Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon (Delacorte - Nov 1997)

Series: Outlander (Book 4)

It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past -- or to the grave. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became legend -- a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter, Brianna ...

Now, Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history ... and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past ... or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong....

The story continues. In Voyager, Claire made the decision to go back through the stones to find Jamie, who had survived Culloden after all. Their adventures brought them to the coast of the colony of Georgia and the chance of a new life in the New World. Their initial plan is to go to North Carolina and find Jamie's aunt Jocasta, who had moved there years ago, and then put young Ian on a ship back to Scotland. While there, they receive a letter from Jenny, asking them to keep Ian with them and therefore giving him a better life than he'd have in Scotland. Their trip isn't without its troubles, as they are robbed, meet a pirate named Stephen Bonnet, and run into slave problems on his aunt's plantation. Jamie longs for land of his own and with the encouragement of the governor of the colony, he and Claire head for the hills and establish their new home on Fraser's Ridge.

Meanwhile, back in modern day Scotland, Brianna desperately misses her mother, but is growing ever closer to Roger MacKenzie Wakefield. Until the day she discovers a newspaper article detailing the deaths of her parents in a house fire. Determined to try to change history, she makes a leap of her own in order to go find them, leaving Roger behind. Not to be outdone, Roger follows behind her. He is able to find her, then they pledge themselves to each other before Roger goes off to find a way for them to get back home after they deliver their message.

While separated trouble finds Brianna before she can find Claire and Jamie, leaving her with consequences that could keep her from going home. Through a terrible misunderstanding, Jamie and Ian intercept Roger before he can catch up with Brianna, and they give him to a far away Indian tribe, hoping to keep him far from Brianna. When the truth is known, Jamie and company must find a way to get Roger back.

Once again the book is rich with historical detail and characters that leap off the page. I loved Brianna's determination to save her parents even though she has no guarantee that she can make the trip. I really liked seeing her make her plans and carry them out. The part that Bonnet plays is multilayered, and affects both Claire and Brianna, though in different ways. I was frustrated by Jamie's actions, as I thought he should have at least listened to what Roger had to say before taking action. I loved Brianna's first meeting with Jamie - so emotional. The description of what happened in the Indian village, both to Roger and Ian made me feel almost as if I was there. I also felt for Roger because of the decision he had to make, even though I was sure he would ultimately make the right choice. I loved seeing Lord John and Willie show up on Fraser's Ridge, and seeing the effect it had on Jamie. I also loved seeing John step in to help Brianna.

I really enjoyed seeing life in the colonies as events are growing closer to war with England. With Claie's knowledge of the future they know what side they should take, but hope to avoid fighting entirely. I loved seeing Bree and Roger get back together and get to be the support that that each other needs. 

Voyager - Diana Gabaldon (Dell - Oct 1994)

Series: Outlander (Book 3)

Twentieth-century time traveler Claire Randall faces a possibility both fearsome and exhilarating. Having returned to her own time, pregnant and brutalized by her trip through the standing stones, she makes a new life for herself, training to become a doctor and raising her daughter, Brianna. But the passage of two decades does little to dim the memory of 18th-century Scotland and gallant young clansman Jamie Fraser or the life they once shared; and the constant presence of Brianna, with her father's brilliant red hair and well-loved features, is a painful reminder of the past. Now Brianna is grown, and Claire learns that Jamie may have survived the bloody Battle of Culloden. Dare she risk another trip through the stones, a trip that easily could prove fatal? Will she even be able to find Jamie? And how can she leave behind her beloved daughter, knowing all too well they may never see each other again? The risks are great, the losses unthinkable. Surely the passage of time has changed Jamie too. What might be left of the love they once shared? But courage, and hope, make all things possible. 

Claire takes a leap of faith through the standing stones, bridging a chasm of some twenty years. For a second time, she seeks her destiny with a man she cannot forget. Both of them, uprooted from past and present lives, move as one from the battlefields of Jacobite Scotland to the exotic West Indies, in league with Highland smugglers and Caribbean pirates and face-to-face with political intrigue and the dark mysteries of voodoo magic. Together, in their bold voyage to an unknown destination, they are braving the treacherous tides of the human heart.

Probably my favorite of the series other than Outlander itself. Voyager picks up where Dragonfly in Amber left off, with Brianna and Roger having discovered that Jamie survived Culloden. The first third of the book covers the search for what happened to Jamie by Claire, Roger and Brianna in the modern day, and follows Jamie's life after the battle and Claire's after she returns to the present. 

