Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Published by Dell
Publication Date July 26, 2005
Source: Bought
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient 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 is catapulted 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 love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
I’m going to make this short and sweet. I did not like this book. At times, it felt more like a harlequin romance rather than historical fiction or fantasy. Hype can be a good thing but in this case it set my expectations too high so I think that was part of my dislike toward Outlander. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t wait for her to go back to 1945.
I got the same impression when I tried it.
I'm sorry that you didn't like it. It took me awhile to get into it, but I really enjoyed it and the rest of the series. I know this is one of those that you either love it or you hate it. There is rarely middle ground.
Juju– I'm glad I'm not alone.
Teresa– I guess you win some and you lose some. I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
Oh, I was going to read this. So many cited it as their favorite book. Thanks for the review.
BookQuoter– I hope my one measly review doesn't completely dissuade you. For the right lover of this genre I can see why it would be a favorite.
A copy of this is on my TBR shelf, I'm going to read it (one day), I suppose if my expectations aren't too high I won't be disappointed 🙂
I think that's the perfect attitude to go into with Outlander.
I felt the same way! Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who got sucked into the hype of it being historical fiction/fantasy. It was bad.
Sorry you didn't like it! I've lost track of the series, but I enjoyed what I read, and think that Jamie's the sexiest thing ever. I don't think I've read any of them since college, so I wonder how I would feel about them now that I'm older?
I am RIGHT there with you on this one. There was so much of the romance, I was so over it. And then the end?? Argh. Argh. Argh.
sadiejean– I think if it had been advertised as romance I would feel different about it because I would have gone into it with a new mindset. But as historical fiction, I agree it was bad!
IntrovertedJen– I think it's always interesting to reexamine a book you loved years ago and find if it still meets your expectations. I hope this review didn't tarnish that for you.
Coffee and a Book Chick– I think the author went a bit overboard with the romance and the ending felt like it was more of an end to a chapter rather than the conclusion of the novel.
A friend who is a big romance reader recommended it to me, so I was prepared for those parts, but I didn't like them. I liked the historic info bits. She was oddly shocked that I didn't like the romance bits although she knows I don't like to read romances (seriously, if they fell into another bale of hay I was going to throw up). So while I liked it more than you, much to my friend's disappointment I intend to not read the rest.