Okay, all you Jamie and Claire fans, the new book comes out on Tuesday. I have pre-ordered through Amazon. I just finished up A Breath of Snow and Ashes as a refresher and am currently wallowing in Voyager, because the scene where Claire finds Jamie in the print shop never fails to thrill and charm me. I get all schmoopy every single damn time.
So, the countdown begins, folks (I assume it’s mostly ladies, but there may be a few male fans out there, and you’re welcome too!). Please be kind with spoilers, at least for now, until we’ve had a chance to read and digest and enjoy.
Also, there are strong rumors *Outlander *will be made into a movie to be released in 2011. I would much prefer a 12-hour mini-series on HBO, but I’m willing to see if they can pull this off. I have the info on my work computer, so I will post it tomorrow.
So, set your watches, and get ready to pour the whiskey, put the kids to bed, and cuddle up with a nice long book of the further adventures of our beloved Frasers.
(Let’s see how long it takes before Claire Beauchamp comes running in to post!)
Also pre-ordered from Amazon. I’m really bummed that DG is going to be at my local bookstore on THURSDAY and (a) I would need to buy the book from them to get a ticket and (b) I have tickets to something else that night. I’ve seen her numerous times, though, so I don’t feel TOO bad about missing. I just wish she was coming a few days later.
I’d heard that she’d re-sold the movie rights after the original contract lapsed, and that she felt the new owners “got it.” SO, we’ll see. It’ll be really hard to pull off as a 2-hr movie – it CAN be done, but will it be done is the question.
I have also pre-ordered the book, but I almost hope *Echo *doesn’t get here until Friday or else I will get no sleep and be useless at work next week.
I re-read *Breath *last month to get ready for the new one. ivylass, I’ve read certain chapters in *Voyager *so many times that I almost know them by heart.
DG is very nice. She has kind of a breathy, quick speaking voice. At the signings I’ve been to she’s given a little “FAQ” talk at the beginning, to head off answering for the gazillionth time in the Q&A who she’d cast in a movie as Jamie, etc. (Answer: No actor she knows of matches up. And no, not Gerard Butler.) The crowds are large so she she’s a signing machine when it comes to that portion of the event, a quick word but no long conversations, as to be expected.
I’m a little bit in love with Jamie, but I’m fascinated by John Grey. It’s too bad the John Grey spin-off series is not nearly as good as the Outlander books, but they are getting better. I’m looking forward to the next one, which should explain how Jamie and John become such good friends - they were in a bad place at the end of Brotherhood of the Blade.
I really enjoy Claire’s voice. I like the medical details, and all the details of life in the 18th century. The soap opera element is over-the-top sometimes (Jamie’s family has been subjected to a highly improbable number of assaults, kidnappings, rapes, arrests, shootings, stabbings and near-executions) but I am deeply attached to all of the characters.
They’re all so well-fleshed out, too. I especially enjoy the little scenes…like when Jem kisses the back of Jamie’s scarred back and asked him if that makes it better. Or Claire trying one more time not to hear what she hears of Amanda’s heart. Or Jamie trying to hold off the Indian ladies the chief was nice enough to send to his bed. Even the sex scenes never get old (ahem, Jean Auel) there’s enough of a variety to the seduction, the location, the actual sex, it all seems so charming and loving.
I always wondered…do you think, if Claire hadn’t gone back in time, that Frank would have stayed faithful?
I’ve only read one of the John Grey books. I like the character very much, but reading the books just makes me miss Jamie and Claire. Maybe after I get my* Echo* fix I’ll go find some more John Grey books.
I think they both had affairs during the war. Claire may never have, um, consummated hers, but she hinted more than once in a general way about crushes and attractions.
And, count me in as a Lord John groupie. I love wee Roger, too, but it took a while for him to really grow on me. I hate to say it, but Brianna I could do without. There’s something about her that just doesn’t ring true. Or something. Have never been able to put my finger on it.
I’m very excited for the new book. My name is first on the list at the library, but I have all the others in hardcover, and I got a B&N giftcard for my birthday. I actually thought the return of Bri adn Roger would’ve been a good end to the series, but I’m happy to be wrong.
I only read the first Lord John book. I just didn’t get into it.
I think Claire may have had some emotional crushes on fellow doctors (and maybe some patients) during the war, but I think she did love Frank and was faithful to him.
It’s funny, the first time I read Outlander, I was rooting for Claire to make it back to Frank. And she did try. So when she made her decision and ran from the stones back to the cottage where Jamie was waiting, I was shocked “She’s leaving her husband!” But as I reread the books, I realized that Jamie was her true soulmate.
Are you guys familiar with the Ladies of Lallybroch? It’s not the most sophisticated website, but apparently Diana has been known to drop in on occasion, and she thanked them in one of her forwards for the gifts of homemade soap.
In The Outlandish Companion, Diana wrote that her British editor felt like Claire didn’t spend enough time worrying about Frank, so Diana scattered six additional paragraphs of such worrying into the British edition. But the American response to the book was, “Once she has Jamie, why would she even think of going back to Frank?”
Yeah, me too. Of COURSE she wants to get back to her husband! Ye Olde Scottish Fellow is very interesting and sexy and all, but she has a husband she loves, of course she wants to return. So I completely understand how hard a decision that would have been. And, to Eleanore’s point, I think adding a bit more about Frank was a good choice, I guess I fall in with the UK sentiment there.
As for LoL, I’ve dropped in a few times and have a friend who’s on there, but I never got into the swing of it. I was part of a listserv a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, though.
