Diana Gabaldon fans: the new book is out today

Cafe Society
41

Well, I’m done. As for the Bugs

I’m disappointed in the resolution of this book, and what Gabaldon’s done with their characters. They’ve both been so clearly Jamie’s people, I don’t see them leaving him. Archie saw Jamie as his Chieftan, with power of life and death over him, and would believe that he owed first allegience to Jamie. I don’t understand why she did that.

My take on Fergus:

I believe that Fergus would’ve been a good trader or peddler. I don’t think he worked with Jamie at the printshop in Edinburgh - he worked at the smuggling side of Jamie’s enterprises. He’s a Radar O’Reilly type, I think. But through it all, he’s never been weak. But I can see his dispair at having a handicapped son, worried that the son wouldn’t be able to care for himself, would be dependant in a harsh world.

Why I think Ian left the Mohawk:

I think Ian was sent away in part because the matriarch decided that he and Emily would never be able to have children, and figured it would be better for Emily to have a different husband who might give her kids. It might not’ve been her decision to make, but it was probably kindly meant.

FaerieBeth

I don’t think Ulysses was mean, so much as ruthless and willing to do whatever was necessary for Jocasta’s happiness. Can you say anything more about Jamie? He wouldn’t do exactly what Ulysses did, but he’s pretty damned ruthless when it comes to Claire’s happiness and safety. And I’m just glad that Bonnet is finally dead. And I’m usually one who takes an anti-death penalty stance.

As far as the general writing style of this book, it seems more disjointed to me, as though it’s a series of vignettes strung together. I liked Fiery Cross better. The end was satisfactory, though. I do hope she doesn’t take too long for the next book. The way she ended this one I almost wondered if there would be another, but I think there must be.

StG
(Edited to add spoiler tags–Veb)

42

I’ll have to re-read it, I think. It did seem disjointed to me, but I wasn’t sure if that was because I was reading it awfully fast.

I did really like that Donner said he could tell Claire wasn’t really 18th century because she wasn’t afraid of men. I’ve always felt that Claire must stand out a bit more than she realises, but he’s the only one who comments on exactly how.

43

Darn it. Could someone please report my post (you can’t report your own, it seems) and have all my quote tags changed to spoilers. I most humbly apologize.

Lissla Lissar - Many powerful women of that time weren’t afraid of men. Look at Jocasta Cameron. Women of wealth and influence and particularly someone with a husband like Jamie, who she could be be sure would be on her trail, would have little reason to fear or act submissive to, a man.

StG

44

Done, StG, and don’t worry about it.

It’s somewhat encouraging that folks find this book back to the high standard from the beginning of the series. FWIW, Fiery Cross was so dismal I didn’t even finish it. I knew things were bad when I actively hoped Brianna would just die already, either from her endlessly chafed nipples or Roger finally clobbering her with a rock. Even Jamie rather bored and exasperated me, much less the vast slew of supporting characters.
I already gave away my paperbacks of the earlier novels but put this on on reserve from the library in the hopes it might be be worth the read. Thanks to all for your impressions; I’ll give the series another chance.

45

I’m about 3/4ths done.

Lizzie just had the baby. Phaedre has disappeared. Claire has no hair. There seems to be strong proof that Jemmy is Roger’s son.

This book is moving faster than FC. I like the little “vignettes.” Glimpses of life on the Ridge and all that.

I must admit, I cried when Brianna asked her other daddy, Frank, to find Ian’s daughter and hold her close.

46

Oh, come on! Is everybody too busy reading it to post?

I’ve gotten to the part where Malva, the Bitch, has accused Jamie of fathering her child. How could she do that to Claire? She had the makings of a good healer! Bitch bitch bitch bitch!

47

I just got my copy from Amazon, haven’t started it yet. When I’m done with it, I’ll come back and re-read all the spoilers. I picked up the first book lo those many years ago at the local library and I’ve been a fan ever since.

In this link http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/gabaldon.html
there’s a contest to win a trip to Scotland, sponsored by Random House.

48

I could NOT get through Lord John Grey & the Private Matter - will that affect my enjoyment of this latest book?

49

No, Stainz. That book is a methadone book. It has nothing to do with the Jamie and Claire saga.

50

Done!
I liked this much better than FC. Faster paced, more resolution of matters.

[spoiler]I was troubled a bit at the end, where Claire wrote Brianna a letter in a “scrawling, difficult hand.” What does that mean? It was only 10 days after the fire, and surely Jamie and Claire hadn’t had chance to board a ship back to Scotland, so hardly any misadventures could have happened. She did say “we are still alive,” so that’s good. A leap of faith, isn’t it, going back through the stones? Brianna and Roger can always research history to find out what happened to Claire and Jamie, but Claire and Jamie will never know if they truly made it through, except for Jamie’s dreams.

Also, I thought Lallybroch was in ruins. How are Brianna and Roger able to “restore” it? I thought there was nothing left.

