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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This is several short stories for Lord John . It is my favorite of his books and I think the stories are like snippets into his life. I foudnd I learned more about Lord John in the short stories than in the longer novels. It is also interesting to see what happens to him when he is not with Jamie and Claire in the Outlander books. He has quite an interesting life.
I enjoyed this, but I'm still waiting for an actual love interest for Gray not named Jamie Fraser.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I don't read short stories or novellas often, but these three were a treat. Having met Lord John in the Outlander series, I was quite happy to join his adventures in this volume.
Three excellent stories, all with a mystery to be solved, and neatly interspersed with the novels telling his story.
Thoroughly enjoyed them all.
Three excellent stories, all with a mystery to be solved, and neatly interspersed with the novels telling his story.
Thoroughly enjoyed them all.
So I did enjoy these stories, but I dunno... I think because they weren't really linked, other than that each was Lord John... just didn't "do it" for me. I absolutely love hearing all the "proper" speaking of the time, and I always feel a bit smarter hearing all the big words, lol. And I love Lord John's sense of rightness. And it's always interesting to watch him walk the line of his homosexuality. The stories were good, but I didn't find myself drawn to them like I do with Outlander... where if I'm not listening, I'm still thinking about the story. But they were still interesting. I think the next one will be better because it's a single, full-length story. Also, I think we'll learn much more about Percy and his appearance (and John's discomfort with it) in Echo in the Bone will make more sense.
Note: I reviewed the wrong book the first time!!
Note: I reviewed the wrong book the first time!!
Not really Gabaldon's greatest work, but somewhat an essential read to have the complete story of Lord John Grey. This really isn't a novel, but rather a short story and two novellas. Lord John and the Succubus, one of the novellas was a rather amusing look at the germanic lore of the era. Where Lord John and the Soldier's Ghost had some interesting insights into the harsh religious practices of the 1700's Methodists, not to mention the politics! Not really much of a ghost story though. The ghost only made a brief cameo appearance an was never mentioned again! Actual fact, none of these stories are really essential to either the Lord John or the Outlander series. You can easily give them a miss and not feel like you're missing a thing!
The first stories were just a touch briefer than I’d have liked even with them being novellas it seemed a slight bit more could have been done, but all in all quite enjoyable.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Lord John and the Hellfire Club (3 stars)
(Lord John Grey, #0.5)
Read September 16, 2013
Since we first met him I've always liked Lord John. But I wasn't sure if I would read his spin-off series just because what I love most about Outlander is Jamie and Claire. But, I decided to go ahead and read these before continuing because I've heard that books six (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) and beyond are better if you've read them.
So anyways, this was a fun story I thought. Lord John finds himself thrown into investigating a murder that he had the displeasure of witnessing. His investigation takes him to the mysterious and strange Hellfire Club.
Really short and I kind of would've liked just tad bit more at the end, but still good. I love Lord John's non-nonsense personality. He's such a pleasure to read about.
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Lord John and the Succubus (4 stars)
(Lord John Grey, #1.5)
Read September 17, 2013 - September 18, 2013
This one was a little bit longer than the first novella in the collection and I liked that because it allowed the story to develop a little better.
In this story Lord John finds himself investigating a case that seems most mysterious and supernatural. A succubus is believed to be attacking the local regiment and as much as he believes there is something more to the story, he finds himself looking into the case when people start dying in strange ways.
I liked this one a lot better than the first story. I was curious how Gabaldon would play this one out because although she does have some fantasy things in her Outlander series (such as time-travel and such), the series isn't really a fantasy or paranormal series. So I wasn't sure if this would fit. But, I do think she did a good job fitting it into the scope of the Outlander/Lord John world.
I really am loving reading about Lord John. Glad I decided to venture into this series.
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Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (2 stars)
(Lord John Grey, #2.5)
Read November 10, 2013 - November 11, 2013
This was easily my least favorite story in the anthology and in the series as a whole so far. I can't pinpoint if it's my mood though or the story itself. I tend to be a very moody reader. If I'm not in the right mood for something I would typically like at another time, I could end up hating it. That could be the case with this one as I wasn't really in the mood to read it but it's due back at the library in a few days so I decided to read it anyways.
This story is about Lord John investigating several cannon premature explosions that happened on the battlefield, including one to John in the last book, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. It has kind of a political or military mystery feel to it, which I wasn't a fan of.
Other than that I just didn't feel like the mystery and the story had a depth that the previous ones had. So unfortunately I didn't like this and I slugged my way through it.
(Lord John Grey, #0.5)
Read September 16, 2013
Since we first met him I've always liked Lord John. But I wasn't sure if I would read his spin-off series just because what I love most about Outlander is Jamie and Claire. But, I decided to go ahead and read these before continuing because I've heard that books six (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) and beyond are better if you've read them.
So anyways, this was a fun story I thought. Lord John finds himself thrown into investigating a murder that he had the displeasure of witnessing. His investigation takes him to the mysterious and strange Hellfire Club.
Really short and I kind of would've liked just tad bit more at the end, but still good. I love Lord John's non-nonsense personality. He's such a pleasure to read about.
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Lord John and the Succubus (4 stars)
(Lord John Grey, #1.5)
Read September 17, 2013 - September 18, 2013
This one was a little bit longer than the first novella in the collection and I liked that because it allowed the story to develop a little better.
In this story Lord John finds himself investigating a case that seems most mysterious and supernatural. A succubus is believed to be attacking the local regiment and as much as he believes there is something more to the story, he finds himself looking into the case when people start dying in strange ways.
I liked this one a lot better than the first story. I was curious how Gabaldon would play this one out because although she does have some fantasy things in her Outlander series (such as time-travel and such), the series isn't really a fantasy or paranormal series. So I wasn't sure if this would fit. But, I do think she did a good job fitting it into the scope of the Outlander/Lord John world.
I really am loving reading about Lord John. Glad I decided to venture into this series.
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Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (2 stars)
(Lord John Grey, #2.5)
Read November 10, 2013 - November 11, 2013
This was easily my least favorite story in the anthology and in the series as a whole so far. I can't pinpoint if it's my mood though or the story itself. I tend to be a very moody reader. If I'm not in the right mood for something I would typically like at another time, I could end up hating it. That could be the case with this one as I wasn't really in the mood to read it but it's due back at the library in a few days so I decided to read it anyways.
This story is about Lord John investigating several cannon premature explosions that happened on the battlefield, including one to John in the last book, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. It has kind of a political or military mystery feel to it, which I wasn't a fan of.
Other than that I just didn't feel like the mystery and the story had a depth that the previous ones had. So unfortunately I didn't like this and I slugged my way through it.