Customer Reviews

The Fiery Cross

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(50)
2 star:		(92)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

...back thru the stones. this had to be the most boring/irritating book in the series. where was the plot?? mildly interesting characters came and went, small hints of plots peaked through... and then faded into exhausting detail about -- gosh, i can't even remember. i slogged through it anyway -- in the last 100 pages things began to develope into a vaguely plot-like situation, but, alas, it was too little, too late. could there be a more annoying character than brianna? and if i read one more word about claire's hair "floating about her like a cloud" i am going to scream. hopefully wimpy roger will take the perpetually lactating brianna and son jemmy (and his dirty clout) back through the stones. the saddest thing about this book is that you really do stop caring about the characters, and just wish they would go away.

Before anyone is discouraged by the negative reviews here, I hope they will read this one.

I don't understand when someone says nothing happens in this book. Granted, the action is subtle in the form of politics and intrigue, however it is still there. We finally get to see the everyday life of these wonderful people as they try to find a place to call their own. They have spent so much of their lives running from one thing to another, not really having a home that this is refreshing. People adore these books because of Diana's amazing ability of bringing characters to life, yet bash this book for the same reasons. When you nurse and have small children, bodily functions are something you have to deal with. One of the most humourous sections is Roger and Bree dealing with potty training Jemmy.

There is plenty of action, political intrigue and drama. We travel with Jamie and the militia, find some new characters, deal with almost losing not just one but two of the major characters and see the return of another. Some loose ends are tied up (wondering about the Tory gold and just who was Otter Tooth?), some are still hanging and new ones pop up (who was that with Laoghaire in the arbor and what about Claire's nighttime visitor?). The action is there if you care to read it.

It's true this book was split in two, Ms. Gabaldon didn't get as far as she would have liked with it, but it is a wonderful book all the same. I finished it in 2 days and had to reread it almost immediately. It is a slower starting novel than previously, something like Dragonfly in Amber, but still filled with the characters I have grown to love. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

Never did I think I would have a negative thing to say about the Outlander series. They have been positively magical ... until the Fiery Cross. It is ponderous, bogged down in too much detail, and impresses me more that the author is pre-occupied with breastfeeding, dirty diapers, and fussing toddlers rather than adventure. I have recommended this series to countless people, but will tell them to stop before the Fiery Cross. Great for insomnia ... puts me to sleep every time I pick it up. I doubt if I'll even bother with the next book. What a disappointment.

As with most of the reviews, 1,2 and 3 were smashing, I trudged through 4 in anticipation of another smash hit. But I was disappointed with Fiery Cross. Dianna has switched on her University Professor brain, with it necessity for detail lost on us "commoners". "Outlander" is no longer a learning exercise, with all it's excitement for her. Dianna has now taken on the novelist job. It's to bad the story is suffering. I will as others, continue to read until Jamie and Claire pass of the scene. But I hope their lives liven up for book 6 and 7. Thank you for the good times, we learned our Scottish history!

Loved this book as much as the rest of the Outlander series; although, I really struggled with Brianna. I found myself wondering how this spoiled girl from from the 20th century could go back to the 18th century and become an action hero without any difficulty. Suddenly there was nothing she could not do in this rugged, untamed land. She could out-hunt, out-shoot, out-everything everyone else. I found myself wishing that she would get eaten by a bear, shot by a wayward arrow, or some such thing. Other than her, I found the story very fasinating and another excellent read in in this series.

I was very impressed with Diana this time. She spent a long time writing this one with alot of detail and wasn't afraid to let their lives settle down a bit, I think they deserve a break and Diana too. I enjoyed this book and was sad to see it end. Just started ABOSAA!! Keep em comin' Diana!

Wow! After loving all 4 books of this serie, I could not wait to read the fifth! But what a sad, pathetic attempt this was! It would have been better to leave it at four books! The story was already told. Now, I feel it spoiled it to drag all these beautiful characters in this new installment. If you want to read these book, stick with one through 4.

Ok, I have to admit that the first time I read this book I just about didn't make it through...I loved the fast paced plotting of the first four books in the series, and then came to this one and found that there was nothing pushing me on to finish all 1200 pages! I recently re-read the entire series, this time really focusing on the actual writing, characters, etc. rather than racing through to see what happens next. In some ways I still think that this is the weakest book in the series...it reads more like essays about life in North Carolina interspersed with short stories with a bit of action. But the writing is so amazing. I feel like I can almost picture Fraser's Ridge and all of it's inhabitants...normally I skim descriptive passages, but Gabaldon's are so well written that they really draw you in. And while there was not really one overarching plot to tie the book together, the "short stories" contained within it were up to her usual standard of funny, imaginative and penetrating.

This book in the series is less action more story about the characters lives in 1770 America. At first I found the book hard to get into. But, once past the first 300 pages, the story of the characters start to unfold. Jamie and Clair seem so real. I am so in love with their love story. In this book, I was even more connected to the two of them and am sad to have to end the book even at 1400 plus pages.

I can't really comment too much on this book, because I didn't finish reading it. I read the first few chapters and got very bored with it. That was a few years ago. I still have no interest in finishing it. It's such a shame ... the first four books were wonderful.