I really enjoyed the sections that took place in the present. I loved seeing what Claire had made of her life after her return. It hadn't been easy going back to Frank with her heart still with Jamie. There were times that I really liked Frank, as he stayed with Claire and took care of her and Brianna, but others where he was a real ass. There's a great part where he's talking to her about her drive to become a doctor and his envy of her. There are also a couple interesting twists near the end that lead back to her friend and fellow doctor, Joe Abernathy. Once she finds out that Jamie is still alive, Claire is torn between her love for him and wanting to return, and her love for Brianna and not wanting to leave her behind. It takes Brianna's blessing for her to make the decision.

Also taking place in the present is the developing relationship between Roger and Brianna. Though she seemed a bit oblivious during Dragonfly, by the time Voyager starts we can see the connection. There is a sweetness to the way that Roger watches over Brianna, as if he wants to protect her from anything that could trouble her. While the search is important to the historian in Roger, I feel it is even more vital to him because of its importance to Brianna. I feel that the connection between them made it easier for Claire to leave.

The corresponding sections about Jamie were at times heartbreaking. He neither expected nor wanted to survive Culloden, now that Claire was gone, but having done so his life was not easy. In the years after Culloden he was a hunted man, and spent seven years hiding in a cave near his home. He rarely had a chance to see another person. But his love of his family and his people never changed, and it was that which inspired him to get himself captured (so his family could have the reward money).  His time in prison gave a glimpse once again of his natural leadership as he took care of his fellow prisoners. It is at this time that Lord John Grey reappears, this time as the man in charge of the prison. Jamie and Lord John begin a friendship here that will have an effect on Jamie's life for a long time to come. It is John's influence that has Jamie sent to England as an indentured servant, working in the stables. It is an easier life that being in prison, but it also lonelier. An unwilling encounter with the daughter of the house has consequences that finally work in Jamie's favor in one way but is heartbreaking in another. A return to Lallybroch, then a need to leave there sends him to Edinburgh and a whole different kind of life.

I loved the reunion of Jamie and Claire. While she had had time to think about what it would be like, Jamie was taken completely by surprise. I loved his reaction (he fainted) and the tears of joy they both shared. After so long apart, they are somewhat tentative with each other, but their love is still there. It's here that the fun really begins.  Claire's reappearance thrills Fergus, surprises Ian as he arrives looking for his son, and creates a hysterically funny bit of confusion with Young Ian as he mistakes Claire for a resident of the brothel. Trouble starts stalking them as Jamie's lives as printer and smuggler draw the attention of the wrong people causing them to have to leave Edinburgh. A return to Lallybroch exposes a secret that Jamie had kept from Claire, one that he really should have told her before they got there. I understood Claire's hurt and fury, and wondered what had happened to Jamie's long ago vow of honesty between them. In order to recover from this will require a dangerous expedition to retrieve some treasure, a trip that goes terribly wrong.

The trouble that seems to be following them creates a need for a trip to the West Indies in order to recover young Ian from pirates. A trip that involves a plague onboard a British ship that commandeers Claire's services as healer, a sheep loving priest, the reuniting of Jamie and Lord John and the revelation of the other secret he had been keeping from Claire, the continuing search for Ian and the horrifying reappearance of Geillis Duncan.  There was a chilling exhibition of voodoo that really gave me the creeps. The rescue of Ian and a battle with a hurricane rounded out an adventure that even on a second reading kept me turning the pages far past bedtime on many night.

Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon (Dell - Nov 1993)

Series: Outlander (Book 2)

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves ....

Fantastic second book in the series. It starts with Claire back in the future, telling her daughter about what happened to her and the truth about her parentage. She has also come to Scotland to see if she can find out what happened to the people she knew, if they survived the Rising and its aftermath. In the process, Claire tells of what happened to her and Jamie after they left Scotland up until the beginning of the Battle of Culloden.

Jamie and Claire have settled into their marriage, with their love as strong as ever. Each of them has strengths and vulnerabilities that become part of their stories. Jamie has an honorable streak a mile wide that makes him want to save his family and countrymen from the looming disaster. It's hard for him to walk the fine line between honor and treason and it wears on him. Claire is deeply in love with Jamie, but still suffers from the guilt of feeling like she is betraying Frank. Trying to reconcile her love for Jamie with protecting Jack Randall so that it doesn't screw up her future with Frank is not easy. 

With Claire's knowledge of the future, they go to France to try to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie from trying to take back the throne. The details of the political intrigue are fascinating and made me feel as if I was there. Claire also uses her healer abilities to work in a local charity hospital, giving more insight into the realities of life in the mid 1700s. I loved seeing Claire's strength of will and determination to make as much difference as she can. As they feel they are making progress and take a trip back to Scotland, fate intervenes and they end up on the wrong side after all.  With Jamie's certainty that he won't survive Culloden, in order to protect Claire, he sends her back to Frank.

