Rating: 
Summary: good, but not the best of the bunch
Review: A friend turned me on to "Outlander" three years ago, and by the time I finished reading "Voyager", I still had a 2 1/2 year wait for "Drums of Autumn". In some ways, it was worth the wait--I like the fact that a couple in my age group (i.e. "aging baby-boomers"!!) could be so passionately in love with each other, yet have arguments which are semi-realistic. (Let's remember that we're dealing with time travel here!) And, having Brianna and Jamie meet each other was something I was hoping for after reading "Voyager". Yet, the story line in "Drums of Autumn" was not one which I thought worked as well as it could have. It seems as though this book is one very long lead-up towards Jamie and Claire returning to Scotland--hope that happens in the next book! I notice that another reviewer thinks that Liam Neeson and his wife would be good as Jamie and Claire should these stories ever be brought to the screen (large or small). All I can say to that is--Liam Neeson for an older Jamie: yes, yes, yes--Natasha Richardson as Claire: are you serious? Totally wrong physical type and you might want to check out the movie Nell. They may be married in real life but no chemistry on screen!
Rating:
Summary: could we get a "good parts" version?
Review: This was the first book by Gabaldon that I have read. I did not realize that it was part of a series until halfway through the book (I was expecting major flashbacks to explain references to past events), however, I was able to get a decent grasp of Claire and Jamie's stories. Drums of Autumn was good enough in parts that I want to read the first 3 books of the series, but only in parts. Maybe Gabaldon should put out an abridged version! I actually skipped a good chunk after Roger was shipped off to the Indians because I was disgusted by how the author was manipulating the story in such an artificial way. I mean, if Roger had just said "but I love your daughter" or something in that vein, the book would have been maybe 200 pages shorter, and better. I got the feeling that Gabaldon might have been going more for quantity than overall quality. However, when she hits her writing stride, she is very good, and that made me pick up the book again, skim it until Jamie and Ian realize that the man they pummeled was Roger, and continue reading from there. Overall, I felt that the characters of Brianna and Roger were not developed well, and as a consequence, far less engaging than Claire and Jamie. They were downright annoying at times, and I'm not sure if I would continue reading the series if they became the main characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the pod? From Hijacking to Woodchopping
Review: Who wrote this book???? It is interesting to see that I am not alone in my disappointment. As others have said, the first three books in this series are fantastic. In fact, they are probably among the most entertaining books I have ever read. Gabaldon has an airtight writing style that is easy to follow, and yet doesn't insult the reader's intelligence. Her plots are fantastic as she twists a virtually seamless storyline between past and 'present'. The first three books of this series are overflowing with mind-blowing adventure and plenty of detail. My question is... WHAT HAPPENED?
Picking up Drums of Autumn after having read its predecessors is a gargantuan let-down. You expect a riveting frolic of a read and get 'Walden' instead. How could an author who fueled the break-neck, gut-wrenching speed of her plots with things like murder, vicious animal attacks, necromancy, male rape, ancient Celtic religion, piracy, voodoo, abduction, war, torture....how could this same author give us the 'horror' of pulled back muscles and expect us to be content? After the Parisian underworld and the Scottish Highlands, the backwoods of the colonial US ain't cuttin' it, so to speak. Gabaldon gave time travel a realistic feel in her first three books, yet in Drums of Autumn you feel there should be a baggage check behind one of the megaliths, since the whole process is demystified, first by Brianna's sojourn to the 18th century, and then by Roger,who, hot on Brianna's heels, decides to jump in too. Almost everything about this book falls short of the mark, ESPECIALLY when you know what a fantastic tale Gabaldon can write. To be fair, I have to say certain parts were interesting. The depiction of the hardships of plantation life in the rural South were captivating. The bear attack was graphic, vivid, and a glimmer of the old Gabaldon adventure I love. Claire's method of debriding Roger's gangrenous wound also hearkened back to the style of the other books. Brianna and Roger's courtship at the Scots festival was very convincingly and tenderly written,without being sappy. Unfortunately, after the aforementioned courtship scenes, all we here about Brianna is how tall she is, and how red her hair is, and we are reminded of this ad nauseam. Very little character development...just tall/statuesque/towering/intimidating/impressive with red/flaming/auburn/copper/sun-lit/firey hair/tresses/locks/mane. Pick a permutation. It is an interesting concept, having Jamie and Claire age with the series, but does that mean we have to forget about nail-biting entertainment? I hope Gabaldon returns to her old style. I will buy her next book, but since I was burnt on this one, I will wait for the paperback. Drums of Autumn, hardcover, was an enormous and expensive disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: time travelling romance perfect for valentine's day
Review: AHHHHH, I read this one just in time for valentine's day. None of that male menopausal BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY nonsense, or the silliness of MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS, just real romance for real people. Well,real people who go time travelling, but enough of these minor details. Diana Gabaldon has a new story in her series about Claire Randall and Jamie fraser, 20th century American woman and 18th century Highlander. He's sweet, red headed, built, glorious in a kilt, not quite as bright as Claire (but let's not quibble!) and they have been cast ashore in North Carolina at the beginning of the American Revolution. Gabaldon makes the convoluted plot believable, the characters are all delights (Jamie and Claire's daugher Bree figures more prominently in this episode), and if you haven't read this series yet, you have a major treat in store.
