I just started reading this after coming off of the Sookie Stackhouse novels (a.k.a. True Blood on HBO) by Charlaine Harris. It’s always a good sign when you smile and even laugh on page 4 of a book. Diana Gabaldan didn’t waste any time endearing her characters to the reader. The main character, Claire, is a strong-willed and independent character that is thrust into a frightening reality when she is transported through time back to the 18th century Scotland. The event that caused this time travel is vague in the book, but you get the idea that she happened upon a portal of some sort but I’ve yet to learn any other details.
Her life in 1945 Britain, and her modern-day marriage, seems to be lost. I’m only about a 1/3 way into the book so I don’t know much and won’t spoil what I do know up to this point. I can tell you that it’s already filled with mystery, intrigue, and even romance (which I always like), and of course the sci-fi, or perhaps fantasy element of time travel.
More to come as I get deeper into the series. I’ll keep you updated as I advance through her novels in this series. I think there are 7 books total but not certain.
Here is a summary excerpt:
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon–when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach–an “outlander”–in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life…and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire…and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
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Ok, just reporting back after I finished the book… I was up until about 2am last night because I just had to get through it. I twas too exciting to put down.
There were some very small parts of this book that I struggled with, simply because life and marriages were very different in the 1700s. But I got past those quickly and enjoyed everything else about the story.
I think the author did a fast and effective job of endearing us to the main characters. It actually reminded me of reading Twilight just for that reason alone. You felt like by page 4 (of 650!) that you were the main character. The thoughts and actions were really what you think you would do, or what you would hope you would do when faced with some of the very dangerous situations she faced.
Claire, the main female character is a strong woman, but not without her flaws and sometimes her modern-day attitude about the relationships between men and women get into trouble (well, 1945 is modern compared to 1743.) But you still really love her spunk.
And of course, the author leave you hanging at the end a bit… there’s exciting news given in the VERY last paragraph of the novel but it stops short and I am dying to get started on Dragonfly in Amber to see how that turns out. The rest of the books won’t arrive from Amazon until Tuesday. It’s probably for the best. I have at least 47 loads of laundry that I’ve been ignoring because this was such a fun book to read. I went ahead and bought them all because I didn’t want to be left without any of the next books.
I will probably have time to pick up one of the James Patterson or Nicholas Sparks books today and finish it before Tuesday. Those usually only take me about 4 hours to read.
That rss feature on your website here is brilliant, you should tell more folks about it in your upcoming post. I haven’t noticed it for the first couple of times, now I’m using it each morning to check on any updates. I’m on a very slow dial-up link in Kentucky and it’s rather daunting to sit there and wait for such a long time ’til the page loads… but hey, I just found your rss page and added it to the Google Reader and voil? – I’m always up-to-date! Well buddy, keep up the good work and make that rss button a little bigger so that other people can enjoy that as well