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A review by spanishviolet
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
3.0
I read the first couple of Outlander books about a decade ago, so I only retain a few foggy memories of them. Contrary to some of the other reviews, I enjoyed this book even without any detailed knowledge of the main series. The historical research felt strong and detailed; the characters felt appealing but not anachronistically modern; and the settings were vividly drawn - I felt like I was really in all those cold rooms with rain beating at the windows.
The story alternates between Lord John's love affair & the troubles it causes, and the unearthing of some secrets surrounding his father's death many years before. I found the first storyline much more involving and moving. The second had the potential to be interesting, but mainly felt confusing - the plotters he was trying to hunt down mostly stayed offscreen and I had trouble remembering which name went with which unseen villain, so I took away a star for that. Also for the scenes with Jamie Fraser, which felt shoehorned in. They felt irrelevant and less convincing than the rest of the book, as though she had to fit in her favorite character somehow, even though he didn't really belong.
The story alternates between Lord John's love affair & the troubles it causes, and the unearthing of some secrets surrounding his father's death many years before. I found the first storyline much more involving and moving. The second had the potential to be interesting, but mainly felt confusing - the plotters he was trying to hunt down mostly stayed offscreen and I had trouble remembering which name went with which unseen villain, so I took away a star for that. Also for the scenes with Jamie Fraser, which felt shoehorned in. They felt irrelevant and less convincing than the rest of the book, as though she had to fit in her favorite character somehow, even though he didn't really belong.