Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2)
by Diana Gabaldon
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Book Reviews of Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2)
Book Review: Ye will want to read this intriguing and riveting tale 5 Stars
I read Outlander several months ago and felt exausted, yet fulfilled afterward. The book was so great that I actually felt as though I had went on this long, hard fought journey with Jamie and Claire myself! So, I decided to wait a while before picking up the second installment Dragonlfy in Amber. I wished I hadn't waited so long....As others have said, don't let the size of the book daunt your efforts...it's a definte page turner and will fly by so fast you'll soon be on your way for the 3rd book ~ Voyager!
The book begins in the present (for Claire anyway) of 1968. Having lost her husband Frank a couple of years past (and having been away from Jamie for 20 years), she decides to finally tell her daughter, Brianna, the truth of her time travels, a truth that will change the perception of her daughter's life forever. Back in Inverness Scotland, the site of Craigh Na Dun, the infamous fairy hill where Claire was able to miraculously transport herself accidentaly back in time 200 years, Claire decides this is the place where she must give her daughter the facts, take them or leave them, she must tell her, if not for Brianna's sake, but for her own as well.
From Claire's telling of the story, we are brought back to 1744-46 (?), and hearing the rest of Jamie and Claire's saga through Claire's eyes. It begins with them in the French court trying to protect Scotland and it's people from the inevitable rising that Claire knows will kill almost all of the Highland men, save 45 (the battle of Culloden). With this knowledge of the future, Jamie and Claire set out to try and thwart the war of the Jacobites, which is led by Bonnie Prince Charlie and save all of the innocent...or not. We see Jamie and Claire have many adventures throughout Paris and the counrtyside, wrought with danger, revenge and intrigue that leads them further with clues as they set out to find a way to stop the uprising, under the Bonny Prince's own nose. Introduced is a myriad cast of colorful, interesting, and possibly hundreds (ha) of characters that they meet along their journey through the royal court of France. Some good, some evil, some leaving the reader wondering who's side their really on. Having only eachother to trust, they must tread lightly in their wake and be secretive to their plans or they could possibly face a lifetime in prison, but possibly worse...treason.
From France, we get to see Jamie and Claire's adventures pick pack up in Scotland at his childhood home of Lallybroch, where he is laird. Jamie heads home to prepare for what he knows is coming....a bloody war and quite possibly his death. This is where I thought the story really swelled and was unputdownable! I flipped every page with the excitement of a kid opening a present at Christmas and also with the hestitation of what was ahead on the next page. The twists and turns were many, but never with a feeling of cliche. They were in all the right places and as Jamie and Claire made discoveries that further unraveled the truth, we also made those discoveries with them and felt their emotions, as they did. Liken it to a roller coaster ride...the cart reaches the top and when a new tidbit was found out, the coaster sails to the bottom leaving you breathless for a moment or two....blinking. Exhilarated or dumbfounded, this book can pull emotions from you and can also sometimes make you want to throw it in the fire to burn...but of course you won't because you're too curious to see what happens next. I could sometimes feel the anxiety of my gripped palms cluthing the book, and my tightened jaw as some of the characters surfaced in the book, though I'll not say who. (!!!!!!!)
No doubt about it, this book is fantastic. It's a love story at it's essence. Two souls, destined to meet across a span of hundreds of years, come together for a common goal and cause...to love one another in the purest fashion possible, and to put their knowledge of the future to good use for the better of the people, regardless of what may come of themselves. That's real love right there.
What happens during the war at Culloden Moor? Does Jamie and his Sassenach Claire succeed? Does Jamie meet his fate? I guess you'll have to read and find out, for one spoiler isn't worth the price of the pleasure of reading this for yourself. I will say, that at the end I shed lots of tears, both because I was sad, and because I was happy. It is a very emotional read, for men and women alike. Thank you Diana Gabaldon for giving me a wonderful way to spend a few days. Review: The adventure continues with Jamie and Claire
Summary: 4 Stars After reading Outlander a couple of months ago, Jamie and Claire became my favorite fictional couple right after Scarlett and Rhett. I was anxious to continue the journey with them. The first couple of chapters threw me for a loop because I didn't know the second book would start out 20 years after the first book ended. It made perfect sense once Claire started relating her story though.
