Outlander Book Nine!!!
If you know me, you know I am a HUGE Outlander/Gabaldon fan. We have waited out Droughtlander for seven longs years for this installment, although we did have the Starz adaptation of the first few books to keep us going during our wait. And we were so worried that this would be the last book so we wanted it and we didn't want it. Luckily Herself has confirmed Book 10 is underway (then shrugged and mentioned very casually that there may even be an 11 if the characters feel it isna finished as yet, and she is at least working on other prequels - I'd like to see one about Claire's parents!).
So, was it worth the wait?? Absolutely.
Was it the ABSOLUTE BEST BOOK EVER OR EVEN IN THIS SERIES? Nah.
Some savvy readers will notice that my Goodreads rating is four out of five stars. You would think a superfan would automatically jump to a five star rating, if for no other reason that we are so relieved to actually have the book in our hot little hands!! I am here to explain this rating and why I stand by it, at least right now after my first read through.
A little backstory if you will indulge me. In a nutshell, these novels are about an English nurse (Claire) in the 1940's who disappears through a circle of standing stones in Scotland to find herself 202 years in the past. It is also about the Scottish clansman (Jamie) she meets, loves, and builds a life with. And about the loving husband (Frank) she left behind, and ended up returning to, to raise a baby that wasna his.
These books are thoroughly researched, include many real life events and real life people (King Louis XV! George Washington! Francis Marion!) and have an awesome sense of humor. I often laugh out loud - no one does such realistic dialogue as Herself. (That would be our honorific name for Diana Gabaldon; as Jamie's men call him Himself as their leader, so we refer to DG in a similarly appropriate fashion.) With this book I even started a list of Words I Have Never Seen Before and Must Learn. I must also add that these books also are true to the times, and as such they portray events as they may truly have happened. Women are treated as property with no rights and are often beaten (mainly behind the scenes, but it is referenced). Men fight to gruesome deaths and do not fear it. Hangings occur often and without trials. There is a lot of violence, a lot of sex, and a lot of violent sex too. The scenes of rape in the previous books have garnered a LOT of discussion. Yes, they are hard to read, but I am not a fan of revisionist history. Women were property to be had, and men had needs, and there is still no greater power trip - as you would especially see in the Wentworth scenes in the first book, in which there is no woman involved but an extremely traumatic scene and repercussions thereof.
That being said, on to this current installment.
We are in the Carolinas in 1779. The Revolutionary War is underway and the Frasers are trying to avoid getting involved. But they know the time is coming - this book starts with serious foreshadowing. Which sort of puts a mood on the book right from the start.
I got about halfway through the 888 page book and realized I was reading it extremely slowly. I kept putting it down. I thought it was because I didn't want to get too close to the end because Lord knows when we will get another book. But not a whole lot of action was happening. We got the fabulous beginning of Reunion that the last book led us to without skipping forward a year or anything ridiculous like that - it was the same afternoon where we left off. WHEW! Loved it. A lot of daily life, reacquainting ourselves with life at Fraser's Ridge, NC. I wrote in my notes that I felt like I was visiting old friends! Kinda nice!!! There was a lot of looking back and acknowledging things that had happened to Claire and Jamie and their extended family, which I also liked. Claire and Jamie are in their 60's now, and I thoroughly appreciated the references to their age (Spectacles, aches and pains, Jamie saying, "Ye better like this house, Sassenach, because I am never building another!") and the addition of Jenny to the family - I just love Jenny - and her relationship with her brother Jamie ("Pot." "Kettle." Namecalling at its best. HA!).
But, not a big plot line. I would not say this is a standalone book and would go so far as to say this is a Bridge Book. Just getting us to Book Ten and the end of the saga. There was a lot which I loved reading about (Jamie's weird dream, lists of what to pick up in Salisbury, how to prepare a body for burial.....), but prolly wasna necessary for this tome.
BUT (yes, that But is capitalized because I am about to shout), let me just say RIGHT NOW that all you people who complained about how violent and graphic her books are better NOT be the same people who are now complaining that this book was BORING!!!
Ok, whew, I feel better.
I did expect more about the Revolutionary War - there are three battle scenes in the whole of the book that are brilliantly presented and really go deep into the minds of the men (and women) on the field. Like Culloden, I felt like I was there. Gave me chills. And to be fair, our heroes probably would not have seen much more action in the NC mountains anyway. The fact that Claire, Bree and Roger are privy to knowledge about what will happen during the war -and who will eventually win it- is a blessing and a curse, and the knowledge Bree brings back with her gives Jamie a lot to think about. I do love how the story incorporates the native population, especially the Mohawks, through Ian and his continuing devotion to the tribe. (A Scottish Mohawk who marries a Quaker? Who thinks of that? Well, She does.)
There is a lot about William Ransom and Lord John in this story. They represent the Loyalist side of things in regard to the war. And we see how the citizens began treating each other once they knew which side they fell on, both on the Ridge among the tenants on Jamie's land and down on the coast where a certain Printshop is once again in danger. And I was glad to see William grow up a little in this book and start to take responsibility for himself and his relationships with his family - all of them. I didn't mind all that, but I always want more of Claire and Jamie. And Bree and Roger. Keep reading. Trust in Herself.
And there is a lot of worry - about family and self and a sense of putting things in order. A lot of looking forward and looking back and retrospection of "A life joyful, satisfied." A very natural thing at their age, I do believe. I love how the Frasers seem to be a magnet for the lost or homeless or hopeless, and how Claire and especially Jamie open their home and their hearts to continue to extend their Family. They offer their help and protection and dangnation, they mean it!!
And, my hometown of CAMDEN SC is mentioned - twice!!!! :-)
While I agree with those who say the title is awful and even misleading, we do get several big reveals in Bees, a lingering and foreboding danger on the horizon that is not the war, and a few questions answered. And a GREAT cliffhanger at the end!!! And dinna fash, there is a big bad bear and a very scary pig and a kidnapping and several surgeries and a scary heart condition and blue light and a fire and a snake and a birth and a wedding and a death and verra close calls and more adoptions and leavings and arrivings and we travel to Savannah and Charles Town and New Bern and Wilmington and Virginia and Philadelphia and - the Comte St. Germain is mentioned. Yep, we go there. And pay attention to this reveal, connections may become evident........
So, maybe not so boring after all, ye ken?
PS - I mentioned that I kept a running tally of the words I had never seen before in this book. I noted 69 new words, including grolloched, fettled, horripilation, absquatulating, extirpation, rannygazoo, fratchetty, wheeking, and this old favorite which I had seen before but is so fun to say I had to include it here: clishmaclaver!!!!
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