Her former husband, Jamie, has returned from the dead, demanding to know why in his absence she married his best friend, Lord John Grey. And while Claire is terrified that one of her husbands may be about to murder the other, in the 20th century her descendants face even more desperate turns of events. Her daughter Brianna is trying to protect her son from a vicious criminal with murder on his mind, while her husband Roger has disappeared into the past….
I am writing and doing the historical research for this new book, and it will not be finished in As soon as I have finished this book and a publication date has been set, I will announce it right away on my official BEES webpage, as well as on my homepage and official Facebook page. Photo courtesy of Barbara Peters from the Poisoned Pen bookstore. So I thought. However, they were as pleased with this lovely octothorpe as I was, and came up with this elegant and striking concept, which I Really Like.
Jun 01, Lacy rated it it was amazing Shelves: audiobook. Please do not expect any work from me until I have finished this book. I will be taking a break from all forms of human interaction from the time I get it until it is finished.
We have got to get little Timmy out of the well This was a good one. View all 9 comments. I've finished the book. I must say, after almost 15 years of reading this books, Diana was just about to lose me.
I don't know exactly what it was that I started finding so annoying in book 4 to 7. Probably the amount of characters and their incredibly boring adventures Come on, Willie's in the Great Dismal's threatens Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor, as the Boriest Shit Ever, rivalled only maybe by Roger search for life's meaning, which I can only understand as Diana Gabaldon's critique I've finished the book. Probably the amount of characters and their incredibly boring adventures Come on, Willie's in the Great Dismal's threatens Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor, as the Boriest Shit Ever, rivalled only maybe by Roger search for life's meaning, which I can only understand as Diana Gabaldon's critique at the modern man in it's incapacity to Make Their Fucking Minds Up.
Maybe I just didn't find Geillis as interesting in Jamaica, maybe there was something still not enterilly clicking between Jamie and Claire, and the tension between them caused by Brianna and Roger was exhausting, As it should be, Diana Gabaldon has never been know to pull punches. What ever it was, it was with a sort of dread I opened this book to wonder what will be the focus, since I surely couldn't take a single page more of Willie being a twat.
Alas, it paid off. There's authors out there that are plot driven, this usually means they use the characters to tell the argumental arch they want to communicate, despite their own characterizations many times. I don't much believe anybody has ever explained the concept of a plot to Diana Gabaldon, and I do not mean this as a bad thing.
She follows the characters where ever they take her and us and makes no apology for it. I used to think she had a mean streak and liked to finish books on a cliffhanger, now I mostly think she just cuts them off at the page mark and starts another book. But this time, I feel waiting another four years, is going to be much harder than it has been the last decade.
OLDER NOTES: I really really like Claire and is the only reason I will be trying this one after the last one made me want to throw the book out the window in frustration and scream "No nononononnono Nooooo" when I realised that was the last page and there was nothing more. Apparently the book should be coming out Fall Spring for me, so that must be September, right?
If somebody would have asked me back when I was 18 years old that I'd be so excited 14 years later it's not THAT long ago, move on, nothing to see here to see the daughter of the two characters that kept me awake one night I would have laughed for an hour. But here I am, and I want to see Brianna again so bad. At least, we are in the same publication year, it cannot be more than 11 months. Sooooo we have a release date March 25, View all 17 comments. Here we go with the review, as I prepare to commit Outlander heresy - as much as I loved this series well, Echo not so much , and as happy as I was to read more about Jamie and Claire, et al - the negatives far outweigh the pluses.
Those who have read that book know what events those are don't need a rehash, and those who haven't read it don't need to know what those events are. There are two main storylines in this Here we go with the review, as I prepare to commit Outlander heresy - as much as I loved this series well, Echo not so much , and as happy as I was to read more about Jamie and Claire, et al - the negatives far outweigh the pluses. The parts I loved? Roger and Bree. Almost unputdownable and I loved the twists and turns on the bad boys chasing the family and the twists on the time travel loved where Roger ended up - can't wait to hear how that all ended.
The parts I didn't love? Jamie and Claire going at it like a pair of rabbits at their age was just too much didn't advance the storylines at all.
In camp, out of camp, on the ground - heck, Jamie threw his back out big time and he still could rise to the task. Such stamina. Then there's the traipsing around the countryside with the army camps. Move here. Move there. Move to another camp and Which is all well and good and has been interesting over the length of the series, but I don't know what happened this time, perhaps the editor got lost looking for the restroom?
Two of these in particular were way TMI in detail and really embarrassing conditions that I didn't care to read about, especially at an early hour of the morning. Nor did these two medical incidents advance the story in any way. It's almost like Ms. Gabaldon wants to test how much her fans will tolerate before they step back out of the poo.
Perhaps I've changed and grown since the time I read and loved! View all 45 comments. An extra star out of loyalty A huge number of plotlines that didn't seem to serve any narrative purpose, too much time spent with annoying characters, WAY too much surgical detail, and timelines that even for THIS series are totally confusing. Clearly Diana Gabaldon loves her work and the research it entails which is part of the reason I find her books so enjoyable , but her editor An extra star out of loyalty Clearly Diana Gabaldon loves her work and the research it entails which is part of the reason I find her books so enjoyable , but her editor should have taken a firmer hand here.
In a recent blog post she mentioned being at work on Book 9, so maybe that accounts for some of the irresolution. But if this was meant to be a placeholder, it should easily have been pages shorter.
The interesting Big Questions the characters raise about time travel get lost in the shuffle. Sorry to say, it was a disappointment.
View all 8 comments. Mar 25, HJ rated it really liked it Shelves: time-travel. Okay, I'll be honest. It really is more of a 5 star read, but I am getting a bit disappointed with the abrupt and incomplete endings most notably, the last book and this one.
What if I die before then? Or Dianna Gabaldon dies before then? I need to have a real ending! Only semi-gripe I have is that the time travel element in this one is very prevalent, and a little on the far-fetched side. Otherwise, I loved b Okay, I'll be honest. Otherwise, I loved being immersed back in the Outlander world. View all 31 comments. One dealing with Roger and Bree and the other with Jamie, Claire and the rest of the family.
Another fun filled adventure with all the characters we've come to know and love. I swear when I'm reading it, it's almost as if I'm one of their relatives, helping do the laundry or taking care of one of them but definitely NOT helping Claire with any of her surgeries! The last book left us hanging The good part was reading the blurb for this book and that gave me hope.
DG also put out almost weekly excerpts that gave you almost enough info but just about drove me mad. In hindsight, I think it ruined some things for me and I don't think I'll be doing that with the next book if she does it. I loved how a lot of things wrapped up or came together in this book. It was amazing seeing what Jamie went through when he came back. I just love him and Claire and I can't say that enough. But he blew me away with what he did OMG And as much as I love Jamie and Claire and could read about just them, the story is deepened by the other main characters stories and it wouldn't be the same without them.
Roger, Bree, Jem and Mandy Some things literally kept me on the edge of my seat! It was interesting what Roger got to experience but the decisions that Bree had to make It was great how Ian stepped up to the plate.
He has become such a wonderful man and I was so happy with what happened to them! Denny and Dottie I know they aren't really major characters but I really enjoyed their story.
They are so sweet together and Dottie always makes me laugh. Most importantly, I love how much they love each other. My heart is breaking for him but The part with Jane was heart breaking! I want something good to happen to him and John and Hal but I think there's still quite a journey to go for them. Speaking of John The poor guy has been through enough!! He definitely needs some happiness I think something will happen with her in the next book.
It's her time too. Can we just talk about some of the medical procedures? It may just be me but could they get any more descriptive That poor slave girl and the guy Right now there is no rhyme or reason for that to happen and I'm just heartbroken.
Why him? Unfortunately, someone else will be missed but his time had come. But it makes me giggle thinking of Ian and Rachel and Denny and Dottie. I also enjoyed getting bit and pieces of prior scenes And what about that ending? Seriously, if the series ended now I would be happy. I really don't think I could handle any of the main characters dying. View all 56 comments. Cannot wait for next one! Jul 12, Phrynne rated it it was amazing. Probably one of the best books of the series - the author has got her mojo back and has produced a book worthy of the ones she used to write at the beginning of the series!
This time she has not left us with huge cliffhangers but instead has given us a delightful ending. It made me cry happy tears and I had to read it twice it was so nice. I have to admit there is an inordinate amount of sexual activity and a surplus of information about bodily functions but I guess it fits with the way of life Probably one of the best books of the series - the author has got her mojo back and has produced a book worthy of the ones she used to write at the beginning of the series!
I have to admit there is an inordinate amount of sexual activity and a surplus of information about bodily functions but I guess it fits with the way of life at that time and does not detract from an excellent story.
I thought there was going to be another book after this one but there does not really need to be. If Gabaldon finished it here she would be going out on a high. Loved it! Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. But what is it that the old women see?
We see necessity, and we do the things that must be done. Ours is the guarding of the spring, ours the shielding of the light we have lit, the flame that we are. What have I seen? You are the vision of my youth, the constant dream of all my ages. Here I stand on the brink of war again, a citizen of no place, no time, no country but my own … and that a land lapped by no sea but blood, bordered only by the outlines of a face long-loved.
But then again, every book has been a five star read for me. This one was no different. I feel I have bamboozeled everyone with my updates while reading this series so this one will be short and sweet. There are tears, hearbreak, joy, sadness. One or two parts of the book did have me welling up. Speak to me? There are plenty of unanswered questions. View all 64 comments. May 15, Lorena rated it liked it Shelves: fantasy , historical-fiction , alternate-history. The word that sums up this book for me is "impatience.
Instead of devouring it as quickly as possible, I found myself willingly putting it down and going to do mundane household chores, the kind you avoid and procrastinate over for months, just because I was too i The word that sums up this book for me is "impatience. Instead of devouring it as quickly as possible, I found myself willingly putting it down and going to do mundane household chores, the kind you avoid and procrastinate over for months, just because I was too irritated to keep reading straight through.
Part of it was a sort of "NOW what? I've enjoyed the break-neck pacing of events in the previous books in this series, but it seemed a little forced and contrived this time around.
The sheer weight of coincidence in this story began to beggar belief I mean, to the extent we are all believing in time travel in the first place, but still Time and again, just the right character would wander into just the right place at just the right time to rescue or expose one of the other core characters, despite the enormous odds against such a thing, and it just seemed silly after a while. While full of exhausting levels of action and coincidence , the American Revolution story at least made a sort of linear sense most of the time.
First, we have Roger and Buck going through the stones in search of Jem, and view spoiler [ending up in a much earlier time than they should have - the s, instead of the s. All, apparently, because Roger's SON Jem hadn't actually gone through the stones at all, but Roger's father of the same name had in WWII in his plane, and somehow that drew Roger so he could track down his dad and help get him back to his own time all without letting the father know who he was.
This is strange, because we've never heard of the stones doing anything like this before, but OK, one anomaly, somewhat explained. A letter addressed to Bree, by the way. Again, quite a coincidence. But to add to the strained credulity, the letter says that view spoiler [there is some kind of ancient Scottish prophecy that says "the last of Lovat's line will rule Scotland," and enclosing a copy of a family tree unearthed from somewhere that indicates some conspiracy theorists think that this means Brianna.
Even Brianna thinks this is kind of nuts, since Jenny had a bunch of kids, who presumably have descendants, and that's not even getting into the fact that William is also Jamie's child, and that the existence of Brianna's kids means she's not the last on that count, either I guess the point is that the conspiracy theorists have latched onto her, and she needs to be aware of that and so that's the important bit? So there's another bizarre twist to add to the story - a prophecy, and some previously-unknown conspiracy nuts whom Frank was apparently hunting and trying to kill off secretly during his lifetime, in addition to being a heart surgeon in Boston, I guess?
When did he have time? He seems to have done a lot of digging around into Claire and Jamie's story without letting anyone know about it when he was alive. Anyway, this adds to Bree's urgency to get back to the past, retrieve Roger, and rejoin her parents, although this would take several trips through stones on different continents. There's a weird moment of panic when she and the kids go in search of Roger, and the kids dash through the stones ahead of her because they "hear" him, and then back out to get her, and she freaks out because now they don't have the protective gems she gave them for one trip through, and has to scramble for more with bad guys breathing down her neck Only Buck is really sexually attracted to his own mother they are of similar age at this point , and the last we see of him, Roger has a vision of Buck sleeping with Geillis, disappearing in her arms to her horror , and reappearing in her womb.
What the Or is his spirit waiting inside her to be born eventually with Dougal as his father? I repeat None of this makes any sense. Only, given that she travelled back in time to rejoin them I mean, it will have already happened, right?
But there is apparently no hint of that in the letters. And how far into Jamie and Claire's future do the letters go? Does Brianna now know things that will happen to them that haven't happened yet when she goes back into the past, or does her appearance rearrange the whole timeline?
It's very confusing. All that said, the book ended in a pretty good place. There is clearly still a great deal of story to be told - not just whatever is coming in the American Revolution, but the multitudes of conspiracies and plots surrounding Brianna as the supposed last of the Lovats, but also the Grey family and whatever Richardson and his crew are planning for them, and also whatever Percy is trying to spin with Fergus and his supposed lineage.
But at least this volume didn't end on a series of cliffhangers, like the last one. We know approximately where everyone is and what they intend to be doing, for the moment, at least. I hope I will have regained some of my patience by the time the next volume rolls around. Jan 19, Leea marked it as on-hold.
Love the cover, March 25th Love the cover, March 25th You know how a story just sticks to you for days, like peanut butter on the roof of your mouth or more dryer socks to your mind and you peel back the layers of characters and detail and you get sparks and snaps and you rabbit trail in your brain and off you go in thought and end up writing a review with the longest run-on sentence on the planet this side of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest?
That's me after reading Diana Gabaldon's latest installment in the Outlander series. The writing is fantastic. This is why I love her books. It's not singularly romance, science fiction, adventure, history, time travel, or cultures and war. And yet, it's ALL of those things.
