Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant visit with Claire and Jamie
Review: How do you explain why you enjoyed a novel that was close to a thousand pages long and in which almost nothing of serious consequence happens? None of the story lines started in the earlier four Outlander books was concluded and several new ones were begun. (There were also a couple that started and then seemed to be totally forgotten). If this were a soap opera (and one could certainly argue the point) this would be a Wednesday show, merely stringing the viewer along until Friday's cataclysm which leaves you waiting for Monday. With all that, it was still delightful to see Claire and Jamie after a five year wait, to know their love is still very much alive but that it doesn't get in the way of their having a jolly good row once in a while. Gabaldon brings Frasier's Ridge alive with the daily comings and goings-on of North Carolina in the early 1770s. She touches on a part of US history that few outside the Tarheel state know about: the pre-revolutionary Regulators and the Battle of Alamance. And through it all she weaves her various plots. It will come as no surprise that Jamie and Claire have some heated love scenes; that she will bring several people back from the brink of death with her medical knowledge and that in the darkest hour she and/or Jamie can come up with the perfect sarcastic comment. And all of that is the stuff that leaves us wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: Found the topic for my dissertation
Review: I just discovered the Outlander series last fall, and have fallen desperately in love with Scottish history as a result. I have always loved historical fiction, and the Outlander series is one of the most compelling series I've ever read. It's wonderful because it doesn't stop with just one event and because it raises the question that many amateur historians ask - "What if?" Could we change history or is it destined to be the way it is?As an amateur genealogist, too, I found The Fiery Cross very interesting. I know it's fiction, but I can't help feeling that this book gives me some idea of the life that my Scottish ancestors led when they immigrated to NC around the same time. In the Fiery Cross Gabaldon has created an interesting love story, but has put it in a historical context that exposes some of the lesser known events of American history. This book may not seem as action packed as the previous four, but it deals with the important questions of leadership, equality, and religion that faced the people of the time and place in which it is set. I can't wait to see how the characters deal with the changes that occur as they move closer to the Revolution. Good historical novels inspire interest in the historical topic even for people who previously knew nothing of that period. I know little about the Scottish immigrants in the late colonial period, but I can't wait to find out. It may sound absurd, but this book really has given me a topic for my dissertation (assuming I ever write it)!
Rating: 
Summary: The story has run out
Review: Overall this is one of the best series I have read. I always eagerly await the next installment. However, in this novel, the story seems to have run out and Diana Galbadon appears to not really know where she wants the story to go. Or, if she knows where she wants to end up, she has lost her way in getting there. I enjoy Galbadon's abilty to write a very romantic, action-filled and, most of all, humorous story. Where has the humor gone? She has the ability to craft a scene so that you can see it unfolding in your mind's eye. You enjoy the joke with the characters. Her writing, in this sense, was along the lines of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Humor is almost non-existent here. This book appears to have been printed before it was quite finished. With the first few installments, there was the tension of what was happening in the Claire's 20th century life with what was happening in the 18th century life and a clear direction for the story. The story was tightly written and made sense. In this book there seems to be no conflict to keep the story moving and many loose ends. It is more a collection of loosely related episodes. Reflecting back on the story itself, the main thing I remember is that Brianna breastfed her son Jem---a lot. I do not think that this is what Galbadon intended. To close, I recommend the series but stick with the earlier installments. They are more enjoyable. Read this installment only to keep up with the overall plot line.
Rating:
Summary: Without the Snot - 200 pages
Review: In this installment of her series Gabaldon drowns the story in waves of human effluence. Snot. Drool. Vomit. Courses. Leaky breast milk. Blood. More snot. Semen. Loose bowels. On virtually every page we are made to share the oozings of various characters, particularly the annoying toddler Jemmy. In 9 out of 10 cases, the clean up of the offending slime is on a sleeve, hem, or hand. And while we were told how the sleeve, hem, or hand wiped up the snot et al, we never learned that it was subsequently washed off. This fixation is peculiar to this book of the series. Overall, what irritates me is that if there really were three educated intelligent 20th century folks living in the midst of the 18th century, I imagine they would have frequent pithy spirited discussion about if and how to interfere in 18th century life based on what they know from the 20th century, but those discussions never occur in Gabalon's stories. Claire tries to grow penicillin, Roger plays a Beatles tune on his guitar, but that's about it. Nothing wrong with lightweight romantic adventure, but there's nothing romantic about all the drippings and oozings and their addition made this book one big yuck.
