Rating: 
Summary: I hope it never ends.
Review: The fourth book in the Outlander series, it's as great as the three that came before. I have just finished reading it for the second time in preparation for the fifth book THE FIREY CROSS which is scheduled to be released in November. Drums, is the continuation of the adventures of Jamie and Claire Fraser in 18th century America. The tale of Brianna and Roger is cultivated in this book and deeply enriches the storyline. Gabaldon gives the reader what he or she wants and the promise of more to come. Every page read draws the reader on for more and more. A great book to accompany the series is THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, which pulls the story together with descriptions, pictures, maps, and timelines of all the important places and characters.
Kelsana 9/24/01
Rating: 
Summary: Continued excellence
Review: As a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon's work, I eagerly awaited the fourth installment of this saga. I was a little anxious that after three books the writing might have lost some of it's power. Not so. I found that the author has continued her along the same winning way as in the three previous books and with the change of continent, infused not only Jamie with a new and intriguing life ahead, but Claire also is faced (perhaps for the first time) with the uncertainty of not really knowing what lies ahead.
I found myself enjoying this fourth book as much as the others ( although I think Crosstitch is still the most riviting of them all for it's sheer suspense) and I am chomping on the bit while waiting for the next installment in the lives of Jamie and Claire
Rating:
Summary: Best thing since James Herriot!
Review: It took me two years before I was to pick up and read Ms Gabaldon's books, as the notion of reading a time travel romance was off-putting to say the least. However, after much encouragement from a friend, I finally took the plunge. To date, I have not come up for air. I haven't read anything this good since James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small). Speaking of James, Diana creates wonderful character's, and James and Claire are no exception. My life has not been the same since reading the Outlander series, and I often find myself reflecting on the lives and times of her character's. Her books are so good, that it is heartbreaking to finish them. And so, upon finishing her fourth book, Drums of Autumn, I turned right around and started the series all over again. I eagerly await her fifth book, The Fiery Cross, which continues the story of Jamie and Claire. Thankyou Ms Gabaldon, for providing me with a safe sanctuary to go to on rainy days.
Rating:
Summary: Four to Score!
Review: This is the 4th episode in the Outlander Series. Glad it isnt the last! There are so many side stories to keep your interest and the characters are vivid. Of course, it continues the story of Jamie and Claire and what a story it is! This series is so refreshingly different from the standard 'historical romances' they should not even be labeled as such! I've read the 4 books over the summer and am glad to have the opportunity to catch up on my sleep waiting for the 5th book in November. Diana ends each chapter with a lure to go on to the next, thereby delaying chores, sleep etc. etc. Good author! Diana, you are amazing!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing series
Review: I was enthralled with the Outlander series. So much so that I didn't want it to end. I read the first three without blinking but as I came to the fourth, I knew the end of the series was near. I put down the book half way through because if I didn't finish it, the characters would stay alive in my mind. I waited over a year - reliving the story in my head and still not wanting it to end. I finally picked up the book and late last night, and read the last pages. Now that I've finished, I'm hoping there will be a fifth book. I'd love to hear of any other recommendations for books similar to these.
Rating:
Summary: Time Travel Plot That Works
Review: Diana Gabaldon's fourth novel in her Outlander series is a rarity in that time travel here is no gimick, but rather an intergrating aspect of plot. Moving from the 20th century to 18th century Scotland and on to the New World, heroine Clare Randall is somebody I could travel with. The great love between Clare and the 18th century Scot Jamie Fraser makes both of these characters believable and enjoyable. This is good reading for those of us who are bored with most contemporary fiction. Author Gabaldon stirs up an enthralling blend of imagination and historical research compelling the reader to keep turning those pages. Combined with strong plot lines, believable heroes and heroines,and a vivid cast of secondary characters, these books offer up adventure, history, mystery and an intense love story. Note: read these books in order and I'm hoping for a movie!
