if you follow my pinterest pages you know i am an avid reader. some may call me an obsessive reader. the only television that i feel is worth watching these days is the big bang theory (which is on while i cook dinner), downton abbey (which actually is an obsession) and the occasional CBC broadcast. so i read. a lot.
even consuming that vast of a number (@ 11/month), it is rare that i come across a series that is so well written that it leaves you with a constant struggle between devouring every word as fast as possible because you can't get enough of it and putting it down because you know if you continue at such a rate it will be over to soon.
i have found this struggle with the outlander series. Diana Gabaldon is a genius. I tripped upon her when i read the scottish prisoner, which I found out later is actually the 8th or 9th book in the outlander series. it was fabulous. so fabulous i started researching her work and discovered the entire series, and thanks to my favorite librarian, i am just ending the 2nd of the series, dragonfly in amber.
in all fairness, i must set a disclaimer here- that i am in fact in love with all things Scot. (there is truth to the scot's having the saying "swish, swagger, swoon" when it comes to the effect a man in a kilt has on the ladies.) from the highlands to the outer hebrides; let me hear a good scottish brrr and i am undone.
that being said-
what Gabaldon has accomplished in this series is to take you straight to the years leading to the Rising of '45 and back again. the intrigue of the Paris court of Charles Stuart, the warring clans of Scotland and the heartbreaking end of the Highlanders on culloden moor. A masterful storyteller-you can hear the crunch of the heather and the swish of the tartans, feel the burn of the whiskey and smell the sweet earth of the bogs.
If you have even the slightest interest in historical novels, great scottish men of honor or are just looking for an entertaining and intelligent work to pass the cold winter nights- you owe it to yourself to lock on to this fabulous series.
atleast that is my opinion.
now, if you will excuse me- chapter 38 awaits!
live well.
love each other.
