'Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone' Outlander #9 by Diana Gabaldon

From the BLURB: 

Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same.

It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser's Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.

Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell's tea-kettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his own tenants are split and the war is on his doorstep. It's only a matter of time before the shooting starts.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is still coming to terms with the discovery of his true father's identity - and thus his own. Lord John Grey also has reconciliations to make and dangers to meet . . . on his son's behalf, and his own.

Meanwhile, the Southern Colonies blaze, and the Revolution creeps ever closer to Fraser's Ridge. And Claire, the physician, wonders how much of the blood to be spilt will belong to those she loves.

***

‘Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone’ is the 2021 and ninth book in Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ epic series – of romance, time-travelling, historic novels that have moved us from the Jacobite uprising in Scotland, to the American Revolutionary War unfolding … the last time we joined these characters was in ‘Written in My Own Heart's Blood’ from 2013, so it’s been very welcome indeed to finally be back with the Fraser’s, Murray’s, Grey’s and assorted others after eight odd years absence. 

However; at 902-pages I was quite intimidated (and too weak-wristed, literally sitting up in bed with this thing! … and yes, I know audiobook and ebook exist but I started this series as a 19-year-old uni student in paperback and I intend to finish that way darn it!) to jump into this book when it released in November 2021. I did start out strong and flew through a good 200-pages, but then I flagged and set it aside and only got back into a rhythm to finish it in August 2022 (despite being very keen and excited to know what was happening to some of my favourite characters in a favourite series of mine, that I’ve been reading since I was 19!) 

But finished I have! And I did make notes and collected my thoughts as I read, which I shall now present to you in sub-headers because otherwise I don’t quite know how to articulate my feelings about this sprawling EPIC. 

And, look, because this is the ninth book in a series that began in 1991 … expect that there are spoilers ahead (especially as I post this in August 2022 for a book that came out in November 2021!) I’m going to be delving into where these characters have come from and are going, so if you’re unfamiliar with the series (or, on the flipside, if you don’t want speculations on what might be coming!) this is probably not the review for you; 

Character Motivations 

I am in two minds about this. ‘Bees’ begins in 1779, and ends in 1781. The American Revolutionary War ends in 1783. A big part of me just wants everyone to stay safe on Fraser’s Ridge and not move until the war is over. And at times reading this evoked the same feelings as watching a horror movie where you just want to scream WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STAY TOGETHER! NO – NO! DO NOT GO UP THE STAIRS ALONE! Because of course, in a 902-page novel, nobody is staying put and nobody is playing it safe in the lead-up to war because *of course not* this is fiction and it needs tension and drama. 

That being said – I do think Gabaldon found good character motivations for everyone to, at times, get off the Ridge and venture out into the great (and much more dangerous!) unknown. I think of all the motivations however, Young Ian Murray had the best – when he gets word from Indian friends that his ex-wife Emily was involved in a massacre and her husband killed but they don’t know of her whereabouts or health, nor those of her three children (one of whom is likely Ian’s own son). Given that Ian’s Quaker wife Rachel has just given birth (to placeholder-named ‘Oggy’) and she’s not thrilled with the idea of him traipsing off to check on his ex and the child they had together (benevolent as she is as a Quaker, she has her limits), so she insists on going with him. And since Jamie Fraser’s sister Jenny has come to the Americas and is living with Ian and Rachel and she doesn’t intend to see her grandson go off without her – she’ll tag along too. That’s a good motivation, I can definitely see Ian being compelled to check on his kin and people (no matter that Emily ‘put him out,’ and left him) and it’s a nice full-circle moment for him. 

Brianna, Roger and their children Jem and Manda also have pretty decent impetus in the form of a painting commission that Lord John Grey orchestrates for Brianna … which will conveniently take her to Savannah where Lord John Grey and his adopted son (Brianna’s half-brother, Jamie’s illegitimate son) William is also stationed. John Grey and William (though he recently handed in his officer’s commission) are part of the British army, Jamie and Claire knowing what’s coming think it’s a good idea for Brianna to see her brother before the war escalates … and if she can do some surreptitious gun-running and fund-raising while in Savannah, the better! Also if Roger can finally be officially ordained as a minister – it becomes a right old family affair! 

These are all good motivations, I still just wanted to tie everyone up in cotton-wool but, alas!, it’s a book and that will not do.  

The Hubris of Time Travellers

Partly why we believe these people are willing to take risks throughout the novel – even knowing what’s coming on the horizon of history! – is indeed that (false?) sense of security the time-travellers amongst them have, and have given. Brianna in particular is the daughter of a historian, married another, was raised with an American education recounting the war of independence and she assures herself that she knows the big players and moments in time. So when she goes to Savannah just as it’s about to be under siege, she constantly comforts everyone around her that she knows it will not fall. It will hold. 

Gabaldon makes a very clever couple of villains much clearer in this novel especially; one of them being everyone’s hubris, which is delightfully manifested also in the form of a history book written by Claire’s late first husband, and Brianna’s adoptive father, Frank Randall that Roger and Bri smuggled back with them through the stones. Frank (rather knowingly) made a name for himself studying the history of Scots in America, and particularly during the Revolutionary War. 

Jamie Fraser is convinced that this novel Frank wrote about exactly that, is talking to him specifically. He thinks Frank knew that Jamie lived, and that Bri and Claire would go back to him, so he made it his mission to study the history they’d be stepping into … ah. But; will Frank tell them the truth? Or is he hurt and bitter at the thought of his wife and adopted child returning to the man who – seemingly – took everything from Frank? 