I had the pleasure of seeing her at a signing last week autographed book!! She doesn't and I agree wholeheartedly. Her writing is brilliant: carefully crafted detail in each setting and the minutiae of senses, sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell, the intricacies of relationships and characters so well developed, to love or despise, to weep with or need to conquer. These characters feel like live, warm bodies standing before me as tangible as one of my family. This is why the pages kept turning without any daunting hesitation, all of them.
I felt out of the entire series, this is the best to date. More peril, adventure, warm tender moments, loyalties tried, and eye-popping moments. I don't want to spoil anything so here are a few points that stuck in my brain. Jamie and Claire are imperfectly perfect. Their conversations, even discussing the mundane, are words spoken with an undercurrent of myriad emotion and a familiarity without a comfortable monotony. They love each other to self-sacrifice but also blanketed with respect to allow each other to be who they are as a person with convictions, even those seared to the bone and the core of their being.
True historical characters making their appearance was incredibly fun. If I was Claire, I'd be floored to be standing in the same room as a couple of key figures in the American Revolutionary War. As a genealogist, I've researched my own 6th time great grandfather back to a clerk to Gen. George Washington, so it was amazing to think of my own ancestor in this time period experiencing what I was reading. He's growing up. The relationship between him and his father, and also with Lord John, hanging in the balance and leaving me asking when the next book was going to be released.
William had such a time in this book. Frying pan, fire, deep in the coals. Oh, William I know, I know. I'm being a greedy. Diana probably hasn't taken a good solid breath since this release. I can't give away spoilers but I will say that Roger also comes across a character we haven't met.
Don't ask As for Bree, we saw a lot of her father's character and her mother's determination. Mess with her family, and she'll start kicking ass and taking names. Young Ian was particularly interesting to me because the reader got to see a side of him that is so decidedly Mohawk. He is grown from the very young man we saw in Voyager.
In past installments, we saw and heard stories from his life as a Mohawk, but to see the Mohawk and Scot culmination of principals, upbringing, and character so pointedly displayed in a certain moment literally made me gasp.
I had to read it three times to absorb how incredible that moment unfolded. Ian's all grown up now. Mohawk and Scot. Powerful writing. There are so many great moments with Lord John and many of the returning cast of characters, I couldn't possibly touch on all of them. Overall, this is definitely one of the best in the series, probably my favorite next to the first, Outlander.
I highly, highly recommend this series. My hubs likened these to one of his favorite series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's books. I'd love to hear if that is a common consensus. Do you know where your pre-order is? March ! A curse to three more extended months. A pox to three more months! I banish three months from all publisher's catalogs! I abhor, disrespect, denounce, and give a giant flush to the literary toilet of all extended months.
May those extended months get sunburned and attract ants in their picnic. May those extended months have stupid boring weekends, become plagued with 47 cats, and come down with epic random patterned baldness! And if those months attempt escape, may they be flogged to an inch of their life, hung from their scrawny necks, trampled by cattle, and buried in a shallow grave. May their Plenty Of Fish profile only be hit on by the ugly and unemployed. And the tags removed from their short-sheeted mattresses.
May their kilts be drafty, corsets too tight, and their beer sour and stale! As their hard tack becomes maggot infested, I wish these months nothing but stomach churning sea sickness.
I curse upon their days the smell of old eggs and buttermilk, that it permeate saddle blankets of all extended months while the fleas from 1, camels lodge in their crotchal regions. I understand patience and polishing the craft that flows from the deliciously wicked pen of Diana Gabaldon, I still do not have to like it. Well researched, beautifully written, and typically a hefty addition to this amazing series.
Since I have to wait. And I will. View all 12 comments. Diana Gabaldon poured her heart along with some of her own blood into this book!! The ending alone sucked the air right out of my lungs and made me sob like a baby, but they were tears of utter delight and satisfaction! There are so many moments in this book Moments that are peaceful and comforting Moments of great sadness Defining moments The execution is flawless and she doesn't miss a beat!
Add to Bookshelf. Read An Excerpt. Oct 13, ISBN Buy from Other Retailers:. Oct 26, ISBN Add to Cart. Ebook —. About The Outlander Series Bundle: Books 5, 6, 7, and 8 As their story is told on the hit Starz series, the unforgettable adventures of steadfast Highland warrior Jamie Fraser and time-traveling Englishwoman Claire Randall continue in the ongoing Outlander novels. Also in Outlander. Also by Diana Gabaldon.
See all books by Diana Gabaldon. Product Details. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Dragonfly in Amber 25th Anniversary Edition. Diana Gabaldon. Voyager 25th Anniversary Edition. The Shelters of Stone. The Plains of Passage. The Mammoth Hunters. The Valley of Horses. A Brightness Long Ago. Guy Gavriel Kay.
The Land of Painted Caves. Lord John and the Hand of Devils.
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