Rating: 
Summary: The Fiery Cross
Review: I believe that Diana did an excellent job!!! I have read some of the previous reviews and it seems like some readers were disappointed that it wasn't a true romance. The Fiery Cross is a book of "Life", with everyday situations involved for this time frame. I really loved this book and didn't want it to end! I recommend this book for anyone!! Thank you so much for making my life more enjoyable with your writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but not memorable
Review: Like many others, I waited very expectantly to receive "The Fiery Cross." Unlike many others, I did not expect it to be the whiz-bang read that was "Outlander" or "Voyager." I just hoped it would be better than "Drums of Autumn." It is--but not by much.Sure, there's some pre-Revolutionary stirrings as the dashing Jamie Fraser is called upon to form a local militia against potential uprisings in the colony of North Carolina, and the evil Stephen Bonnet, who raped Jamie and Claire's daughter Brianna in "Drums of Autumn" and may be the father of Brianna's son Jemmy, makes a dastardly appearance. That about does it for the excitement in the book. The Gathering which ended "Drums" literally takes up the first 300 pages of "Cross." Gabaldon loves minutiae, particularly that dealing with anything medical, and a less devoted fan may find their eyes crossing with boredom when she has Claire giving medical treatment to seemingly everyone in the colony! The one character that really comes to life in "Cross" is Roger (Wakefield) McKenzie, who loses a lot of the boorish bluster he displayed in "Drums" and becomes ... well, a good man. Brianna, surprisingly, is nearly shoved to the background, and much too much attention is showered on Jemmy, who aside from his cute sayings and noises does nothing to move the story along. Jamie and Claire are still good characters, although I must agree with some of my fellow reviewers that the constant reminders of Jamie's hair color and the size of Claire's breasts and bottom aren't really necessary. Gabaldon writes well enough so that the minutiae is readable, but I found myself skipping ahead quite a bit--she could have easily cut 400 pages of the book without losing any of the story, in my opinion. "The Fiery Cross" is without a doubt a "set-up" book--not much happens, but hints are given that the next book will have much more action. Hope will once again spring eternal ...
Rating: 
Summary: So?
Review: Well, this is definitely good storytelling, but why isn't anything happening? I've just finished the book, and I feel rather cheated. This is filler material - here's how life is in the Colonial America, down to the most excruciating detail. I guess I could have read farmer's almanac if I really wanted to know. But 400 pages devoted to one day? Marcel Proust did it, and IMHO, D. Gabaldon is not Proust. Read it if you're a hard core fan, but wait for the final book if you value your time.
Rating:
Summary: The wait is Over, and Worth It
Review: Once again, I find Diana Gabaldon seamlessly weaving her fictional characters into hisorically accurate settings; I expect to go to the library and find Jamie's name listed a a participant in a battle! Gabaldon's character development is so excellent I find myself forgetting these are fictional characters, something I haven't done since first reading Gone With the Wind in my teens. I was extremely sorry to come to the end of the book, knowing I have a long wait until the next one, but I am very glad there will be at least one more.
Rating: 
Summary: Enough to keep Gabaldon fans wanting more
Review: I waited a few days before entering the scrum over this book. IMHO, any book that gets 27 reviews in the first 11 days it is issued and is nearly 1000 pages long is pretty darn good! But, above and beyond these facts, this is a good book, the 5th in the Outlander series. If you haven't read all of the previous 4 books DO NOT read this book. Read Outlander/Cross Stitch--you're in for a real treat. This book picks up where the Drums of Autumn left off, in the North Carolina back country in 1771. There we join Jamie and Claire Fraser, their friends, and their growing family in the colonies after Culloden. By the end of the book we are reunited with old friends, faced with new enemies, and several steps closer to war. Told with the same rich detail and spell-binding plot of her previous four books, The Fiery Cross feels like a "book of passage" to me, one that moves the series from one stage to another. As such, it is not always as gripping, as gut-wrenching, or as wholly absorbing as the first four. However, the final third of the book is very good, and leaves this reader with a distinct sense that the next book is going to be something else. Like many of the readers, by the time I got out of the Gathering I was so exhausted I didn't know if I cared what happened to Jamie and Claire. But keep going, and I think you'll be glad you did. You might not wear the covers off this one like Outlander or Voyager, but it's a must read for Gabaldon fans.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Series - Disappointing Installment
Review: The Fiery Cross is simply not in the same league as the other books in this series. As I was reading, I was aware that two things were missing in this book - passion and plot. Although there are a few gripping moments, overall the book is a series of vignettes woven together to form a fairly disjointed book. Part of the problem is the switching of storylines between Jamie & Claire to Roger & Bree. Just when you'd get interested in what was happening to Jamie & Claire, a chapter (or two) of Roger & Bree's story would begin (it didn't help that I find Roger & Bree incredibly uninteresting). Because of this disjointed style, much of the passion between Jamie & Claire (which made the previous books so fabulous) is somehow muted. The book could have also done with some judicious editing - there are segments that seem to ramble on forever (the day of Brianna's wedding takes almost 200 pages!). Quite honestly, the whole story could have been told in about 400 pages. I am still a fan of the Outlander saga, but The Fiery Cross wasn't worth the 3 year wait. Hopefully the author will get back on track in the next book of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Another great Gabaldon (in which much is explained)
Review: Book number 5 in the OUTLANDER series continues the adventures of Jamie and Claire now in North Carolina with their extended family around them. I found the descriptions of the life they are building to be vintage DG; beautiful prose and so well crafted as to leave me in awe with certain phrases and paragraphs floating in my mind's eye for hours. The series is by design beginning to wind down and Diana is allowing the stage to be occupied with the children and their stories, but there is enough of the great love story that is Claire and Jamie to satisfy and content the fans. Since I like the junior characters I found their insertion enjoyable and fun. It was nice to have some of the quesiotns plaguing us from 1991 answered and a few new ones tossed in so we can speculate as we wait for the next installment. Highly recommended for long time fans--start with OUTLANDER if you are new to Gabaldon's writings.
