Outlander

Rating:
Summary: Simply the best novel I've read in years
Review: I would be remiss if I didn't drop a word here about Outlander. This, the first in a series, is categorized as a Romance but is much, much more. Don't expect the ordinary, or the contrived. What you can expect is a truly wonderful story full of good people who aren't saints and bad people who aren't always evil. I've bought this book more times than I can count, just to give it away to my friends.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Outlander is one of my all time favourite books (and I have read many!). The unique blend of characters(with tremendous depth) provides a wonderful and witty dialouge as well as make the book come to life. The story of a modern woman (that is 1940's moden-but she thinks more along the lines of 90's)having to live in 18th century Scotland where everyone is alien to her and where her intelligence as well as her loyalty to her husband are put to a test (married woman has a thing for Scottish man, Jamie. But hey! she's in the 18th century and hubby hasn't even been born! Is it right or wrong?). This novel is well worth reading, there are wonderful glimpses of life in that wonderful time, the traditions, the beliefs,and the society are viewed through the eyes of an outsider or outlander and you along with her come to love it. It is filled with romance, intrige, humour, feuds, and tragidy. It is a long read but never a boring one.

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This book is one of the best examples of escapist fiction that I know. It lets the reader into the world of the book completely and you get to know the characters as if they are real people. By the end of the book you feel like you are losing some of your best friends and you can't wait to find out what happens to them. The plot is exciting, adventerous and different than a lot of similar types of romance novels.

Rating:
Summary: Best romance novel I'veread...
Review: I am currently 2/3 of the way through what is my firstnovel in this genre. All things going well, it will also be mylast. My wife agreed to read some of "my" books, while I tackled the challenge of reading hers with a view to understanding the fairer sex better.

Well, I hate to disagree with 95% of the review here but this has been something less than a page turner- it has taken me atleast a couple of months to get this far.

I would see this book as being the female equivalent of looking through a naughty magazine, with our hero being a fine example of an almost unrealizable ideal. The big, strong, firey red-headed Scot, always ready to dive in and protect his fair maiden. Strong as an ox he is nonetheless warm and caring, and also a little naive in the way of women. He would, of course, be ready to fight to the death for our heroine. Fluent in Gaelic, English and French, he is also partial to quoting from Greek mythology (in ancient Greek, obviously). Yes! This is 18th century Scotland! I guess this is a case of a not so willing suspension of disbelief.

The story-line, while based on an interesting premise (blending mythology, history and fiction) is still quite repetitive. Boy meets girl. Girl gets in trouble. Boy rescues girl. They disagree, but make up "in the bedroom". Girl gets in trouble again. Boy rescues girl again. Repeat 4 or 5 times.

I did agree to read all books in this series but my consistent pleas of mercy have worn my wife down, so I'll just have to finish this one. I'll give one star for the benefit of the doubt - I'm not exactly the target audience. One star for the quite original idea behind the book and all the research that undoubtedly went into it. As for me, I'll stick to the likes of Salman Rushdie and Milan Kundera- I would recommend them for higly original and thought provoking fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Outlander
Review: This is a real page turner. I have recommended it to all my friends and family. I cannot wait to read more of her books. It is so well written and absorbing. Diana Gabaldon is a consumate story teller and I will read everything I can that she has written. I haven't enjoyed a book so much in years. Thank you, Diana Gabaldon for writing it.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Ever Read .
Review: Not since the Clan of the Cave Bearer have I been so wrapped up in a series of books. These books should be listed under historical fiction. They are so beautifully written and I found I could not put them down. I have always thought of romance novels as "candy" - this is a nine course meal! Has Oprah read this yet?

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely dreadful.
Review: This book is nothing but soft-core pornography and endless scenes of rape and torture. The premise was interesting: the heroine, nurse Claire, is sent back in time to Scotland. Even though Claire is happily married in her own time, she meets and marries a young Scotsman, Jamie. I had trouble believing that the two characters could possibly be attracted to each other. Claire just seems cold and uninteresting. Jamie is much too immature for an older, married woman. I saw nothing about them that made me believe that there was anything "timeless" about their relationship. They seemed to have nothing in common outside of the bedroom. At one point Jamie asks Claire "Is this normal? This wanting you all the time?" The reader is supposed to believe that the relationship is somehow different from the norm, but there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about it. Claire and Jamie are simply going through that "I've got to have you now" phase that we all experience at the beginning of a romance.

I was particularly shocked during one scene in the book, where Jamie beats Claire so hard that she is in pain for days afterward. This is all treated with a wink and smile, instead of as the wife abuse that it is. We could try to argue that Jamie was simply a victim of his time, and that that is way things were done "back then." But to what purpose? It would have made the hero seem much more mature and compassionate if he'd thrown his upbringing out the door and told Claire "This is the way it's usually done, but I love you too much to ever cause you harm."

Part of the problem is that this book could have been so much more, but wasn't. I expected to see Claire, with her knowledge of future medicine, crying, wishing for antibiotics and desperately trying to save the life of some Scottish child with smallpox or some other illness. Instead, the only person she ever tries to heal is Jamie, after his neverending role as the professional victim. She seems not to care at all about the people surrounding her. Her only interest is in bedding Jamie as quickly and often as possible. I found Claire to be a selfish, cold, silly heroine. I couldn't identify with her at all.

This was a first for me. I actually threw this book in the trash after I read it. I was afraid that someone with a little intelligence might stop by my house and see that I'd actually paid for and read a book that is so abysmally awful.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting and involving
Review: Diana Gabaldon has woven many elements together to create a time travel story that is thrilling, complex and involving. Outlander is the tale of Claire Randall, a British nurse in WWII who is drawn back in time to the Scottish Highlands of 1743, a few years prior to the rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie. She is quickly drawn into the lives and politics of the Highlanders she meets, drawing on her knowledge of history and medicine. Diana Gabaldon's research and well done characters easily compensate for some of the more disturbing aspects of the book. It is not for the squeamish!

Rating:
Summary: Outlander
Review: This book kept my interest and I enjoyed it throughly. I plan to get the whole series of them I can't wait to read them all.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't finish
Review: I realize I'm going to be incredibly unpopular with my comments but... I could not finish this book because I thought the first 100 pages were too boring to want to continue. Maybe it got better, I will never know. I have to agree with the reader from Washington 3/20/00 and the reader from Ohio, 11/17/99. (I'd probably find myself agreeing with others but I don't want to read all 400+ reviews.) This is one of those books you either love or hate, From the reviews I read, I really don't think there's a middle ground. I did not like it one iota. This was my second time travel only because I loved "A Knight In Shining Armor" by Jude Deveraux and thought this one would be as wonderful.