For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones …about a love that transcends the boundaries of time …and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ….
Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart …in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising …and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves….
This book club was originally chosen in August. However, clocking at over 900 pages, we ended up finishing it two months later.
The sequel to the very entertaining Outlander epic is full of historical immersion. Perhaps too much as we agreed that the middle part lagged in keeping our attention. I understand the Galbadon wants readers to feel like they are there with Jaimie and Claire, including the mundane daily life. Personally, I could have skipped some of that. Even though it did bring some funny lost in time travel moments like Jaimie’s bafflement of Claire choosing to wax herself or the infamous swan nipple ring. That’s going to be seared in my mind, the aristo French were crazy.
However, the beginning and the climax is where the story really picks up. Galbadon introduces interesting new characters like the rascally Fergus, poor tragic Mary (she has like the worst life) and Jack Randall’s sickly but saintly brother, Alex Randall. We finally learn the true origins of Frank’s ancestors which I guessed pretty quickly. But it did lead to interesting discussion over time travel and the closed loop time travel and how Claire’s plan to change history is bound to fail.
We also got to meet Brianna, Jaimie and Claire’s daughter who is kinda annoying (even though her reasons are understandably because her mother’s story sounds nuts) and stubborn, and Roger, the descendant of Mackenzie and Gillies. The part where they travel to the sixities to see if they can save her was crazy and brought interesting ethical conundrums.
Which lead us to another rabbit hole of discussing men. Basically how Jaimie is so much better than Frank even though they had less progressive values. My friend said it was because they were gentlemen back then. I reminded her that they were gentlemen because they believed women had small brains and were helpless. She countered yes, but Jaimie is so good when he’s all protective and manly. Some things are just destined like time travel.
I’d rate this a solid 3, entertaining and I want to read the next one, but the middle definately wasn’t as well-paced as the first Outlander.
Next on book club is Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians.
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