ISBN: 0-8778-1298-5 Order from: Recorded Books
Full of color, passion, danger, and occasional wit, the book is well-written and involving, but suffers from excessive length and a somewhat weak protagonist.
Reviewed by David on June 15, 2002
Genre: Romance (Paranormal, Time Travel, Swordfighting)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Outlander, Diana Gabaldon's massive novel of a twentieth-century Englishwoman in the turbulent eighteenth-century Scotland.
The narrator, Davina Porter, is deft and impressively skilled in creating a range of accents which convey the local color without risking the comprehension of most readers.
The young Englishwoman Claire Randall, a former army nurse relaxes with her affectionate and well-educated husband in Scotland at the conclusion of Warld War II. Aftr the terrors and rigors of the war, the vacation is both relaxing and fascinating for the couple. Exploring a piece of local colorful history, Claire touches an ancient stone monument and is thrown in the midst of a deadly fighting.
As she struggles with her confusion, barely understandable speach and brutal manners around her, Claire at last accepts that she is now in the middle of the eighteenth century, fallen in with a band of Scottish Clansmen hunted by the English Soldiers.
Here, Claire finds danger, pain, fear and love, and her strong will will be needed to survive, and to help others in the brutal struggle for the future of Scotland.
Full Review: The book is full of colorful, complex characters, amid deadly, and sometimes beautiful surroundings. Most people are full of passion and mutliple motives, with only a few stereotypes here and there. The plot is full of twists, and most of the time the reader is kept interested in the fate of the likable protagonist and her companions.
Despite its strength the novel suffers from two significant flaws. The main character, Claire, despite her passion and intelligence, is frequently weak or vacillating—not surprising, perhaps, given her situation, but frustrating nonetheless. The second is the length of the book. Despite the continuing twists of the plot, sooner or later the reader fatigue sets in; and, while well-written, the entertainment value of the novel would have been enhanced had it reached a conclusion sooner.
The book comes to a satisfying conslusion at the end; however, there are several sequels available. While the first book was enjoyable, one would hesitate to delve into equally-lengthy sequels.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 6.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 1991, Recorded Books, 1997, Audio cassette, 23 cassettes
ISBN: 0-8778-1298-5 Order from: Recorded Books