I know I am repeating myself every time I write up a review for one of Diana Gabaldon’s books, but let me state it once again: I am not a fan of romance and chick lit, nor a member of its target audience, but that said, I do cotton to a good time travel story, and a well-done piece of historical fiction. And for that reason, I’ve found myself drawn to the adventures of Claire Randall, and Jamie Fraser, she a nurse from mid-20th Century Britain who goes through a portal in time, and finds the love of her life in a lusty Scottish highlander. Gabaldon’s books are dense with historical detail, and she does know how to spin a yarn and weave a story that keeps me coming back because I simply want to see what is going to happen next. The first two books in the series, OUTLANDER and DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, established the nature of Claire and Jamie’s peculiar relationship, including how they come together when she accidently passes from the
1940’s to 200 years in the past after stepping between a pair ancient stones in the Scottish countryside. The second book ends on the eve of the battle of Culloden, where the doomed Scottish rebels under the command of Charles Stuart were crushed by the ruthless British forces. Jamie compels a pregnant Claire to return to her own time, while he prepares to meet his fate at the hands of the British army.

The third book in the series, VOYAGER, picks up the story in the year of 1968, where Claire, after returning to her husband Frank, has raised Jamie’s daughter Brianna and become a doctor in her own right. She has always assumed that Jamie perished at Culloden, but now, decades later, some obscure historical research reveals that the love of her life actually did survive the battle. This being a lustily romantic series, nothing will stop Claire from returning to 18th Century Scotland, and rekindling her love with the red-headed hunk who swept her off her feet so many years in the past. With Brianna’s blessing, Claire goes back through the portal to the Scotland of the 1760s, to see if she and Jamie can’t start up again where they left off. That is the central premise of VOYAGER, and Gabaldon gets the most out of it. And at nearly 1100 pages in length, there is a lot of “most of it” in this book. Because two decades have passed since our two lovers parted, a good deal of the first few hundred pages are concerned with Claire and Jamie’s lives while they were apart. This necessitates some deft maneuvering with the POV for some chapters, as Claire recounts her story in first person, while Jamie’s post Culloden adventures is told in the third person. His story is one of fortuitous turns of fate, narrow escapes, a stint in a British prison, servitude to the nobility, and the rebuilding of his life as a free man. It was a narrative that held my interest, more so than 20th Century Claire who endures a troubled relationship with Frank before being widowed, raising a daughter, and getting an education to become a doctor. Ultimately, Claire and Jamie are reunited. That is when I thought this book really kicked things up a notch and this story became a real adventure. There’s smuggling and pirates, bordellos and buried treasure, old supporting characters and new ones, a return to France, and best of all, an 18th Century sea-going trip to the Caribbean, that includes a sojourn on a typhoid-ridden British man-of-war, in search of Jamie’s kidnapped nephew, Ian. Late in the book, there is the long-anticipated reappearance of one of my favorite villains in the series, before there is another turn of fate that sets up the fourth book in the series.

I am a sucker for a good sea-going story and for that reason alone, I liked VOYAGER. I think Gabaldon was wise to shift the narrative away from Britain and Scotland shortly after Claire and Jamie reunite, not that there weren’t dramatic possibilities in staying there, but the wider world offers so much more. And make no mistake, there is a lot of drama in this book, especially when it comes to just what Jamie was up to during those years when he and Claire were separated by a couple of centuries. I thought Claire’s “I don’t know you” reaction to one of them was a tired romantic cliché, while the other, which involves a son fathered under what could only be duress is a subplot that will likely turn up in another volume. As with most romantic fiction, the Gabaldon makes it plain that her male hero is quite the hunk, irresistible not only to Claire, but to Lord John Grey, Loaghire MacKenzie, and just about any other who falls under his charms. Claire remains a most capable heroine no matter what her circumstances or dramatic turn the plot demands; though don’t demand too much logical consistency in any of the characters, especially the leads. Gabaldon does create quite a large supporting cast; I was glad to see an older version of Fergus, the French street urchin Jamie brings into the extended family, return, and of the new characters, none was more intriguing than Mr. Willoughby, a Chinese man who has ventured far from home and has become part of the family as well. There are certain aspects of VOYAGER that some more modern readers will not be comfortable with, to say the least. There is no way to have a story set in the New World of the mid-1700s and not deal with the ever-present existence of slavery. Gabaldon has done her usual deep dive in research in how the institution was practiced in Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean and the details she provides ring true. There are those who will say that this part of history should not be used in any kind of entertainment, but they should remember that books like VOYAGER are, for many readers, as close as they will ever get to an accounting of this history, and in her defense, I will say that Gabaldon leaves them with a harrowing impression. There is also certain sexual acts in the book that are coercive, but they are not presented in any titillating or erotic way, at least as I saw it. Readers should remember the adage “depiction is not endorsement” when it comes to things they find objectionable.

So, I’ve now made it through three books of the OUTLANDER series, which comes close to 3500 pages, and more words than I would dare guess, and I’m more than game to read the fourth, THE DRUMS OF AUTUMN to see where the story takes Claire, Jamie, Fergus, Ian and Mr. Willoughby. And there is no way Brianna is not going to follow in her mother’s footsteps at some point. It’s all about seeing “what happens next.” ( )

Not as good as earlier ones in the series.
( )

Historical Fiction

I love how Diana flirts with the lines of the supernatural, douses you in historical fiction, and over and over tucks you up in true loves embrace. I always fear there are dead spots In thick continuations, but there is just so much wonder as I make my way through each book. ( )

So many things happen so quickly in this book that I struggled to follow, but this one was really gripping. Everyone lusts after Jamie, but given Sam Heughan portrays him, I can't really blame them. I was thrilled that Claire and Jamie could reunite, and the bodice ripping in this one is probably the best so far (then again, I'm on Book 3 only).

But just like in Books 1 and 2, Jamie and Claire can't catch a break. Jamie is constantly on the run despite John Grey's "pardon." Then Laoghaire. Then the people who snatch Ian. Then the Englishmen chasing the Artemis. Then Geillis.

I really didn't care for how Gabaldon writes out Frank, but meh, oh, well. And her racist writing about Asains made Claire really sound terrible. ( )