In the last installment, Claire and Jamie have fled to France so he can heal from the horrifying abuse he suffered while in prison in Scotland. Claire tells Jamie that in 1745 great strife will come to Scotland as Charles Stuart tries to regain the throne of England Ireland and Scotland by starting an uprising that will have disastrous consequences for the highland clans. They decide they must stop at nothing to see that the uprising does not occur so Jamie, his clansmen, and the rest of Scotland will be safe. They travel to France where Jamie fills in for his merchant cousin Jerod, a position that is perfect for him to make the necessary political inroads to throw a wrench in things. While there they discover much to their dismay that old nemesis Jack Randall is still alive and they make new enemies along the way. In addition to the seemingly impossible task of stopping the uprising, Jamie must also decide between his desire to seek revenge against Captain Randall and his love for Claire. If he kills Jack Randall, Claire's husband in the future- Frank may never come to exist.
In the "present" as Claire's story unfolds her daughter Brianna finds it increasingly difficult to believe that a Scottish warrior from centuries ago was really her father and not Frank Randall who raised her. A romance also buds between Brianna and Roger Wakefield, a history professor and nephew of the deceased Reverend Wakefield, and he agrees to help Claire track down what happened to the 30 men of Clan Fraser during the Jacobite rising. Claire finds out a piece of information about Jamie that is shocking and may throw her life into chaos once again.
First let me say that Diana Gabaldon definitely knows how to paint a realistic picture of the time period she writes of. I really love the history aspect of her novels, so much so that the romance angle that usually has me rolling my eyes and speed reading through those passages doesn't really bother me at all. In addition to the vibrant historical aspect the romance is also wonderful because you feel the characters genuinely care for each other. I don't think I cared for this one as much as Outlander because it felt less action packed. While the problems that Claire and Jamie encounter while trying to stop the rebellion were interesting, it felt so drawn out at times I found myself thinking "Come on! Get to battle already!" and about ¾ of the way through I found myself thinking "Get to the end already so I can find out how Brianna reacts to all this!" Once again the synopsis on the back of the book was misleading as it made it seem like Brianna would play a main part in this one. As it turns out 98% of the book took place in Scotland detailing the fight to stop the uprising and how Claire came to be back in present times.
The love was definitely still there between Claire and Jamie, I just wasn't feeling this one as much. I will still be continuing on with Voyager to see what happens next.
Book Review: Dragonfly in Amber
Summary: 5 Stars
The second in the series of Outlander by Diana Gabaladon, I enjoyed Dragonfly in Amber even more so than Outlander, the first book. While the first had a wonderful plot it seemed to have unneeded violence and a few scenes that were unrealistic. Dragonfly in Amber overcomes all of that.
It continues, surprisingly, 20 years after the first book. Claire (the main character) is back in the 20th century and has made a trip to Scotland with her daughter Brianna after her husband Frank dies. At this point, the reader wonders, what happened??!! At the end of Outlander, we were still in the 18th century and Claire was still with Jamie, a noble dashing clansman.
With a brief first part in which Claire strives to find out what happened at the great battle of Culloden, the characters are still in the 20th century. During this, it comes out that Frank was not her daughter Brianna's father, but rather, Jamie was. Incredulous with disbelief, Brianna and a friend Roger listen to Claire's story of what happened in her time travel adventure.
The 2nd part of the story takes us back to 18th century Scotland. Jamie and Claire are living in France because he is still an outlaw in Scotland. There they are hoping to stop King Charles from trying to retake the Scottish throne and by consequence, stop the awful battle of Culloden. They are surrounded by enemies and Jacobites (supporters of Charles) at every turn however, and an unfortunate series of events causes them to have to return to Scotland.
There, drawn into things against there will, they prepare for war on behalf of Charles and Jamie is drawn into Charle's army with all his men. Their only goal at this point is survival and to still perhaps prevent the bloody battle that will end the war.
The writing in this book, like the first, was very descriptive. While the first and last parts are told in the 3rd person and from different characters point of views, the majority is in the 1st person from Claire's eyes. A large book, there is plenty of detail on events and people and even side characters are described in depth. Also in this novel, Claire seems to act and talk more like a person from the 1940's would, as opposed to seeming to be from a much later generation like she did in the first novel.
The only part of this book I didn't really like was a scene where Claire is recovering from illness. A friend, in order to heal her, does some very naughty things to her. Maybe I just didn't understand the scene, but it just seemed very strange and out of place to me. Aside from that however, I found most events in the book to be realistic (if one views time travel as realistic as well).
