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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385319959
ISBN: 0385319959
Label: Delta
Manufacturer: Delta
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 656
Publication Date: August 10, 1998
Publisher: Delta
Release Date: August 10, 1998
Studio: Delta
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
In Outlander, a 600-page time-travel romance, strong-willed and sensual Claire Randall leads a double life with a husband in one century, and a lover in another. Torn between fidelity and desire, she struggles to understand the pure intent of her heart. But don't let the number of pages and the Scottish dialect scare you. It's one of the fastest reads you'll have in your library.
While on her second honeymoon in the British Isles, Claire touches a boulder that hurls her back in time to the forbidden Castle Leoch with the MacKenzie clan. Not understanding the forces that brought her there, she becomes ensnared in life-threatening situations with a Scots warrior named James Fraser. But it isn't all spies and drudgery that she must endure. For amid her new surroundings and the terrors she faces, she is lured into love and passion like she's never known before. I was lame and sore in every muscle when I woke next morning. I shuffled to the privy closet, then to the wash basin. My innards felt like churned butter. It felt as though I had been beaten with a blunt object, I reflected, then thought that that was very near the truth. The blunt object in question was visible as I came back to bed, looking now relatively harmless. Its possessor [Jamie] woke as I sat next to him, and examined me with something that looked very much like male smugness." Gabaldon creates characters that you'll remember, laugh with, cry with, and cheer for long after you've finished the book. --Candy Paape
Product Description:
The year is 1945 and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a former British combat nurse, is on holiday in Scotland with her husband, looking forward to becoming reacquainted after the war's long separation. Like most practical women, Claire hardly expects her curiosity to get the better of her. But an ancient stone circle near her lodgings holds an eerie fascination, and when she innocently touches one of the giant boulders, she's hurtled backward in time more than two hundred years, to 1743.
Alone where no lady should be alone, and far from the familiar comforts of her other life, Claire's usual resourcefulness is tested to the limit. The merciless garrison captain so feared by others bears an uncanny resemblance to the husband she has just left behind. Her own odd circumstances expose her to accusations of witchcraft. And the strands of a political intrigue she doesn't understand threaten to ensnare her at every turn.
But of all the perils her new life holds, none is more disquieting than her growing feelings for James Fraser, the gallant young Scot she is forced to marry for her own protection. Sworn by his wedding vows to keep her from harm, Jamie's passion for Claire goes beyond duty. As she struggles with the memories of another lifetime, she is forced to make an agonizing and fateful choice, and learns ultimately that a man's instinct to protect the woman he loves is as old as time.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I won't rehash the plot, because others have done that.
There were times I felt Claire was more than a little TSTL in her actions, but when I look at the original publication date, there was a lot more of that kind of stuff written then, labeled "strong, feisty heroine." So this allowed me to give Gabaldon a pass on that. Jaime is at times adorable and you want to smack him upside the head.
Overall the story is good, the characters strong, and I definitely liked how Claire was pulled in two impossible directions and being forced to make a decision to basically save her life. That was well-done, and I don't blame her in the least, and I definitely don't view her decision as "cheating."
The first part of the book draaaaaagged for me, and I'm glad that I followed the advice of others and stuck with it. Lots of history "info dumps" that probably could have been handled elsewhere in the story without making the early pace suffer so much. If you can stick with it until she gets to the stones, then the ride takes off. I think we could have used less history and clan politics and more action/storyline.
READER WARNING: while depicted off camera, there is a m/m rape in this book that some may find objectionable and disturbing. Because of the way this was handled (I think that yes, while showing how brutal the other character was, it detracted overall from the story.) and because of the other points I've listed, I can't give the book a full five stars, but a solid four.
If you can make it through the first part of the book, it's well worth reading. I do plan on trying to continue with the series.
Rating:  -
I think one of the most unique things about this book is the fact that you can't group it into one specific genre because it encompasses a group of them. It's historical fiction, science fiction (time travel), romance all in one, and I think these different aspects found in the book make the overall story more interesting and readable. If you like reading any of these particular genres, this book is right for you. I personally think that this is one of the better historical fictions that I've ever read (I would rate it in my top 10), and I especially enjoyed the time travelling aspect of this novel. This book is long (over 800 pages), but even if you usually don't have patience to read through long books like this, I would still recommend it. You will miss out on a good read that includes both a well-written story and the ability to enjoy learning something at the same time if you don't give this book a chance.
I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series!
Rating: -
this is an interesting and engaging series. okay, with the first book you have to meet the characters and get to know them and maybe you might get tired of physical descriptions of sex, but there it is. in subsequent novels in the series, the descriptions taper off - maybe on the assumption that you got the idea in the first book that they are attracted to each other. nothing against it, it was just nice to get on with the rest of the story. i read the whole series in about a week (on vacation). the books are long (i don't think the author could have included all the information or made it as engaging if they were shorter), but the stories are so interesting in their descriptions of history, herbal medicine, life at the time, people, and places that the whole thing just goes by too quickly.
i have never reviewed a book, but i enjoyed this series so much i want to share it. thank you to the friends who shared it with me. i have also never had the desire to re-read a series, but this one is the exception. i expect to find interesting information that i missed the first time around. if you like history, romance, challenge, and a little time travel thrown in, you will enjoy this series.
Rating:  -
Something must be wrong with me!
I read this book and did not like it much. I finished it, so for that reason alone I gave this two stars, but I was VERY disturbed by the end.
Since this book is considered the number one romance of all time, I really expected that I would like it, but I was very disappointed.
Rating: -
I read this novel a couple of months ago with my bookclub of four ladies and was swept away with the story along with the other ladies in my bookclub. I have the whole series except for the newest book and was so glad to finally read it when one of the ladies in my bookclub picked it as a selection.
I just love Jamie and Claire and since I am a historical novel buff I love the historical element of the novel also. It is a very long book to read but I was so taken into the story that it was hard to put down and do things like sleep or eat or work.
Our book club group was so taken with the story that we are reading the second book in the series(Dragonfly in Amber)in December outside of our regular bookclub selections just for the fun of it and then will read the third book in the series (Voyager)for one of our book selections next year.
If you love romance and historical history you will be swept away like I was with the story of Jamie and Claire and then you will want to continue with the rest of the series.
Happy Reading!
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