Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2)
by Diana Gabaldon
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Book Reviews of Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2)
Book Review: Jamie and Claire are back for more adventures and romance
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Outlander, I was very much looking forward to reading Dragonfly in Amber. I was not disappointed with the second book in this series; Diana Gabaldon will grab you and suck you into this book making it so you do not want to put it down.At the start of the story, Claire is back in the year of 1968 and she has gone back to Scotland after the death of her first husband Frank, and she has brought her daughter Brianna with her. Scotland is where she wants to tell Brianna about her experiences and share with her the stories.
Going back to the year 1774 Jamie and Claire are off to Paris to try and stop a battle that will happen and that tragedy will happen at. When they arrive in Paris it is there, they meet Jared a relative of Jamie's and it is there where they manage to make some friends and enemies. While in Paris Claire and Jamie have many problems and have to struggle to get through some of them, but then things change they find themselves going back to Scotland.
When they arrive in Scotland to live with Jamie's sister Jenny they start to realize that the main goal of going to Paris will happen, and still the two of them want to try and stop it.
As the story unfolds you start to see how strong Jamie and Claire's love is for each other, they find it hard to be away from each other and find it hard to see each other hurt.
The end of this book left me wanting to devour the next book in this series. I hope that the rest of the books are just as great at the first two.
Book Review: The Outlander saga continues...
Summary: 4 Stars
I am happily writing this review within a half hour of finishing this novel simply because I am glad I finally got through it! Long gone are the days I could polish off a nearly 1000 page book within a few days. Grownup responsibilities kept me from finishing this behemouth of a book sooner than I would have liked--a whopping two weeks!
Once again I entered the world of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall but, as I began, I find Claire back in 20th century Scotland, twenty years after her initial disappearance. What had happened? When I last left them, Claire and Jamie had escaped to France and were in the process of planning their next step. I realized that something had gone horribly amiss in the 18th century I would have to keep reading to find out.
Diana Gabaldon does not disappoint in this second novel. The plot continues to move at a steady pace, slowing down twice during the story but jumpstarts once new characters and situations are introduced. John Randall is back, as is the Duke of Sandringham and the roguish Dougal Mackenzie. New characters are introduced in the persons of Brianna Randall (Fraser), Roger Mackenzie, and Alex Randall. Gabaldon keeps the action going with surprising new plot twists as does the constant passionate antagonism between Jamie and Claire.
Great read--even with the often mentioned smirk or corner of mouth twitching everyone does.
Book Review: Good continuation of the Outlander series
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently discovered the Outlander series; after some initial trouble getting into the story, I wound up absolutely loving the first book. As most readers probably know, the first Outlander book featured Clare Randall, a post-WWII nurse who is transported 200 years back in time, where she meets and falls in love with a young Scot, Jamie Fraser. As in the previous novel, the current installment, Dragonfly in Amber, begins in the present day--in this case 1968, 20 years after Clare's return from the past. Again, I felt that the book dragged a bit during the beginning, but once the setting shifts back to Claire and Jamie, the action definitely picks up.
The historical portion of the novel opens with Claire and Jamie in France, where they have gone to try to prevent "Bonnie Prince Charlie" from leading the Scottish people in a battle that will end in their slaughter. There is a greater emphasis on history in the sequel, and so author Gabaldon sometimes spends several pages at a time detailing relevant historical facts. To me, this weighed the book down somewhat, as Gabaldon's true strength in these Outlander novels is her portrayal of the relationship between Claire and Jamie--for me, this is the main attraction of these books. To be sure, I will be reading the next installment, as I can't wait to see where Claire and Jamie will go from here.
Book Review: More Please, Thank You!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the second book in the Outlander series.
There is so much story in this book I honestly don't know where to begin...
The story starts out in 1968, Claire Randall is a doctor, her husband Frank Randall passed away two years ago. She is traveling in Scotland with her daughter Brianna. Traveling back to Inverness where she disappeared into the past twenty years ago. She returns to visit an old friend and to try to find out the fate of her other husband Jamie Fraser and his clansmen, wondering if they died with so many others on the battlefield of Culloden in 1746.
An engrossing read with lots of attention to detail, those of you who love details like I do will not be disappointed. I know that Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is sometimes categorized as romance, I think that is an incredibly limiting label to place on a story that is so rich with history and adventure. Reading this I often found myself humming dun dun dun dun dun dun dun...(the theme to Indiana Jones, couldn't you tell..). I loved the adventure, the treachery and the passionate love story between Claire and Jamie.
Gabaldon creates very vivid descriptions and very realistic characters and a wonderfully rich story. She's a talented writer and a gifted story teller and I am looking forward to reading more in this series.
Book Review: Not as good but good
Summary: 4 Stars
If you liked Outlander, you'll like this book. It continues the story very nicely. I'm not sure if there are plot spoilers here, so read cautiously... If you came to care for Jamie and Claire in Outlander, then their continued experiences and seperations in this book will be absolutely heartbreaking. DG has Jamie's character and dialogue and expressions down to a T as well as that of so many of his Scottish friends. I found the scene in the house after Culloden particularly real and affecting. Also the one where you realize he has suddenly come to a final and necessary decision about Claire. I love books that give me something of a history lesson and send me off to research more about a time or place and to find out how the fictitious story matches up against the reality of history. These books are very interesting and absorbing to me in that sense as well. The story of what happened to the Scottish Highlands is devastating. On the down side, the constant plot turns start to strain credulity and it seems like bad things happen repeatedly as a means to infuse tension back into the story. I kind of had character exhaustion... I just wanted them to be happy already, LOL! Since there are several more books in this series, some of which I've already read, I know I'm in for a long wait. This book is very good though and I couldn't put it down.