Rating:
Summary: recommended reading
Review: I was really worried when I first got this book b/c some of the reviews were pretty scathing. However, I feel it was well worth the read. I agree that it was wonderful to see Claire, Jamie and their family with some semblance of peace in their lives. There were a few times that I felt there was just a bit much detail (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5), but for the most part, I know how to skim those sections and the book was thoroughly delightful in the human, gritty descriptions of life at the time. I love how Ms. Gabaldon makes you see these times in their everyday ordinariness. It's just so REAL. As for the action, yes it was less, but there were a lot of currents running through this book. They were just more subtle. Although the few intense scenes definitely had me on the edge of my seat! The writing is as meticulous and wonderful as ever and the characters - delightful. I LOVED how "every day" it seemed. Of course, family lives in general just fascinate me, and for those of you not interested in family dynamics, it may not be a great read. I was also worried about the one review I read that stated that Brianna was whiny. I am quite relieved to say that I didn't find her whiny in the slightest.. quite the contrary. In all, I found it more enjoyable than Dragonfly in Amber, but my favorite is still Outlander.
Rating:
Summary: The Much-Anticipated 5th Book Fails to Deliver
Review: The long wait between Gabaldon's last book and this one in the Outlander series was definitely NOT worth it. This continuation of the Jaime/Claire and Brianna/Roger story leaves much to be desired. It never really goes anywhere and fails to offer the historical interest that made her other books great reads. The "romance" has gone out of this one as well -- the protagonists spend more time worrying about the outcome of intimacy than they do actually being intimate. I've always associated Gabaldon with a higher caliber of romance novel -- she's usually much more intellectual than what one normally finds under the "romance" category -- but this particular book hardly qualifies. I was very disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I have read a few somewhat negative reviews of this book but I just can't see the cause for it. The Fiery Cross was a great book...each of the books in this series were different. They have to be, they span generations and centuries and continents. If every book was set in Scotland, it would be quite boring. Each book in the Outlander series had its own charm, the fifth book was just as good as the rest of them. If anything, I think Dragonfly in Amber had the most complex history to get your mind around. This was a pleasure to read..looking forward to the next one, Diana!
Rating:
Summary: Fiery Cross Needs a Good Editor
Review: After patiently awaiting Diana Gabaldon's newest book I was incredibly disappointed by this large, plotless monster. The writing remains good and the characters true but it doesn't take 1000 pages to tell this particular tale. I kept hoping that something was going to happen but by page 800 I had that sinking feeling that we being led around the countryside with nothing to feel satisfied by, not even the death of a certain evil sailor. I can't believe that a loved one or even a trusted editor couldn't have persuaded Diana that there were too many details and not enough plot to pull this off. I guess she thought that 1000 pages would cover up the fact that there really wasn't a story. I won't be buying the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading.....
Review: I for one thoroughly enjoyed Diana's fifth book - I found it to be well written, well researched, and an appropriate sequel to her last book, and those before it. Diana retains her skill at introducing new characters, and building on those already established, along with that keen sense of humor and wryness that makes her writing style so attractive. While I myself am a native of Scotland, I do not mind the departure from our bonnie highlands to the current landscape, the backcountry of North Carolina, and am looking forward to her next novel detailing the exploits of our favorite characters, Jamie and Claire, as they venture through the American Revolution. For those who are interested, I met Ms Gabaldon back in February at a highland games festival in Arizona, and she did a reading that was most delightful. I was also informed that her next novel will not be her last , and she is planning on a seventh novel. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the result of a publishing contract, but rather is the result of a story that is brimming to be told by the author, that could not be contained in the originally planned three. Thankyou, Ms Gabaldon, for having the tenacity to continue your story, for those of us who cannot get enough.
Rating:
Summary: I second -wait for the paperback
Review: All good things must end. This book was slow. Characters lacked the humor, warmth & adventure of the first 4 books. Historical background was scarce, intrigue was almost nil. Development of entire plot lacked and the hook for the next one at the end was really lacking. Why did Ian return? Perhaps Ian and his Indian life should be a new focus for the author. I couldn't put the first 4 in the series down. This was hard to pick back up once put down.
All they did was slog up and down Fraser's Ridge, speak endearments in Gaelic, change baby diapers and slog up and down the Ridge again. No mystery, no adventure, really no romance.
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