Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

[Suzanne]

"Hello, the house!" So excited to have the book arrive today. Starting a new thread for people to share thoughts and questions as we read. I love being able to double check things with this group.

[Roseanne]

I never made it through my reread. So now I’m reading Echo and Bees at the same time. If that’s wrong I don’t want to be right. Lol

[Suzanne]

I wrapped up Echo in the Bone a few days ago and am now 350 pages in to Written in My Own Heart’s Blood as really needed to refresh myself on all the shenanigans! Am so glad I did as Herself packs so much into these books and its hard to keep it all straight! Im in awe of you reading two at the same time—thats adding even more time switching to keep track of! 🤣🤣🤣

[Scott]

I downloaded the new book on the Kindle last night and am about 60 pages into it. No spoilers from me, but I will say I am loving it! I cannot believe how much I missed my Outlander family - Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger - all of them. And I must admit a special hankering for Jenny. I am forcing myself to read this slowly so that I can enjoy every page and not rush anything. Diana - you are outstanding so far. Thank you!

[Jackie]

I have to admit, I ordered a signed copy for The Poisoned Pen, which I won’t receive for a while to be sure. I stayed up until the wee hours of the night Tuesday so I could download a kindle and an audible version, so that I can read at my leisure and listen when I’m cleaning or driving or something that prevents me from listening. I’ve never gone to such lengths to devour a book 😂 I think I have a problem! But oh how I love these books! 💁‍♀️

[C]

Well, folks, we are now, all either holding a copy of Bees in our hands, as I am, or reading our new book on Kindle and it feels GREAT! I wish everyone a wonderful reading experience and plan to share it with others as we read.

Enjoy!

[Jess☺️]

I'm so jealous I've only just started this series and on book 4 and I love them all so far, new one is on the way so plenty of reading to get done.
hope you all enjoy.

[Fiona]

I’ve got my copy of Bees but I’m rereading book 7 & 8 first. It’s been so long that I need a refresher. It’s all coming back to me now though!! And I’m laughing and smiling all over again

[Glenn]

I’m halfway through rereading my own hearts blood so might not check here for a while. Don’t want any spoilers. But I have got Bees ready to go.

[MissSusie]

Loving it! So nice to be back with 'my' Jamie & Claire and family! When I listen to the audiobooks I 'see' the ones my brain made not the tv show couple.

[Pat]

I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

(view spoiler)[




First impressions: It's better than "Snow and Ashes" or "Fiery Cross", at least in my opinion. There is one scene (between Ian and his first and current wife and various children) that I found very moving. (Baby Oggy finally gets a decent name!)

Pluses: More of Fergus & Marsali and their kids.
Character development of Fanny, the orphaned youngster who William dropped off with Jamie in Book #8; is she eventually going to end up with Germain? Too soon to tell, since she's only 11 or 12.
Bree and William finally become the brother and sister they always were by blood, and it becomes a key factor in the detection of a very dangerous plot that is ensnaring the MacKenzies, Frasers, and Greys.
Frank Randall's ghost is haunting Claire AND Jamie and might be trying to warn the latter of something.
Claire comes into her full power.
And the White Sow lives!


Minuses: Sorry, but I don't care for Mandy. Bring her back when she's 15 and will have hopefully stopped screeching. (I've always enjoyed her brother Jem as a character and found him credible).
I don't like Amaranthus much at all; I have the feeling that Gabaldon means for the readers to like her and find her intelligent and alluring and then sympathize with her; but I want William to run away from her, not to her or with her. I wish he could have clicked with Rachel, but he was much too immature for her.
Also, I'm just realizing now that William is technically a slaveowner; though he doesn't personally administrate the plantation; his late stepmother left the place (and the people) to him - ugh. I rather wish that William would get in the habit of coming to see his biological father occasionally when he ISN'T in desperate need of Jamie's help in saving somebody he cares for. Yes, the book ends in something of a cliffhanger.

(hide spoiler)]

I seriously wonder how Ms. Gabaldon is going to tie everything up in one more volume. Are we possibly looking at an 11-volume Outlander series? On the other hand, she might want to get back to the relative simplicity of dealing with pre-Culloden Highland Scotland and writing a prequel about Brian and Ellen, so who knows...

[Suzanne]

Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat - could you use the spoilers code as that will hide what you've written unless people choose to click on it. You can find out how to do it here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

To get to the next comments, people will have to scroll past what you've written even though you are trying to make it easy to avoid. Using the spoilers code is the best way to protect people. Thanks!

