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An Echo in the Bone ***SPOILERS***
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Kathy
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Oct 06, 2009 09:59PM
Well, I'm going to start a thread on this one. I just finished it, and I am sitting here open mouthed wondering how I made it through the last 100 pages holding my breath. There are questions a plenty to be answered by DG in the next novel. Me oh my, several things had me saying, "I never saw that one coming."
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Kathy, I was eyeing An Echo in the Bone on line, but convinced myself I did not need another book... now you know what i must do... Thanks for the excuse, It sounds like my kind of book!!!
I've just started it and am so happy to be back with Jamie and Claire. I'm not convinced, yet, that I like the chapters dedicated to William/Lord John. Hopefully it will grow on me.
Marci, glad I could help you out in breaking your resolve not to buy another book. LOLChristy, you will be rewarded for hanging in there in the last 100 pages. That's not to say that the rest of the book is dreary, just that there seems to be an explosion of unexpected events toward the end.
***SPOILERS***I just want to remind everyone that there will be spoilers on this thread. If we mark them as such, then those who aren't yet finished won't accidentally stumble into a posting and have the book ruined for them. And, there are some real spoilers toward the end.
Has anyone read the Lord John series that might shed some light on his relationship with Percy Beauchamp?
***SPOILER***
I have to say that I was surprised, but not disappointed, at the amount of story that was dedicated to the American Revolution. I thought that most of this story would take place in Scotland.
** WARNING -- SPOILERS FOR LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE **Kathy, I've read the Lord John books and can tell you about Percy. I don't have the book with me though, so I may get some details wrong. John first ran into Percy in 'Private Matter' when he visited a gentlemen's club (of a certain type). John went to interview the owner and ran into several gay men there, including Percy. In 'Brotherhood of the Blade' he and Hal learned that their mother was getting married, and prepared to meet the fiance. That man (forget his name) brought along his stepson, who ended up being Percy. So when the man married Hal and John's mother, Percy became a member of the family, like a brother. Percy and John recognized one another from the gentlemen's club and entered into a relationship. John actually told Percy about Jamie, but omitted his name. Several months into the relationship Percy was caught having sex with another man in John's rooms and was arrested. In a visit to the prison, Percy admitted to John that he had a difficult life growing up and fell into prostitution when he was younger. The other man had apparently blackmailed Percy. Feeling betrayed, John debated what he should or could do for Percy under the circumstances, but eventually paid off some people so Percy went free but was forced to flee to France. (He supposedly died in prison before he was to be hanged. If I recall correctly there was a dead body provided that passed for Percy. Hence the name change.) Anyway, that's the last we heard from Percy until the beginning of Echo. So at that time he wasn't John's favorite person but they did share some fond memories. But John knew he wasn't to be trusted. Hope this sheds some light for you.
** WARNING: MILD SPOILERS BELOW FOR ECHO ***
Kathy, I've not finished the book yet but I agree with you about thinking most of the book would be in Scotland. They started for Scotland at the beginning but I'm 3/4 the way through and they're not even close to leaving (again).
Wow, thanks Dorie for the great information about Percy.
Thanks indeed! I was wondering who he was. That kind of bugs me that she's assuming we've read her other series. I read one Lord John book and just thought it was okay so haven't really had the desire to read more.
de nada Kathy and Christy. It's too bad most people start with the first Lord John book, 'Private Matter'. IMO that was the weakest, and it puts people off reading the rest of them. The short stories are especially good.
Yay, finally finished this today. Overall I loved it, and consider it one of the strongest in the series. I enjoyed the details of the American Revolution and looking up some of the battles and famous figures mentioned.*** WARNING -- SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING ***
I agree with you Kathy, I knew something that would happen because of an excert I read some years ago that Gabaldon had written, but had no idea about one particular development. Jamie's simple "Why?" completely cracked me up. I wasn't expecting him to react quite that way. It will be a difficult wait for the next book.
Edited to add: I still don't know quite what Percy's role in the book was. Maybe he's just the means to resolve Fergus' legacy? Or maybe it's just set up for the next book.
Kathy wrote: "Well, I'm going to start a thread on this one. I just finished it, and I am sitting here open mouthed wondering how I made it through the last 100 pages holding my breath. There are questions a p..."I just finished and TOTALLY agree. Wow! I'm sad it's over and wondering how I'm going to wait another 3-4 years to find out what happens next. I just discovered this series last year, so I've been able to read them all in a short amount of time. I'll miss Jamie and Claire!
Christy, I was fortunate, like you, to start this series last spring, so I, too, only had to wait a short time for Echo to come out. I'm dreading the wait for the next one.
Waiting for the next book, we'll have to console ourselves with the short story of Roger's parents. Especially after after reading 'Echo' I sooo want to know their story.
Dorie wrote: "Waiting for the next book, we'll have to console ourselves with the short story of Roger's parents. Especially after after reading 'Echo' I sooo want to know their story."Where is this short story?
Kathy, the story has not yet been published, but the blurb below was posted on Diana Gabaldon's blog:I have a short story (well, sort of. Maybe. We hope) under contract for a new anthology (edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) titled STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. I don't yet know what my story will be titled, but at least I do know what the story's about: I'm going to tell the story of Roger MacKenzie's parents.
Dorie wrote: "Kathy, the story has not yet been published, but the blurb below was posted on Diana Gabaldon's blog:I have a short story (well, sort of. Maybe. We hope) under contract for a new anthology (edi..."
Thanks for the information, Dorie.
Dorie,Thanks for explaning about Percy. I was disconcerted my entire read by the idea I should know who he was and I didn't.
I am left wondering if there is some connection between Claire and Fergus. Is he in some way a Beauchamp relative/ancestor? I admit to being so confused on that story line I may have missed something or read something into it that did not exist.
You're welcome, Emelia. I can imagine it would be annoying having a character pop up and not know their backstory. I'm not sure how the Beauchamp name ties between Claire, Fergus and Percy. I think Gabaldon must be planning something there. It can't be a coincidence. Such a long wait now to find out...
SPOILER*
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Something suddenly popped into my head after I woke up this morning. It hadn't really bothered me but I had been reading about the Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel, that time passes linearly for the person, whether they are living in one time or the other. Their body keeps aging at the same rate it would naturally.
Brianna asks William Buccleigh Mackenzie how old he is in 1980. He replies he is 38 years old. The book takes place in 1777 and 1980, respectively, so that indicates he was 38 years old when he left 1776 or 1777. They note that time travel seems to transport you about 200 years one way or the other, in the case of our people 202 years.
Without crunching exact numbers for him to have been 38 years old in 1776 or 1777 he should have been born just before 1740. HOWEVER, he is the baby Geillis Duncan was pregnant with in OUTLANDER in 1746, probably not born until 1747. He should only be around 30 years old, not 38.
I know I am getting picky but she did base a plot point on it, that due to his age being 38, and the genealogical chart showing him having died at 38, he wasn't going to make it back to his own time.
Did I miss something or misunderstand something?
