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A review by lifeand100books
The Exile by Diana Gabaldon
3.0
So 2013 has turned into the year of the Outlander series for me. I've made it through three of the main novels (Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, and Voyager) and am moving on to Gabaldon's Lord John spin-off series before starting book four in the series, Drums of Autumn. With all that being said, imagine my surprise when Todd and I went into our local Barnes & Noble and found an Outlander graphic novel in the bargain bin!! For $4 I got to be the lucky new parent of The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel. Never has a person been more excited about a bargain than this one right here.
The Exile is the first 1/3 of Outlander but told from Jamie's perspective. I won't regurgitate the plot of Outlander myself, I'll let Goodreads do it for me!
So I knew going into this that I would already love the story Gabaldon was telling. Jamie and Claire's story is truly one of my favorites.....ever. Like Darcy and Elizabeth level love. Therefore I was incredibly surprised to see how weakly their story translated over into a graphic novel. As I sit here writing this I'm not sure where the graphic novel fell short. The illustrations I thought were perfectly suited for the story. Nguyen is a wonderful artist and captured the imagery of the story magnificently. It's possible that because the Outlander book is so detailed and long and the graphic novel so much shorter, that description and story embellishment went missing. The eBook of Outlander I read was 800+ pages while this graphic novel was 224. That's a small amount of pages/illustrations to translate nearly 300 pages of text to.
While it's not sharing anything new to us plot-wise as readers, it was fun to get inside Jamie's head for a short period of time. To get his perspective on the speed and depth in which he fell in love with Claire adds a new dimension to their love. I'll admit, it was also great to see how far Murtagh was willing to go with his fierce loyalty to Jamie. I think fans of the Outlander series will ultimately have the same response that I've had to this graphic novel: it's ok.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
Originally Posted:
The Exile is the first 1/3 of Outlander but told from Jamie's perspective. I won't regurgitate the plot of Outlander myself, I'll let Goodreads do it for me!
After too long an absence, Jamie Fraser is coming home to Scotland—but not without great trepidation. Though his beloved godfather, Murtagh, promised Jamie’s late parents he’d watch over their brash son, making good on that vow will be no easy task. There’s already a fat bounty on the young exile’s head, courtesy of Captain Black Jack Randall, the sadistic British officer who’s crossed paths—and swords—with Jamie in the past. And in the court of the mighty MacKenzie clan, Jamie is a pawn in the power struggle between his uncles: aging chieftain Colum, who demands his nephew’s loyalty—or his life—and Dougal, war chieftain of Clan MacKenzie, who’d sooner see Jamie put to the sword than anointed Colum’s heir.
And then there is Claire Randall—mysterious, beautiful, and strong-willed, who appears in Jamie’s life to stir his compassion . . . and arouse his desire.
But even as Jamie’s heart draws him to Claire, Murtagh is certain she’s been sent by the Old Ones, and Captain Randall accuses her of being a spy. Claire clearly has something to hide, though Jamie can’t believe she could pose him any danger. Still, he knows she is torn between two choices—a life with him, and whatever it is that draws her thoughts so often elsewhere.
So I knew going into this that I would already love the story Gabaldon was telling. Jamie and Claire's story is truly one of my favorites.....ever. Like Darcy and Elizabeth level love. Therefore I was incredibly surprised to see how weakly their story translated over into a graphic novel. As I sit here writing this I'm not sure where the graphic novel fell short. The illustrations I thought were perfectly suited for the story. Nguyen is a wonderful artist and captured the imagery of the story magnificently. It's possible that because the Outlander book is so detailed and long and the graphic novel so much shorter, that description and story embellishment went missing. The eBook of Outlander I read was 800+ pages while this graphic novel was 224. That's a small amount of pages/illustrations to translate nearly 300 pages of text to.
While it's not sharing anything new to us plot-wise as readers, it was fun to get inside Jamie's head for a short period of time. To get his perspective on the speed and depth in which he fell in love with Claire adds a new dimension to their love. I'll admit, it was also great to see how far Murtagh was willing to go with his fierce loyalty to Jamie. I think fans of the Outlander series will ultimately have the same response that I've had to this graphic novel: it's ok.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
Originally Posted: