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A review by treyhunner
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I can't remember when/how this made it on my to-read list but I've owned the audiobook for a while and finally listened to it. It took my a laughably long time listening to realize this was a mashup of sci-fi, historical fiction, and romance.
I found some overlooked details in the history/Sci-Fi distracting, but I mostly found the romantic aspect of the book unsettling, mostly because "women are property" and "consent isn't important" in the time period of this book. Presumably the questionable treatment of sexuality and abuse were for historical accuracy, but it eventually started to feel like it was somehow for the reader's benefit (which felt a bit gross honestly). Reading this from my perspective living in 2021 is unsettling. "No doesn't always mean no" in this book.
I did enjoy aspects of the "20th century person with medical knowledge is suddenly living 200 years ago" plot. I also enjoyed some of the historical discussions (though I'm not well-versed enough in Scottish history to understand some of it).
I'm new to this mashup of genres (especially romance in general), so I don't feel I can rate this book. I can say that I found it both interesting and unsettling and I will not be reading more books from this series.
I found some overlooked details in the history/Sci-Fi distracting, but I mostly found the romantic aspect of the book unsettling, mostly because "women are property" and "consent isn't important" in the time period of this book. Presumably the questionable treatment of sexuality and abuse were for historical accuracy, but it eventually started to feel like it was somehow for the reader's benefit (which felt a bit gross honestly). Reading this from my perspective living in 2021 is unsettling. "No doesn't always mean no" in this book.
I did enjoy aspects of the "20th century person with medical knowledge is suddenly living 200 years ago" plot. I also enjoyed some of the historical discussions (though I'm not well-versed enough in Scottish history to understand some of it).
I'm new to this mashup of genres (especially romance in general), so I don't feel I can rate this book. I can say that I found it both interesting and unsettling and I will not be reading more books from this series.