I loved this book every bit as much as each of the previous four! Diana's way of writing in details that you just don't see any other author do is amazing!! You really feel like you know what it was like in the 1770's. Don't let anybody with a bad review of this book keep you from reading it! It has plenty going on and no, it doesn't talk about diaper changes constantly. I think it mentions it like maybe four times in the entire 1436 pages. My only criticism, if I were to have one at all, is that she seem to really overuse the word alacrity. Who cares!
The Fiery Cross
The fifth book in Gabaldon's Outlander series, the FieryCross takes places shortly after the ending of the fourth book. As a recap (and possible spoiler if you haven't read the first novels) Claire, a nurse from the 1940's traveled back in time to 18th century Scotland. There, to preserve her life, she marries Jamie Fraser, a Scottish highlander in order to save her life. She grows to love him but is sadly separated for twenty years when she has to return to her own time. When she learns he has not died in battle, she returns through the stones and back in time to find him. After a misfortune of a kidnapping of his nephew they set out for the Indies, but are shipwrecked in Georgia. There they begin a new life, which is somewhat interrupted when their daughter and her boyfriend come back to warn them of something the history books say. They set about making a life in the colonies and turning their farm into a successful place.
This book continues on with the wedding of their daughter and Roger and also of Jamie's aunt and a friend of his. Throughout the novel there are skirmishes with people wanting to be free from the British government and Jamie and Roger are enlisted to help with the British army. Another problem is the issue of Stephen Bonnet, a man who has stolen from Jaime and also raped his daughter. Both he and Roger are bound and determined to find this man and kill him for honor.
As part of the battle between the government and the rebels there is a battle in which Roger is almost killed. He is violently attacked and it leaves him a little less sure of his place in life. But it also helps his character gain more respect from Jaime.
On less gruesome aspects of the novel it shows a great deal of how the Fraser's are surviving in this time and making a living off their farm. From such common tasks as caring for children to slaughtering a hog, Gabaldon goes into great detail so the book can kind of be read as a journal on homesteading life.
Like most of her novels, this one is no different in the amount of detail that is worked into it. It continues to have a fair amount of violence described, but nothing like the first book and it is all believably done. While some of the detail I could have done without (descriptions on what's in a babies diaper) it nonetheless made everything realistic.
The characters continue to flesh out and I was pleased to see that Roger started to become his own man in this novel rather than a repeat of Jaime which I feared he was beginning to resemble in previous books. The rest of the characters, even the side characters also had great attention given to them and it was like reading about a real conglomeration of people.
Overall while this was a good novel. Its not as good as some of the others. Still worth the read if you enjoy the series though.
Jamie & Claire can never be boring to me! Maybe I'm weird, but I love to see them happy - and they are NEVER BORING to me! I agree with another reviewer - their lives are always in such turmoil - it's refreshing to see them halfway stable for a while - and the relationship between Brianna and Roger grow. Diana's characters resonate with me on a very visceral level. I have read and re-read all 7 books and hope there will be (2) more books and that they end happily! (I don't want much do it?!). Her complex and vivid details make me believe that these characters and situations are real - and many of the details are real... Jamie and Claire are as sensual as ever - and yet she makes it all realistic - none of this "Flame and the Flower" type stuff - she said she set out to write a 50 year marriage and she is doing that! I hate novels where the couple struggles to get together the entire book and on page 542 they do and by page 590 the book is done! Voyager is my absolute favorite, followed by Outlander and then Dragonfly in Amber but in truth, love them all.
Jamie and Clare's life are never boring for me! I definitely disagree with others here: this book is definitely not boring. In fact, there is a lot of drama in this book. Sure, this book doesn't have like a huge event centering it (like the previous books) but that doesn't mean it's uneventful. This book is definitely more centered on character development and the relationships among the characters. I enjoy that this book is simpler than the others: it's nice for Jamie and Claire to have somewhat of a normal life and be happy most of the time. We see more of Roger and Brianna here as well. I enjoyed this read and look forward to more from Diana!
New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon mesmerized readers with her award-winning Outlander novels, four dazzling tales featuring eighteenth-century Scotsman James Fraser and his twentieth-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall. Now, in this eagerly awaited fifth volume, Diana Gabaldon continues their extraordinary saga, a masterpiece of pure storytelling that is her most astonishing Outlander novel yet....
The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser?s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy?a time-traveler?s certain knowledge. Claire?s unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead?or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.
based on 654 reviews