OR; can history be altered? Is it set in stone? 

The True Villain is Time … or is it? 

I also think the reappearance of Frank has been cleverly done, where he looms like a spectre in the form of a history book he wrote and which Jamie is certain was written for him. Ah, we’re back to; “is Frank Randall friend or foe?” And I always think it’s worthwhile remembering that a big theme of the whole series is ~Legacy~ it creeps into everything (even the POV chapters we read — it’s Jamie and Claire’s blood-relations. ‘Blood of my blood.’) Even Frank; we first meet him when he’s tracking down his ancestors who fought for Queen & Country after he himself did the same in the Second World War. But we also know that Frank can’t father children. The line ends with him. How does he feel that Jamie has more left an imprint on history - world and family? - than Frank ever will? Is he bitter? Vengeful? How much of the Randall has been passed down … blood of my blood?

These are great, wispy, conceptual villains pottered throughout the novel. As a history nerd myself, I loved them and I loved wondering how I would be in the past … cocky and cock-sure of my place in time and ability to manipulate and read those tea-leaves? Would that be my downfall? Who knows? But I love how the Battle of Culloden playing out exactly as history remembered it, is now giving everyone a false sense of security about history always being stagnate and fixed.

Aforementioned 

Gabaldon keeps great time in this book (I say, with one eyebrow raised at the behemoth 902-pages of it all!) but truly … I think it’s been very well done — time — Gabaldon has the Fraser’s in particular reminding us of the ticking timer (“two years until Yorktown,” as well as Jem and Germain’s ages - as though that will save them from the frontlines) it’s a very subtle and clever device to remind us where the goal-posts and finish line are right now. Especially guessing as we all have been, that Herself (Gabaldon) probably intends to wrap this series up with the next and tenth book. We’re all waiting for that moment that will surely signal the end – Jamie’s ghost below Claire’s window. When will it come, and what will it mean – who knows? 

I also appreciated that since the last book came out, ‘Hamilton’ the Musical has given me a mini-history lesson and every time I saw ‘Yorktown’ written down, I heard the line ‘battle of Yorktown …’ in the back of my mind. 

Oh, William. 

William Ransom is the secret illegitimate son of Geneva Dunsany and Jamie Fraser. And just as he’s pretty much been from the jump … he remains a bit of a wet-blanket. Definitely the weak-link in the series. And in more ways than one does William really miss out here.

His chapters are such a bore - something about being tasked with finding his cousins’ body after he’s reportedly dead? I barely paid attention. He’s the descendant I care the least about and I only worry that I think his purpose is to set him on a collision course with Jamie during this war … I was partly looking forward to reading William get a love-interest (after loving his little triangle with Ian and Rachel Hunter) and feeling majorly bummed that he fell for prostitute Jane who sadly took her own life in the last book (bummed because she dies, not because she’s a prostitute – to be clear!) 

William kinda gets a love-interest in ‘Bees’. The bad news is; it also sucks. Her name is Amaranthus (thanks, I hate it) I wish he got to be more dashing and suave and have an epic love story like everyone else got, but … I guess William is a walking, talking case-study in Nature vs. Nurture? 

Lord John Grey and his brother Hal also take up a lot of William’s chapters and I literally only cared when he and Brianna’s stories converged. BUT – there’s a glimmer of hope in the cliff-hanger ending for William. 

The MVPs, The Murray’s! 

Rachel Hunter and Ian remain my faves (that aren’t Jamie and Claire!). I just love them; Young Ian is one of my favourite characters in any book of all time EVER and I continue to crave as much of him and Rachel Hunter as possible! We got a fairly good chunk here, *however* I was frustrated that the storyline of Ian taking his family to go and find Emily (and his son) really had Rachel questioning a few things about them and their relationship (which she believes in, of course she does!) but I wanted some outward declarations from Ian and I reckon he’s more perceptive and attuned to Rachel than he is here, where he left a lot unsaid. And I wanted more sexy times for them. 

I also felt like the focus on their story ended rather abruptly, probably because it’ll be revisited in the next book – but I really felt like in the last quarter they were barely mentioned, after having a fairly exciting and exhilarating journey that carried a lot of the middle of ‘Bees’. 

But, look, I recognise that because they’re my faves I will always want more, more, more. 

Comedic Timing 

Totally random; but I did not think I’d get such a laugh out of a prolapsed uterus and hand-crafted pessary scene. Which … hats-off to you, Gabaldon. That was gold. 

All Filler? 

I’ve glanced at a few YouTube reviews of ‘Bees’ where I can see people’s biggest complaint is that it is rather ‘boring’ and not a lot happens. And, look, yeah. Like I said – Gabaldon is keeping time in this book and wanting to give us that impending joy (or doom?) that the war is nearly at its end. Two years. Two years. Two years. But in the interim we have – this. A book in which she moves all the players where they need to be on the board, but we get very much a sense that the game hasn’t yet started in earnest. And that feeling permeates ‘Bees,’ … I wonder if Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War have conditioned all of us to brace for the worst in the one *before* The End, that I think we went into ‘Bees’ expecting more heightened stakes and drama to carry us through to the likely finale tenth instalment? But we really don’t get that here. We get a lot of … moving around on that chess-board. We get a lot of set-up and it is somewhat toothless. Case-in-point is the literal last 50-pages or so is a Hail Mary! reminder of threats from previous books who are now coming home to roost. But I feel like my memory was not sufficiently jogged for them and I got whiplash from being forced to see them as high-stakes danger. 