Rating:
Summary: Lost in the Past
Review: The time travel episodes in Drums of Autumn and the preceding three novels of this series were written so I felt as though I traveled along with the characters through the mysterious stone circle in Scotland. The sensory descriptions left me feeling this process was entirely possible. In spite of the speculation by the characters over what is actually the catalyst that allows them to step through into time, it is believable in the way it was written. There is another mystery that accompanies this unfolding saga in the lives of the two main characters. Jamie and Claire share a connection that transcends all obstacles. This is heartening and hopeful to a reader who would wish for such a deep and abiding love relationship. This surely must be the impetus that pulls readers to want more of this series in spite of some of the annoying behavior of Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna. As other readers have said, Brianna seems to be spoiled and throws tantrums that embarrass me to read. Her pencant for name calling is really disgusting. In her anger, she does not hesitate to use words that I doubt very much she would have gotten away with during her upbringing. Where did this all come from? How can she, when provoked, call the man she loves and the man she learns is her father names that you would not expect to hear from the mouth of a young girl of that time. She supposedly grew up in modern times with two very respectable parents who would have seen to the training of a young lady. Instead she comes off as a gutter mouth. I was troubled by this unbelievable handling of this character. I sincerely hope the author finds a way to straighten Brianna out if she continues to appear in the next book. I can't believe that her unforgiving and stubborn behavior comes from her heritage or from the stress of traveling into a strange new world where life is harsh. It did not seem to affect her mother that way. Claire has a presence as she matures that is worthy of the man of honor who is her husband. Jamie is one of the most incredible heros in a novel of this kind I have ever read about. It's easy to feel sympathetic to Jamie and Claire and therein lies the answer to the mystery. We love them and want to continue to know them. I will buy any book that is written in this series.
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Summary: Drums of Autumn
Review: The fourth in the Outlander series, Drums of Autumn begins in Charleston in 1767 where Claire, Jamie, Fergus and Ian begin a journey to find Jamie's Aunt Jocasta who owns a plantation in North Carolina. As with the previous three novels in this series, Diana Gabaldon weaves stories within stories creating a rich tale of adventure, suspense and love. In Drums of Autumn Brianna, Jamie and Claire's daughter travels back in time to find her parents to warn them of disaster in their future. Brianna found a story in an old newspaper telling of the death of Jamie and Claire Fraser in a house fire. Roger Wakefield, Brianna's sometime boyfriend, also found the story. Roger decided not to tell Brianna for fear she would attempt to go back in time to warn her parents. When Roger learns that Brianna has done exactly that, he follows her through the stones back to 18th century Scotland. Brianna finds her way to Lollybrach and meets Jenny, Jamie's sister, and Ian and all the children. This is a wonderful part of the book where the reader can appreciate and feel the amazing connection between past and future, gave me the chills just reading it. Roger eventually catches up with Brianna in the colonies after Roger's most arduous ocean crossing. I do agree with several of the other reviewers who feel that Brianna's character is a bit weak. I haven't caught on to, or much liked, Brianna at all since the first introduction of her character. Brianna does not have the depth or heart that Claire has and comes off as a self-centered child in many ways. Brianna and Roger each have their own separate adventures and each is intertwined with Jamie and Claire's. Lord John Grey appears again to play an integral role in Brianna's life. The character of Lord Grey is one of my favorites as he is a man of honor. In Drums of Autumn Jamie is not the ferocious warrior, nor the persecuted prisoner; he's a farmer and a builder. Although it was a relief of sorts not to endure any floggings or near-death misadventures, it seemed as though Jamie was out of his element having been removed from Scotland. Nonetheless, this book was everything the previous books were in it's own way. Diana Gabaldon has succeeded in continuing the 'love that spans time' between Jamie and Claire and has added more depth to their relationship. This series is one of the best I have read. I was overjoyed to discover the 5th in the series, The Fiery Cross, has already been released already so I won't have to wait to continue this engrossing saga.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE WEAKEST LINK...
