Katie: As usual, Patty is dragging me kicking and screaming into a read of something I find questionable. In this case, it’s Finding Fraser by KC Dyer, which is an homage of sorts based on the incomparable James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander saga. I didn’t see how this could possibly be a good idea. Patty: How could having a PERFECT opportunity to use JAMMF images be a bad idea? Katie: Our heroine read Outlander while in high school and fell in love […]
I have succumbed to the world of Outlander
It’s hard to exist in a reader world and not be at least obliquely aware of Outlander, Diana Gabaldon’s epic series – currently 8 books and counting, not including the companion novels and novellas. Best I can recollect, I gave serious consideration to embarking on this series around the time of fellow Cannonballers embarking on rereads in preparation for the publication of book 8, and the release of the show based on the books on Starz last spring. I made the decision once I asked […]
I…I have so many mixed feelings about this one
I really wanted to enjoy this book more. There was a lot of hype around it last year with the premier of the show, but when it came down to it, it just wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book. Gabaldon is a good writer. I enjoyed the comparison of the two timelines, and contemplating what aspects of humanity would or wouldn’t have changed in two hundred years. But there were several things I had trouble moving past. Continue […]
In which I am moderately cross
All right. Five books into the Outlander series, I know what to expect. Jamie and Claire. Roger and Bree. Lots of ludicrousness, lots of rudimentary surgeries, and lots of “Wait, is anything actually happening? IS THIS ABOUT ANYTHING?” In The Fiery Cross, in particular, you get a wedding day that is, I don’t know, 300 pages? Overall, I found this book to be more trying than its predecessors, but the charm and charisma of the lead characters — Jamie and Claire, I mean, since I […]
More Outlander Is Good, But This Version of Outlander Is Not For Me
“Experience Jamie’s Side of the Story!” The cover cries and who am I to turn down the loan of any Outlander material, in particular that provided by our Fearless Leader, Mswas? In fact, once finished reading it, I sealed the book in a plastic bag, not out of an ill-advised and biology-misunderstanding need for revenge, but to make sure I didn’t accidentally get butter on it. Scoff if you will, but you would be amazed how many of my personal papers have grease marks. I […]
A self-indulgent mid-series book that is about 1000 pages too long.
I DID IT. I FINISHED THIS HULKING BEAST OF A BOOK. The Fiery Cross is the fifth book in Arizona (woot) author Diana Gabaldon’s time-traveling historical fiction saga. I have enjoyed all the books up until this one, some with reservations, but still enjoyed. They all felt like they had strong backbones, and even though they were long, most of the stuff stuffed up in there had a point. Not so with this fucker. Since the book is soooooo looooooong, I’m going to respond by […]