Finale 

Look, I think a lot of ‘Bees’ hinges on how the next book is looking … I think the more conceptual ‘villains’ of this book being time (and Frank Randall’s documenting of it?) are going to be the tricky aspects that upon re-reading when the series is properly concluded, will most impress readers for the groundwork Herself was laying. But for now; it is a somewhat placid instalment in one of my (still) favourite series. 

I am still sorry that I was so long to get around to reading, but – therein lies the rub! – I’ve changed a lot since ‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’ came out and even more since I was that uni student reading a second-hand copy of ‘Outlander’ for the first time. When ‘Own Heart’s Blood’ came out I wasn’t yet a published author or even working as a literary agent. Now, I am. My time is more finite … I wish I could have spent a fortnight lounging around in a Melbourne summer to read this behemoth book when it first came out, the way I used to, but – the passage of time is a funny thing, I feel like I don’t have as much of it anymore. 

But it is nice to know that when I do find my reading-groove with this series (and a comfortable reading position!) I can fall into this story and these characters so easily. Like I’ve never been away, and they’ve always been right there – waiting for me to return. 

3.5/5

How Outlander is flipping typical TV dramas on their head

Soooooooooo I wrote about the latest episode of Outlander for DailyLife. 

'How Outlander is flipping typical TV dramas on their head'

... most importantly, I got to write a sentence on Sam Heughan's bottom. 

So. 

Check it out.

Ye ken? 

Outlander, Episode 1 Season 1 - 'Sassenach' preview screening

Two weeks before it premieres in Australia (August 14, SoHo channel on Foxtel), I won a double-pass to see the first episode of ‘Outlander’ thanks to Random House. Because it was her birthday – and because she read the first book and loved it (Jamie especially, naturally) – I took my mum along as my plus-one.

‘Outlander’ is, of course, the long-awaited (… and by that I mean since it was first published in 1991) adaptation of the first book in Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ series.

"Outlander" follows the story of Claire Randall (played by Caitriona Balfe), a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie (played by Sam Heughan), a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. 

 The “Outlander” series, adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history and adventure into one epic tale.

This is probably my favourite book series of all time, and I have been excited/ trepidatious/salivating-fan-girl for this since it was first announced that Ronald D. Moore and Starz channel in the US were taking on the epic first book.

Let me just start by saying that seeing the first episode ‘Sassenach’ at Hoyts with a whole bunch of other fans was hilariously awesome. I know ‘Outlander’ fans are loyal and a wee bit crazy (you’ve gotta be, to wait 4 or 5 years for a new instalment) but I loved seeing all the tartan outfits and was highly amused by all of them wanting their photos taken standing in front of the big screen as the movie poster flashed up there. My mum was bewildered/delighted by this fan-girl behaviour (“at their age?” she whispered to me, when someone smooched a pocket Jamie bookmark that was handed out).

I also loved seeing this first episode in cinemas for the one (I was impressed there weren’t more) outburst that came when Jamie asked Claire something along the lines of, “do you want me to throw you over my shoulder?” and an audience fan-girl called out a quivering, “YES!”

The series, like the first books, will be told from Claire’s perspective with internal monologues in voice-over. The episode begins with a section of the prologue from Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’, a slight variation on this paragraph:

People disappear all the time. Ask any policeman. Better yet. ask a journalist. Disappearances are bread-and-butter to journalists.
Young girls run away from home. Young children stray from their parents and are never seen again. Housewives reach the end of their tether and take the grocery money and a taxi to the station. International financiers change their names and vanishe into the smoke of imported cigars.
Many of the lost will be found, eventually, dead or alive. Disappearances, after all, have explanations.
Usually.

Interestingly though, the TV series monologue includes Claire admitting: “I do know this: even now, after all the pain, and death, and heartbreak that followed … I still would make the same choice.”

I make a note of this because it means that Claire is narrating this story from somewhere in the future – I don’t want to speculate too much, but maybe it’s leaving the series open for more seasons in order to catch us up with Claire’s future narrating self?

Now, whenever I recommend ‘Outlander’ the book to friends and family I do so with the asterisk that the first 50 or so pages of the 870-page book are a bit of a slog. That’s because it’s a lot of setting up Claire’s life in 1946 and establishing just why she’s so desperate to return home to her time and husband, Frank Randall (played by Tobias Menzies). In a way this first episode is as slow (but crucial in the long-run!) as the first couple of chapters of the book. But rest assured, fans will get Jamie screen-time in this first episode … a particularly crucial scene involving Jamie has been pointedly included – this is a scene from the books that fans have been speculating on the importance of for many, many years (A Highland Ghost).

The first episode of the TV series does follow the book very, very closely (as I said, down to Claire’s first-person narration which is quite tricky and rare for TV, but done exceptionally well here). I think this is a good indication that the 16-part TV show will be a close and very faithful adaptation, which is no surprise since Ronald D. Moore has been saying for a while now how rich the source material is and generous Gabaldon has been with her creative input (she’s also executive producer).

The first episode will also assure fans that the TV show will bring the heat – ohhhhh, yes. There are a couple of blush-worthy scenes in ‘Sassenach’ (again, partly to establish Claire’s connection to Frank) but this series is first and foremost a love story, so it’s reassuring to know that Starz is happy to go there (and fans will be too … oh, yes.)

