Dude, you’re turning into That Guy. Let it go, for God’s sake.
That’s not a plus! 
but while I didn’t like the scene or the book, having that scene doesn’t disqualify Gabaldon for writing sex well. I don’t remember the non-rape sex in the book, though. That one scene and a general dislike are all that sticks with me.
In a thread that has nothing to do with sex in novels, your complaint would be completely warranted - but this thread has everything to do with sex in novels, so I think I should be allowed to say my piece without being stigmatized. You probably haven’t even read the book; if you did, you’d know what I mean.
That was a very brutal scene, but it only happened once, and it was more about Randall trying to get into Jamie’s head and stay there than anything else. In a very confusing scene, which I still don’t completely understand, Claire basically got Jamie (mentally speaking) back to the dungeon so she could bring him back out. IIRC, it was quite dangerous, because Jamie was out of his head and could have killed her.
But, he was able to build a lean-to for the poor shivering creature that was his soul afterward.
You’re really making sure that nobody here will ever pick up that book.
Concerning your own sexual tastes: TMI!
He’s a wonderful writer, but he’ll be getting no wild monkey sex from me! ;o)
Transgressive genius or not, my dear, it’s time to read another book.
I never said a word about my own sexual tastes (but they’re nothing like Hogg, which is why I read the book with fascination and not arousal.)
In some ways, Crash is better, though. Plot-wise, it’s definitely better.
Of all contemporary fantasy writers, I’d say Guy Gavriel Kay does sex best. All his books have plenty of it, and while it’s sometimes tender and sometimes not so much, it always comes across as pretty honest. He’s almost unique among writers in his genre in depicting sex as something done between adults who are fond of each other and enjoy each other’s company, but are in no way “in love.”
I love Gabaldon’s books, but I think the sex scenes are often unrealistic. Such as the post-fever sex, post-rape sex, and the get-my-husband-out-of-jail sex. The soap opera elements of the books are a sharp contrast to the realism of the historical and medical details.
That rape scene in the first book is very disturbing and it almost put me off the series. Not on its own, but I was afraid Gabaldon would get more and more sensationalist and unrealistic in subsequent books. She didn’t. Nothing else quite as disturbing/intense happens in the rest of the series. And that early rape is treated with great seriousness, haunting the victim and his loved ones for the rest of their lives.
jsgoddess, you may have been turned off by the wife-beating incident in the first book, which seems to bother people more than the rape.
I don’t remember that but there could have been a host of things or just the rape. I remember thinking it felt sensationalized, but I could have just been surprised/shocked she went there.
Couple of Authors that include, although don’t primarily focus on sex in their stories:
Wilbur Smith - Mixes a fair amount of sexual atmosphere and situations into his tales,but doesn’t dwell on the details to a great extent.
John Irving - It’s there, but I’ve never cared much for his approach to sex
If you were reading either of the above strictily for the sexual references, you’d be disappointed as compared to some of the other works described already
I was going to ask if it was with extinct species of animals…but I’m not sure if that’d make it better* or worse. :eek:
Read: “Less-awful.”[/SIZE][/QUOTE
Yeah. I believe that would be the mammoth scene.