I love the rich historical details that are shown throughout the book. There are also some fun things that get worked into the story, such as Claire's explanation of what a "commando" is and what Jamie does with that knowledge. There is also a hilarious description of Jamie's venture into a brothel, a sausage, and a young French lad who becomes a big part of the story.

The depth of emotion throughout the book is amazing. Jamie's love for his family and his country is deep and his desire to save them influences everything he does. There is a feeling of fear throughout as he and Claire worry that they won't be able to stop the Rising. Claire's unhappiness and depression after the loss of her baby are deep, and the effect on her marriage was heartbreaking. But the deepest, most emotional event was as Jamie accepts what he sees as his fate, and begs Claire to return to the future so that he can be sure that she is safe.

I loved the sections in the present, as Claire tells her story. Her determination to discover the fates of her friends is intense. I loved Roger's fascination with her quest, and the lengths he goes to find out the answers. There is an intense twist to the story at the end that leads into the next book.

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (Dell - June 1992)

Series: Outlander (Book 1)

In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon -- when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach -- an "outlander" -- in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny is soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidding Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life... and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives...

I have reread this book for three main reasons. First, I wanted the story fresh in my mind when the Starz series starts in August. Second, my husband and I are going to Scotland this summer and will be visiting some of the places in the book and the film locations. Third, the story itself is so incredibly well done that it is worth reading over. There are always things that I didn't notice or remember from previous readings. This is an incredibly emotional book, with a rollercoaster of feelings - laughter, tears, joy, fear, confusion, pain, and most of all love.

Claire is the heroine, through whose eyes the story is told. She and her husband are on a second honeymoon in Scotland, getting to know each other again after years apart during the war. He is into genealogy and spends a lot of time researching his family. Claire is interested in the healing properties of plants and during a search for a rare one ends up in a local stone circle. She is thrown back in time to 1743 when she touches one of the stones. At first she thinks she is caught up in some kind of reenactment, but soon discovers she really is in 1743. 

Claire is an amazingly strong and adaptable woman. Thanks to being raised by her archaeologist uncle,  she is accustomed to primitive living and adjusts pretty quickly to her surroundings. She is also very independent, which gets her into hot water several times, as she pursues her own desire to find a way back to her own time. She is a pretty good judge of character and adept at reading people which also helps in her adjustment. She also has no problem speaking her mind. Her medical training comes in handy as she helps treat various members of the clan with whom she is living. One of them is Jamie Fraser, a handsome young Scot who seems to have some secrets of his own. Over the course of the first few weeks she is there, she and Jamie become friends. She is also attracted to him, but as she considers herself married (even though her husband hasn't been born yet) she does nothing about it.

Jamie is a fantastic hero. He is honorable, intelligent, strong mentally and physically. He has been through some incredibly bad times, leaving him with both physical and mental scars, but has also retained his sense of humor and humanity. He is tough on the outside, but has a kind and sensitive soul. He is a keen observer of people. He is drawn to Claire, her beauty and her forthright personality. 

The two of them together make an amazing couple. They start out with a strong friendship and a pledge of honesty between them. When they are forced to marry to keep Claire safe it is the beginning of a romance for the ages. Jamie's feelings for Claire are pretty clear from the beginning and only get stronger. Claire takes a bit longer to come to terms with her feelings because of the existence of her first husband. Once she accepts her feelings, the love between them only gets stronger. That love has to get them through several dark periods as outside forces work to tear them apart. There are also some clashes between Jamie and Claire when her 20th century outlook causes her to do things that put her in danger and she has to deal with the consequences. Those consequences are accurate for the time period, but can be a bit hard for a modern reader to accept. That same outlook and independence makes her a strong fighter when it comes to saving Jamie's life on at least two occasions. 

The setting of the years before the Jacobite Rising emphasizes the dangers that Claire and Jamie face. Jamie has a sadistic British captain who has it in for him. There are several encounters with him that show just how evil he is, including a very bad scene at the end of the book. An added twist to the story is that this man is the ancestor, and lookalike, of Claire's husband Frank. The daily life of the people is a hard one, not without dangers of its own, including an accusation of witchcraft that nearly costs Claire her life. There is also the fact that Scotland is basically an occupied country, and there are encounters of various intensities between the Scots and the British soldiers.

The secondary characters are all as well drawn and complex as Jamie and Claire themselves. Each one has an important part of the story. Colum and Dougal show the complexity of dealing with the politics of the time while trying to keep their people safe. Jamie's sister Jenny shows the importance that Jamie places on his family and his need to protect them. Their actions on his return home also show a great deal about their characters, as well as providing a bit of comic relief. There are also other characters that show up for brief periods, but whose presence or actions add another layer to what we know.

One of the best things about the book is the richness of the detail. Everything from the food eaten and clothes worn to the descriptions of the prisons has been painstakingly researched and it shows. It is easy to get completely immersed in the story.