Now, as for the casting; from the moment of announcement I thought it was a great idea to cast unknowns and prioritise the physicality of each character. Caitriona Balfe is an Irish model/actress and physically she’s a perfect match for Claire … maybe not quite as voluptuous or frizzy-haired, but I think she fits the bill for her English-rose appeal while also looking the part of a 1940’s woman with a lot of gumption. Her voice, however, sounds very British-affected and slightly too girlish – and since she’s narrating that really jarred a bit for me. But it’s my only complaint, probably in the whole first episode.

Tobias Menzies as Frank and Black Jack Randall is also fairly perfect. Undoubtedly Jack Randall is the meatier role, and Frank is a tough one to portray anyway since he’s set up as the off-screen romantic opponent to the lusciously appealing Jamie Fraser – it’s a tall order to play but Menzies does a credible job. I look forward to him getting more stuck into Jack Randall in later episodes (though no doubt if he plays it very well, I’ll be cringing and hating him by series’ end).

Now on to Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan. The weightiest role of all because he’s the character that’s fluttered millions of hearts, and every fan has their own version of him in their head and heart … but let me just say: Dinna fash, Sam Heughan is Jamie. He’s perfect – just as in the books there’s a rough charm to him that instantly captivates and sets him up as a lodestone for Claire, and readers/viewers. Ronald D. Moore has written his character to pitch-perfection, mixing that warrior masculinity with boyish humour and a surprising gentleness. I think Sam Heughan is going to have quite the fandom on his hands from here on in, and not just the guaranteed ‘Outlander’ readers’ contingent.  

As for the actual storyline … I think Ronald D. Moore has done really, really well with pacing especially. I know that for the longest time fans were hoping for a movie adaptation, but I think the pendulum has well and truly swung in favour of TV as the higher-brow medium, and the likes of George R. R. Martin and ‘Game of Thrones’ prove that some books are better suited to lengthy seasons than a 2-hour condensed telling.

If there was any aspect of the episode that gave me pause, it was the sound the Craigh na Dun Stone Circle made when transporting Claire to the past … it had a slight TARDIS ring to it, but then I thought it may have been intentional since Gabaldon always admits the idea for Jamie came from Doctor’s companion Jamie McCrimmon (pretty much name and nationality only). If that’s the case, then I think it was a nice hat-tip. 

The first episode of the ‘Outlander’ TV series will be a relief for fans, when they find that Ronald D. Moore has started out on a faithful first note, and given us a cast of physical and near soulful perfection – as closely matched to their fictional counterparts as I’ve seen any adaptation get. This first episode, while slow in some parts, also has enough intrigue to sway audiences who have no clue about the fandom they’re about to get suckered into …

5/5

Thank you to Random House Books for the double-pass, Hoyts for hosting the preview screening and SoHo channel on Foxtel for bringing Outlander to Australia! 

'Written in My Own Heart's Blood' Outlander #8 by Diana Gabaldon

Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

The latest epic volume in the multi-million-copy bestselling Outlander series.

It is June 1778, and the world seems to be turning upside-down. The British Army is withdrawing from Philadelphia, with George Washington in pursuit, and for the first time, it looks as if the rebels might actually win. But for Claire Fraser and her family, there are even more tumultuous revolutions that have to be accommodated.

Her former husband, Jamie, has returned from the dead, demanding to know why in his absence she married his best friend, Lord John Grey. Lord John's son, the ninth Earl of Ellesmere, is no less shocked to discover that his real father is actually the newly-resurrected Jamie Fraser, and Jamie's nephew Ian Murray discovers that his new-found cousin has an eye for the woman who has just agreed to marry him.

And while Claire is terrified that one of her husbands may be about to murder the other, in the 20th century her descendants face even more desperate turns of events. Her daughter Brianna is trying to protect her son from a vicious criminal with murder on his mind, while her husband Roger has disappeared into the past...

*** No MOBY Spoilers. I promise. But there are spoilers of other books in the Outlander series! *** 

When we left these characters after ‘An Echo in the Bone’, way back in 2009 (and 1980, and 1778, respectively) the Fraser clan were spread far and wide and swimming in various levels of hot water.

Believing Jamie to be dead and lost at sea, along with his sister Jenny, Claire married Lord John Grey after rumblings in the British Army had her targeted for arrest on account of being a spy. Not, in fact, being dead and lost Jamie returned to find Claire at Lord John’s house in Philadelphia where he was at once confronted with the fact that his wife was married to his dear friend, and his son William (Ninth Earl of Ellesmere) was confronted with the world’s worst kept secret – that he is in fact the illegitimate son of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser – a rebel Highlander.

Elsewhere in 1778 – young Ian, Jamie’s turned-Mohawk nephew was laying his heart at the feet of Quaker woman, Rachel Hunter, and making plans to wed her.

Meanwhile, in 1980, Claire and Jamie’s time-travelling daughter Brianna was in her own pickle. Confronted by her colleague Rob Cameron, who claimed to have kidnapped her son Jem and taken him through the Craigh na Dun stone circle (to when?) Brianna’s husband, Roger, went after his son unknowingly leaving Brianna and daughter Mandy in the clutches of Rob Cameron and unknown accomplices whose scheme for buried treasure is coming to a fore.

Jem, meanwhile, was trying to remain calm inside the deep, dark hydroelectric tunnel where Cameron had stashed him.

Are we all caught up then? Good, because it’s been five years waiting for this much-anticipated 814-page eighth book in Diana Gabaldon’s epic ‘Outlander’ series. She does not disappoint.

