Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: I must say that reading all these positive customer reviews influenced me to buy all 4 sequels last year and I tried to read volume one, but I lost interest right in the middle. Having read the "Angelique" series of books(12 volumes, each more than 600 pages) by Anne Golon, a French author, I probably expected too much from Gabaldon. But believe me, Golon is a lot better than this Outlandish saga!I`m disappointed and will sell the 4 books soon in a yard sale.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than average historical romance
Review: Having read the reviews on Amazon prior to going out and buying the book, I expected to be absorbed in the storyline from the beginning. The book starts rather slowly with details about life in Scottish countryside post WWII. Even when the heroine is transported back in time to 1743, the story moves in stops and starts. The book is better than your average historical romance but the stereotypes are still there. The hero is the typical macho blue-eyed innocent whose endless stories of what his father said about treating women gallantly are rather nauseating. The author also tries too hard to draw comparison between post-war emancipation of women, and the patriachal society of Scottish lairds. Particularly annoying are the discussion of spankings and how beatings serve to instil morals and obedience in children and wives! Nevertheless, I found the book difficult to put down and was sufficiently moved by it to write a review as soon as I finished it! It is an entertaining read to escape into once you manage to suspend disbelief.
Rating: 
Summary: The very best in romance.
Review: I will never recomend this book to any one I know personally. The Outlander and I have a special relationship, and for others to read it and know about it would be embarrasing. I resisted reading this book when it was recomended to me, and I have never told the person who recomended that I read it. I can not bear to talk about the very personal feeling I have about the Outlander with others. Weird huh? I have never felt this attatched to a book before for this long. I was so wrapped up in it I found myself laughing out loud, crying and barely able to leave the couch and my book for four days. Even more strange, I read this book in early summer in the high deserts of Wyoming, it rained the whole time I was reading the book, those four days were the only time it rained all year here. It was like the whole world wanted my to feel at home with this book. I hope that others will pick up this whole series, just as long as they dont tell me about it!
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: It has something for everyone... romance, political intrigue, action, adventure, warfare, good and evil, and all set against a historical backdrop that makes this book very interesting. During one of her visits about a year ago (or more), my mom was reading Outlander. She kept telling me what a great story it was, how I should read it, how I would love it, and how she couldn't put it down... etc... I read the blurb on the dusk jacket and thought, "You've got to be kidding!?" It sounded like a trashy time-travelling bodice-ripping romance! I thought my mom was nuts, but since I usually love her book recommendations, I decided to at least give it a chance. I was hooked from the first paragraph and have been obsessed with Jamie and Claire ever since. Outlander was fantastic, but Dragonfly in Amber was a bit slow-paced until about the halfway point where it picked up steam. The pace picks up even more in Voyager, and then slows a little in Drums of Autumn. All in all, a fabulous series, and I am eagerly awaiting Diana Gabaldon's fifth book! Outlander drew me into the story in a way that no other book has. If I had to compare it to anything I've ever read before I would say Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind... Outlander's scope is that huge and the characters are as memorable (and infinitely more likeable!)
Rating:
Summary: One of my top `picks ever...
Review: If someone would have told me that a time travel book where fidelity is challenged would be one of my absolute favorites of all time I wouldn't have believed it. When you read the book you won't think about time travel, fidelity or anything other than Jamie and Claire together. I read it years ago and it remains in my personal top five books ever. Read it. You won't be disappointed. It is one of a handful of novels with worthy sequels. Speaking of which, Ms. Gabaldon, we're waiting...
Rating:
Summary: This book must be going on vacation!
Review: It sure is packed! Actually this was meant as a (lame) joke, but what a good idea! It is a great vacation book if you plan to spend a lot of time reading. I have finished all four of the books in this series and I cant believe how the author just keeps coming up with more and more stuff and it's all interesting! It's great the way she allows her imagination to merrily roll along. I have taken "time off" to read other books in between these four "fatties" but it's great to keep coming back to check up on Claire and Jamie!
Rating:
Summary: Bodice-Ripper Exceeds Expectations
Review: As a writer, I naturally read a lot. Normally I do not read romance fiction or time travel books. However, after reading a list of "best romance fiction" as chosen by romance writers themselves, I decided to sample some of them. I was skeptical when I came across the premise of "Outlander", but decided to give it a go anyway. After all, I hope people will read what I write, giving the author the benefit of judgment after the fact, not before. I was most pleasantly surprised. Not only was the history accurately portrayed, but the story was funny, interesting and captivating. While I would never rank any book with a perfect "5" (except of course my own!), this was a fun read. The characters are human, hilarious and haunting. The book is filled with humor and Gabaldon has a light touch that made me laugh out loud. Now I'm planning on tackling the second of the series to see if it matches the quality of the first!
Rating:
Summary: Can it be me?
Review: Its hard to believe I could be so popular
Rating:
Summary: What an escape!
Review: I read the 4 books in this series in a whirlwind! I read them slower the second time around. I read them again to my husband, he loved them! I read a chapter or 2 every night to help set the mood for my dreams. There are literally thousands of people that have read these books and are discussing the characters as we speak, just check out Ladies of Lallybroch! If you've read the series and feel alone with your obsession for Jamie and Claire Fraser, don't fret, there are others that want to here from you. This is a series that won't soon be forgotten!
Rating:
Summary: Not one for historical romance...
Review: Not one for historical romance, this novel grabbed me and I read this and the subsequent three novels all in one month. I can't remember the last time I sequestered myself in my room, reading up to 6 hours a day. I even irritated (oops and neglected) my family with my passion for these books. Although there is some violence, especially with "women's issues", they fit the violent times in which the novel was placed. Claire is a spunky, no-nonsense person who gets lost in a fantasy... what an escape... for Claire as well as for me!! I've passed the series on to my ENGLISH mother-in-law, who is now a fan as well!
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