NUMBER: 1TITLE: The Fiery Cross
AUTHOR: Diana Gabaldon
STARTED: January 1, 2005
FINISHED: January 7, 2005
PAGES: 979
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: I woke to the patter of rain on canvas, with the feel of my first husband's kiss on my lips.
SUMMARY: [from barnesandnoble.com] In this fifth book of the "Outlander" series, time traveler Claire Randall, now firmly ensconced in the past with her daughter, Brianna, and Brianna's husband, Roger, finds herself and her dashing husband, Jamie, at a critical juncture. It is 1771, and the first stirrings of the American Revolution are being felt in the mountains of North Carolina where Jamie, despite being a Catholic, has been given an enormous tract of land by the governor and is ordered to raise a militia. Having learned about the Revolution from his 20th-century wife and daughter, Jamie uneasily complies with the governor's orders and is immensely relieved when the crisis passes and the militia is disbanded. Both he and the reader know, however, that this reprieve is only temporary; the still unfinished strands of this complex and engrossing tale, coupled with the impending Revolution, give hope to Gabaldon's fans that the saga is not yet finished.
REASON FOR READING: Gabaldon is my favorite fiction author and I wanted to re-read the series before the next book is published.
THOUGHTS: While the "Outlander" series is my favorite fictional series, I can't help put think that this book is the weak link in the story. While the writing level and drama are the same, I feel as if there ia flow lacking from the story. Gabaldon always places her characters in dramatic and dangerous moments. Usually these flow from one to the other and seem as if they are a seamless movement of action and life. In The Fiery Cross, the events seem disconnected. Disconnected in the literary and written sense, not in the plot sense. I felt as if each chapter was its own vignette of action. I still love the book but I think it could have been edited for flow.
In another line of thinking, this book makes me realize how very young I feel. There are a number of characters in this book who are my age (20-years old) and their lives make mine seem so simple. They've seen war, survived in the wilderness, navigated early politics, been married, and started families. I, on the other hand, have merely been educated and worked with books. My life seems so damn simply after this book. While some may call the story overly dramatic, I think it does a phenomenal job of portraying life before the American Revolution. Life was not pretty, it was harsh, dirty, and more than a little violent. I feel so naive after reading this book. Each chapter reminds me of my own coddled upbringing. Each death and violent scene reminds of the fragility of life. The book reminds me of how I have lived, and how it is so different from how I would have lived in centuries past.
It takes a lot for a book to move me emotionally. While I often scream/rant/talk to books while I read them, it is rare that I actually mean it. Diana Gabaldon has always been able to more me emotionally. I think it shows her skill as both a writer and story teller. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
MISCELLANEOUS: Book 5 in the "Outlander" series. I hate waiting for the next books in the series (make that any series) to be published.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): Keeper!
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
CR: Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden
RN: Not a clue.
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