Rating: 
Summary: Sheesh
Review: IT BLEW. I read the other novels like, four times over. I was so excited to see this new installment in the bookstore, i shrieked with delight (and received several dirty looks from Barnes and Noble patrons). Since others have been so vocal about their disappointment as well, this is moot point, but I had to vent-- it bit. REALLY HARD. Diana Gabaldon owes me almost 30 dollars for this book (when it first came out), and days of my life. OK, i'm done now.
Rating: 
Summary: Hooked on the Highlanders...
Review: A friend introduced me to the "Outlander" series on August 1, 2003. By Sept 8, I had read all five books. Yes, I do have a life with a husband, children and a fulltime job. I loved the rich history and the depth of all the characters throughout. Before I finished the "Fiery Cross", I started looking for another book to read. I searched under Diana Gabaldon (just to see if I missed anything else she had written) and "Lord John" came up as a new release. I was very excited. I even e-mailed my friend and told her to catch up with her reading so she would be ready. (She is behind by 3 books and she's been reading them since 2002.) Needless to say I have really enjoyed the series and I thank Diana for writing books for intelligent women to read.
Rating: 
Summary: This book kept me up two nights running!
Review: To re-emphasize what others have said, if you haven't read the rest of the Outlander series, you really must read them first. In fact, I ended up re-reading the last few chapters of Drums of Autumn just to refresh my memory before I got too far into this book. As always, Gabaldon does a wonderful job with historical accuracy, with very little artistic license taken. She is so excellent at this that I have quoted some of her work in papers for my graduate-level history classes.
The story just gets better and better the further you get in to the book, and by the end, you are absolutely furious that you cannot set it down and pick up the next one in the series.
If this is the first time a reader meets Claire, Jamie, Roger, and Bree, they will still fall in love with the characters and will no doubt go back and read the rest of the series.
Just an absolutely fabulous read!
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint of heart...
Review: ...but thoroughly satisfying nevertheless. It took me awhile to slow down and meet the measured pace that Gabaldon sets in this novel. There is action and adventure aplenty but it doesn't happen all at once. So, settle down for a slow and easy read, and allow time to absorb the detail and sort out the characters. I read the Drums of Autumn, the previous book in the series, about 4 years ago and it took me awhile to remember the peripheral characters. (I still don't remember who Lizzie is [gulp] so I'll have to check out the Outlandish Companion). To comment on some of the reviews I've read where readers were disappointed in this book: Diana Gabaldon is an intelligent writer. This book is meticulously researched and rendered. If you are not interested in the historical detail and life in colonial america, you will be disappointed. If you want a historical romance, you'll be disappointed. If you want a time-travel novel, you will be disappointed. etc. etc. This is a genre that is all her own. If you want a fascinating historical read with wonderfully written characters that are easily imagined because they are so true to life, than you will be delighted. Furthermore, I like the way the prose switches from first person (Claire) to second-person so that must be a matter of personal taste. My favorite character is Roger. Bree is probably my least favorite character and I noticed another reviewer felt the same way but I'm not sure why I don't like her as well as the other characters. The descriptions of Jemmy, their son are so true to life that anyone who has had or lived with children will smile at his activities as described [and about a paragraph-- no more-- is spent on potty training, *not* a whole chapter as another reviewer notes, and it leads, interestingly, to a revelation in Roger's history]. You could read this without having read the previous novels in the triology but I wouldn't recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Lotsa Loose Ends
Review: I just finished The Fiery Cross on tape, and would like to compliment Davina Porter on her excellent narrative skills. She is the best! However, I must agree with other reviewers who found the book's excruciating detail a bit much. I really did not want to hear about every little breeze and the myriad of smells that emanated from man and beast alike, although Gabaldon deserves credit for her imagination and observation. I agree that the plot was much weaker than the previous books. The characterizations of Brianna and Roger could have been fleshed out more. About the loose ends: will it take another 4 years to discover Ian's story; whether Jamie and Roger ever dispatch arch-villain Stephen Bonnet; what happens to Jocasta and her gold; does Ulysses suffer punishment; will Roger miraculously recover his voice; will Brianna bear Roger a (another?) child; etc., etc. All that being said, I will admit it is much easier to be a critic than to create, and Diana Gabaldon still came up with a pretty good tale. So, keep on, Diana! We still need to know if Jamie and Claire die in 1776!
Rating:
Summary: The Fiery Cross
Review: This book was a great disappointment, and the author did her characters a disservice. The book has no plot and instead, goes on and on for nearly 1,000 pages. It could have been titled "The Daily Life of Jaimie and Claire et al." I loved the previous books and hated this one. A chapter was included on Bree and Roger convincing their baby son to "poo" in a chamber pot. This is literature? I was surprised the main characters didn't rise up and revolt. I only finished the book because of loyalty to the characters. We can cross our fingers the next will be better. Otherwise, Jaimie and Claire's adventures in the American Revolutionary War will take as long as the actual war.
Rating:
Summary: The Fiery Cross
Review: In my opinion, Diana Gabaldon continues to enthrall readers with her tales of the Fraser family in this novel of her Outlander series. Once again, her book is filled with intriguing events that put readers through the emotions of fear, rage, sadness, joy, love, and more. The book is well-written and hard to put down once one has started reading it. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Waited and Waited and Disappointed
Review: Even though it was written really well, I was disappointed about the lack of plot. I kept reading and reading hoping to get to one and then the book was done. I hope that this was just a way of tying the next book in with the rest of the series. I'm on the third time reading the rest of the books. M2
Rating:
Summary: You catch more when reading it over....
Review: I'm not the type of person who can reread books but with the Outlander series I find myself starting the series over every six months or so. Although the second to fifth books were more choppy than the first, I was captivated by the history and harsh reality of the time period that Ms. Gabaldon captures. All the different cultures from Scots peasents and lairds to the French aristocracy, merchents and different healers; the smugglers, ships and sealife, slave trade, and european life in the Carribean during the 18th century to the young America with the emigres from distant countries and the sometimes accepting, somethimes aggresive Native Americans Jamie and Claire encounter as the carve out a life for themselves in the North Carolina mountains. I love the realness of the trials they meet. The descriptions of the land and the conditions for all types of people then, the sicknesses they encounter, the simple ruthlessness of the people trying to make better lives for themselves makes you feel as though you are there. The research that went into these books astounds me! Be warned though that although I had no such problem, a lot of my friends and family who've read the books became confused by the sheer number of characters and found them hard to follow. But if you are a lover of history and all the little details, I guarantee that you will love each book from Outlander to The Fiery Cross more than the last.
Rating: 
Summary: This book bites!
Review: I'm not a fan of romance-type books, but the 1st book in this series was so good, I kept coming back for more. Unfortunately, I read The Fiery Cross, or, as I would rename it, A Year in the Life of the American Pioneer. I can't even tell you what this book is about. It has no plot. It is set in the time leading up to the Revolutionary War, but nothing much happens. Although the author's writing style is very good (and the only reason this book did not get 1 star), and the characters are likeable and familiar, the book is BORING!!! NOTHING HAPPENS!! I mean, NOTHING! It almost comes across as a book written to explain the interim between the previous book and the next book. If this book had a plot, I could not find it. Hopefully the next one will be better, if I can bring myself to read it.
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