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Nov 09, 2009

Foxfire780 rated it:

I am a devout DG/Outlander fan, so of course I read Echo in the Bone as fast as I could get my mitts on it...and it left me sorely disappointed!
I actually skipped pages! She said that there were four story lines (hence the four points on the Caltrop on the cover) and I was excited at first. But when I got into the story, I got bored with the overlong passages about William and John's intrigues. Where were Jamie and Claire?? (And why the hell can't they manage a sea voyage without trouble? More...

49 comments like (61 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2009

Jamie rated it:

The five stars are an expression of my Outlander fangirl enthusiasm, since I'm incapable of objectively judging the quality of these books. I'd probably have given five stars to anything that wasn't a huge disappointment. Which this wasn't, of course; I thought it was quite good.

The first couple hundred pages are admittedly a little slow. We get a lot of POV from Lord John and 19-yr-old William, and there is some crossover from the LJ spin-off series, which I think may be confusing f More...

6 comments like (26 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2010

Holly rated it:

**NEW IMPROVED REVIEW** (Original review follows)

I was thinking about this in the shower and I had a sudden epiphany.

TOP TEN REASONS WHY THE OUTLANDER SERIES IS BETTER THAN THE TWILIGHT SERIES

10. Heroine is not complimented on how delicious her blood smells. Instead, she is told that her ass looks like two ripe melons. Just what every woman wants.

9. When the hero has to rescue the heroine, he doesn't merely have to run at lightning speed across the More...

11 comments like (67 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2011

Misfit rated it:

Echo picks up where A Breath of Snow and Ashes left off as Claire and Jamie Fraser and Jamie's nephew Ian leave life at Fraser's Ridge behind them, head for Scotland to pick up Jamie's printing press and return to America. Of course this _is_ Jamie and Claire we're talking about so there is no smooth sailing and the *road* to Scotland is mired with many side-trips and detours as well. Roger and Bree have returned to the present and settled into life at Lallybroch, although they're also in for a More...

45 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2010

Verity rated it:

DG’s still a PHENOMENAL writer, her talent has never been in question, but I do question her sanity after reading the last word of this hefty 814-page HC. These are just my random thoughts & somewhat-friendly reminders to myself as future reference, in case I need to refresh my poor memory. This is 1 helluva busy book, jammed w/ innumerable constantly-shifting plots & POVs but the resulting end wasn’t a thrilling ride as the previous ones. I really hope to hell this was simply a failed experimen More...

6 comments like (18 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2010

Tara rated it:

A completely devoted Outlander fan, I've been reading the excerpts wherever I can find them. I can't wait for the published novel.

Update: The good news, and the (not so bad depending on how you want to look at it news) I got the novel a day early! Turns out that the bookstore in Penn station was selling them. WOOT! At which I had to turn it over as contraband to Jackie. She and I both know me too well to think that I'm going to get ANY studying done for my very first Anatomy e More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2009

Jacqie rated it:

So I love Diana Gabaldon. I wish she would write faster than one new book every four years in the Outlander series, but whatcha gonna do. So Of course I've been waiting with bated breath for this one.
Writing: still draws you into the characters' lives. They are so human, so loving, so flawed yet continuously striving.
Characters: this book has four main plots (yes, four). We get Jamie and Claire, but we also get Ian (who I like to read about), Roger and Brianna (who I found an More...

7 comments like (25 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2009

Vicki rated it:

I read the first six all in a row, and then waited several months for the seventh to come out. So it's no real surprise that it took me a while to get into this one, and that I didn't remember all of the characters referenced throughout. But I will say that I got the impression Gabaldon was writing this book with more than her Outlander readers in mind; the focus on Lord John and his espionage career smacked of crossover. Which I didn't really love, but I can respect her making a play to get More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Emily rated it:

I am an Outlander series fan. Yes I am. I love Jamie (to an embarrasing extent), Claire and the whole cast of random modern and 18th C. characters that fill the many, many pages of Gabaldon's books. While not fine literature, I can always count on her great storytelling to completely draw me into her world over and over again (to the detriment of my normal life, and my husband's chagrin).

That said, while I did enjoy this book there were a number of things about the writing that bothe More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2010

Gretchen rated it:

I love the Outlander Series. But this book was my least favorite so far. Gabaldon tries to balance multiple storylines, and in doing so seems to have lost momentum. I was glad to see the return of some familiar characters, and as usual, loved the moments when the ties between past and present are made clear. But with the added storylines, we now have 7 character viewpoints by my count. This, coupled with short segments means a lot of transitions, and many opportunities to put the book down, or s More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2010

Carolynn rated it:

I got my hands on a copy to review, and it came today! It is beautiful, and hefty enough to promise a good ride.

I am about a quarter of the way through it, and it is somewhat reminiscent of the second one. It bounces between places, people and times, poignantly telling all of their stories in an interwoven fashion. The first few chapters take a little work to get into because the tale begins with no hesitation. I think that if I'd prepared by rereading the others, or even the last b More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2011

Kimberly rated it:

I should start off with a giant disclaimer that I am blinded by all things Outlander. Even an Outlander book with some problems is a 5 star book for me. The characters that I know and love more than make up for any qualms I have with the storyline. I don't think I have ever read a book with bigger cliffhangers than this one. A lot of criticisms I have read regarding the book center around the fact that so many different plot lines are left completely unresolved. I have to say it doesn't rea More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2010

Savannah rated it:

I made it to the bookstore with only minutes to spare! They had almost closed their doors, but knew better when they saw the crazy person running down the mall. LOL. I was so excited to read this book, I mean waiting 4 years is a long time! It was, as always, beautifully written. There were twists and turns that captured the mind, especially if you're a fan of the previous novels. I had one problem with this book, the only thing I've ever had a problem with in the whole series, the story line wi More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2009