[Roseanne]

I listen to the audiobook while I read. Yes I got it in multiple formats. I’m 8 chapters in and the thing I keep thinking is wow Davina sounds older. I love Davina.

[Beth]

I’ve requested Bees for Christmas, hard to wait!! I’ve reread all of them up to Bees few times though, and am listening to the audiobooks—now I’m on Voyager. Never listened before and am enjoying them immensely❣️

[C]

Can anyone tell me how Young Ian learned that Claire and her family had come through the stones from the future and how Bree, Roger and the children had gone back to 1968 through the stones at Okracoke, NC? I can't remember. Thanks.

[Parker]

Cheri wrote: "Can anyone tell me how Young Ian learned that Claire and her family had come through the stones from the future and how Bree, Roger and the children had gone back to 1968 through the stones at Okra..."

(view spoiler)[ They're all at Cross Creek for Jocasta and Duncan's wedding. Wedingo Donner pays them a visit and they discuss the stones and how to travel. Ian is in on this discussion. (hide spoiler)]

[Parker]

Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat, three year olds do screech (and scream, and cry. They pout too). Having had kids,and grandkids,Mandy is a very normal three year old.

[C]

Parker wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Can anyone tell me how Young Ian learned that Claire and her family had come through the stones from the future
Parker, Oh wow, Thank you. Yes, I do remember that. Been a few years since MOBY for me. ( I will read it again eventually after Bees) Yes, they found Wendigo again. I remember Jocasta and Duncan's Wedding at River Run. I don't remember how Donner figures into that I remember all the big things about it. Please tell me a little more.

[Danielle]

Just a note: the spoilers tag mentioned above will not let you interact with it on the app (at least I can’t make it work!) and just shows as [spoilers hidden]. If anyone knows a workaround that would be awesome! You get options to interact with spoilers in reviews on the app, so it makes no sense you can’t in your groups!

Anyhow, after some testing with it, it does seem logging in via a web browser lets you interact with the spoilers as intended.

[Roseanne]

The app lacks a number of things. As far as I know you can create a spoiler in the app but you can’t view it. You can view it by signing in on your phone without the app. My understanding of the rules here is that the above mentioned way of tagging spoilers is required for the book which the thread is for but not anything that comes prior. I have not seen anything that says the rules have changed from a moderator.

[Carol]

Another group that I am on has expressly forbidden discussing this book for one month. I think that is a good idea. It gives everyone a chance to read - and reread - the book before discussing it. I guess, for me, that works. See y’all in a month.

[Roseanne]

The point of tagging spoilers is so that everyone gets to choose what they read and what they do not read.

[C]

Carol wrote: "Another group that I am on has expressly forbidden discussing this book for one month.
Carol, I've been there, checking on things, a good idea to wait while everyone has time to read the book. But I also noticed the chapter comment section to get stuff off your chest as you read. So I left a comment about something, then logged out. I felt better. Dinna fash till January 2 there and here to talk Bees.

[Janet]

I have a copy of the book in my hands, and have started reading. I’m going slowly, I just want to savor this book.

[Pat]

Suzanne wrote: "Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat - could you use the spoilers code as that will hide what you've written unless people choose to click on it. You can fin..."

Thanks for the code; I edited.

[Pat]

Parker wrote: "Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat, three year olds do screech (and scream, and cry. They pout too). Having had kids,and grandkids,Mandy is a very normal t..."

But Jem was written about from his birth and childhood, and he seemed much less annoying, and screeched less. Somehow, he was written in a way that seemed endearing while still quite credible. I just don't care for the character of Mandy. I think that the author intends her to be like Claire, in character, she is curious and physically extremely lively and, as I recall, looks like her grandmother (while Jem is definitely a miniature Jamie). I feel bad, as much as one can for a fictional character, that Mandy will probably grow up in the 18th century rather than the 20th-21st - the 18th century will want to stifle her, the 20th and 21st century, while not perfect, would give her room to grow.

[C]

Pat wrote: "Parker wrote: "Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat, three-year-olds do screech (and scream, and cry. They pout too). Having had kids, Pat, I also raised willful children, yet neither of them was as volatile at age three as Mandy has been portrayed. This was extreme behavior and if we are to believe what we've read bout Mandy, she lost her big brother, was ripped from her home, and taken to a place she didn't understand with the perception of a three-year-old. I hope as we read that little Mandy will settle down. If not, Bree is in for a hell of a ride with her daughter and so is everyone who is not nice to the smart, but volatile Mandy. She can be endearing, But. she is a handful.