Do you think Roger, Brianna, and the kids will ever go back?[/spoiler]

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I finished it yesterday. I dragged it out as long as possible but I was speed-reading the last 100 pages or so and nearly hyperventilating in the process. :smiley:

In answer to your question:

[spoiler] At first I thought it was Claire who had written the letters but then thought maybe it was Jamie? But I was under the impression that he had a neat hand as well…who knows? This IS Jamie and Claire we’re talking about so it would not be surprising if they did indeed find trouble in a mere 10 days. Heh.
I’m betting that the next book will be letters from Claire/Jamie spliced with scenes from their lives after Brianna and Roger left and scenes from Brianna and Roger’s life back in modern times. I could see the rest of Jamie and Claire’s lives being spelled out in the letters which may date over 10-20 years or so until gasp one of them dies? I also wonder if Jamie dies first if Claire won’t go back through the stones herself? After all, what would be holding her there if Jamie’s gone?

I’m not sure if I think Brianna or Claire will go back but I’d be willing to be that either Jem or Mandy will. Maybe both? Maybe after Jem is told what happened when he’s older, he’ll want to journey back through the stones to find his beloved Grandda?

I tell you, even though I was already close to sobbing through the last few pages, the bit about Brianna smelling the 200-year-old scent of her mother drifting out of the box when she opened it, nearly did me in. Sigh [/spoiler]

I was reading on another messageboard that someone had figured out the ages of Jamie and Claire-do you realize that they are now in their late 5os-early 60s? Somehow I have a hell of a time picturing either of them as “old”. I still see them in my mind’s eye as the same age they were in Outlander.

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Claire was 27-28 in Outlander. I think she was 30 when she went back through the stones. That makes her 50 when she returns to Jamie in Voyager, and probably 55 or so by the end of A Breath of Snow. How old is Jem? Four?

[SPOILER]I read spoilers from the American Revolution book in… Outlandish Companion? and I have a vague feeling that Brianna and Roger haven’t returned. I want them to, though, very much.

Yeah, the Bugs treachery didn’t work for me. What the heck are they going to do with the gold, anyway? Fund the Loyalists? I really liked Mrs. Bug, and something about her cold-bloodedly murderig someone to protect the gold didn’t work for me.

I’m glad Bonnet’s finally dead.

Did anyone else noticed that Randall Lilywhite’s name changed to Lillington? It was Lilywhite in Fiery Cross.
[/SPOILER]

53

Hello? Hello?

54

I didn’t notice the name change.

[spoiler]That’s an interesting thought about Jem and Mandy, but do you really think they’re old enough to remember Grannie and Granda? Mandy is just a baby, and if Jem is only 4, I don’t think he’d have more than a vague memory as he grows up. I know that Claire is under the mistaken impression Jamie will die in Scotland, and I’m surprise Roger didn’t get around to telling her that Frank had the headstone placed as a gesture to Claire, knowing she would someday return to Scotland.

Also, wasn’t Lallybrock in ruins in DoA? How are Bree and Roger able to restore it if there’s nothing left?[/spoiler]

55

One more thing. I was quite shocked that Roger asked Jemmy if he wanted to stay behind, after Bree and Mandy had gone through the stones. What if Jemmy said yes? How would he explain that to Bree? “Oh, our four year old son wanted to stay with Granda, so I left him behind. Of course, he’s dead by now. Let’s go see Fiona!” I could see Bree shoving the baby in his arms and going right back through the stones. That seemed very odd to me.

56

A bit more time has gone by…anyone else done with it yet? Anyone?

57

I only discovered this series a few weeks ago, and I have just finished reading all six books back-to-back. I am still in shock, because that’s all there is, there isn’t any more.

Actually, I have ordered the John Grey book even though I have heard on this board that it isn’t very good. He’s my favorite secondary character, so I will read it anyway.

Some comments about the last book (I’m probably going to spell all the names wrong because I don’t have the books in front of me):

[spoiler]I liked the resolution with Stephen Bonnett. Because he was evil, but not totally. No one ever talked about the fact that he saved Brianna’s life in Drums. And I thought it was interesting that the prostitute thought he was “a good’un” by her standards. I like that all of the author’s bad guys are human.

I’m still not clear what happened to Jack Randall in the end. Did Murtagh kill Randall while Randall was standing in front of Jamie, asking Jamie to kill him?

I was really glad to see a couple of scenes with John Grey. I missed him in Fiery Cross, even though the letters back and forth were nice.

The sub-plot with the gold has never interested me. I really didn’t care who stole it or why. I have never been much interested in Jocasta either.

I liked that Tom Christie fell in love with Claire.

The thing with Lizzie and the twins seemed improbable, but didn’t bother me.

I liked the sow chasing McDonald every time he showed up, and the cat constantly being after his wig.

Fergus’s behaviour was strange in this book. He has always seemed like a confident and happy person to me, despite what he’s been through.

