Diana Gabaldon's brilliant storytelling has captivated millions of readers in her bestselling and award-winning Outlander saga. Now, in An Echo in the Bone, the enormously anticipated seventh volume, Gabaldon continues the extraordinary story of the eighteenth-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his twentieth-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall.Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he'd rather die than have to face his illegitimate son--a young lieutenant in the British army--across the barrel of a gun.Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won't include Jamie's life or his happiness, though--not if she has anything to say about it.Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger …
Diana Gabaldon's brilliant storytelling has captivated millions of readers in her bestselling and award-winning Outlander saga. Now, in An Echo in the Bone, the enormously anticipated seventh volume, Gabaldon continues the extraordinary story of the eighteenth-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his twentieth-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall.Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he'd rather die than have to face his illegitimate son--a young lieutenant in the British army--across the barrel of a gun.Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won't include Jamie's life or his happiness, though--not if she has anything to say about it.Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger MacKenzie, have resettled in a historic Scottish home where, across a chasm of two centuries, the unfolding drama of Brianna's parents' story comes to life through Claire's letters. The fragile pages reveal Claire's love for battle-scarred Jamie Fraser and their flight from North Carolina to the high seas, where they encounter privateers and ocean battles--as Brianna and Roger search for clues not only to Claire's fate but to their own. Because the future of the MacKenzie family in the Highlands is mysteriously, irrevocably, and intimately entwined with life and death in war-torn colonial America.With stunning cameos of historical characters from Benedict Arnold to Benjamin Franklin, An Echo in the Bone is a soaring masterpiece of imagination, insight, character, and adventure--a novel that echoes in the mind long after the last page is turned.From the Hardcover edition.
I really enjoyed this book. It was so nice to have the follow two generations in different times even though it's hard to know they're apart. And I love some of the twists. The last few chapters were so exciting and I cannot wait to start with the next book and novella. Also very glad that there's less household chores and other stuff that's not really interesting, though some chapter seemed like jumping around a bit more than usual. Usually historic events were described differently somehow (that's my feeling at least). Maybe it's just the many small battles vs. the larger ones from the early books. All in all I really enjoyed this book.
The strongest of the series so far. Much more tightly plotted, and having characters in different timelines was a nice twist. Otherwise, the same as before... sex, historical events, sex, and drama. It’s a good middle ground between high literature and brain candy
There were some characters in this book that I didn't know, so parts of this book were kind of a drag. I all in all liked it though. This book kind of makes me want to read the Lord John books, but we'll have to see. I'll give Gabaldon credit for her details as far as war goes, even though I didn't much like those parts of the book. I did like Claire's operations, and medical doings however.
This is the latest in her series featuring Claire and Jamie. They include the character Lord John, and she's also spun him off into his own series of historical mystery novels. I feel a bit guilty giving the book 5 stars, but I inhaled 800 pages in about 4 days, and that's with consciously slowing myself down to try to make it last. If you're interested in the series, do start with the first one -- Outlander.[return][return]The books are set in the mid to late 1700s. Like John MacDonald Fraser's Flashman character, Claire and Jamie's busy lives take them into every major historical event in that period in Scotland and the Americas, plus a bit of France. There's some time travel between the 20th century and the 18th, but the action mostly takes place in the past. I wish I could be more analytical as to what I love about …
This is the latest in her series featuring Claire and Jamie. They include the character Lord John, and she's also spun him off into his own series of historical mystery novels. I feel a bit guilty giving the book 5 stars, but I inhaled 800 pages in about 4 days, and that's with consciously slowing myself down to try to make it last. If you're interested in the series, do start with the first one -- Outlander.[return][return]The books are set in the mid to late 1700s. Like John MacDonald Fraser's Flashman character, Claire and Jamie's busy lives take them into every major historical event in that period in Scotland and the Americas, plus a bit of France. There's some time travel between the 20th century and the 18th, but the action mostly takes place in the past. I wish I could be more analytical as to what I love about them. She makes the historical period feel very real. There are prosaic details, never explained at length, just observed in passing. The characters are well drawn, with both strengths and weaknesses. The plot is always full tilt. The women are every bit as fully realized as characters as the men.[return][return]The reason I feel guilty about the 5 stars is that the level of coincidence is absolutely shameless. No one ends up at Culloden, and Valley Forge, and the French court. But damn, it would be interesting (and terrifying) if you did.