Jamie & Claire

I said in my review of ‘An Echo in the Bone’ how nice it was to have so many more narrators in the series now. The first few books of ‘Outlander’ were told from Claire’s first-person perspective, but as she and Jamie have expanded their family so too have the players increased (along with word-count!) and now we have alternating chapters following Brianna, Roger, Jem, Ian, Lord John Grey, William and Jamie. With ‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’ the sense of family encapsulates the reader, even as these players are cast so far and wide from one another (and separated by time). But it’s a testament to Diana Gabaldon and the two who started us on this odyssey, that Jamie and Claire are still the pivot point and grounding force of this series.

In ‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’ (or, ‘MOBY’ as Gabaldon has been referring to it on social media for the last five years – for My Own Heart's Blood = MOHB = MOH-B = Moby) Jamie and Claire have obstacles placed before them from the get-go. Claire has believed Jamie dead and perished for the last few months, during which time she has been teetering on the edge of suicide. But upon his return from the dead, Jamie finds Claire married to Lord John Grey and the secret of his being father to William Ransom exposed – and this is our introduction back into the world of ‘Outlander’ and the Fraser’s ever complicated romance (even assuredly soul-mates as they are, these obstacles do keep readers on emotional edge). 

“I wish to say something,” he said, in the tone of one making a formal statement before a court. My heart quieted while he held me; now it fluttered in renewed agitation. 

“What?” I sounded so apprehensive that he laughed. Only a breath, but he did laugh, and I was able to breathe again. He took my hand firmly and held it, looking into my eyes. 

“I don’t say that I dinna mind this, because I do. And I don’t say that I’ll no make a fuss about it later, because I likely will. But what I do say is that there is nothing in this world of the next that can take ye from me – or me from you.” He raised one brow. “D’ye disagree?” 

“Oh, no,” I said fervently.

As always, Gabaldon honours Jamie and Claire as the beating-heart centre of the ‘Outlander’ universe and gives fans exactly what they want for Himself and Herself. There’s heat and tenderness between them, as always, but as the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) intensifies so too do the memories of past horrors they’ve lived through, together and apart. For Claire she is sifting through memories of WWII and the Jacobite Rising, for Jamie (a lifelong soldier) he is forever haunted by memories of war – the Battle of Culloden amongst his worst, as well as remembered violence at the hands of Black Jack Randall. MOBY is very much a book of reflection for them, and there is a sense of foreshadows gathering as Gabaldon careens readers towards heightened violence during the Revolutionary War.

As usual, another great pleasure is in Gabaldon’s meticulous descriptions of Claire’s surgical and medicinal work. Among the best (worst?) is the reading-equivalent of watching the famous eyeball clip in 1929 silent surrealist ‘Un Chien Andalou’ when Claire must operate on Lord John Grey’s eye that Jamie bruised. You'll be blinking in sympathy, trust me. 

Roger & Buck

Intent on following his kidnapped son through the stones, Roger finds himself out of time along with his ancestor, William Buccleigh ‘Buck’ MacKenzie (son of Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie). I don’t want to give a huge spoiler away; save to say when Roger and Buck land is a very interesting point in the ‘Outlander’ timeline and a lovely intersection of characters emerge on the stage.

Brianna, Jem & Mandy

At first when I saw a chapter set in 1980, taking me away from the action brewing in 1778, I was a bit peeved. But Gabaldon makes up for the timewarp in spades: offering readers a truly wonderful gift in Roger and Buck’s time-travel, and heart-palpitating action in Bree’s “present-day”. Readers who have been keenly following Gabaldon’s story extracts on Facebook would know that she assured readers of Jem’s safety – albeit, his being trapped in a deep, dark tunnel – so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Brianna and the children’s storyline goes careening into far more dangerous territory as the motives of their tormentors is made known.

I didn’t think I’d have a lot of patience for these chapters, but Gabaldon threads them beautifully and well before the 400-page midway point, I was as eager to be in 1980’s Lallybroch as 1700’s America.

Ian & Rachel

Young Ian Murray – Highlander and Mohawk Indian – is hands down my favourite character. I just love him, and my heart breaks for all his up’s and down’s (from being forced to leave his Scottish heritage behind to join the Mohawk, to being put out of his newfound family after his Indian wife miscarried too many times and decided to leave him). My favourite part of ‘An Echo in the Bone’ was undoubtedly the introduction of Quaker, Rachel Hunter – whom Ian describes as a “nut-brown maiden” and who he falls hard and fast in love with. In anticipating MOBY, I’ve probably been most excited about catching up with Ian and Rachel – who returned Ian’s affections by the end of ‘Echo’.

So excited was I for this particular thread of story, that I wished for more Ian and Rachel page-time. Though I loved reading Ian actually have a romance (and with a most worthy, bull-headed and kind woman in Ms Hunter) I just loved them so much that I wanted more! Especially since there were a few scenes that readers weren’t privy to that I would have liked – Rachel officially being introduced to Jenny, for one. And, without giving too much away, the final scene of the book is one many readers will be both delighted and frustrated by – but especially delighted, for its promise of more adventures to come in the ‘Outlander’ series.

I also wanted more scenes between Ian, Rachel and William – Jamie’s son who actually met Rachel and her brother, Denny, before Ian did and who fancies himself half in love with Ms Hunter (even while grumbling that she has indeed given her heart to his Mohawk cousin). A few times it’s hinted that William is indeed harbouring deep affection for Rachel, but it’s only known to readers through his interiority and I would have liked to observe them interacting a bit more to make up my own mind – particularly interactions between the three of them to know how Ian feels about his cousin’s affections. I do hope these three have more opportunities in the future to share scenes and bounce off one another – I’d love to see their relationship become even more complicated and intensified.  

