Rating: 
Summary: It Could Have Been Great
Review: I have read everything that Diana has written (well, almost) and I have to say that I would have preferred to save my money. I love her rich detail and characters, but this book had absolutely no plot. I was half way into the book when I started to scratch my head and say "why?". It seems as if it is a filler book. 400 some odd pages and Brianna still isn't married and it is still the same darn day! Anyone who has read the first four books knows without a doubt that Clair and Jamie love one another I felt as if I was being hit over the head with it. I thought maybe the reason for the book would be to get Stephen Bonnett, but alas no. Because I am such a fan I will read the other books, but I will not be standing in line to receive the first one they hand out.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed emotions
Review: First of all, I love the series. I picked up Outlander by chance soon after it came out in paperback when I was looking for a "trash novel" -- something engrossing and historical yet light and disposable. I was sucked in to an amazing degree and I still think Outlander is the best of the series. Not only is the narrative strong and the level of detail amazing, but the characters are compelling and author has a wonderful prose style and does a remarkable job of communicating emotion and motive. Whenever I'm asked for a "good read" I automatically recommend Outlander. I DON'T read "bestsellers" by those corporate factory-production authors, so this is a rare departure for me.As far as The Fiery Cross goes, I will say I'm disappointed. I don't think it was a total waste, and a lot of the things the some of the negative reviewers have complained about (details about daily life, descriptions of Jamie's hair, etc. ;) ) are actually some of the things I enjoy about these books. There are certainly some heart-stopping moments, and the obligatory murder mystery is fairly interesting. The last line made me tear up. Still ... still ... The motivations (for the villans) don't seem to be as crisp as in previous books, mostly because we don't have a clear picture of who they are. Also, the plot just doesn't have the urgency that the rest of the books have. I also spotted a plot complication a MILE away, something that never happened in the previous books, and it's now painfully obvious that when a character "disappears" we'll be sure to see them later on in a "surprising" circumstance. It also doesn't help that I've never been especially fond of Brianna. Can't say why, but she doesn't have the life that most of the other charachters have, and I just don't find her appealing. So, the fact that much of this book, like Drums of Autumn, are about her and Roger makes me skim so I can get back to Claire & Jamie. (Although I DO like wee Roger quite a bit, and sometimes am brought close to tears at all the misery he's put through.) The author is also very good at creating interesting minor characters, but The Fiery Cross lacks any to measure up to Murtagh, Raymond, or Mr. Willoughby. I enjoyed the fact that one of the previous books had significant parts of the story told from Jamie's point of view. As the series progresses, though, we get less and less of Claire's narrative (and less of Jamie, even) and more from Roger & Bree. While the author may have found this switch in perspective necessary to get the story across, I find it increasingly disjointed. Claire's perspective remains the heart of the story, and her voice is strongest by far, with Jamie coming in second. Occasional shifts might not be so bad, but you now have 4 voices telling the same story, sometimes within the same scene, and it's overkill. And ... what happened to Fergus?? He's barely in this book! It's like watching a TV series where one of the main actors has left the show, but comes back for the occasional token scene. It's been clear from the second book that the author is strongly drawn to write about children and motherhood/parenthood. It's a topic that gives a lot of depth to the stories. Yet, I think the theme has been beaten to death by now. It would be OK to be reminded of it, or to have a few shining passages, but I believe the repetition drags down the narrative. Also, as with Drums of Autumn, there are about a million threads that are left dangling, some from several books back. I have a hard time seeing how they will all be tied together in one final book. Technically, I found a host of typos, one of which (a discussion of blood types and heredity) is at a rather crucial point. This is very unusual for a novel from a major press, but I understand from the author's web site that the book was a bit rushed to press (those fall book lists, don'tcha know.) I've met Ms. Gabaldon and read many interviews with her. She's very nice and I greatly admire her talent. This series has sort of grown into a monster, though, and The Fiery Cross feels not exactly like a contractural obligation, but a project she wasn't very enthusiastic about. I hope the next (last?) book will see her with revived energy and more Claire & Jamie in the narrator's chair. I know this sesms like an overwhelmingly negative review, but I AM glad I read it. If you have read all of the series so far, this is still worthwhile, but it's just not quite up to the usual standard.
P.S. One final note -- contrary to what another reviewer said, this book CANNOT be read alone. If you have not read all of the previous books, much of this one will not make sense. This is one series you HAVE to read in order.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm in love with Jamie all over again
Review: I laughed, I cried, and fell in love with Jamie, again (just when I thought I was over him). I just hope Diana doesn't take so long with the next book!!
Rating: 
Summary: For this I waited 4+ years???
Review: There are already 37 reviews of this book on this site and they seem to be equally divided into those who love this book and those who, like me, find it disappointing. Ditto on all of the comments of other reviewers about boring references to breast-feeding, Jamie's "molten tresses" etc. - doesn't bear repeating. But what a shame that an author with Gabaldon's eye for detail and the ability to mingle history and fiction should bollix this up in book 5. The dashing Highland hero is not so dashing when he's 49 and eeking out a living in rural North Carolina. And I am tired of Claire furrowing her brow and worrying about all the American history she "just doesn't know." It doesn't parse. Part of what made Gabaldon's earlier books so fascinating was the Scottish setting - please, Diana, if you *must* write book 6, can you take us back to Scotland!?!? As my Scottish friends would say, "if it isnae Scottish, it's..." well, nevermind. This isn't Scottish, that's for certain.
Rating: 
Summary: Impeccable research
Review: Diana Gabaldon is a researcher and scholar as well as being an entertaining author. Her descriptions of life in Western NC, the ecology and the subsistence lifestyle are "right on". And apparently she has a working knowledge of Native American tribes and their lifestyles in the area at the time. Her combined knowledge and literary style make this book irresistable to those of us who love the notion of stepping away from our current times and exploring other universes. I, as a practicing archeolgist and an environmental scientist, find her work, as I said, impeccable.
Rating:
Summary: A storyteller without a story
Review: I was at the opening of the bookstore on November 6th, clutching Fiery Cross to my chest like it was gold. Gold turned to silver, silver to copper by the time I was half way through the book. After following Jaime and Claire through ten years worth of books, I was sadly disappointed with The Fiery Cross. Odd themes would be presented and not explained. The _real_ action of the time period summed up in small paragraphs and ghastly correspondence while uninteresting descriptions of life on the Ridge took up pages and pages. There are only so many descriptions of a chilly night that one can read. No one can fault Diana Gabaldon's ability to write, she has a command of her characters that is rare and wonderful - but where was the story? Two seperate weddings took up almost half the entire novel, bringing to mind a new title for the book, "Much Ado about Absolutely Nothing Interesting." This is a must read for OUtlandish fans, but only as a bridge to wait for something real to happen in the next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Jamie turns 50!
Review: This book is wondrous! I have been a great fan of the series since "Outlander," but I felt that book 4 was a little strained and far inferior to the first three entries. I'm delighted to report that book 5 is back on course, with a superb story and the finest writing that she's done. The 976 pages fly by! The best read of the year.
Rating:
Summary: what a sad disappointment
Review: These books have meant so much to me, I have re-read each of them many, many times and I was the first at the bookstore to get this next installment. What's gone wrong? It seems as though all the energy has gone out of Ms. Gabaldon's storytelling. Certainly her details are still wonderfully exact but my sense is ... and I hate to say this, but I must... that she takes some kind of strange joy in writing really long books and she wanted to make space to write another one in the series. Otherwise she could well have handled the revolution in this one, and then there really would have been a plot. I had to fight to make myself keep on reading, and even then I skipped a great deal. Far too much detail and no plot worth talking about.
Rating:
Summary: I tried to read slowly...
Review: It seems like I have waited forever for the Fiery Cross to hit the bookstore shelf. Yes, it was very good no, not as good as Outlander but hey still very worth the read. Thank you Diana for 6 evenings of very pleasant reading. Time spent with Claire and Jamie has always been time well spent. Now to reclaim the messy house and tackle the laundry. I could have read for another 1000 pages. Escape literature... is there any other kind?
Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment!
Review: Let me start by saying Outlander is one of my all-time favorite books and I've read it several times. However, I doubt I will ever pick up The Fiery Cross again. What a huge disappointment! The book is full of meaningless scenes and characters, and, quite frankly, all of Claire's medical adventures have become a crashing bore. Brianna and Roger and their baby are obnoxious and Stephen Bonnet is certainly not as villainous as Black Jack Randall, Dougal Mackenzie or even Geillis Duncan. I can't help thinking how much more interesting the American Revolution portions of this novel would have been if they had settled in New England instead of North Carolina. Jamie could've continued with his printing trade and it certainly would've made for more plot options and an overall more entertaining story. Instead we are stuck in North Carolina and even Claire admits to not knowing what part that colony played in the Revolution! I also have a problem with the mixing of veiwpoint and the inclusion of countless letters and diary entries. It's not effective and the story would flow much better if it kept strictly to Claire's narration of events. In short, a book desperately in need of editing and a good dose of adventure.
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