Rating: 
Summary: Time to move on, sadly...
Review: Has it been 10 years since I first read of Jaimie Fraser and Claire? Yes, and in that time, I have finished graduate school, moved and started a career. Perhaps that is why I don't have to time to read such a LONG book with such leisurely pacing anymore. I have had the book a month and finally read it while down with the flu for three days.Jaime can still make my heart(and other bits) ache, and Gabaldon certainly has a way with words and description, but I have to agree with several of the readers. I think the story has stalled by not allowing Jaime to travel FORWARD into Claire's time, the 1960's. I think the intrique is just getting out of hand, I need a scorecard to figure out who is doing what to whom and hiding what from whom. I'm not overly interested in Brianna as a person, though I found Roger's throat injury and his (solitary, thanks for nothing, Brianna)recovery compelling. Bree doesn't seem to have much use for Roger, she lacks the fierceness and utter LOVE that Claire has for Jaime. I must have lost the thread of the earlier stories, because the whole Stephen Bonnet thing leaves me cold, and is it just me or does Bree have kind of a weird "thing" for the creepy criminal rapist? I enjoy seeing Jaime as an elder statesman, and would prefer to think of he and Claire aging gracefully and living a full span of years, which may not happen if Gabaldon follows down the path of "foretelling the future" with the burning cabin and charred remains. Gulp. My heart still sighs for that young Highland laddie Jaime was...and I think a part of me doesn't want to know of his ultimate future.
I may not finish the series for that reason alone.
Rating:
Summary: What has happened Diana
Review: I honestly can't believe that the reviewer's that gave
this book 5 stars are legit!! (Friends of the editor maybe???)
If there was one?? Yes I'm afraid I agree with the 95% of
reviewer's who were disappointed in this book, perhaps someone
else has written this sequel? there seems no other logical explanation. Maybe Diana will redeem herself with the next
book??
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: Once again, Diana Gabaldon has proven that she has an extraordinary command of the English language. She builds a tapestry with every story. I've loved her characters in the past. That is why she actually got two stars from me. If I went back to review Outlander, I would give it a 10 out of a possible 5 - and I don't even like romance novels!! As much as I anticipated this book, I was so very disappointed with it. It isn't that Jamie and Clare are getting old - I kind of expected that, after all. It's that this story, which left an indentation on my chest after reading all 900 someodd pages in bed, could have been told in about four chapters. What made these characters so lovable in the first two books, is so sadly missing now. I had to wait until almost the middle of the book for the first sex scene!! ;o) With great dedication, I plodded along, page after page, hoping that any moment, this book was going to get better. To no avail, really. As her third book was kind of lacking, she picked up the pace in the fourth book. I'm anxiously awaiting the return of adventure, romance and brilliant writing in her sixth book. I'll be stopping here to read the reviews of that book before I rush out to buy it, however. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
Rating:
Summary: Expectations Dashed
Review: I'm afraid to say it... I was very disappointed in this one. Like everyone else who is a huge fan of Ms. Gabaldon, I was anxiously awaiting the release of The Fiery Cross; unfortunately it just doesn't do her writing (or her reputation) justice. Maybe I am more of a fan of the younger Jamie and Claire (Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber), I'm finding Bree and Roger whiny and uninteresting and I am sick of Aunt Jostica and the everyday life in the wilderness. This latest book is very similar to Voyager, in that the details are overwhelming.
I recently went to a book signing where Ms. Gabaldon said that there will be at least two more books in this series. I hope that she can bring back more of the excitement and adventure that her fans enjoyed in her previous books. Until then, it will be back to the first two books for me.
Rating: 
Summary: This installment is a bit different but...
Review: it's still at the same caliber of the previous installments in the series. There are quite a few things happening in this book that took me by suprise and I'm still quite impressed that Ms. G is able to paint such a visual picture of her characters. I am constantly amazed that I actually think and speak of these characters as companions rather than fiction.
Rating:
Summary: 5th book attains wonderful grace and maturity
Review: As have most of the reviewers, I've read all of the Outlander series but, unlike most, I am usually not a "romance novel" reader. I loved the first four books but, at times, found them to be overly dramatic. This book, however, shows how Gabaldon's writing has advanced and improved and has a grace about it that I had not picked up in the others. Her intuitiveness and story-telling ability are amazing and I anxiously and impatiently await the 6th book. In the meantime, I will painfully miss the both the main and the background characters and all the wonderful eccentricities, individualness, and trueness they have. I feel as if they are a part of me now. Thank you, Diana, for a wonderful and heartfelt book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Magic Is Gone
Review: I really wanted to love this book!! Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber are my all-time favorite books. I counted the days until The Fiery Cross hit the book shelves. I ran home to devour this 3 pound hard bound (yes I weighed it!!.) What a disappointment as I plodded through the first 200 pages. Usually I stop reading a book if it fails to capture my interest after the 1st 100 pages. I gave Diana the benefit of the doubt and sincerely hoped the book would improve It didn't!!
I found this book to be tedious and rather annoying when the storyline involved Briana. I don't care for her personality at all. The scenes with Roger and Briana have little chemistry, and none of the magic of Jamie and Claire. There is very little adventure or suspense. Just the day to day trivialities of life in the 1700's. To put it in a nut shell, this book is a great remedy for insomnia. I am really sorry I purchased the hardback edition. Please Diana, don't disappoint us with your next book! This book broke my heart, and I feel the magic of this series is gone.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I know the author probably feels chained to this saga, compelled by fans and publishing contracts to see it to the bitter end. The first three books were terrific (no, I take that back -- the first two were terrific, the third pretty darn good). Drums was OK, but Fiery Cross is almost unbearable. The author seems proud of her ability to write Vast Tomes, and I don't have an objection to VTs per se -- rather enjoy them, actually. But, that only works when the VTs have actual content. This book could have been half the size and still contain the story and plenty of lyrical description to boot. Yeah, I'll read the next one, but with trepediation -- and only because I'm a completist. P.S. For heavens' sake, send Bree, Roger, and Jem back through the stones and back to the 20th century where they belong.
Rating: 
Summary: Still going strong...
Review: Well-- the much-anticipated 5th book is here! I've just finished reading it, and must say that, unlike some other series, I am still intrigued by the going's on! As with the previous four, I was unable to put the book down-- much to my chagrin when the alarm buzzed a mere two hours after I fell asleep. I only have one real complaint-- the main characters were on their deathbed one too many times. Tends to get rather old, and you have this feeling they're really not going to die, anyway. Too much rides on them! A few surprising twists and turns-- anxiously awaiting the next volume?!
Rating:
Summary: For the love of God, someone find this woman an editor!
Review: Just as I suspected, the fifth book in this juggernaut proves what I've said all along -- Outlander would have been a fabulous trilogy. TRILOGY. That's three books, Diana. With some astute editing, we could have gotten Jamie and Claire to their graves, with page-turning romance, adventure and history packed into each book. I mean, did we really need Mr. Willoughby in Voyager? That's a long way around the block for a little acupuncture. Drums was a snore, and Fiery Cross is ... practically unreadable. I had to grab the new Nora Roberts just to cleanse my palate.
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