William

Speaking of William, he does have an increased role in this book. He’s coming into his own – though fans shouldn’t be expecting too much father/son time so soon, as William is still a soldier in the British Army (technically serving or not) while Jamie is a Rebel. Instead, William has a rather long and complicated shared journey with a prostitute called Jane who he meets shortly after fleeing Lord John’s house after learning of his paternity.

I was glad to see William on his way to becoming a more established character with his own arc and motives, instead of someone just on the periphery – but the plot with Jane was quite convoluted and never felt substantial enough. Knowing the epic love story of Jamie and Claire, Brianna and Roger, now Rachel and Ian … I think fans will quickly realise that William and Jane are not quite so grand. Regardless, William really takes shape as an emerging player in the series, and I can’t wait to see him grow and prosper in forthcoming books.

John & Hal Grey

Lord John Grey and his brother, Harold, Duke of Pardloe are given somewhat substantial roles in this book. Happily so – since the Grey brothers are a wonderful addition to the plot. Not only because they have the insider perspective from the British side, but they actually bring many moments of levity;

“So you’ve not only somehow married Fraser’s wife, but you’ve accidentally been raising his illegitimate son for the last fifteen years?”
“Apparently so,” Grey said, in a tone that he hoped indicated complete unwillingness to talk about it. For once, Hal took the hint.
 

They are given so much more spotlight in this book too because the central ‘whodunnit’ story revolves around the Grey family, and by extension implicates the Fraser clan. There is a spy in the Loyalist and Rebel camps who is hell-bent on blackmailing the Grey’s for some unknown plot – and the whole family is at risk. I will say that Gabaldon usually writes thrilling and heartbreaking central whodunnit’s that run as a constant in each book. I enjoyed the Malva Christie conspiracy in ‘A Breath of Snow and Ashes’, and the pirate Stephen Bonnet was a great new villain to appear in  ‘Drums of Autumn’. At one point the spy in MOBY explains how this Revolutionary War will not be won on the battlefield – but in politics, back-door dealings and spying. Perhaps for this reason (and because Gabaldon is setting up a longer arc based around the War) the ‘whodunnit’ in MOBY didn’t feel substantial or threatening enough and was in no way concluded, which didn’t feel quite right but I'll be happy to read it teased out in the future, making for a bigger conspiracy.

'Outlander' premieres in the US on August 9 

‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’ marks a fever-pitch in the ‘Outlander’ series. One of the longest waits between books (five years!) and released the same year as first book in the ‘Outlander’ series is coming to the small-screen – there was a lot resting on the release of MOBY, and I’m happy to say that Diana Gabaldon delivers ten-fold with this, the eighth book in a series that doesn’t appear to be wrapping up anytime soon.

As usual, I charged through this book (all 814-pages) but by the midway point I was heartsick to think that I’d have to wait another four+ years to be reunited with these characters. I’m committed to this series and these players, as so many in the fandom are – and it’s no light commitment either, not when each book is 800+ pages and the wait between instalments are years-long. But by the last page I found myself grateful again – that Diana Gabaldon has remained such a steady and true author, consistently delivering epic instalments in Jamie and Claire’s odyssey and that I have had the great reading privilege of watching these characters grow and evolve. Whatever the wait, I’ll always follow Diana Gabaldon and make the trek back to the ‘Outlander’ universe, happily so.

5/5

Series I read

So, I was having an interesting Twitter-talk with the lovely blogger Wendy Darling of Midnight Garden … we were discussing our love of Karin Slaughter and how dedicated we are to her series, and why. 

It’s an interesting thing to think about – the series you read. Especially interesting for me, when I think of the series I've stuck with for the long-haul, and those I've let fall by the wayside. 

There are actually plenty of books that I dropped half-way through their never-ending series and for various reasons. ‘Stephanie Plum’ just got stale. ‘The Hollows’ was writing relationship cheques that the characters weren’t cashing, in my opinion. ‘Anita Blake’ just got … not good … though I still recommend this series, just with the asterisks of; “They get really bad around ‘Obsidian Butterfly’ – you have been warned.” I’m even teetering with J.R. Ward’s ‘Black Dagger Brotherhood’ because it’s getting pretty ridiculous to just keep filtering in new characters I don’t give a damn about just to keep this world alive.  

So, there are plenty of series I've abandoned. Maybe I’ll get back to them one day (I do occasionally sneak-peeks at Amazon reviews of ‘The Hollows’ to see if Ivy and Rachel’s romance is being further developed) but I mostly think the ship has sailed.  

So what are the series I've committed to, and can’t see myself ever wavering from? What makes them so special? There aren’t many – but below are the (ongoing) series I read religiously and feel quite devoted to.  

Grant County by Karin Slaughter 

Karin Slaughter will always hold a special significance for me, and not just because ‘Blindsighted’ was the first book I ever reviewed on this blog. Rather, it’s because ‘Grant County’ was the first crime-thriller series I ever persevered with. In the past I'd tried making a dent in my mum’s impressive Patricia Cornwell collection, but was totally unmoved by the first book. And then I tried Slaughter (possibly because her name in crime-fiction seemed an easy win) and ‘Blindsighted’ absolutely hooked me. It wasn’t even that, as a novice in the genre, ‘Grant County’ was “lite” crime-fic (ask anyone; Slaughter writes some of the nastiest, goriest worst violence against women . . . sometimes, she reads like the Patrick Bateman of crime-fic) rather, what hooked me in Grant County was the characters and, more importantly, the relationship between series protagonists Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver – the county coroner and local police chief, respectively . . . and ex-husband and wife. There was a moment in ‘Blindsighted’ when Jeffrey is really unprofessional and says this to Sara, after she’s conducted an autopsy;

‘Sometimes,’ he began, ‘when I wake up in the morning, I forget that you’re not there. I forget that I lost you.’ 