Overall this was an outstanding novel. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Dragonfly in Amber
Copyright 1992
947 pages
Book Review: Fun, but disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
Like "Outlander," this book is full of rape, buggery, floggings, brave men in battle, heavy-breathing love scenes, homophobia, and[...] love-children. Claire rescues Jamie from prison (again), Jamie saves Claire from British soldiers (again).
Claire and Jamie love each other with brutal, yet tender, passion. We know this, because we are given subtle hints as when Jamie tells Claire: "I want to hold you like a kitten in my shirt, and still I want to spread your thighs and plow ye like a rutting bull," and Claire answers, "Sometimes I want to ride you like a wild horse...And yet so often I want to hold your head against my [...] and cradle you like a child." Uh, we get it, thanks.
All of this is tolerable because the plot is fun, the characters lively, and the dialogue (outside of the love scenes) well-crafted and full of snappy humour. I give it three stars because it's a real page turner. It's just that there are too many bloody pages, half of which do nothing to move the story along.
This book suffers from lack of good editing. Not only should it be a good 300 pages shorter, but there are confusing changes of perspective in the 1960s passages. First the narrator is Roger, then Claire, then an omiscient third person, then Claire again, then Roger, then omniscient, then... Lord, I'm getting confused again just trying to explain it. These passages represent only a tenth of the book, and yet the perspective changes a dozen times.
My other big complaint is that it feels like the author failed to plan out her series. First it was to be three books, then six, and now who knows how many. But it's obvious she didn't sit down to think out a broad, over-arching story line that carry through all the books (such as JK Rowling did with the Harry Potter series, in which each book takes place over one year and brings us closer to a final confrontation). Gabaldon has aged Claire and Jamie 20 years by the second book, and she's already used up her big plot device, which has Claire and Jamie trying to save Scotland from the Rising. I'm all for stories about people older than 30 with fulfilling love loves, but, how old are they going to be by book seven? 80? [...]and kidnapping and heaving bosoms don't work very well when you're writing about octagenarians. As I understand it, the next books have them all over the map, dealing with everything from pirates to voodoo to the American Revolution. How much can happen to two people?
I guess I won't find out. This is the last I'll read from this series. It is too bad, because with an editor willing to reign in Gabaldon's self-indulgent excesses, tighten up the plot, and make sure the series was well planned out, this could have been an outstanding body of work. As it is, I fear the next books will not be worth slogging through their collective 4,000 pages.
Book Review: Good
Summary: 4 Stars
"Drangonfly in Amber" starts with Claire coming back to 70s Scotland after the death of her husband Frank. You don't have to be a genius to realize right away that something had gone really wrong between Claire and Jamie in the 18th century. So I started the book a little sad knowing that I am surely headed for a heartbreak.
The book however soon goes back to Jamie and Claire through Claire's memories. We meet them where the 1st book left off - on the way to France to attempt to stop Charles Stuart's plans to reclaim the throne of Scotland. Naturally, a series of adventures follows as we see our couple travel from Paris to Lallybroch to Edinburgh, etc.
Just like "Outlander," "Dragonfly in Amber" is full of adventure, curious historical facts, fascinating characters and very touching scenes of love and kinship. The passion and smuttiness of the "Outlander" are almost gone as Claire and Jamie settle into their comfortable marriage. You miss it a little in the beginning, but soon the void is filled by scenes of true companionship and marital devotion (I know, it sounds corny, but it's not).
Although I truly enjoyed the book, I did have some concerns with it. Unlike "Outlander" written entirely from Claire's POV, this book jumps from 1st person narration to 3rd person narration in the first and last part of the book; and in the middle - a few times from Claire's to Jamie's POV. This bothered me. While I understand the need for it, I believe there is a better way to relay the story without resorting to multiple and sometimes unnecessary POVs.
The other issue I have is with the idea of time-travel itself. I wonder how Gabaldon is going to handle the issue in her future books, but I couldn't quite understand why for instance Claire would stop Jamie from killing Jack Randall to ensure the birth of her 1st husband Frank, but would readily agree to try to change the course of history knowing that the consequences of it could in theory affect the lives of millions of people, including Claire's. I am still a little puzzled by it. Plus, is Gabaldon's theory that it is impossible to change the future at all? Because so far Claire and Jamie have been unable to stop anything from happening.
In spite of these concerns, "Dragonfly in Amber" is still an engrossing read which makes you both happy and sad, heartbroken and delighted. I will definitely read "Voyager," especially because this second book in the series ends with quite a cliffhanger.