February 23, 2011

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander
By Diana Gabaldon
Series: Outlander #1
784 Pages
E Book
Published October 26th, 2004
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy
Focus: Highlander Romance and Time Travel

Page count wise I think we are talking about the Harry Potter of romance books here people.

This book is slow to get started, but has a lot to offer. I started to enjoy it once Claire traveled back in time to 1743. I realized, after much fretting over the page count, that this book is so long because Gabladon gives her readers so much information about the time to make sure they understand the setting, culture, and hardness of the time she has put her characters in. Thanks to this description you'll feel immersed in the world of the book. It can get a little overwrought at times and the sexy highlander leading man talks way too much about his fond memories of how his father beat the crap out of him when he was a kid. Otherwise, the length isn't so bad.

As for the content, well... I found the story unique and compelling. Once I got about 100 pages in I couldn't stop turning them. Claire, a happily married WWII nurse, is transported back in time to the year 1743 where she meets the very hunky and adorably bashful Scottish highlander Jamie Fraser. Admittedly their are a few very convenient happenings that allow Claire to not feel so bad about cheating on her husband with Jamie, but I was satisfied when she makes a solid decision on which one she wants to be with. This isn't exactly the most moral of romances, but it is immensely enjoyable and fun to boot.

1 comment:

Ceska said...

This first book in the Claire & Jamie Fraser series cements the readers interest almost immediately, despite the rather strange concept of time-travel thru stone circles. Reading the story in the first person thru Claire's eyes was also unusual, but can't detract from the shear enjoyment of watching these two characters find eachother. From post-war forties Scotland to pre 1745 Highland uprising, the story takes you on a tour of the north of Scotland that will endear the Highlands to you forever.
Claire finds herself depositted in the midst of fueding clans, corrupt redcoats, and meeting up with the most captivating and unexpected hero ever created. Jamie is everything your typical romantic hero steriotype is not, and how refreshing that is. And he just gets better with age, like an historical Sean Connery.