Lynn rated it:

After several thousand pages of build-up, the Revolutionary War is finally here — and with it, the excitement of the early Outlander novels returns. No offense to the residents of Fraser's Ridge, but it's a lot more fun to see Jamie and Claire interacting with Benedict Arnold than Hiram Crombie. They may be older and wiser than they were back in the Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager days, but this book has more in common with those two novels than it does with the last few that preceded it. I ca More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Stephanie / seenonflickr rated it:

This seventh book in the Outlander series was ... OK. I will keep reading these until they're done (one more, apparently) but there was a lot of blah blah in this book that I wasn't keen on, a couple of POVs that I didn't care much about - I really just want to read Claire and Roger, and sometimes Brianna - and it ends with a HUGE cliffhanger that I do not want to wait three-plus years to be resolved.

There were also some plot points that you wouldn't get if you hadn't read the Lord More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 30, 2009

Jenny rated it:

I'm still chewing on this. Not quite sure what to rate it yet. I loved the majority of the book, but I just finished today, and the ending has left me disgruntled. It feels like I have a bad copy that someone snatched the last 100 pages out of.

7 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2010

LJ rated it:

First Sentence: The pirate's head had disappeared.

In this 7th book to the Outlander series, Jamie, Claire and Ian are leaving the Ridge headed for Scotland to take Ian back to his family and bring Jamie's printing press back to the Colonies. Roger and Brianna have returned to the present and have settled at Lallybroch, but they've not completely left the past behind. William is anxious to prove himself in battle and Lord John is dealing with his family, both in England and in Penns More...

12 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 03, 2011

Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalking rated it:

OMG! I hated the ending and I want the next book now!

60 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 29, 2008

Kate rated it:

I was mortified when the bookstore employee told me to check out the "romance" section for this book. She promised it wouldn't disappoint. It didn't. I read the entire series.

5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2009

Janet rated it:

In true "Outlander" style, Gabaldon continues the saga of Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Ian et al. All of the scenes were expertly set, the four different story lines were well balanced and I enjoyed every moment shared in the 814 pages. Yes, there is plenty to get your teeth into and salivate over. The characters continued to resonate with me days after finishing this book. I loved it, although, I admit I was left with more questions at the end of this work, than any of its predecessors. W More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Jennifer rated it:

From my review blog Rundpinne:[return]Reading An Echo In the Bone by Diane Gabaldon reinforced my passion for her Outlander series. I have not read all of them, which made An Echo In the Bone probably more confusing than it needed to be, yet I still thoroughly enjoyed being reacquainted with Jaime and Claire and the ensemble of characters, which make up this brilliant series and traveling with them through the 18th and 20th centuries. Gabaldon appears to continue to write solidly, her charact More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 26, 2010

Sheri rated it:

Wow, that was a marathon read that started almost exacty a year ago. All seven books from the Outlander series, plus the Lord John series.

The Lord John Series was written at the same time as this last book in the series, which was four years after the previous book. So, this book kind of languished, and the ending felt like it was a rush job to finally get the book out and set up for the next book. My first clue that the ending was rushed was in chapter 86, where Lord John finds o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Robin-Taine rated it:

I love the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon; so much so that I have purchased the last couple in hardcover the minute they hit the shelves. An Echo in the Bone is the latest in the series. Unfortunently, Echo doesn't deliver the best of Gabaldon (though my sister-in-law points out that Gabaldon at her worst is better than many authors at their best). There was too much Lord John bloody Grey, whom I loathe more than any other fictional character I can think of. What is the fascination Ms. G More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2009

Amanda rated it:

I find myself now thankful that there's only one book left in this series. While I don't regret the time spent on Echo and will certainly read the Outlander conclusion when it's available in 4? years, I'm ready to let this series go.

Historical detail was as always fascinating and the characters are still for the most part engaging and moving, but this volume interweaved way too many story lines and ended up feeling disjointed. Add in a few plot "twists" which are starting More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Sep 29, 2009

Wendy rated it:

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0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2009

Ashley rated it:

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2010

Linda rated it:

If I thought I was obsessed with this series before reading this latest installment, then I have no idea how I feel now. Is it possible to become exponentially obsessed with a story? This is not quite the fountainhead of the series, but so many of the storylines that have characterized this series finally fused towards the end, and yet, it doesn't feel as if there is any closure. A la Karen Moning, the ending is such a cliffhanger that it is almost unfair to leave readers in such agony as to wai More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2009

Erin rated it:

It was really nice to catch up with Jamie and Claire again. I find they have become real life characters to me and I miss them when they aren't around. That being said, I have to say there are parts of this book that could have been edited. I was a little disappointed as well because I really thought she would wrap up the series and it she didn't, sometimes it's sad when you stay at the party too long. I did like the way she went back and forth from the past of Jamie and Claire and the presen More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2009

Barbara rated it:

Well, Diana is in good form in this one, even if it is a bit choppy with all the changing of POV. Lots of action both in Revolutionary War America and 1980's Scotland. And then there's that excruciating cliff hanger of an ending (or set of endings---).

Those who have read the Lord John books as well as the Outlander books will have a bit easier go of it than those who have not, but she does a good job of getting the important info from those stories into our hands.

Lord More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Carolyn F. rated it:

Audiobook. I finally finished the audiobook but I'm sad that I'm done with the series completely including the Lord John series and the graphic novel! Now I'll have to wait a couple/few years for the next book.

I ended up liking the audiobook more than the book but I think that's because it was a refresher for me and I was able to concentrate on things I didn't notice before. I still think Jenny is a b**ch! I feel the same about Dottie - don't like her. But I like William more. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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