Review: This is the fourth in a series of what has been, until now, exceptionally well written time travel, adventure/romance books by the author. There are four such books published to date in what is anticipated to be a series of six books. Those of us who are hopelessly addicted to this series are awaiting the publication and release of book five, "The Fiery Cross". I urge the reader to start at the beginning and read each and every one in the order in which it was written. Be not afraid of the length of each book. Trust me when I say that you will end up wishing that they were each longer, so riveting is the story that the author unfolds. Ms. Gabaldon is a master storyteller without compare, employing the superlative use of actual historical events with authentic period detail to weave a three dimensional tapestry of timeless love and adventure. While the core of the story is about a love that transcends time, it is an adventure story that holds the reader in its thrall. The love that spans time is that which twentieth century Englishwoman, Claire Randall, has for eighteenth century Scottish highlands warrior, James Fraser. Those readers who have read the first book in the series, "Outlander", know that in 1945, Claire, a combat nurse during World War II, is reunited with her husband, Frank, after the war. While on a second honeymoon in Scotland, she visits a strange, flat topped hill, where a forbidding stone circle draws her. Touching one of the stones, she is hurled through a vortex in time and finds herself in eighteenth century Scotland, where she meets the brave and brawny, red headed Scot, James Fraser, with whom she falls head over heels in love. Finding herself thrust into the midst of clan warfare and intrigue, she and her beloved 'Jamie' have enough adventures to last a lifetime. The second book, "Dragonfly in Amber", is a continuation of that story, told from the perspective of the twentieth century where Claire, now a doctor, has lived for the past twenty years. Upon the death of her twentieth century husband, Frank, Claire returns to Scotland with her grown, red headed daughter, Brianna. There she discloses to Brianna the events of her secret past, as well as the truth as to who Brianna's biological father truly is and of the love that Claire bore him. While in Scotland, however, Claire discovers something that will change her future, as well as her past. You see, for the past twenty years Claire has mistakenly believed that her beloved 'Jamie' died in the historic battle of Culloden. It was there that the Scottish highlanders bravely fought the English in a misguided attempt to restore Charles Stuart, their bonnie Prince Charlie, to the English throne, only to be decimated on the battlefield. Those few who survived were branded as Jacobite traitors and imprisoned, and their families disenfranchised. It was this very event that Claire and 'Jamie' had conspired to change, only to fail. Their story transports the reader from the turmoil of the Scottish highlands to the intrigue of the French Court and regales the reader with the adventures of the two lovers, as they conspire to change the very course of history. It was this valiant attempt that ultimately brought Claire and 'Jamie' to the crossroad that would compel these star crossed lovers to part and have Brianna become a denizen of the twentieth century. In "Voyager", Claire, now realizing that the love of her life and soulmate survived the battle of Culloden, makes the decision to go back in time and find James Fraser, as she has not stopped loving or wanting him every waking moment for the past twenty years. Leaving her daughter, Brianna, she once more hurls herself into the vortex of time to eighteenth century Scotland to begin her search for James Fraser, in hopes of being reunited with her 'Jamie'. "Voyager" tells the story of what happened to Claire Randall and James Fraser in those intervening years. It tells of their ultimate reunion and rediscovery. Against a backdrop of historical events and period detail and with a cast of unforgettable characters, it regales the reader with their new adventures, as Claire returns to a still divided, turmoil ridden Scotland. Reunited with Jamie, none the worse for wear,they seek to make a life for themselves. As their love comes full circle, they take to the high seas, and their adventures continue, captivating the reader once more. In "Drums of Autumn", the story takes somewhat of a detour, as it begins to focus more on Brianna. Back in the twentieth century, Brianna and her boyfriend, Roger, a Scot and college history professor, as well as descendant of one of James Fraser's cousins from clan MacKenzie, each independently make a discovery that stuns them. Roger keeps it to himself, while Brianna acts upon it. The discovery involves an old news clipping which tells of Claire's and James' premature deaths in a house fire in pre-revolutionary, frontier America. Brianna makes the decision to go to the stone circle to try and go back in time to change the course of history and save her parents. She does not, however, tell Roger of her plans. Roger, discovering Brianna's deception, follows on her heels and, on that strange, flat topped hill in Scotland he, too, enters the stone circle and is himself hurled into the vortex of time. Brianna and Roger catch up with each other in the eighteenth century only to be parted for a time, each having their own adventures. Claire and James by now are established homesteaders in North Carolina and are enjoying, what is for them, a relatively staid life. By the time Brianna catches up with them, an event has occurred in her life which may have the impact of forcing her to stay mired in the past. This fourth book in the series is a bit of a disappointment, as it could have used some serious editing due to the author's self indulgence. Moreover, the characters are not so well drawn, as they are in the first three books in the series. Unfortunately, a pivotal character, that of Brianna, is uncharismatic and comes across as somewhat vapid and stupid. Brianna definitely needs work, if she is to capture the readers' imagination as have Claire and 'Jamie'. At the stage of development in which she is, Brianna would be unable to sustain another book. The same goes for Roger, who comes across as somewhat one dimensional, though he does have potential, as he seems to have a latent smoldering and sensual quality to his personality. Still, notwithstanding some of these issues, this remains a compelling time travel saga, and my thirst for a fifth volume remains undiminished. I only hope that the lengthy time span between the fourth and the fifth volumes means that the author is working out some of the kinks in this new and developing direction which the series seems to be taking. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story all the way through.
Review: I've recently finished reading the entire series. What I enjoyed the most about this series is that it took so long for me to read. I have trouble getting interested in new authors and new stories which why I was so thrilled to see how exceptional these books are. I have always liked historical fiction, especially when it is realistic and personal. This final book is just as good as the other three and I hope to see a new installment sometime soon.
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