Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling
Review: Even if you don't like romance novels,(and I don't) this one is in a class of it's own. History and humor make it a gem. This writer gives you the feeling of knowing these characters. Thank goodness she has written several in the series. She is working on a sixth book, in this 'Outlander' series.
Heads-up: The words are the same, but you won't get the cover shown in the pictures here at Amazon....a plain version is what you get...poo! False advertizing!
Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared for a commitment.
Review: After reading Outlander, the first of a five part series, I am a devout Diana Gabaldon reader. I wish I had know what I was getting into because I have continued to read each subsequent book and am presently reading the fifth book entitled "The Fiery Cross". I, myself, have fallen in love with Jamie and feel like Clare and the rest of the clan have become my own family.
With each book being in the 900-1000 page range, it may seem a daunting task, but believe me it was well worth it. Some may find the amount of detail in the book lengthy and time consuming, but it does help to give a better understanding of the time period. My advise is to work your way through it and see it as a challenge that you will be rewarded for in the end. I have read that Ms. Gabaldon is in the process of a sixth book for the series and I look forward to it eagerly.
Rating: 
Summary: What Do Women Really Want?
Review: The age old question may finally have been answered by this modern publishing pheneomenon. The "Outlandish" series (I am reviewing "Outlander," the first of the series) is beloved by thousands of women worldwide, who passionately overlook mediocre writing, aimless plot, wildly unrealistic situations (Claire killing a starving, 90-lb wolf with her bare hands made time travel look reasonable), unnatural character behavior (why are Jamie and Claire always laughing at the most sober moments?), contradictory themes (Claire admires Jamie's loyalty, loves Frank, but was hunky-dory after just a few days about boinking a total stranger; a stranger whom she then marries and promises her loyalty, but from whom she then tries to flee back home, before being captured...), etc. etc. Perhaps most amazing is their tolerance for the horribly violent, disgusting, and often homosexual masochism that is constant presence in this story. So I ask myself, what could make women overlook these otherwise important issues. Power, Love, Intimacy, Freedom. Claire realizes most of a woman's greatest desires. In Jamie, Gabaldon has created the perfect man; loving, loyal, intimacy seeking, powerful, considerate, subservient, and lightning rod for horrible pain! In addition, Claire suddenly develops the skills of a talented physician, friends appear out of nowhere, as do shelter, food, money and reasources. Its the perfect fantasy. And who wouldn't want to occasionally (frequently?) leave the old ball and chain (husband) behind for an extended (and optional - she can go back any time) roll in the hay with a great man! Why one star? While I admire the publisher's audacity to sneak such brutal masochism into the popular press, and Gabaldon for coming up with such a wildly successful recipe, I found the book to be fundamentally insincere. I felt the main caracter, Claire, to be disloyal, superficial, self-serving, insensitive, and totally unworthy of Jamie and most of the other Scotts characters in the story. It seemed all the better qualities she looked for and needed in others, she never demonstrated herself. Intimacy and trust, perhaps closest to the core of the book's value to woman, Jamie bestows upon Claire in heaps, but she never really reciprocates. Disagree? How often did Claire profess her love to Jaime ("I love you.") unless it was in respose to his prior declaration of same. Never. Perhaps in this way Gabaldon achieves yet another of the things women want - finally turning the tables on men. Fair enough!
Rating:
Summary: Slow and thorough
Review: I am a picky romance reader, being new to the genre. After passing over so many quaint and "cheesy" romance books, I finally checked this one out from the library. I'm glad I did! I was hesitant about the whole time travel thing, but this author writes it so amazingly believable! The author is so excellent at her craft and the writing at times was so subtle I had to stop and think about what was really going on beneath all the layers. The book is very wordy - I would say it is a slow place just like the time period it is set in. It took me awhile to get used to the formality of her writing and to have an "ear" for the Scottish dialect. It almost reminded me of some of the classics, like Pride and Prejudice, with that slow build to the ending. And who wouldn't love Jamie? It was so refreshing to have a male hero with his honor and purity - he was a virgin, after all. Through so many romances I have read, the male is always this sexual expert who has bedded many women but when he meets "the one" suddenly that is all OK (yawn). I have been wanting to read a historical romance for once where the male is virginal and was so pleased to find Jamie to be "my man." Claire, having been married before, is the experienced one and she teaches him. Jamie was so wonderfully characterized, with his humor and his honor. While I am not normally a squeamish reader, the details of the male sexual violence in the end left me sick. I think we could have done with the suggestion of it and not the details. The author would have done just fine to leave it at the point when Claire overheard Sir Marcus and Jamie talking about it right after the attack. Instead, the details go on and on and I hated to see Jamie so damaged. It was just too much! That said, I will warn readers that this book gets VERY graphic. I can't wait to dig into the sequels and learn more about Jamie and Claire!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent even if you don't read Romance Novels...
