In the wake of a devastating fire in the mountains of North Carolina, Highlander Jamie Fraser and his English wife find themselves homeless and without family, in the midst of the gathering storm of revolution. And thanks to his time-travelling wife's information, he knows what the coming spring of 1778 will bring. But then Jamie's illegitimate son, William, arrives in North Carolina, a young officer in King George's army. Jamie has sworn two things to himself: his son will never know his true paternity - and he himself will never face his son across the barrel of a gun. Between the mountains of North Carolina and those of the Scottish highlands lie blockades and battlefields, storm and shipwreck, privateers and politics. The one thing that sustains the Frasers in their struggle is the hope that their family has reached safety in the future. They have. The Frasers' daughter and her family have returned safely through the standing stones that guard the passage through time, and to Scotland. But something mysterious looms over their new home. Something whose secret may draw them back to what they fled from...
About the Author
Diana Gabaldon is the internationally bestselling author of many historical novels. She lives with her family in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Reviews
– Customer review on 02/10/2009
Another great read by Diana Gabaldon. Was a little confusing at the beginning with all the changes in narratives. But followed on well from A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Left me wanting to scream at the end, I can't wait the next few years for the next book. At least it's a good long read, plenty of happenings, just like the other books.
Oh dear! I have read all this series twice and have considered it one of the best collections of novels ever but this book really drags in parts...and I must admit I had been warned by others!
Lord Grey and his cohorts are not interesting characters, nor are the many military deliberations and discussions of battles to be fought. When Clare and Jamie are on the pages it is as always fascinating. I am only halfway through and will finish it out of "loyalty" and the fact that I always do like to finish a book but it is not one that I "just can't wait to read" like her others in the series!
Again another fantastic book in the series, but the changing narratives irks somewhat. John Grey and William's stories are not that interesting and found myself skipping them. Have since gone back to the first few books in the series to reread as enjoy reading Claire's narrative much more. But still, can't wait for the next installment.
The five stars are an expression of my Outlander fangirl enthusiasm, since I'm incapable of objectively judging the quality of these books. I'd probably have given five stars to anything that wasn't a huge disappointment. Which this wasn't, of course; I thought it was quite good.
The first couple hundred pages are admittedly a little slow. We get a lot of POV from Lord John and 19-yr-old William, and there is some crossover from the LJ spin-off series, which I think may be confusing for people who haven't read those books. I like John and William very much, but in this series I really want to read about Jamie and Claire and fortunately the book soon begins to focus more on them.
The last hundred pages are riveting and really quite shocking. But after the earlier slow pacing they felt a little rushed, and the ending is abrupt. It was made worse because I didn't realize that there is an author's note at the end, so the story stopped suddenly when I thought there were still a few pages to go! If I weren't such a fangirl I would probably dock the book a star for concluding with multiple dramatic cliffhangers, which I in general dislike. I don't remember the other books in this series leaving us hanging in mid-scene! There are also some storylines left unresolved, so even at 800+ pages this felt like the first half of an extremely long novel.
But *dreamy sigh* the book thrilled me anyway. Gabaldon claims to write in scenes, and when I re-read these books I do tend to skim some of the connecting narrative and focus on my favorite scenes, and there are plenty of new favorites in this one. Claire's medical work is as fascinating as always, particularly a long sequence which I had already read as an excerpt in The Outlandish Companion.(less)
I love the whole Cross stitch/Outlander series, and am always pleasantly surprised that Diana Gabaldon manages to continue the saga. After each of the latest books I have thought 'well, there will only be one more book now and then she will finish', but she keeps on rolling them out!
This latest book follows all the different threads that have been introduced along the way - Brianna and Roger 'back' in the 20th century; Jamie's son William's adventures in the English army during the beginnings of America's fight for independence; Lord John; Jamie's nephew Ian's exploits; and of course Jamie and Claire themselves. Plus a few new characters!
There are some great plot developments which I won't ruin for you, but suffice to say they will keep you turning those pages, and counting the days until the next instalment comes out once you reach the end!
I enjoyed this book immensely. As usual, Gabaldon's characters are warm and engaging, and her historical detail makes the stories seem quite believable.
Awesome read, hard to put down as you continue to follow the lives of all the well known characters from previous books in the series. I found the end rather rushed, suddenly a lot happens and leaves a lot of unfinished business that obviously means we have to wait a few years for the next installment. I find this frustrating as a book should be reasonably complete unlike a soap opera that finishes on a "cliff hanger".
I love Diana Gabaldon and the whole series, I am in love with Jamie Fraser, but I found this book disappointing. It is a good joiner book, piecing together stories that will make the next book stunning, but as a standalone, I was left disappointed. It does tie together well in the end, and you are left waiting eagerly for the next book, but this one was hard going for long stretches, and I have never struck that before with these books. In fact I put it down for over a week feeling very sad that this book I had been eagerly anticipating was no where close to living up to expectations, though that may be the problem, maybe my expectations were too high after her other Claire and Jamie books.
I have read all the books Diana Gabaldon has written and enjoyed then very much.I found An Echo in the bone disappointing not like the other books where I could not put them down until I finished.The story I found hard to follow,more about Lord John Grey. The last few chapters were much more enjoyable more like the previous books.
Excellent Reading, as with all Diana Gabaldon books another thoroughly enjoyable, loath to put down read. Continuing with the wonderful lives of Claire & Jamie makes me want to research the time they are living in. Dramatic, well written and another cliff hanger to make us hunger for the next instalment. Write quickly Diana we are waiting with bated breath. Could read alone but recommend reading all the previous novel.
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