Rating:
Summary: 5 STARS! THREE THUMBS UP! PLATINUM! 110%! ABSOLUTELY A MUST!
Review: ...defies the 1-10 scale!!! Am at a loss of worthy adjectives. Read the series...it's indescribably delicious! No matter what category of book you enjoy, you'll find something here that will touch your life forever.....
Rating:
Summary: BREATH-TAKING
Review: I've read the other three books and "Drums of Autunm" is just as good as them. Once you pick it up, you cannot put it down. I read it and I read it again. Gabaldon had a way with words that really touchs the heart. This book and the others in the series have a way of drawing you in and itching to know what is going to happen next. You feel as if you are a part of the story line. WELL DONE DIANA GABALDON. TWO THUMBS UP
EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I didn't read the previous books in this series, but had no trouble following the story. I found the historical descriptions and the Scottish connection fascinating. I've always thought of time-travel stories as a little hokey, but Ms. Gabaldon is such a good story teller she makes it work. This was a good and comfortable read. A very long book, but it still seemed over too soon.
Rating:
Summary: Sent with thanks for an AMAZING storyteller.
Review: If only History had been taught in schools the way Ms Gabaldon manages to tell it! I guarantee there would be boys more interested in learning - Jamie as a role model going from young Scot to treasonous activist to prisoner to pioneer - and Claire moving from a simple wife and mother (if ever there was such a thing!!) to a time traveller and pioneer would be a role-model for any young woman searching to find her way!
I LOVED all of the books in this series and was lucky enough to find three of them in one go - the pain of waiting for Drums was immense, and now I find myself in the same position as many - waiting with baited breath for the next epic. I find myself feeling for the characters, laughing, crying, hoping and dreaming. The sensitive way in which Ms Gabaldon deals with Bree's rape by Stephens, the love between Bree and Roger which mirrors Claire and Jamie - it fills the heart. I will never part with my copies of these books - when loaned out, they are jealously guarded, but I feel it is almost a duty to introduce other people to these amazing books. Diana - you have my heartfelt thanks for providing books that defy description.
Rating:
Summary: Just a bit out of sorts...
Review: While the first three books held me captive (I couldn't read them fast enough), I was disappointed with the long awaited "Drums." The magic between Jamie and Claire was missing as if they were part of the story because we expected them to be there. There were many lost opportunities to develop the relationship between Jamie and Brianna and the relationship between Brianna and Roger. I think the novel would have been more interesting if Brianna and Roger had not gone into the past, but continued their search for Jamie and Claire in the history books and continued their lives together. Diana Gabaldon is an excellent author but it seems that this novel was put together without a lot of thought to the characters themselves. The characters did not act as they had in the previous novels. I hope that the next novel, if it comes to pass, continues on with the characters as they were originally written.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing for Gabaldon, still very good escapist fiction
Review: As many other readers, I was disappointed. Books one and two were so very good, the third "Voyager", was wrenching, especially Jamie`s prison experiences, but then it became a bit of a travelogue, a bit dragging in places, but still very good! Now, this one really was much flatter. I mean, there are still axceptional scenes and laugh-out-loud-moments, the language is wonderful, but it is superficial. Brianna acts so often like a spoiled child, and the whole sequence of Roger first making love to her, then disappearing after just one night and by mistake being "thrown to the Indians" by her family, oh, come on, this really sound like the cloak and dagger stuff from old romances! Also, you got this feeling of pages that have to be filled and time that has to be spent before we get to the next really interesting things, a bit like being with people in their everyday lives after sharing all the high drama before - a bit of a letdown. Well, I was disappointed, the tension was just not there and I really put the book down for weeks before reading on - I don't think I will buy her next book as a hardcover, seems a waste of money! - But yes, it was still so good that I will definitely read on through the series.
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