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  • Wow! (First in the series)

  • The only way to describe this book is EPIC. Yes, it's huge. And I will admit that it took me a long time to get through it. I had to set it aside a couple of times and switch to a fluffy little paperback mystery.

    But it's so worth the effort. To say this series is character-driven would ... Continue

    The only way to describe this book is EPIC. Yes, it's huge. And I will admit that it took me a long time to get through it. I had to set it aside a couple of times and switch to a fluffy little paperback mystery.

    But it's so worth the effort. To say this series is character-driven would be an understatement. I have never felt so strongly about two characters than I do about Jamie & Claire. I find myself thinking about them, as if they're real people, even when I'm not reading one of the books. I care about them so much that I frequently get frustrated with something they do, and have to set the book aside for a while to let my anger cool.

    The story itself is incredible, and yet still secondary to the people. Claire goes back in time about 200 years, in Scotland, where she meets Jamie - unquestionably her soul-mate. Now if you can get past the little time-travel thing, then the rest of the book is much more like historical fiction - nothing else "sci-fi" about it at all. If you like Scottish stories, all the better. It boggles my mind that the author isn't Scottish herself, as the book is so believable - incredibly well researched.

    Be forwarned, though. Once you've met Jamie & Claire, you will be compelled to follow their story forever. (I believe the author is working on the 7th book right now.)

    

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• ― Bashful said on Aug 23, 2008 | Add your feedback

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  • I really liked this author's writing style and I found the characters enjoyable, even though not always quite believable. However, the story was a little too smutty to be anything but fluff, but not enough fun to be a guilty pleasure. I found myself rushing through it at the end just so I could be ... Continue

    I really liked this author's writing style and I found the characters enjoyable, even though not always quite believable. However, the story was a little too smutty to be anything but fluff, but not enough fun to be a guilty pleasure. I found myself rushing through it at the end just so I could be done with it. I will try other things by this author because I think there is a lot of potential.

    ETA - I updated this to 3 stars because it's really much better than the other books I ranked as 2 stars, and because I kept thinking back to the characters the day after I finished it and wondering what else might happen to them, so it couldn't have been too dull :)

    

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• ― Deanna Kyre said on Apr 22, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Not just another romance

  • This book, often filed with the romance books, does revolve around the relationship between a man and a woman, but don't let that fool you! It has time travel, history, witchcraft, mystery and more all wrapped up in it! Please give it a try. If you like it, don't miss the numerous sequels.

    

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• ― KyotoCutie said on Aug 6, 2007 about the Mass Market Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Highly enjoyable time-traveling romance. Tightly plotted, well-researched, well-written. It's charming and yet wrenching - a very good way to pass a few hours.

    

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• ― guaddess said on May 31, 2007 | Add your feedback

Unrivaled storytelling ... unforgettable characters ... rich historical detail ... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers.

Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages....

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon — when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach — an "outlander" — in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

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