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Oct 19, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

I don't think any author is in love with her characters and her own writing as much as Diana Gabaldon. To the point that she is convinced that absolutely everything she writes about them has to be in her books. Who cares about the plot and moving things along and putting in your novels only events that would advance the plot? Not Diana!

I've loved the Outlander books for a while, in spite of their fragmented nature and sometimes convoluted story lines, but this time even the most ded More...

27 comments like (34 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Nichole (Dirty H) rated it:

So far, the weakest book in the series. This book dragged on and on and on... It took me about four times as long to finish this one as it did the other four. There was just a lot of unnecessary drama. The interesting parts were few and far between, but were just enough to keep me reading. And I will admit, by the end I was finally engaged enough to want to read the next one, so it didn't turn me off completely. There were just a lot of things that didn't need to be in the book. This is the firs More...

5 comments like (31 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Lucy rated it:

The Fiery Cross is the fifth book in a series written by Diana Gabaldon about Clare Fraser, who can travel through time by touching stones (think stonehenge). The first time she time travelled, it was an accident. She travelled two-hundred years backward to the 1740s and met the love her life, Jamie Frasier, a Scottish highlander. Their love story has developed through out each of the books as Gabaldon details the historical setting that surrounds them. In The Fiery Cross, the year is 1771 and t More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2009

Barb rated it:

Like a Glucose Tolerance Test,
Only Recommended for Absolute Die-Hard Fans

A glucose tolerance test is a test given to a pregnant woman in order to determine whether or not she has gestational diabetes. The test is administered by forcing the poor pregnant woman to drink a, beyond human portion, of a glucose drink, something that tastes like a sugared soft-drink. Then glucose levels of the blood are measured at different intervals after the glucose has been metabolized by the bo More...

17 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 13, 2008

Christy rated it:

In the fifth installment of the Outlander series, time-traveler Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser and her eighteenth century husband, Jamie, have established their homestead on Fraser’s Ridge in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Grumblings among colonists against British tyranny have begun, and Jamie and Claire are resigned to the fact that the American Revolution will take place and there is nothing they can to do stop it. Although Jamie sympathizes with the colonists, his allegiance, for More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2008

April rated it:

I read this as soon as it came out. Had to have it in hardback because I couldn't wait for paperback and had to have my own precious copy. Wish I had waited or borrowed it from the library. I was so excited to see what Claire and Jamie were up to, but it was a very slow read, explaining every little thing in detail. I mean, I love to read books that don't gloss over the not-so-pretty parts of the day, but explaining that a child needs a diaper change, and it's unpleasant aroma, over and over More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2010

Holly rated it:

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3 comments like (12 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2009

Allison rated it:

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2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2008

Suzie rated it:

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Katie rated it:

Well, I finally finished The Fiery Cross.

*sigh*

I absolutely LOVE these books. This installment was no exception.....

I found that this installment had so many deep emotional scenes, that when i finished, I felt that i had connected to the characters, emotionally, more then ever before.

Starting with The Gathering, when Jamie calls his people out, and they all hold hands. The wedding scene between Roger and Brianna was both hilarious and to More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Nicole rated it:

The Outlander series is definitely one of my most recommencded series of books. I might even love these books more than Harry Potter - and that's saying something.

The Outlander books are set in the 1700s. They start off in Scotland, but later travel to Paris, Jamaica and the American Colonies.

Claire and Jamie, the book's two main characters are fantastic. They're deep, smart and action-oriented, yet very real. As their relationship evolves over the series of books, it More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2008

Meghan rated it:

Finally finished this book. This was book 5 and I just couldn't get connected to the story line. I have devoured the other 4 books in this incredible series and have completely accepted all of the many leaps of faith that DG asks of us as readers - but I just couldn't do it this time around. I felt like the first 24 hours of the novel lasted for nearly 150 pages. The Gathering - the event that ate up so much of the book - was boring in my opinion. I notice that DG likes to start books this More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 25, 2009

Sherry rated it:

This is a hard book to review. Besides the fact that it's over 1400 pages and took me over a month to read... it's Diana Gabaldon. She writes fascinating accounts of history, trivia, mythology, a great love story, science fiction and people with great detail.

In some places I wanted to hurry through the details and get to the heart of the story, and other places I savored every word. That's the beauty of her writing, you have to read every word, absorb every detail because it will com More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Alicia rated it:

I really respect the research and what I believe to be the historical accuracy of these books. However, "The Fiery Cross" reads more like a series of short stories rather than one novel. My attention to the story waned in many places and I wanted to hurry and finish this book so that I could get to "A Breath of Snow and Ashes."

Jamie and Claire's story is still captivating. Roger and Brianna...well, I'm not sure why he goes through so much trouble. Brianna can pitc More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 18, 2007

LJ rated it:

The Fiery Cross - VG
Gabaldon, Diana - 5th in series
The Fiery Cross, the eagerly awaited fifth volume in this remarkable, award-winning series of historical novels. The year is 1771, and war is approaching. Jamie Fraser’s wife has told him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy – a time-traveller’s certain knowledge. To break his oath to the Crown will brand him a traitor; to keep it is certain doom. Jamie Fraser stands in the shadow of More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Jaime rated it:

This was another solid entry in this series, though I think this is the first one I’ve read that hasn’t reduced me to a blubbering mess at one point or another. However, the lack of extreme emotion doesn’t take anything away from the story. It seems that life has fallen into a sort of routine (if anything in Jamie and Claire’s lives could ever be considered “routine”), with the specter of the Revolutionary War looming in the distance. The return of a beloved character at the end is a nice touch More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2008

Tiffany rated it:

This is the fifth book in the Outlander Series. 20 century time-traveling Claire and her 17th century Scottish husband, Jamie Fraser experience life in North Caroline in the years preceding the Revolutionary War. Their daughter Brianna and her husband Roger (also time-travelers) adjust to life on Fraser's Ridge as well along with their son Jemmy.