[Parker]

She seems to be much more of a 20th Century child than an 18th Century one, at least at first (I have a sneaking suspicion that Bree was quite a handful too, from hints in Voyager). Younger sibs can be quite...um, spoiled, shall we say? Remember too, that she had a heart operation (it's a long recovery, and not an easy one.

The 18th Century may have tried to stifle women, but it didn't succeed. There are numerous examples of women taking the bit and running with it in the 18th Century. Especially in the backcountry, if a woman wasn't strong, she wouldn't survive (no delicate hothouse flowers there).

[C]

Parker wrote: "She seems to be much more of a 20th Century child than an 18th Century
Parker. I agree with every word you said. : little girls of the 18th century were not allowed to behave like Mandy. That behavior was whipped out of them or never displayed. A woman was either strong, or she died young. Period.

[Parker]

18th Century kids were basically treated as miniature adults, and at least in rural areas, started working as soon as they could hold the implements ( plow handle or broom). Jem is much more typical of an 18th Century kid than Mandy is (although there's hope for Mandy).

[Pat]

Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Parker wrote: "Pat wrote: "I've read the book twice and will eventually read it again.

Pat, three-year-olds do screech (and scream, and cry. They pout too). Having had kids, Pat, I als..."

It's definitely true that Jem had a more settled early childhood than Mandy has. Although he was exposed to turmoil and danger (father nearly died and had an exhausting recovery, Jem himself charged by a wild boar), he had consistent love and care from parents, grandparents and Lizzy (until she married) in his years on the Ridge, as well as a consistent environment (he wouldn't remember his months at RiverRun). I'm wondering if Mandy has a deep-seated emotional need to stay fairly close, physically, to Jem, i.e. live in the same neighborhood or on the Ridge, due to their paranormal link.

At least, on the Ridge, Mandy will be able to enjoy considerable range for her physical and mental energy - she can run around (hopefully not be stung, bitten by snakes or attacked by boars or bears) and learn not only 18th century knowledge but 20th century math and science from Brianna and Claire. Hopefully, Mandy can and will settle down and thrive.

(view spoiler)[ However, given what happens in Bees, I think the next several years might be anything but tranquil for Mandy:

There's no guarantee that Jamie will keep ownership of the Ridge - he was granted it by the Crown; and the Crown will soon cease to be a factor in the government of the the "colonies". And didn't Jamie get on General Washington's bad side by resigning from the American armed forces due to Claire's having been shot? Mandy and the rest of her family might lose their home at least for awhile.

2. Jamie might also have lost the gold that he might have planned on using for future emergencies and to leave his families - we know that agents of the 20th century conspiracy to find it, the men who went after Brianna and her children, are still out there, and at least one of them is in the 18th century and knows how to reach and affect Brianna at least.
3. Also, I find Brianna's having a heart ailment a rather sinister addition to the already convoluted plot - what if she has to go back to the 1980's to get surgery? (why else would Gabaldon script this complication into the story - there has to be a very significant reason). There are indications that the youngest MacKenzie can't time-travel; so Bree could have to choose between splitting up her family, leaving at least one of her children, to return to her original time to save her life, or staying in the 18th century and not surviving. Any or all of these possibilities could further destabilize little Mandy's as yet not fully formed personality. (hide spoiler)]

[C]

Pat wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Parker wrote:
Also, I find Brianna's having a heart ailment a rather sinister addition to the already convoluted plot
Pat, your premises are very for Jamie and his future claim on the Ridge, and we shall find out as the book unfolds, but are you thinking Mandy's heart valve defect came from Brianna, or something Diana wrote in Bees about her heart that I didn't notice?

[Pat]

Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Parker wrote:
Also, I find Brianna's having a heart ailment a rather sinister addition to the already convoluted plot
Pat, your premises are very for Jamie an..."

