Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Outlander

when i picked up this book, i truly did not think i would much like it. it was originally recommended to me as a fantasy series, as i have a deep love for fantasy. after purchasing, i read a few reviews and realized it might not be quite what i wanted. i went in with low expectations, and then i read the book in 4 days.

there was so much i loved about this book. the world building is remarkable and made me feel like i was truly transported into the book. i loved the characters. none were perfect, but they felt real. there was clearly a TON of research that went into the writing of the book, and the historical details are wonderful. this book simply transported me into the world, and i felt like i developed a deep attachment and love for the characters.

a few complaints i read about the book was the length, and tangents that the author goes into outside of the overarching plot. i do not disagree, and there are definitely points in the book where there is much added, for little purpose or pay-off. BUT, this genuinely didn’t bother me. i felt like even those points, without much being added to the plot, there was still much being added in terms of the characters. i felt like i was truly getting to know the characters, no matter the circumstance, and did not much feel like i was “reading.” which is my favorite feeling in the world.

so while i can acknowledge faults in the book, i loved it. it might not be everyone’s cup of tea (and definitely more of a historical fiction than a fantasy), but it is a 5 star read for me.

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lilexo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A lovely read for anyone who enjoys romance in a historical setting.

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owlyenthusiast's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I had a rough time with this book, so I'm gonna do my best to spell out my thoughts. I'll start with the positive. It's quite clear to me that Gabaldon poured tons of scientific and historical research into this book. Even the fantastical portions of the novel felt grounded in the world, and I think that she was effective in crafting a rich cast of characters and an engaging environment for them to play in. I legitimately found the historical setting to be interesting, and I appreciated Gabaldon's commitment to a rough-around-the-edges approach. Even within romance, I tend to prefer when the given circumstances and the starting points of the characters aren't pretty and next to perfect. With that being said, my biggest problem with the book was how Gabaldon utilized violence, especially sexual violence. I consider myself a pretty tolerant reader, and there is plenty of controversial topics that I can consume without objection. I think that violence within Outlander is necessary and inevitable, since I believe that the beating heart of the story is about war and how it changes people. Claire (our protagonist) is not just a nurse, she is a nurse that is from 1943, and just served in WW2. Jamie, our love interest, grew up in a Scotland being actively terrorized by the British and has faced unspeakable punishments at the hands of British military personnel. I think it would be naive to think that these characters would not face further danger, react violently to certain stimuli, or, in some cases, absorb terrible treatment with a hardened demeanor. However, there is only so many instances you can read about Claire being almost assaulted before you start to wonder why Gabaldon is relying on sexual violence as much as she is. Certain scenes made narrative sense, but many, to me, felt superfluous. It became annoying, rather than horrifying, which undercuts what those scenes could be achieving. There are many ways to establish stakes and the dangers that Claire faces without having almost every man Claire comes into contact with want to force himself on her. And there are ways to communicate Jamie's traumatic past and current situation without consistently showing what an angry and violent person he can be, even to Claire. This undoes some of the believably the main romantic plot had for me. I ended the book with the conclusion that Claire had a strange trauma bond with Jamie, not the deep love that Gabaldon wants them to have. Not to mention some mild Christian and gender essentialist undertones that were thrown in throughout the love story, some of which I'm tempted to forgive given the time period both characters are supposed to be from. To conclude, I am not sure I will continue this series, which seems like a testament to how exhausting I found the aforementioned elements, seeing as there are nine more books and I have little desire to pick up another.

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ltesh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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headlesswork's review against another edition

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goes from a nice romance to a romanticisation of abuse very suddenly and made me feel gross

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djgracy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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samiredden's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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seeker24's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

That end … very, very graphic a little too much for me

But, the story overall was intriguing. I watched some of the first season of the show so a good bit I remembered, but never finished so about 1/2 way through was all new information.

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