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linnylionheart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Trafficking, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Incest, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual content, War, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Infertility, Vomit, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Confinement
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Genocide and Suicidal thoughts
clairereadstoomuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This six book is set in 1772 and covers 4 years of adventures, or misadventures should I say, of our beloved Fraser-McKenzie family.
It is a LOT of time to cover and consequently, a LOT of stuff happens. A lot of it was interesting to read because it deals with the igniting of the American Revolution and the relationship between the English and the Indian tribes. Suffice it to say there's a lot of political and military talk which I don't usually mind but considering this was 1400-ish pages, there were times when it got a bit tedious.
As always, I really enjoy the focus on Claire's activity and practice and her explanations of plants and their different uses. This time we also have Brianna's engineering creation too which I didn't get in earnest but was fun to read anyway.
Reading these books really puts the romantic out of time travel because reading about what poor Claire goes through just because she knows things. A woman? Knowing things? Not submissive to her husband? She must be a witch.
It's heartbreaking to read and it made me dream less about being in a similar situation myself. Time traveling I mean.
The thing I like the most about Gabaldon's writing is that it's such an immersive experience that I feel like I'm getting a truthful and genuine insight into life in the 18th century. With all its gruesome reality and tough everyday activity and bigot mentality where reputation is everything and religion is the main explanation for everything.
Since, as I mentioned before, this book covers a long period of time, and they go through such hardships, at times it felt like too much. So many bad things happened to these people in such a short amount of time it feels unnecessary pain, you know what I mean?
In the previous two books, I felt like Gabaldon had lost her way in the plot a bit. I didn't see a reason for some plotlines and certainly for the page number. This one felt a lot more balanced in my opinion.
It's true that you could stop reading after "Voyager" and you would be fine but the truth is that I've grown so attached to these characters that I like the fact that my time with them is prolonged.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Murder, Trafficking, and Medical content
Moderate: Racial slurs, Animal death, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Vomit, Torture, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
aserra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I cannot overstate how desperately I wish Outlander books 2-5 were written like this one. Gabaldon does a great job of navigating history with needle-eye accuracy while refraining from literary trauma porn. This allows the brilliant characters, brilliant writing, and brilliant storybuilding/telling to fully shine. I was even able to tolerate Roger Mac (by far my least favorite main character of the entire series thus far). Part twelve (the final part of the book) was a beautiful, thrilling conclusion that had me wildly vacillating between literal tears, whoops of joy, and astonished gasps. Can't wait to get my hands on the seventh book. :)
EDIT: I did come back and knock .25 stars off my original score (4 stars to 3.75 stars) due to the
Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Excrement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, and Slavery
Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Classism, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, War, Medical content, and Self harm
johannab's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Vomit