(view spoiler)[It just seems odd for Gabaldon to inflict a heart problem on Brianna for no plot-affecting reason. As I recall, Claire said that Bree had atrial fibrillation; Mandy's problem had been much more serious and she would have died in a matter of months if they had not taken her back to the 20th century. There might be a heart problem in the MacKenzies; Buck MacKenzie had a heart defect too; but he's pretty far back from Mandy (and he's not a direct ancestor of Brianna) on their pedigree. If you're confused by what I said about "the youngest MacKenzie" - I didn't mean Mandy. If Mandy is to be believed, Brianna's youngest child, born during "Bees", does not have the ability to time-travel. Brianna might have to return to the 20th century if her heart problem worsens; but her youngest child, a baby born in 1781, cannot go with her. Would Brianna take Mandy and Jem with her and leave Roger so the baby can have at least one parent, take the two kids and Roger and leave the baby with Jamie and Claire? And what if Brianna actually cannot go through the stones, because the transfer itself would kill her? With the addition of a heart problem for Brianna, a baby who does not have the ability to travel through time, and the sinister addition into the plot of at least one partner to the conspiracy of 20th century men who attacked Brianna and her children in the last book, I don't necessarily see happy times on Fraser's Ridge for the Fraser/MacKenzie clan after the war ends.
Brianna's heart problem just strikes me as a potentially very unpleasant plot twist for those who favor a united Fraser/MacKenzie family putting down roots forever in the new late 18th century United States. (hide spoiler)]

[C]

Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Pat wrote: "Parker wrote:
Also, I find
Pat,
(view spoiler)[I accidentally unlocked your spoiler alert yesterday re: Bree's cardiac problem before I read further. I just finished reading this section of Bees. > I am a nurse, and unfortunately for me, I couldn't help but be one step ahead of every part of Diana's need to create a possibly dangerous condition for Brianna. I know what all this untreated heart trouble can mean to someone in the 18th century. Claire's idea for White willow bark tea acting like aspirin was the only thing that could work, ie like preventing a clot from forming a stroke. Diana did her research. I still want to know why she is complicating the drama of throwing a surprise pregnancy at Bree to complicate matters. Obviously, we expect to see our Bree and her family alive and well at the end of the book putting down 18th -century roots on Fraser's Ridge. And we expect to see her alive and well in Book 10 (ha, ha!), as we read on.

Brianna went through the stones too many times. Possibly it can cause so much cardiac stress that a young, healthy person can survive it with some treatment. She CAN"T go back through the stones again. I just don't see why it was a necessary plot twist?>/spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia]

Reading "Bees" now I realize I didn't pay much attention to Written in my Own Hearts Blood. So I guess I know what I'll be doing til the end of the year. Can't say I'm disappointed. Any excuse to read them again. :)

[Cindy]

I may be in the minority, but I'm struggling with this book. I just can't get into it. For me, it's a bit boring, and after waiting 7 years, I'm disappointed.

[Parker]

Cindy wrote: "I may be in the minority, but I'm struggling with this book. I just can't get into it. For me, it's a bit boring, and after waiting 7 years, I'm disappointed."

I was a bit disappointed on the first read through. I read it again, and I will say that it improves on the re-read.

It could have used one more proofread, in my opinion.

[Robert]

Cindy wrote: "For me, it's a bit boring"

I should have this book finished up in a couple of days and, to be honest, I've been enjoying it. Even DG said she wanted to age along with the characters to be able to see through their eyes (or something like that) and when we get older, we do tend to get slightly boring, I know I am and perhaps that's why I'm enjoying it. At least I'm not suffering through Paris politics or The Gathering :)

[Roseanne]

I finished yesterday and I’m still processing it all. I am going to go crazy thinking about what happens next and DG is already saying 4 or 5 years. I don’t want to wait that long.

[Beth]

Waiting 4-5 years is good, better than 7 it took for Bees! And she might have one of her side books (Jamie’s parents?) out sooner.

[Cindy]

I'm at 20% and it's getting more interesting/better.

[Diane]

I enjoyed the book but I think I was less enthusiastic because of the long wait. I felt the same with MOBY. I was fortunate to be able to read all the others as I was ready. I admit that I did not do a reread right before reading the new books. I hope the next will come out in only a few years. I have to admit though that I am ready for it to be all wrapped up because I hate the wait.

[Northern Light]

I was going to wait for the paperback as more affordable. However got the hardback for ½ price so just £10 and it was a special edition. Very pleased and excited to get started.

[Sinéad]

Hi all, I'm new to the group and just finished the book today. I'd like to post some thoughts which would obviously contain spoilers and also speculation on topics that have long been discussed among fans. Mindful that all communities have their own posting etiquette, would it be better for me to post in this thread with spoiler tags or to create a totally separate thread?

[MichaelCollins]

Scott wrote: "I downloaded the new book on the Kindle last night and am about 60 pages into it. No spoilers from me, but I will say I am loving it! I cannot believe how much I missed my Outlander family - Jamie,..."

Looks like I not up to date and will have to pick this one up now that Starz has S6 playing!