I’m glad that Jemmy is Roger’s. I get the feeling that in 16 years or so Jemmy is going to go back through the stones and walk in on a white-haired Jamie and Claire having a shag out back in the stable.

I teared up when Jamie resued Claire from the bandits (“It is myself who kills for her”); when Jamie thought Claire was going to die from the fever; when they lost Joshua to the slavers; when Fergus tried to kill himself; and when Brianna opened the box at the end.

So the gemstone that Jamie tried to give Claire (the one she threw out the window) - is that the one that he got from John Grey?

So Claire and Jamie are going to Scottland to get the printing press. Are they coming back to Fraser’s Ridge?
[/spoiler]

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Eleanor
I just finished Breath but it has been awhile since I read the others; I will attempt to address some of your questions/comments.

[spoiler]
About Murtagh and Randall, I think yes.

I was interested in Jocasta partly because I usually find it interesting to observe how women deal with the constraints of their time and place in history. Jocasta was a bit less sympathetic this time, but still interesting to me.

Fergus was less sympathetic as well; maybe he was having a bit of a midlife crisis.

I too was sad about Joshua, and even though I knew what was coming when Brianna opened the box, this did not decrease my enjoyment.

I too liked that Tom Christie loved Claire, I too found the twins and Lizzie rather soapy but the story was told humorously. I had a feeling about Allen and Malva Christie.
I took the stone which Claire thew out the window to indeed be John Grey’s, but it did seem questionable. And yes, it seemed to me that Claire and Jamie were off to Scotland to get the printing press, then return.[/spoiler]

Lots of things which happened in this book felt a bit improbable, but the stories were so well-told that I just sat back and enjoyed it. I mean, the entire time-travel concept is improbable anyway, but I do love a good historical yarn.
Liked this one a lot more than Fiery Cross.

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I think we can dispense with the spoiler boxes, as the book has been out for a few weeks now. You have been warned.

Upon further reflection, I think it’s possible Jamie wrote that letter to Bree, not Claire. “A shaky hand” could refer to Jamie, who was forced to write with his right hand instead of his natural left, and his right hand is permanently damaged. Much has been made of how hard writing letters is for Jamie.

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I finally finished the book! Better late then never, no? Here is a copy of my review on Amazon.com. I gave it 3 stars. I rank the books in the series in the following order:

  1. Outlander - 5 stars
  2. Dragonfly in Amber - 5 stars
  3. Voyager - 5 stars
  4. Drums of Autumn - 4 stars
  5. Breath of Snow and Ashes - 3 stars
  6. Fiery Cross - 2 stars

“Snow” is better than FC, but I still have some major complaints about the book:

  1. The recycling of characters/plots from Gabaldon’s previous books:

Claire ends up in the gaol after trying to save a baby’s life; A man to whom she shows mercy returns not to thank her, but to threaten her life; Claire is betrayed by her only close female friend; Claire is kidnapped and Jamie must track her down; Claire is saved by an unlikely admirer…well, gosh, we’ve read all this before.

  1. Too many tangents

Gabaldon’s storytelling reminds me of the network coverage of the Olympics. You tune in to watch the men’s gymnastic all-around competition and are quite absorbed and entertained for an hour. Then, suddenly, you’re told to “stay tuned” and the next thing you know you’re sidetracked watching women’s tiddlywinks. You have zero interest in tiddlywinks. Yet you find yourself watching tiddlywinks anyway because it is what you must endure to find out how the men’s all-around gymnastics competition ends.

That’s how I feel about both FC and ABoSaA. I am reading these books because I was, and am, intrigued by Jamie and Claire’s story. In all honesty, I have very little interest in Roger and Brianna except how they affect Jamie and Claire’s story. I care even LESS about Lizzie’s perverted relationship with the Beardsley twins, whether Manfred infects his prostitute lover with syphillis, whether her brother had incestuous feelings toward Malva, or whether Aunt Jocosta and Duncan are sleeping with their slaves. (By the way, what is it with Gabaldon’s pre-occupation with sexual perversity? What’s next? Ian’s unnatural attraction towards Rollo?) The ONLY reason I continue to read all these distracting side-stories is because it is what I must endure to know how Jamie and Claire’s story ends.

::Sigh::

FYI, this is NOT the last book in the Outlander series. The author herself believes the series will end in 1800 and she simply refers to this book as the “sixth” in the series.

All in all, I think Breath would have been 10 times better had a lot of the side stories been edited out. I also don’t like that Gabaldon has resorted to using the tired old “romance novel” cliches of rape and kidnapping to advance the plot. Another reviewer suggested that Gabaldon should have skipped the pre-war years altogether and just picked up the action in 1776 or so, as she did in Dragonfly. I tend to agree with him. Had Gabaldon kept up the tight editing that was evident in her first two novels, I think this series would have been 5-star all the way.