I don’t know how to rank it yet, I’ll have to think about it. I did try not to read too fast, but it turned out to be a perfect weekend for reading, with not much to disturb me.
The first couple hundred pages were slow, but the last 100 were no less than shocking. I finished at midnight and it took me forever to relax enough to go to sleep.
This isn’t a specific spoiler, but I’m going to hide it in case you don’t want to hear even general comments about the ending…
…which has multiple dramatic cliffhangers!! I’d bloody well like to wring that woman’s neck. I don’t think any of the first six books end with things in such a chaotic state. Of course, the first five were already published when I started reading them so I didn’t have to wait to find out what happened to J&C after Dragonfly.Be aware that the last few pages are the author’s note! The end of the story caught me by surprise because I thought there were still a few pages to go. I hate that, and I usually check for it, but I was trying to avoid any glimpse of the ending.
I’m about … oh … 3/5 of the way through. I was going to savor, but then I kept saying, “One more chapter …” It’ll slow down now that the weekend is over.
I checked it out Monday,yes they had a copy already !!!
and I get it for 3 weeks.
I am digging it so far. The last couple of books seemed very “settled” to me. I liked it much more when they were traveling to many countries all the time but I dont think anything in the last 2 books happened more than 200 miles away from where I grew up.
I just finished it. I don’t even know what to say. I’ve got to muddle over it awhile but I will say
[spoiler]I am disappointed. I actually cried at the end out of sheer frustration. I’ve lived these characters’ lives with them for the past 12 years and I sort of feel betrayed, as silly as that sounds.
There are so many characters acting completely OUT of character. Claire spends more time mourning over leaving Adso the cat than she does on Jamie’s “death”. And since when does Claire just accept someone’s word that Jamie’s dead? A major plot point of the books has always been Jamie’s “9 lives” and his uncanny ability to cheat death. And to turn around and immediately marry Lord John without even attempting to find Jamie? He just missed his boat, literally! He showed up just a month or so later! I don’t even want to go into the fact that she had sex with Lord John. “Mourning for Jamie together”, my arse! What was DG thinking? [/spoiler]
[spoiler]The ending was badly rushed, and I agree that Claire gave up on Jamie way, way too soon. She never even seized on the hope that he might have missed the ship. But she married John in order to protect Fergus and Marsali, and that was sensible.
As soon as they married, I knew they were going to have sex. Gabaldon specializes in Weird and Unlikely Sex Scenes.[/spoiler]
AAArrrrgggghhh. Mmph! Can you tell I’ve just finished the book and want to hurl it against the wall?! Good night, woman, what a way to end a book! Are there any characters we’re NOT biting our fingernails over???:dubious:
I was upset over the ending at first, but I spent a couple of days letting it settle and then re-read the last several chapters, and I feel a little better about it now.
I haven’t bought it yet, but I’m hoping to get it for my birthday in a couple of weeks. So no, you’re not the only one yet, Ivy - I haven’t even started!
I’m avoiding the spoilers in here meticulously, and I’m reading it nice & slow & luxuriously (well, as much as I can anyway)…
Question (non-spoiler type): The Quakers’ language use hurts my brain. Does Gabaldon have it right, would they have used “thee” in the subject position like that, and not “thou” as my brain insists they should have?
“Does this bother thee?” <—— sounds right
“Does thee find this bothersome?” <—— sounds bloody awful
I’m headed to the beach tomorrow. I’m *supposed *to have internet access there, but if I drop out of the thread for a week, it’s not because I’m not interested in discussing the book!
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