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rbouwmeester's review against another edition
2.0
I FINALLY FINISHED IT! And what a struggle it has been.
jackseva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“so long as my body lives, and yours—we are one flesh,” he whispered. “and when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. claire—i swear by my hope of heaven, i will not be parted from you.”
enjoyed this original version of how everything played out sm more than the show's reimagined season 4 i could cry. jamieclaire being an old married couple on top of jamie & brianna getting to know each other mean so much to me i would have given this five stars if not for roger's pov. did not think he'd be even more irritating in book form my god
reydeam's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read this book (3rd time): 2016
Read this book: 2009 - first reading
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What can I say? I am on a roll with rereading the Outlander book series; I started this book on the day I finished Voyager which was May 27, 2016. I was curious if this book would slip into the top rankings for this series. I doubted it, but I was also sure that I would continue to greatly like this book just as I did when I read it for the first time.
It's interesting what having a wider breadth of knowledge does for you, and what time does for perspective too. When I first read this book, I liked it very well, but it did not rank at the top of my favorites for the series. Now? Well, now it does.
There is a lot that goes on in this book; it spans three years (1768-1770) and is mostly set in the mountains of Colonial America-North Carolina. Colonial America and the Revolutionary War America time periods are among my most favorite historical times—Drums of Autumn fed my love for this historical time frame. It is of worth to note, this book does not center on the politics of the time rather it's about the people, how they settled, adapted and managed.
Drums of Autumn is the foundation of Jamie and Claire's lives in America. The details, the story—its sweeping, and the story arc continues to be epic. I am more invested in the characters now than I was with the first read which I know added to the awe moments and the "oh right, that's what happened", and the pure pleasure of reading about the beginning journey for Ian, Roger and Brianna while continuing the journey with Jamie and Claire. Yes, of course, we were introduced to Brianna and Roger in Voyager, but this book greatly shapes their lives and story. And it's with this book that we start to get a better sense of the character that Brianna and Rogers each possess. I must say, knowing how their lives travel during four more books, I appreciate their character qualities much more with this re-reading than I have before. The reader also gets to know Lord John a bit more. I must say, I did not like Lord John much during my first couple readings of this book, but now that I know him better and appreciate him very much, I wonder why I did not like him before. He really is a good character, and adds to Claire and Jamie's lives. With this reading, his nuances and subtleties were not loss on me.
The realities of daily life are woven into the storyline—my mind was brought into the story where I could see the surrounding and have a feeling of the smells, taste and thoughts of the time. I cannot describe clear enough as to how Jamie and Claire as well as Ian, Roger and Brianna come alive for me. Their lives feel real. Their journey feels real too. The story feels authentic. This is a testament to the brilliance of the writing, and storytelling abilities that have been gifted upon Diana Gabaldon.
I did not only read the printed word, but also listened to the story via an audiobook—Davina Porter is an incredible narrator, she does a superb job with this series. Out of the 880 pages, I mostly listened while commuting or washing dishes or vacuuming. It took me a bit of time, the audiobook is 44 hours in length. I was totally ok with taking my time with this book; it is like comfort food to me in the form of solid storytelling. Seriously, this book (like almost all of Gabaldon's books) relaxes me, and gives me great reading pleasure. Every time I listened, I breathed out a sigh of relief and sunk into my seat or busied myself with cleaning as the story brought me into its familiar world. But towards the end with about 15 hours left, I did switch to reading the printed story alongside listening. It got to the point where I just needed to do both. The story is rich in depth.
Bottom line: Drums of Autumn had a feeling of familiarity, and ease. I love this book—there are so many details that I forgot, and that's the beauty of re-reading these books in the Outlander series. With each reading, I discover more. This book is like comfort food to me in the form of solid storytelling. Such bliss.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Read this book: 2009 - first reading
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What can I say? I am on a roll with rereading the Outlander book series; I started this book on the day I finished Voyager which was May 27, 2016. I was curious if this book would slip into the top rankings for this series. I doubted it, but I was also sure that I would continue to greatly like this book just as I did when I read it for the first time.