Review: I am a fiction and nonfiction reader and before this book I would never be caught dead in the Romance section. A friend gave me this book and I just love it! The story line is exciting and really captures your imaginagion. It is a wonderful escape and has gotten me into this whole genre!!
Rating:
Summary: Once in the Highlands....
Review: The book and series were recommended by some friends of my Mum's and she went searching. Not really a "romance" kinda gal, the book store lady assured us--in glowing terms usually reserved for the most elite of movie stars and politicians--that these books were the read of the century. Well, she said the magic words to me--"time travel" and "Scotland." Hey, I'm there. What I was not prepared for was not only an action packed piece of historical fiction, but a hero that I fell in love with as well. There is something so unique and endearing about Jamie Fraser, that I couldn't help it. He is, in turn, the hard headed, pragmatic Scot of his time (1743) and the big, dumb, romantic kid with his wide eyed innocense of love and marriage. And his ability to whip out the one liners had me laughing hysterically. But this book is action from beginning to end as we, through Claire, discover life in the Highlands prior to the Culloden uprising. It was brutal and not at all the romance we've been led to know. Ms. Gabaldon has written an incredible piece with real characters performing real life and I was so caught up, I stayed up far too late to read. I was not disposed to put it down to sleep or eat. I doubt you will be either. I've started the next book in the series and the promise of holding me rapt is there as well. Bottom line...GET THIS BOOK!!! READ THIS BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!
Review: This is the best book ever! Written with such artistry! All your senses are involved. It is as if you are actually there through each and every trial and triumph! Truly amazing adventure.
Rating:
Summary: my favorite book
Review: If you only read one book, this is the one. Reading Outlander was like watching a breathtaking 48 hour-long movie. At the end I was in suspended animation, unable to let this wonderful story go. I wish there were more books like this one.
Enjoy it like I did. This is as good as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: A caveat for an otherwise engrossing book
Review: Usually I like books by, say, Margaret Atwood, Susan Sontag, etc. but I thought I'd give this a try although I am inclined to put down any book where men call women "wench" in jest (seems cheesy). But I was delighted for most of the book. The writing is excellent and the time travel was done so seamlessly I could suspend my disbelief even though I was trained as a scientist. However, I'm not from the generation that seems to have become immune to violence and suffering and the final villain scene left me with bad taste in my mouth. I want a novel to leave me with lingering pleasure. It jerked me out of the fictional dream and started me speculating about the psyche of the author.
Rating:
Summary: "Outlander" Is Simply...The BEST!!
Review: Claire Randall is on a second honeymoon with her husband Frank after serving as a combat nurse in World War II. While on a trip to Scotland they visit an ancient stone circle known as Craigh na Dun. Claire touches one of the standing stones and is suddenly sucked back in time to war-torn Scotland in 1743. After almost being captured and raped by hostile British soldiers, she is rescued and taken by a band of Scottish outlaws. An "out of the fire into the frying pan" situation if there ever was one. The Scots are deeply suspicious of Claire's dress, speech and manner. Thinking her to be a British spy they decide to take her with them to their stronghold. She does win the men over, to some extent, when she uses her nursing skills to save the life of one of their comrades, James Fraser, a recent escapee from a British prison. And so begins one of the most remarkable sagas in modern fiction. To label "Outlander" a romantic historical novel is to do it a terrible injustice. This is an epic romance, yes. And the relationship between Claire and Jamie is one of the most caring and intimate I have ever encountered - in fiction or in real life. Claire, having lived in England during the bombings of WWII, and served as a nurse at the front, is a resourceful, strong woman. And Jamie is an educated, philosophic man with a sense of humor...who is also a warrior in a "Braveheart" kind of way! This is a couple who are truly committed to a life together for better or worse. And Since Claire's first husband Frank will not be born for another 200 years, she is not committing bigamy. And, yes, "Outlander" is a historical novel, covering a tumultuous period in Scotland, England and France when Prince Charles Edward Stuart is attempting to regain the throne. I have also read time travel novels before, and this is like no other. The sheer magnitude of material that Diana Gabaldon covers, from the intrigues of the Scottish clans and the politics of the Jacobites to the everyday life of survival in 18th century Scotland, is extraordinary. Her research is impeccable and she tells a tale like no other. This is the kind of book you will want to read slowly and to savor. Ms. Gabaldon knows how to draw the reader into the story with her deft prose, wonderful humor, unusual characters and awesome adventures. One of the main reasons that I love this book is because Ms. Gabaldon develops her characters, major and minor, so that they become almost real. It is difficult not to form strong attachments to them and to care what happens to them all. I had read "Outlander" when it first came out in the 1991, was entranced by it then and stored it away with my box of "keepers." I recently had the flu and was looking for a wonderful book to take my mind off of my aches and pains and decided to reread this novel. Once started I had to keep going and am now on the third book in the series. I highly recommend "Outlander." Oh, and don't be intimidated by the number of pages...once you begin to read, you'll soon wish there were more.
JANA
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