because I find the younger generation somewhat less engaging (Truth is, I cannot stand Briana - just don't 'get' her, kind of want to smack her upside the head most of the time).
I think you could read them out of order, but I wonder if I'd still be reading if the leads hadn't won me over in the first book.
Personally, I want another Lord John Gray novel from her.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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They do stand alone, but they work much better if you read in sequence. I haven't yet read the separate Lord John books, though.
And I want to smack Bree around too. She seems to be completely clueless as to what she's got in Roger...
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You missed the hanging? *gasp* Tell me you didn't also miss what happens to Stephen what's-his-name... Bonnet?
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I love them, but in the last book the connections between the characters got to be a bit much. I don't want to give away spoilers, but so-and-so just HAPPENS to show up in the Carribean, so-and-so just HAPPENS to be on the ship with what was it, typhoid? And so on. Too many coincidences.
I'll still read this one, though. Maybe after I review the previous book. Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I've been negligent in checking Gabaldon's site, so I didn't even realize we were close to a release date. Goodness, between Gaiman's book and this one, it feels like Christmas has come early.
Olivette, I agree about Briana. She is annoying, but she somehow, for me, makes Claire and Jaime's relationship more substantial in a real world kind of sense.
quote:Personally, I want another Lord John Gray novel from her.
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Yay! I haven't finished the Lord John Gray novel yet. I'm still steeped in Harry Potter and haven't wanted to switch gears.
I thought the last Outlander novel was really slow...it took me forever to finish. Hopefully this new one will be better. I don't mind Bree, but I really love Claire and Jamie's tension, where the tension between Bree and Roger is far less interesting.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I really have no desire to buy and read this book. Gabaldon totally lost my interest with the last few books I seriously don't even care what happens to the characters. And that's sad, because the series started out so strong. She went to the well too often, and tried to make books where she didn't really have a story.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I agree that the Bree/Roger books are less compelling than the earlier works, but I will continue to read Gabaldon because I like her style.
She's irreverent and funny and bright and happy. I keep expecting to see glimpes of that in her writing. Though there are some bad patches, I'm never completely disappointed.
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And I'm not posting that to be a downer in the thread, really I'm not.
It's just strange to me, how I can completely lose enthusiasm for a series that I loved so dearly in the beginning.
I really, really think that some stories should end well before the author apparently thinks they should end. And I wonder if there isn't all kinds of pressure on authors of successful series to keep going to that well, even when it's run dry. I wonder if even Gabaldon thought it should end, but the publisher wanted more.
Considering the money that's offered to continue the series I imagine it's hard for the author to say no. So, I can't really blame Gabaldon, but I also can't really respect her as a writer anymore. The writers I have respect for in these instances are the George R. R. Martin's who have clear visions of where theirstory is going, and when it will end. And yes, he has changed the total number of books, but he hasn't changed the story and that's what counts.
Maybe because there is no over-reaching plot that Gabaldon is working with, she's dealing mostly with character issues, maybe that's why it's lost it's magic for me? Maybe I'm just a fan of epics and I care more for the story than I do the character. I don't know. Could be a fault of mine.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Goody, don't do it!!! I bought the book, but have loaned it out to my MiL, because I was reading Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell, which I finished yesterday, so now I'm filling time with Lackey's Phoenix and Ashes. So no spoilers pretty please!
Belle, I'm with you...even if the Left Behind series hadn't been so generally awful anyway (I liked the first book), it became thoroughly unreadable by book 6, when it was absolutely clear he was stretching things just to ride the pony as long as possible. (And it goes to show that while I might not really love that an author goes too far with a series, I will still read her books. Generally. Because I just *have* to know what happens next. My version of OCD, I suppose.)
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Started it today and have gotten 100 pages into it and really enjoying it so far. The slower pace of the fifth book (Fiery Cross) bugged me some; this one, it's not, maybe because I'm going into the book expecting it to have a slower pace, and am just enjoying the characters and the banter and the fun historical tidbits. (And so far the slower pace is actually very appropriate for the year the book is set in, 1773.)
Goody -- can you edit your post and start a separate spoilder-laden discussion thread? (I know, your post was pretty vague, but it does give me some ideas about what it could potentially be a spoiler for...)
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Olivet -- have you read the Lord John story that's in Legends II? (The Rober Silverberg anthology that has OSC's "The Yazoo Queen," a GRRM Dunk & Egg story, etc.) (I actually haven't read it yet, I've been hoping to find an audio version...)
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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And on a random note, Gabaldon has some great ackowledgements at the start of the book, here's some of my faves:
quote:Linda Grimes, for betting me that I couldn't write an appealing scene about nose-picking....
Dr. Doug Hamilton, for expert testimony on dentistry, and what one could or could not do with a pair of forceps, a bottle of whisky, and an equine tooth-file....
Laura Bailey, for expert commentary... on period clothing, and in particular, for the useful suggestion of stabbing someone with a corset-busk....
Karen Watson, for her former brother-in-law's notable quote regarding the sensations of a hemorrhoid sufferer.
Pamela Patchet, for her excellent and inspiring description of driving a two-inch splinter under her fingernail.
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Yeah, she's had some really intriguing ones in the last several books. And of course I watch out for those scenes as a result. Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Plaid - No, I haven't read that one, only the novel (which is, when compared to anything else Gabaldon has written, a short story). I look forward to digging that one up, though.
And her acknowledgements are always a blast.
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