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A review by kateships
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This review will encompass both this book and the rest of the series (no spoilers though), so you can know what you’re getting into.
I don’t usually read long book series because I mentally/emotionally need to finish all the installments together because it’s one story. My mom has loved Outlander since it was first published and has wanted me to read them, so I finally did. The first 3 books are my personal favorites, along with the last few, the ones in the middle are hit or miss throughout.
Outlander is fantastic. I was drawn in by the characters, their chemistry, and the potential storylines. As soon as I finished the first book I needed to read the second immediately, and I felt that way through the first 3, with less urgency for the next book as the series carried on. The story stayed compelling and I was always interested in where life would take the Fraser’s next, but the story does get very slow and include “daily life” type stories. I like slow books that include details just for details sake rather than for plot-movement, but I know many do not.
My main issue with the series as a whole is that the authors writing is so-so. She is great at keeping you invested and creating characters and stories, but the writing itself has bothered me just enough to notice. She uses a lot of the same sayings and phrases over and over. Something is always the color amber specifically, someone is always letting out a breath they didn’t know they were holding or warm/cold despite the warm/cold, everyone seems to have fine bones, and she re-describes the physical aspects of every character more often than feels required. The story is good at its heart but the writing could probably use some better editing at times, not enough to make me stop reading, but bothersome enough for me to want to point it out.
The books also include less sexually graphic scenes as they go on (which I tend to prefer but if that’s why you like them, you know).
Overall, the series is fantastic, though long-winded. Jamie and Claire are a dynamic couple that you can’t help but adore, and the characters around them drew me in enough that I love all of the storylines even when C & J aren’t there. Their stories are everything from tense and tragic to humorous and adorable.
They’re all slow moving and include a lot of graphic war and medical scenes, but if you like character driven books, especially if they’re set in history, I definitely recommend them.
I don’t usually read long book series because I mentally/emotionally need to finish all the installments together because it’s one story. My mom has loved Outlander since it was first published and has wanted me to read them, so I finally did. The first 3 books are my personal favorites, along with the last few, the ones in the middle are hit or miss throughout.
Outlander is fantastic. I was drawn in by the characters, their chemistry, and the potential storylines. As soon as I finished the first book I needed to read the second immediately, and I felt that way through the first 3, with less urgency for the next book as the series carried on. The story stayed compelling and I was always interested in where life would take the Fraser’s next, but the story does get very slow and include “daily life” type stories. I like slow books that include details just for details sake rather than for plot-movement, but I know many do not.
My main issue with the series as a whole is that the authors writing is so-so. She is great at keeping you invested and creating characters and stories, but the writing itself has bothered me just enough to notice. She uses a lot of the same sayings and phrases over and over. Something is always the color amber specifically, someone is always letting out a breath they didn’t know they were holding or warm/cold despite the warm/cold, everyone seems to have fine bones, and she re-describes the physical aspects of every character more often than feels required. The story is good at its heart but the writing could probably use some better editing at times, not enough to make me stop reading, but bothersome enough for me to want to point it out.
The books also include less sexually graphic scenes as they go on (which I tend to prefer but if that’s why you like them, you know).
Overall, the series is fantastic, though long-winded. Jamie and Claire are a dynamic couple that you can’t help but adore, and the characters around them drew me in enough that I love all of the storylines even when C & J aren’t there. Their stories are everything from tense and tragic to humorous and adorable.
They’re all slow moving and include a lot of graphic war and medical scenes, but if you like character driven books, especially if they’re set in history, I definitely recommend them.