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.