Posts tagged ‘diana gabaldon’

April 26th, 2010

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

by candace

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

I was kind of disappointed with this book.  Unlike the other books in this series so far, this book felt long.  All the books are long but this one felt really long.  There was lots of action, things happening all over the place but it was kind of stagnant as well.  I think part of the problem was the amount of time that passed through this book.  I understand it’s hard to write over 1000 pages about a small amount of time but this book covered more time than the others and I guess that made it seem to drag on.

I liked the format of this book though, that it jumped from present day back to the 1700′s.  It broke up the story a lot so you didn’t get too stuck with one setting, which would be boring for over 1000 pages.  Two characters became more prominent in this story, Brianna Fraser and Roger Wakefield.  I was glad to see that, new characters help move the series along.  There were some visitors from past books which is cool too, you get to see where they’ve ended up and how they’ve evolved.

One thing this book made me realize is how lazy we all have become.  Myself especially.  I don’t think I could do half of what Claire does in this book as a wife, mother, aunt, and friend.  Luckily for me, I don’t have to, I’m not expected to plow fields and mill my own flour, or make my own whiskey.  I was inspired though, to do more around the house.  Cook more, plan better for the future in terms of having stuff ready for different times of the year.  I do recognize that I work hard, it’s just a different kind of work but you can’t help but be put to shame a little by how much people in the 1700′s had to do for themselves.

What did you think?

September 24th, 2009

Dragonfly in Amber

by candace

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

I have to say these books really make me want a Scottish highlander husband.  I completely devoured this book.  I will admit that it started kind of slow but when it picked up it took off.  I was reading hundreds of pages at a sitting which means I completely ignored my husband at some points but he’s ok with that.

I don’t want to give too much away but the book is basically one big flashback which kind of made the beginning a little confusing.  I didn’t really think it was the next book in the series based on the back cover.  This book had everything!  There is political plotting, forbidden love, treachery, underhandedness, false pretenses, sex, lies, love, men in kilts, scottish accents, and because it is the second of a multi-book series, a cliffhanger ending.

I laughed, I cried, I swooned, I said: “I didn’t see that coming.” I did find that the book had some predictable parts, I knew what the outcome would be but I didn’t know how they would accomplish it or how it would come about.  There were some really shocking parts and  a lot of tenderness which was a good mix.  I liked the new characters she introduced and am looking forward to learning more about them.  I am dying to read the next book Voyager.

Did you read it? What did you think?