Rating:
Summary: Just Not Catching My Interest
Review: Let's just say I loved! Outlander. I am not so impressed with book 5. First off, the child of Brianna's is so obnoxious and unnecessary, and I am tired about what appears in his diaper, and all that crying for MAMA - eeugh, enough already! -- I don't need that description, over and over again. Also, so they all lust after their spouses, let's have a little plot movement here! I am almost halfway through the book and at best, it is a murder mystery. I am waiting for it to get good, but it just doesn't match up to the previous books, and after such a long wait, I am more than a little disappointed. The other reviews seem to be split 50/50, so I am not encouraged. I hope for the best, considering how wonderful her other books have been, but I just don't race home to read this like her other books... Well, there's still 400 pages so there's hope.
Rating:
Summary: Gabaldon does it AGAIN!
Review: The Fiery Cross is the newest (and thankfully, not to be the last!) in the Outlander series, and it does not disappoint those of us who have read the four previous books! In the series, Diana Gabaldon skillfully weaves a vast and varied tapestry of historical occurances and the realitites of 18th Century daily life, together with lively and endearing characters whose foibles and flaws make them jump off the page! These are characters that you can sink your teeth into: Villians you love to hate, heros you love to love, and a plot with new discoveries around every corner! The main characters, Claire & Jamie Fraser have settled into 18th Century homesteading in the Royal North Carolina Colonial Woods of 1770. Together with their daughter, Brianna, and son-in-law, Roger, they are walking a tightrope between their sworn alleigence to the British Governor who granted them lands, and their knowledge about the outcome of the conflict they know lies ahead: The American Revolution. How to keep their lands, thus preserving the livlihood of the tenants they are responsible for, and yet come out on the 'right' side of The Revolution? A difficult task indeed! The Fiery Cross is notable, in that, several characters who were not well fleshed-out in previous books have been better defined and have taken on a life of their own. In addition, the stage has been well-set for the coming conflict by the end of the book. Villians, who have done their worst in previous books, return now in The Fiery Cross to test the mettle of the main characters further and many loose ends have been neatly "wrapped up" to the delight fans! But never fear...some new mysteries remain to be addressed in future books. Not the least of which is: where will the characters all end up at the close of the series? Will they stay in the 18th Century, or will they choose to time travel back to the 1970's? All in all, The Fiery Cross was a great addition to the Outlander series! It will be hard to wait for the next book....I guess I'll have to start at the beginning again. Some cautions:
1. None of these books are a "quick read." Several of them have plots that are very intricate, and challenging to keep up with. But once you start, I dare you to put it down, even for a minute, without a tinge of regret! 2. None need be read in order, each will stand alone, but it's nice to start at the begining: Outlander> Dragonfly in Amber> Voyager> Drums of Autumn> then Fiery Cross. 3. They are highly addictive, to both men and women. One of my friends is currently fighting with her husband over their copy of Fiery Cross (as they did with each book in turn), each wanting to read at the same time...I would lend them mine, but...I am re-reading it! 4. The series is not for your teen or younger reader: they are sexually explict and violent in some places. That is an important point for those with any qualms in reading such literature, or allowing your teen to read such. The series will please lovers of historical fiction, science fiction (the time travel aspect is fascinating!), and romance (Trust me: men like these books!!!!) alike. If you start them, you'll be waiting for the next book along with the rest of us! While you wait, you can check out the Ladies of Lallybroch Website and chat it up with all the fans of the series...There there you will find a lively community who LOVE to talk about the books, trivia contests, etc...But be careful if you don't want to read spoilers: the site is FULL of them! Enjoy! And welcome to the 18th Century....you'll never want to leave!
Rating:
Summary: Must read for Outlander fans
Review: The romance between Claire and Jamie continues in the fifth book in the Outlander series. The best thing about this book is the deep relationship between the two of them and the growing love between Brianna and Roger. I agree with another reviewer, the love scenes in her are a bit more "bodice-ripper" in nature, and I did grow extremely tired of all the references to breastfeeding (I am a former La Leche League member myself, but I only want to read about it so much, you know?). Interesting plot twists, and some unresolved issues remain (to be cleared up in King, Farewell?). Ms. Gabaldon does an excellent job of setting the scene, and I feel I learned a lot about North Carolina in the late 18th century reading this book. Her attention to detail and research is amazing! I want to run out and buy a Latin dictionary, though, as she used some phrases that were beyond my ken. Overall a good read, and a work worthy of adding to any good library!
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