Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

16 reviews

standandsway's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Torture, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

valleylily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense

At several points throughout, The Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon, the novel struck me as Gabaldon's most descriptively-written and most frustrating novel so far in the Outlander series. There is so much complexity in Gabaldon's novels that I will not be able to address all concepts thoroughly.

As I mentioned previously, Drums of Autumn, seemed thus far to be the most vividly-written novel in the series and the descriptions of the characters' surroundings were very compelling at many times. I could often envision the scenes taking place and I was moved to tears on several occasions.

One of the frustrating aspects of the the novel I will address is Gabaldon's descriptions of Indigenous peoples and societies. I think there is a misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples and this was one of the major struggles I faced when trying to get through the novel. I struggled with the characters saying "Indian" but most strongly with the consistent use of the word "savage" to describe Indigenous people, even by Claire. I do understand these were words commonly used during the time period and afterward, but I found myself surprised by Claire's use of the word "savage." Because these words were commonly used, I understand the importance of including them in the novel by characters who do not know differently, though it was still difficult to read them. To a certain extent, I understand Jamie's apprehension of Indigenous peoples because heinous propaganda was printed against Native people during the time to stir colonists to violence against them, like in the pamphlets Jamie printed in his Edinburgh printshop in Voyager. I hoped the characters would interact with Native people and there would be a realization that they were not so different from one another, which happened so some degree. Another aspect that bothered me was Jamie's descriptions of Indigenous land as a "wilderness," while Scotland had seen thousands of years of "civilization." This was very irritating to me because Indigenous people have extensively cultivated these lands for thousands of years and the land was in no way a virgin wilderness as it is often depicted. However, as mentioned in the novel, war and disease ravaged Indigenous communities so many Nations were forced to leave their homelands and many areas became overgrown, leaving colonists to think these abandoned places were untouched before European arrival. 

I think historical accuracy was lacking in regard to Indigenous communities and society. Though this is not a novel about Indigenous people, I think accurate representation is important. There is also very little the colonists themselves could know in some respects. There is so much history to think about and study in this novel and exploring different areas of the past in the series can be fascinating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Colonisation, Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

kellymoroney's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Cursing, Medical content, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Rape, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Slavery

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gore, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual content, War, Death, Dysphoria, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Abortion, Classism, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Murder, Sexual assault, Vomit, Excrement, and Racial slurs

linnylionheart's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Excrement, Child death, Trafficking, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Deportation, and Torture

Graphic: child birth ; execution by hanging / fire ; suicide by fire

brownieboo's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Torture, Hate crime, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Slavery, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Police brutality

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, War, Sexism, Vomit, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, and Incest

thefriendlymushroom's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Abortion, Blood, and Outing

aserra's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

I adore Diana Gabaldon's writing, I adore this series, but I cannot, in good conscience, give this book a rating of 4 stars or above due to the casual nature and dismissal of

the sexual assault of Young Ian

. The book was written in the 90s, and is certainly a product of its time; I don't think there's any malice in how racial and gender issues are addressed in this book. I think that Gabaldon does a fine job of balancing addressing the bigotry of the times, viewing that bigotry through the lens of a white woman from the 20th century, and choosing what to include and exclude as the author.

For all that Jamie and Claire are a distinct and progressive (in the context of the book's time periods) couple, Roger and Brianna's relationship is not. Roger is stiflingly misogynistic, possessive, whiny, and downright boring. That alone is a nuisance, but he stands in a series alongside James Fraser (who has his flaws, don't get me wrong), who is secure enough in his masculinity and person to listen to Claire, to consider her an equal, to respect her and other women, Jamie who is more forward-thinking as a product of 18th century Scotland than Roger, a product of 20th century Scotland.

Jamie and Claire's lives together continue to enthrall and enrapture me to no end. This series, in my opinion, would've benefited greatly from the exclusion and/or removal of Roger Mac, and I wish the

SA's of other characters and the associated recovery were addressed with the same care and accuracy as Jamie's was and is treated in these books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Colonisation, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Rape, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexism, Murder, Violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs

Minor: Genocide and Pedophilia

gitarrlillan's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Medical content, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Violence

Minor: Child death and Murder

thewrongalice's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Medical content, Colonisation, Slavery, and Murder