‘Kind of like when you forgot you were married to me?’ 

He walked toward her, but she stepped back until she was a few inches from the cabinet. He stood in front of her, his hands on her arms. 

‘I still love you.’ 

‘That’s not enough.’ 

He stepped closer to her. ‘What is?’

In my 2009 review of ‘Blindsighted’, I express an annoyance at how little Slaughter feeds readers about Jeffrey and Sara’s marital demise, especially since sparks are still there . . . it frustrated me then, but now I can see that that’s actually what kept me coming back to this series. Yes, the whodunit mysteries are terrifying and brilliant, but it was Slaughter’s impeccable and thorny characters and their relationships that kept me coming back. 

Will Trent by Karin Slaughter 

For that reason, I didn’t know if I could make the trek from ‘Grant County’ to her new ‘Will Trent’ series (especially after I felt so bruised following some ‘kill you darlings’ cruelty. . . ) but then Slaughter bought all the romantic complications of ‘Grant County’ and amplified them by including one of the most genuine and charming but horribly tortured characters, ever, in Will Trent. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

You want to know how much I love this series? I named my dog ‘Murray’, after the character of young Ian Murray (and mostly because ‘Rollo’ didn’t suit my little jackshund). This is the series that has my deep and abiding love, a love that will never waver and is willing to wait 5 years between books . . . It is a love that grows stronger with each new instalment, as I’m left to pine after characters and wonder on their predicaments (no mean feat, since books often finish on cliff-hangers that are more hand-biting than nail-biting). 

I started reading ‘Outlander’ back in 2007, and was quite lucky in that I got to consume books 1–6 over one summer holiday. Since then I've only had to wait for ‘An Echo in the Bone’ and now ‘Written in my Own Heart’s Blood’, which is coming June this year. Of course, when I tell people that I’ll have to clear a week of my life in order to sit down and properly read & appreciate Gabaldon’s latest offering, they look at me with a somewhat perplexed expression. These are 800+ page books (‘Written in My Own Heart’s Blood’ is actually rumoured to be 1008 pages) and the series is now eight-books deep . . . then I explain that these are kinda time-travelling books (but not really) that cover historical events like the Battle of Culloden and the American Revolution, but at the centre of it all is a love story between an ex-army nurse from the 1940s and a 1700’s Highland warrior called Jamie Fraser (*cue swoon*). At this point, I find myself alone on a soapbox talking to empty air. And that’s okay, I get it. These books are hard to surmise, and it doesn’t help when my love for them leaves me utterly inarticulate and I usually just grunt appreciatively; “Oh my God, Jamie is so amazing and these books are just so URGHkeejiwjwioeufjnkndewmdkwjo . . .  y’know?” 

Though I do fully anticipate that the Starz TV adaptation will bring quite a few newcomers to this wonderful series (I mean, have you seen the lead actor? Yowza). 

Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

This is another series that I have a serious soft-spot for, because it was the first urban fantasy I ever read and it converted me to a genre that I'd previously been pretty snooty about. 

But, if I’m honest, I almost didn’t read beyond ‘Moon Called’. I remember at the time reading and enjoying it, but not being sure if it was a series I'd be sticking with … but then there was a moment in the last six pages. I can actually pinpoint the exact moment when I knew I'd be coming back for more;

… ‘So, Bran tells me that or ordered you to keep an eye out for me.’ 

He stopped laughing and raised both his eyebrows. ‘Yes. Now ask me if I was watching you for Bran.’ 

It was a trick question. I could see the amusement in his eyes. I hesitated, but decided I wanted to know anyway. ‘Okay, I’ll bite. Were you watching me for Bran?’ 

‘Honey,’ he drawled, pulling on his Southern roots. ‘When a wolf watches a lamb, he’s not thinking about the lamb’s mommy.’

And I was sucked right in. It was Briggs layering mythology on top of whodunit central-story and throwing in a tangled relationship web to boot. ‘Mercy Thompson’ remains the benchmark for all other urban fantasies for me. I can only think of one other UF author who has done such a fine job of building up a protagonist’s world from the ground-up …

Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews

‘Kate’ and ‘Mercy’ came out around the same time (2007 and 2006, respectively) and have roughly the same number of books in the series right now. But they’re totally different, while also hooking me for very similar reasons.

Much like Mercy, when readers first met Kate in ‘Magic Bites’ she was the epitome of a loner. She had secrets to keep and a past to keep hidden, and she had been raised not to trust anybody but herself. But slowly, slowly husband/wife writing-duo Ilona Andrews teased out a love/hate relationship for Kate in the form of were-lion Curran. Now in the upcoming seventh book ‘Magic Breaks’ (out in July) the very fact that Kate has now accumulated a family and a whole community who depend on her – she has so much more to lose. 

I think both ‘Kate’ and ‘Mercy’ keep me coming back because I’m so invested in the heroines’ journey. I've seen them come leaps and bounds, completely change and transform for the people they love – and now all that they’ve gained is teetering on the edge and is in constant threat of being taken away from them. Of course I’m going to stick around for the long-haul, when the journey has been so rewarding.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Illustrator) 

I remember reading this and going, “Ohhh. Okay. Now I get it.” Now I get how people can be so obsessed with graphic novels/comic books. Now I get the impulse to rock up to a convention centre decked out like your favourite character. Now I get the visceral *need* to know what happens next, and not give a damn if you get drip-fed in small instalments that always end on a cliff-hanger. Now I get it, thanks to ‘Saga’. 