It's interesting what having a wider breadth of knowledge does for you, and what time does for perspective too. When I first read this book, I liked it very well, but it did not rank at the top of my favorites for the series. Now? Well, now it does.
There is a lot that goes on in this book; it spans three years (1768-1770) and is mostly set in the mountains of Colonial America-North Carolina. Colonial America and the Revolutionary War America time periods are among my most favorite historical times—Drums of Autumn fed my love for this historical time frame. It is of worth to note, this book does not center on the politics of the time rather it's about the people, how they settled, adapted and managed.
Drums of Autumn is the foundation of Jamie and Claire's lives in America. The details, the story—its sweeping, and the story arc continues to be epic. I am more invested in the characters now than I was with the first read which I know added to the awe moments and the "oh right, that's what happened", and the pure pleasure of reading about the beginning journey for Ian, Roger and Brianna while continuing the journey with Jamie and Claire. Yes, of course, we were introduced to Brianna and Roger in Voyager, but this book greatly shapes their lives and story. And it's with this book that we start to get a better sense of the character that Brianna and Rogers each possess. I must say, knowing how their lives travel during four more books, I appreciate their character qualities much more with this re-reading than I have before. The reader also gets to know Lord John a bit more. I must say, I did not like Lord John much during my first couple readings of this book, but now that I know him better and appreciate him very much, I wonder why I did not like him before. He really is a good character, and adds to Claire and Jamie's lives. With this reading, his nuances and subtleties were not loss on me.
The realities of daily life are woven into the storyline—my mind was brought into the story where I could see the surrounding and have a feeling of the smells, taste and thoughts of the time. I cannot describe clear enough as to how Jamie and Claire as well as Ian, Roger and Brianna come alive for me. Their lives feel real. Their journey feels real too. The story feels authentic. This is a testament to the brilliance of the writing, and storytelling abilities that have been gifted upon Diana Gabaldon.
I did not only read the printed word, but also listened to the story via an audiobook—Davina Porter is an incredible narrator, she does a superb job with this series. Out of the 880 pages, I mostly listened while commuting or washing dishes or vacuuming. It took me a bit of time, the audiobook is 44 hours in length. I was totally ok with taking my time with this book; it is like comfort food to me in the form of solid storytelling. Seriously, this book (like almost all of Gabaldon's books) relaxes me, and gives me great reading pleasure. Every time I listened, I breathed out a sigh of relief and sunk into my seat or busied myself with cleaning as the story brought me into its familiar world. But towards the end with about 15 hours left, I did switch to reading the printed story alongside listening. It got to the point where I just needed to do both. The story is rich in depth.
Bottom line: Drums of Autumn had a feeling of familiarity, and ease. I love this book—there are so many details that I forgot, and that's the beauty of re-reading these books in the Outlander series. With each reading, I discover more. This book is like comfort food to me in the form of solid storytelling. Such bliss.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
my_name_is_jess's review against another edition
DNF @ 22%
I left book 3 still completely obsessed with this series yet am unable to make myself continue with this story. Maybe I'll revisit in the future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I left book 3 still completely obsessed with this series yet am unable to make myself continue with this story. Maybe I'll revisit in the future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
gwyndae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
meilanon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Medical content
Minor: Racism, Misogyny, and Murder
yaakovakiva's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book of the series, and I am SO glad to have some closure at the end, with the ability to perhaps take a break before the next 1,000 page volume of the series. Loved Brianna's storyline and Ian's coming of age especially, and I felt at several points that I could feel a bit of the almost constant fear of death in colonial America. Being alone and without any significant technology was so much more terrifying in this setting. Overall, a great part of the series and I know I will eventually venture back to finish the entire slew of gigantic books. I'm so grateful to have actually have seen the author speak at NY Comic Con while in the process of reading this. I was a total fan girl!
stevimuck's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
torlee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
colemannell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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? Yes
4.0