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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Not as sweeping or epic as Outlander, but I think that made me like it more. It was a very fun historical fiction made more interesting by the fact that the main character is gay. I plan on reading more of this series.
Super fun, more straight up adventure and derring-do than Gabaldon's Outlander series, great to have a gay hero, LOVE Lord John.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed getting to know Major John Grey better after his introduction in Voyager. His unrequited love for Jamie is simultaneously sad and a little pathetic, and not just a product of the times: mid 18th-century London, where being gay is a crime punishable by jail, torture, or worse.
Traveling through London's seediest areas is both repellant and very fun at the same time. The mystery at the crux of the plot is a slow simmer, and overly complicated in the end (Taking almost two chapters of explication to explain), but I thought it was interesting and not as straight-forward as it seemed, even if it did resolve in a mostly predictable manner.
Lord John's mother is a hoot, and the prostitute Nelly was an interesting character, too. All the characters were great, actually. Diana Gabaldon says in her note that she set out to write a short story and ended up with a novel. Well, it does feel like a short story in many ways. The P.O.V. is limited in scope, it focuses on one basic plot, and pretty much stays in one setting for 95% of the book, even if the setting is a place as large as the whole of London. What the great length adds to the mix is character development. I really got to know Lord John better through his family and friends, and even minor characters, like Harry Quarry, who had a whole paragraph or two in Voyager, became fully fleshed out. I'm looking forward to visiting this world again. Just glad I don't have to live there.
Traveling through London's seediest areas is both repellant and very fun at the same time. The mystery at the crux of the plot is a slow simmer, and overly complicated in the end (Taking almost two chapters of explication to explain), but I thought it was interesting and not as straight-forward as it seemed, even if it did resolve in a mostly predictable manner.
Lord John's mother is a hoot, and the prostitute Nelly was an interesting character, too. All the characters were great, actually. Diana Gabaldon says in her note that she set out to write a short story and ended up with a novel. Well, it does feel like a short story in many ways. The P.O.V. is limited in scope, it focuses on one basic plot, and pretty much stays in one setting for 95% of the book, even if the setting is a place as large as the whole of London. What the great length adds to the mix is character development. I really got to know Lord John better through his family and friends, and even minor characters, like Harry Quarry, who had a whole paragraph or two in Voyager, became fully fleshed out. I'm looking forward to visiting this world again. Just glad I don't have to live there.
Entertaining summer read - not quite as sexy or packed full of historical detail as the Outlander series, yet still interesting. This takes place in 1750s London, while Jamie is just out of prison, and focuses more on Lord John Grey & his family & friends. Other Outlander characters do not appear in this novel.
Different style for The author. Nice to see another side of her. As for the book, excellent read, not quite what I was looking for. But an interesting book. Definitely worth the read. Don't think the series is for me though.
Definitely not as exciting a read as the "Big Book" Outlander series but I felt I owed it to Lord John to learn more about his character. I may skip book 2 and go straight to the "Scottish Prisoner" because Lord John's mysteries are just not as rivetting, despite the fact that I absolutely adore his character (when he isn't trying to steal Jamie from under Claire's nose that is!). Was interesting to learn more about the "Lavendar House" and his honorable intentions of protecting his cousin from a man who would have otherwise made her romantic/married life miserable.
This was a nice break from the Jamie and Claire stories in the Outlander series. Although I love the J & C stories, a regular length book (as opposed to nearly 1000 pages) was definitely welcome. It also had a bit more mystery than the series normally does.
I really liked Lord John in the Outlander series so I thought I would give this a try. He just doesn't stand alone well for me. It got boring and repetitive and despite the fact that it was a fraction of the length of one of the Outlander books, it just crawled along for me. Not a fan.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No