The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel [Hardcover]

I have been waiting for the release of this "book" for months! As a avid Diana Gabaldon fan I could hardly wait for what her vision of Jamie would be. I was slightly disappointed. Of course we all have a mental picture of what our Jamie would look like and I had always envisioned him as more masculine. I mean this is a graphic novel and once I got over the shock of Claire's breasts popping out all over the place I expected Jamie to be more "larger then life". The story line is great though and it flows well, picking up on the highlights of Outlander. Would I recommend it as a must have buy? Probably not. I think we should all have our own personal vision of Jamie to sigh over. I would have preferred another novel.

I am enthralled with the Outlander series, and was intrigued to see the graphic version...you know, compare it with how I envisioned what the characters and settings would be like...taking a chance at wrecking my ideal vision. For the most part, the settings, colors, textures are wonderful, however, I am disappointed with specific details such as the character's faces. Of course Jamie and Claire had to be beautiful, outwardly as well as inwardly, and we see this in many scenes. However, often times their facial features are drawn so differently from one scene to the next, it makes it hard to recognize them as the same character.

As an example, the shape and distinctive qualities of their nose, and other facial characteristics may be drawn so differently from one scene to the next, one has to refer to their clothing to make certain they are the same person because they are so unrecognizable.

Another example is that Jamie's size and stature is depicted as essentially equal, and in some cases smaller than the other men. According to Diana's many descriptions of him, his greater height and stature is one of his most distinguishing characteristics after all. Thank goodness he is depicted wearing a green tartan most of the time, otherwise it is often difficult to pick him out of the crowd.

Anyway, I am not done the book yet, just received it (Sept.22/10), and may have more input after finishing it. My comments may seem a bit shallow to some, but I am an adult reading (viewing) what is essentially a comic book after all...cheers!

One final note: as promised, this was supposed to be a version of the story from Jaime's perspective, and it definitely was not. Why promise us this and then not deliver?

Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, An Echo in the Bone, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, The Fiery Cross, Drums of Autumn

I'll start by saying that I have read other graphic novels, so I knew what to expect. I did have some initial apprehension that seeing illustrations of a story & characters I was so familiar with might jar with my vision, but I didn't find that I was too bothered (except for one nit-picky point - wasn't Geillis supposed to have white-blond hair and vivid green eyes?). I tend to be more interested in the story than the illustrations and that's where I was disappointed here.

Reading the graphic novel was like reading an extremely condensed version of the original. I didn't feel that I learned anything new about Jamie's point of view (which was what I was hoping for based on the description of the book), nor did I find that the extra story line added much for me. It wasn't bad, I just didn't love it.

I don't regret buying it, and I will give it space on the shelf along with the rest of my Diana Gabaldon collection. Just know that there are no mind-blowing revelations here. It's basically Outlander Lite.