Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing from Gabaldon
Review: This book might be worth more than one star, but not for this author's capabilities. Gabaldon is excellent when writing action and moving story lines. This book does a good deal of wheel spinning with occassional interesting spurts of action. Her first book, THE OUTLANDER, grabs you right away.... I nearly gave up reading this book several times. Nearly the first 200 pages of (small print) covers one or two long days! Maybe if some of that part of the book gave a quick synopsis of the 4 previous novels, instead of moment by moment bodily functions and every character's individual thoughts, it might have gotten me as interested as the first 4 did. This entire book covers less than 2 years, with very little action. I believe this book would not lose content if condensed to about 300 pages, and a few pounds lighter. I will wait to read reviews of future books before getting any of them for myself, and especially before sending new copies out for gifts. (Unfortunately I gave 3 copies to others that have enjoyed this series.)
Rating: 
Summary: Not exciting, but still good
Review: I preordered this book through Amazon, so I had mine delivered to my house the very day it was released... I couldn't get into it at all. Six months later, I finally picked it up again, and it took me about 2 weeks to read it. I haave read all of DG's other books in one or two days, so this was definitely NOT a page turner. There were a few exciting segments in the book, but they were few and far between. The entire book seems to just be setting the stage for the her next (and final?) book in this series. DG still spins a good tale, but as I was reading this I kept thinking, "Where is this going??" Ultimately it went nowhere, and took it's time getting there, but it was a pleasant trip anyway. I recommend this book if you are a fan of DG, and I have high hopes for the next book! She has really set up a lot of interesting possibilities.
Rating: 
Summary: More like "The Lactating Mamary."
Review: Don't get me wrong, I've found Gabaldon's previous books to be engaging reads - enjoyed the characters and their development and interaction, and found the plots to be believable. However, getting through this latest release has been a labor of love - I started it while on vacation in January and haven't finished yet, and that is almost unheard of for me.
The reason? Like most people, I have my own sometimes mundane life, filled with trivial details that would be a bit boring to relate - definitely no entertainment value there. This book is filled to bursting with the mundane, trivial details in the life of Claire, Jamie, Briana, and the rest of the clan on Fraser's Ridge. Every time Briana lactates, it's in the book. Every time someone has to change a diaper, it's in the book. Same goes for superating wounds, slaughtering animals, and routine surgical procedures. The detail with which these common everyday functions are portrayed is a bit much and distracts from what should have been an interesting story. Given the location and the time period, you would think that Diana Gabaldon would have risen to the occassion with a little more of her usual flair. I'm not giving up - but next time I might wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: rooting for roger
Review: More than anything, DG's characters just draw me in; they very nearly breathe. It's the characters that I'm most interested in and frankly, I don't much like Brianna. But I love Roger. So I found myself getting impatient and angry with the way he was portrayed in this novel. Roger wasn't overpowered by Brianna in the last book. But in the Fiery Cross he sort of shrivels up. Brianna bulldozes right over him. Jamie treats him poorly (and nearly kills him, too). I kept waiting (and hoping) for Roger to be the hero. Instead, the poor guy is made to suffer through one disaster after another. He can't do anything right. And then, the guy gets hanged and can't sing anymore. Singing was the only thing he was any good at! He finally saves Jamie's life. But not with swords or in a cool, dramatic way --- instead, he ends up sucking snake venom out of Jamie's leg. Ick. Generally, I liked the book, but I hope in future volumes Roger will get the respect he deserves.
Rating:
Summary: Too Boring to Be So Long
Review: I am slogging through the latest Jamie/Claire saga. It is a huge disappointment. Unlike her past books which I finished too quickly and wanted more, I now want less and can't wait to get it over with. What a shame. There's no magic here.
