An Echo in the Bone review
I've written a short, spoiler-free review of aEitB, which I finished reading this morning.
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon ****
This, the new seventh book in Gabaldon's "Outlander" series, is clearly written for the fans. I strongly caution new readers of the series not to start here. Veteran fan that I am, I was lost for the first several chapters, due to not having read the sixth book since it came out almost four years ago. However, once I got into the meat of the new story, there was plenty to entertain me, and I finished the book in about a week. I was a bit bored with the descriptions of Revolutionary War battles, and just about anything that happened on a boat, but for those readers like me who love character development, there is plenty here to love. Many old names from the past re-emerge, and there are a few rather surprising new viewpoints. I found myself humming "It's a small world after all..." several time, as it seems like nearly every character in the series is within a couple of degrees of every other character (e.g., a character from the "Lord John" books who appears to have ties separately to both Claire and Fergus), but these connections amused me greatly, and I am loathe to count them as flaws. Another thing I really liked about this book was the even-handedness with which Gabaldon deals with the American Revolution. As an American, educated mainly in the American public education system, I can't help but feel that my understanding of that conflict is a little lop-sided. I was pleased to find in this book the perspectives of a number of sympathetic characters on both sides of the conflict. The book did, however, end on a cliffhanger for just about every major character, which means I am going to have to do a complete re-read before the next book comes out -- a daunting prospect in a series now exceeding 7000 pages (more, if one counts the "Lord John" books). I would especially have liked at least one more chapter of Roger and Brianna's story arc.
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon ****
This, the new seventh book in Gabaldon's "Outlander" series, is clearly written for the fans. I strongly caution new readers of the series not to start here. Veteran fan that I am, I was lost for the first several chapters, due to not having read the sixth book since it came out almost four years ago. However, once I got into the meat of the new story, there was plenty to entertain me, and I finished the book in about a week. I was a bit bored with the descriptions of Revolutionary War battles, and just about anything that happened on a boat, but for those readers like me who love character development, there is plenty here to love. Many old names from the past re-emerge, and there are a few rather surprising new viewpoints. I found myself humming "It's a small world after all..." several time, as it seems like nearly every character in the series is within a couple of degrees of every other character (e.g., a character from the "Lord John" books who appears to have ties separately to both Claire and Fergus), but these connections amused me greatly, and I am loathe to count them as flaws. Another thing I really liked about this book was the even-handedness with which Gabaldon deals with the American Revolution. As an American, educated mainly in the American public education system, I can't help but feel that my understanding of that conflict is a little lop-sided. I was pleased to find in this book the perspectives of a number of sympathetic characters on both sides of the conflict. The book did, however, end on a cliffhanger for just about every major character, which means I am going to have to do a complete re-read before the next book comes out -- a daunting prospect in a series now exceeding 7000 pages (more, if one counts the "Lord John" books). I would especially have liked at least one more chapter of Roger and Brianna's story arc.