There was not a lot of plot development in this book. The major events being the battle at Alamance, which Brianna, Clare, and Roger we More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2009

Kami rated it:

This one is definitely the slowest of her books, but the characters are so great that you don't mind too much. As with the others, I highly recommend the audiobook version - especially if you've already read her books and want to go back for a re-read. There's so much added to the books by the great narration.

Note - if you want to listen to this or any other Diana Gabaldon books, DO NOT get the abridged version. I listened to this unabridged - 48 CD's worth - but it is worth More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Debora rated it:

Ricco di colpi di scena e di momenti "critici", questa seconda parte del quinto romanzo di Diana Gabaldon riporta la trama nuovamente ad un livello decisamente più "avventuroso". Il periodo di "relativa" pace vissuta dalla famiglia Fraser in America, le cose iniziano lentamente a degenerare con i i primi focolari. La guerra civile è alle porte e James si vede costretto a sostenere il governatore (loro "benefattore" dato che ha loro regalato la terra su cui More...

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Oct 31, 2011

Evelyn rated it:

The fifth installment in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, The Fiery Cross continues on the story of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall (why they insist on calling her that I don't know - she's been Claire Fraser MUCH longer) who are now living in the backcountry of the North Carolina colony. The year is 1771 and they have been joined (previously in Drums in Autumn) by their daughter Brianna and Roger MacKenzie (who are both also able to travel through the stones like Claire).
I've been told More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Beverly rated it:

The 5th book in the Outlander series. Claire and Jamie Fraser have established themselves on a land grant. This was given to Jamie by Governor Tryon of North Carolina even though he is Catholic and it is forbidden. The Governor bought Jamie's loyalty. So When he is called upon to put down a rebellion of disgruntled colonists, he has no choice but to go. With the help of his son-in-law Roger, they are able to contain the situation. However, Roger was caught in the wrong place and was mistake More...

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Jan 26, 2011

Melissa rated it:

The fifth book in Gabaldon's Outlander series, the Fiery Cross takes places shortly after the ending of the fourth book. As a recap (and possible spoiler if you haven't read the first novels) Claire, a nurse from the 1940's traveled back in time to 18th century Scotland. There, to preserve her life, she marries Jamie Fraser, a Scottish highlander in order to save her life. She grows to love him but is sadly separated for twenty years when she has to return to her own time. When she learns he has More...

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Dec 11, 2009

kingshearte rated it:

"The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser's wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy - a time-traveler's certain knowledge. Claire's unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead - or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes..."

Book More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2009

Rebekah rated it:

This is a prime example of what happens when an author gets carried away with their research and feels they have to share every tidbit they find, weaving it into the story whether needed or not, most often not. Fifth book in the Outlander series, The Fiery Cross is longer and less enriching than any of the others. Gabaldon seems to have struggled, unable to decide whether to continue with historical fiction or switch to a family saga, literary novel, or mystery, incorporating all with little eff More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I know people who have read all of these books back to back, but I just don't see how. I like them fine, and I own them all on Kindle, but I have to take a break in between them. They're just so darned LONG.

Take this one, for example. I love the characters and I'm involved with them now, but in a novel you'd expect there to be some sort of central conflict, something for the characters to struggle against. Here, not so much. It's this long, rambling slice of life thing. Which is fine, More...

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Nov 28, 2010

Michelle rated it:

2.5 stars - carelessly written with no actual plot. Disappointing.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Susan rated it:

I first met Claire and Jamie the day The Outlander was first released in the United States. I barely ate or slept as I joined Claire traveling through the stones to another time in Scotland. Diana Gabaldon soon became our JR Rowling as we haunted bookstores waiting foe our next fix of Jamie and Claire. I still love the characters and the storyline. "The Fiery Cross" cured me of the need for instant gratification. I plan to read the "A Breath of Snow and Ashes", "An More...

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Apr 02, 2011

Beverly rated it:

Oh boy... Brianna decides to follow her mom through the stones at Craig ne Dun, Scotland. She tries to deceive her boyfriend, historian Oxford professor,Roger McKenzie Wakefield. When he realizes what she has done, he also realizes his love for her, and follows her through the stones to arrive back 200 yrs. When he does find her, she has made quite a spectacle of herself, by wearing trousers that are quite revealing and scandulous. Roger made his way to AMERICa crewing on a ship with the not More...

1 comment like

May 29, 2011

Gaijinmama rated it:

Loved it even more this time around.
What's not to love?
Jamie and Claire are still the hottest pair around, and Claire is definitely a kindred spirit even though I'd jump her husband in a moment if he weren't...you know...fictional. I especially love one scene where she teaches a bunch of Scots that old kids' jingle that goes, "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart...."
I love you, Jamie! But Claire, if you were real you'd be my BFF.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

MJ rated it:

Plenty of 4-star moments, but way too many 2's on balance. This woman's editor does her no favors letting each installment stretch to nearly 1000 pages when much of it reads like pages of writer's workshop exercises in descriptive narrative. So many variations on a theme: walk in the woods, an ambush, violent injury, perils of colonial frontier life. Not that the writing is bad - there is just too much of it. I still love Jamie and Claire - their relationship and adventures - but think of th More...

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