Rating: 
Summary: Not plot-driven
Review: This latest and very long addition to the Outlander series is very much the product of a mature writer. Diana Gabaldon is much more interested in the minutiae of daily life in pre-Revolutionary America and the ways in which relationships mature and flourish in the face of the challenges offered by both history and everyday life than in offering us an action-packed thriller. She develops a long, slow, meditative dissection of a year or so in the lives of her by now richly-developed central characters, focusing largely on the mid-life relationship between Jamie and Clare, and contrasting it effectively with the new union between their daughter, Briana, and her husband, Roger. Like Clare, they too are time travelers, and, as in earlier novels in the series, Gabaldon allows herself to speculate on the philosophical problems which are raised by this concept without being tempted into a facile or superficial and melodramatic treatment of them. The focus here is on developing an absorbing account of the joys and dangers which beset settler life in the late 1700's in the mountains of South Carolina, and Clare's background as a nurse gives Gabaldon ample room to introduce episodes in which Clare has to solve such problems as how to survive snakebite without modern anti-venoms to hand, how to amputate in the absence of anaesthetics, how to grow a primitive penicillin culture to treat infections, and how to inject it in a world without any modern medical apparatus. And Gabaldon doesn't shy away from confronting the problems women faced in a world without tampons or diapers, one in which methods of contraception were uncertain, death in childbirth common, and infant mortality rates fearfully high. Jamie is about to turn fifty in this book, and the focus is thus also on the ways in which the ongoing romance between him and Clare is maturing: Roger and Briana try to learn from the older couple what makes a real marriage work. Diana Gabaldon believes wholeheartedly in love as the only worthwhile motivating force in life, and convincingly develops her conviction that the world (in this case the end of the twentieth century) is well lost for love: whatever sacrifices, strains, tensions, pressures and tragedies the characters undergo, the ongoing connection between them and their partners allows them to survive and transcend the blows of fate, history, and fortune. If you're looking for excitement and action, this novel will be far too slow for you, even though there are a few battles, a mystery, and a confrontation to negotiate; but the bulk of the story meanders along as a wonderfully absorbing, intriguing read, perfect for long weeks of bedtime enjoyment, and very much an interlude and prelude to the next installment of the saga.
Rating:
Summary: A colossal disappointment
Review: I'm sad to say I believe Miss Gabaldon has fallen prey to her own success. ... I don't know if this is arrogance and complacency on Miss G.'s part, or genuine lack of enthusiasm and direction. I admit I finally gave up on THE FIERY CROSS after 435 pages, when it became apparent that every "lead" was destined to conclude in a dead end. (All those cuddly babies, kittens, and goats [!] finally did me in.) Ms. G. needs to think hard about whether or not she really has anything more to say about these characters and, if not, let them (and her readers) off the hook and move on to something else. She's too talented to bore us all to death.
Rating:
Summary: Great as always
Review: As all the others, I found this book wonderful. There are many characters to keep track of, but luckily there is a companion book to look up the characters that are forgotten.I find it amazing how Diana Gabladon can weave characters into a fascinating plot. I feel as if I know the characters better with every book I read, and the ending was intriguing, I can't wait for the final books in the series!
Rating: 
Summary: and so the saga continues
Review: At a clan gathering in the mountains of North Carolina, Brianna and Roger are finally married.Jamie is ordered by the Governor to form a militia of his tenants, which causes a sense of uneasiness among everyone.In the course of a minor conflict between the Governors militia and the "regulators", who are the free settlers,trying to achieve independence, Roger is captured and hanged. Fortunately, Jamie and Claire rescue him in time, but the terrible injuries left on his throat, ensure that his singing days are over.Claire's knowledge of the oncoming revolution places her in a unique position, and she tries to prepare the colony at Frasers Ridge for the future, ,at the same time, using her medical skills to preserve the health and happiness of her family and friends. This book, although fascinating, wasn't quite as exciting as the previous 4 (although, how many adventures CAN be packed in?) and I'm sure that it's a stepping stone to book 6 and the revolution.
Rating:
Summary: ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....
Review: What happened? I am trying my best to come up with some positives for this long, uninteresting, trivial book. I fell in love with Jamie and Claire in Outlander and am glad they're still a happy, healthy couple. But each book has become more and more plodding. Has "middle age" made Jamie boring too? I don't think so... yet why is the wedding day taking 7 million pages? I think the war itself seemed shorter than this read. Diana, please, give us back some magic and excitement!
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