When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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Well worth its price and will *hold you over* between book releases in the OUTLANDER series. Want an insiders secrets, incredible trivia galore that often reads like a bestseller novel--read this reference. This is perhaps the ONLY reference book I've read cover to cover, and couldn't put it down. Every page is full to bursting with FASCINATING facts, extensive exhaustive research Gabaldon puts into everything she publishes, historical details, herbal lore which is liberally sprinkled throughout the OUTLANDER Series books, too many features & goodies to list in a review. Worth it's weight in silver and every one of its few thousand pages will hook your attention--better set aside several hours before opening the cover. You won't be disappointed, even if you have never read a Gabaldon book or aren't a fan of this series. Guaranteed.
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(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
Even though this book was a disappointment, I can't rate it any lower than a 4 for the exhaustive research, excellent writing & style, & original premise. I'm hooked on this series but beginning to wonder if the series will finish in its author's & my lifetime--with nearly a decade between installments!
Why disappointed? The pacing and story seem to lose focus in this book, or perhaps are TOO focused on a very brief period & event in this ongoing epic, with very little of the humor & fun of the previous titles. The jewels are mostly gone--their currency for time travel--making a convenient escape for any an impossible choice. Also, the central problem of THIS novel is NOT solved by its end, the ending cuts off in the MIDDLE, cheating readers of any resolution at all really.
Jamie is left between a rock & a hard place, will he betray his clansmen, or his country, or ??? We are supposed to wait another DECADE to find out! Gabaldon has been indulging herself in various UNRELATED books while leaving fans of this series hanging--Lord John & the Private Matter did NOT even compare to the quality we are used to, nor does it further this series at all, as the author admits; nor did it *hold me over* while waiting for the *good stuff*.
Of COURSE fans of this series won't want to miss this book, certainly not after such a long wait, or the details that are sure to be assumed knowledge in the future installment (how many more???). I would advise waiting for the paperback, but none are available STILL, over a year after the hardcover release. Personally, this one was NOT worth the hardcover price, and I am instead purchasing an alternate printing. Considering that I did buy & read the Outlandish Companion--with much more satisfaction & enjoyment than Breath of Snow and Ashes--if it weren't for Gabaldon's usual excellence & research efforts I would have rated this book a 3.
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(7 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
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Gina Jordan has commented on (2) products.
The Outlandish Companion: In Which Much is Revealed Regarding Claire and Jamie Fraser, Their Lives and Times, Antecedents, Adventures, Companion by Diana Gabaldon
Gina Jordan, August 25, 2007
Well worth its price and will *hold you over* between book releases in the OUTLANDER series. Want an insiders secrets, incredible trivia galore that often reads like a bestseller novel--read this reference. This is perhaps the ONLY reference book I've read cover to cover, and couldn't put it down. Every page is full to bursting with FASCINATING facts, extensive exhaustive research Gabaldon puts into everything she publishes, historical details, herbal lore which is liberally sprinkled throughout the OUTLANDER Series books, too many features & goodies to list in a review. Worth it's weight in silver and every one of its few thousand pages will hook your attention--better set aside several hours before opening the cover. You won't be disappointed, even if you have never read a Gabaldon book or aren't a fan of this series. Guaranteed.(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #06) by Diana Gabaldon
Gina Jordan, August 25, 2007
Even though this book was a disappointment, I can't rate it any lower than a 4 for the exhaustive research, excellent writing & style, & original premise. I'm hooked on this series but beginning to wonder if the series will finish in its author's & my lifetime--with nearly a decade between installments!Why disappointed? The pacing and story seem to lose focus in this book, or perhaps are TOO focused on a very brief period & event in this ongoing epic, with very little of the humor & fun of the previous titles. The jewels are mostly gone--their currency for time travel--making a convenient escape for any an impossible choice. Also, the central problem of THIS novel is NOT solved by its end, the ending cuts off in the MIDDLE, cheating readers of any resolution at all really.
Jamie is left between a rock & a hard place, will he betray his clansmen, or his country, or ??? We are supposed to wait another DECADE to find out! Gabaldon has been indulging herself in various UNRELATED books while leaving fans of this series hanging--Lord John & the Private Matter did NOT even compare to the quality we are used to, nor does it further this series at all, as the author admits; nor did it *hold me over* while waiting for the *good stuff*.
Of COURSE fans of this series won't want to miss this book, certainly not after such a long wait, or the details that are sure to be assumed knowledge in the future installment (how many more???). I would advise waiting for the paperback, but none are available STILL, over a year after the hardcover release. Personally, this one was NOT worth the hardcover price, and I am instead purchasing an alternate printing. Considering that I did buy & read the Outlandish Companion--with much more satisfaction & enjoyment than Breath of Snow and Ashes--if it weren't for Gabaldon's usual excellence & research efforts I would have rated this book a 3.
(7 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)