Clare L. Deming

I have finished another book in the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. The Fiery Cross is the fifth book in the series (paid links), and you can find my reviews of the earlier books in the series below:

• #1 – Outlander (review here / purchase link here)
• #2 – Dragonfly in Amber (review here / purchase link here)
• #3 – Voyager (review here / purchase link here)
• #4 – Drums of Autumn (review here / purchase link here)

Here is the blurb:

The year is 1771. Claire Randall is still an outlander, out of place and out of time. But now she is linked by love to her only anchor: Jamie Fraser. They have crossed oceans and centuries to build a life together in North Carolina. But tensions, both ancient and recent, threaten members of their clan.

Knowing that his wife has the gift of prophecy, James must believe Claire, though he would prefer not to. Claire has shared a dreadful truth: there will, without a doubt, be a war. Her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through perilous years ahead – or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.

This fifth book in the series took me a lot longer to listen to than the previous volumes. I think that my audiobook brain became fatigued and I had to take a break to “read” some other novels before I could finish this one. It’s not that this wasn’t still an enjoyable book. The beginning felt like it was developing a lot of the underlying character relationships and politics for a payoff later in the series.

The American Revolution is still a few years away at the time of this book, and Claire and Jamie have settled in to a more routine life as settlers at Fraser’s Ridge. I felt like the problems that they encountered in this book were not as large as in the earlier books, so the tension was lower overall.

The historical details are still wonderful. I remember in particular how Claire thinks to herself about the maggots that she uses to help treat one of Jamie’s wounds. She has to make sure that these are not the New World screwworm, because this species will eat live tissue as well as dead. This particular insect has been in the news lately because in modern times it has been eliminated from North and Central America, with a few incursions that are closely monitored. It is these small details that creates a realistic vision of the world that these characters inhabit.

I did enjoy getting to see more of the quiet conversations that let some of the less developed character relationships grow. Like in earlier books, the author also tosses in a few short passages where the characters contemplate the nature of time travel and the core question of whether it is possible to change events and impact the future. The reader is left guessing about this question, but I like to see that the characters question this.

I’m going to start book #6, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, soon, although maybe not until July (paid link). I have made it a little further through season 1 of the show, and will be watching more in the upcoming weeks.

What is the longest book series you have read? What keeps you reading and what makes you lose interest? Let me know in the comments.

You can find more of my book reviews here.