Clare L. Deming

I’m still making progress reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This review is for Voyager, book #3 (paid links), and you can find my reviews of the earlier books in the series here:

• Outlander (book 1)
• Dragonfly in Amber (book 2)

Here is the blurb:

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her… and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her…the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland… and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite or forever doom her timeless love.

This series has certainly not followed my expectations in terms of the timeline and structure of the storytelling. This book starts off following Claire after she has returned to her present timeline and lived there for 20 years, raising her daughter. With Jamie left behind in the 1700s, the book details their separate lives. But with several more books ahead in this story, of course they must somehow reunite.

This book also brings the story to the New World, as the characters seek to rescue young Ian, Jamie’s nephew. The identity of who has kidnapped him and which other characters they meet makes this book resonate with the earlier volumes.

One part that dragged for me was the trans-Atlantic journey. While the author takes steps to fill this time with events, there is only so much to do on board a sailing ship. Overall, I enjoyed this installment a lot and I’m curious to see where the series goes next.

Have you read any of the Outlander books? How far along should I be before I start to watch the television series? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.