This is the first comic series I've dedicated myself to. I’m so obsessed that I can’t even wait for the Volume’s to be released, I now have a standing order to receive each instalment once a month.

What hooked me is just damn good story and these characters who I instantly started rooting for. It’s an intergalactic love-story about Alana and Marko who have gone AWOL from their respective armies in order to raise their daughter, Hazel. The story is actually narrated by Hazel, who is a baby when the story begins but is looking back and narrating as a somewhat older, wiser soul … and that’s probably what really hooked me. The knowledge that Hazel grows up and has her own problems somewhere in the future that she’ll get around to telling the reader, once we understand the whole background to her complicated life. I love it. I especially love that Brian K. Vaughan was inspired to have Hazel narrate by reading children’s books to his kids, which often adopt that sort of whimsy. 

'Outlander' adaptation news: meet Jamie Fraser

I interrupt my regularly scheduled book blogging for some breaking news/fangirling . . .

So, by now anybody who’s anybody will know that the TVadaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ book series is a GO. For realsies, people! … after years of fans clamouring for Gerard Butler (No. Just … no) and Katherine Heigl expressing an interest in the project. After YEARS of fan-made videos on YouTube featuring Liam Neeson from ‘Rob Roy’ (yes, he would have been fabulous, Once Upon a Time…) after YEARS and YEARS of rabid fan speculation, it’s actually happening – Outlander is coming to cable TV channel, STARZ.

I already had high-hopes for this adaptation after Ronald D.Moore was announced as executive producer (he’s notorious for having made hard-to-please ‘Battlestar Galactica’ fans very, very happy). And on a side-note: Ronald is a wee bit lovely himself. Can he cast himself as Dougal? Or just a marauding Highland extra? He looks the part, no?

Secondly, I’ve been watching the STARZ series adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Cousins’ War.’ ‘The White Queen’ is amazing. I’ve never read the books, but now I have to because the TV series has suckered me in so much. The cast is superb, the filming locations are breathtaking and they’ve clearly condensed quite a lot of story into highly addictive television viewing.

So, I’ve been feeling pretty good about an ‘Outlander’ TV series. But the real test of fandom would come with the casting announcements. And now we know for sure this isn’t some pie in the sky dream; because Himself has been cast.

That’s right. Hold on to your hearts, lassies, because Jamie Fraser is being bought to life by Scottish (!) actor, Sam Heughan.

Sam is 6 foot 3. He has cheekbones that could cut glass and piercing blue eyes, a knife of a nose … Okay. Basically he’s a very lovely chiselled specimen of a man … I mean. Um. *gulp*. He’s good. Yep, he’ll do. Appearance-wise, he has that lovely long and lean look of Himself and though Sam is 33, he could very easily pass for 22-year-old Jamie in Book #1. But I’m mostly excited because Diana Gabaldon is infectiously excited about this casting news.

On her Facebook page, Diana detailed her finding out about Sam as a Jamie contender. She saw photos of him, before watching his audition tape.

So I’m lookin’ at some of Sam’s photos and sayin’ to my husband, “Yeah, I buy him as a virgin…but I think Claire’s going to get done for statutory rape!” You know, a bit apprehensive. He’s quite big, but a very chiseled face that makes him look a good bit younger than he is, at least in stills.

But then she watches his audition tape, and …

First five seconds, I’m interested—he looks totally different than he did in _any_ of the stills—and five seconds later, Sam Heughan’s GONE, and so am I. It’s Jamie Fraser, right _there_ in front of me, moving, talking. One of the biggest thrills ever.

And that’s what actors do. Good ones. They can “be” someone else, totally.

Now, I saw him do two scenes: the confrontation between Jamie and Dougal, after Dougal exposes Jamie’s back in a tavern. Ferocious, explosive, a glimpse of the warrior. And he…freakin’ _exploded_.

And then…the scene in which Jamie explains to Claire exactly why he intends to punish her for disobeying his orders to stay hidden, thus nearly getting them all killed.

OK. This is arguably _the_ most controversial scene in all the books. And I’m not about to go into the scene itself—not the point here. The point is that that’s one heck of a complex scene, emotionally, and _could_ be read/performed in a lot of different ways. Now, I happen to _know_ exactly how Jamie acted and spoke during that scene…and that’s…exactly what Sam _did_. Thoughtfulness, intimacy, fair-mindedness, annoyance, firmness—and quite a lot of humor. One of Jamie’s hallmarks is the ability to be threatening and funny at the same time—and Sam pulled that off.

So, yeah. I’ve watched those videos a couple dozen times, just to be sure I wasn’t imagining things. I wasn’t.

Woah. Chills. Goosebumps. Hot flush. I’m sold.

Of course, there are already naysayers. And I’m already sick of them. Doubly so, those who are still whinging for Gerard or Thor (seriously, stop trying to make them a thing.)

But as if I needed more reason to be over-the-moon excited about this casting news, Sam Himself chimed in:

*Swoon*

2014 is shaping up to be the Year of Outlander. Book #8, ‘Writtenin My Own Heart's Blood’, is coming out March 2014 and the TV series will air next year too. I can’t wait. My fangirl heart is swelling with excitement for both and I’ve got nothing but good vibes and well-wishes going out to Diana and the Starz team.