Willy W. reviewed on 8/23/2010 + 503 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

I read this book after meeting a woman on an airplane who was reading a romance novel while I was reading a vampire romance and we knew a kindred spirit when we saw one. We spent the flight talking about our favorite subject and she told me about Outlander. She said it was the best book of any genre she'd ever read. I thought it was quite a compliment and bought it the next day.

After I read this book I didnt' enjoy the next four or five books I read. The quality of Gabaldon's writing is so superior to other authors in the genre (historical romance?) that everyone else seems like a hack. Absolutely beautifully written. At the start I had difficulty getting into the book. I put it down several times before I made it past the first couple hundred pages. Then I couldn't put it down at all. As it is a loooong book, I didn't get much sleep!

The slow development of the relationship between Jamie and Claire is almost excruciating. Yet it is the most romantic development, the deepest love, the most intense and believable relationship I've ever read. The love scenes, for the most part, are not particularly graphic or even very long, but the love and the relationship around them makes them seem more graphic and much more intense.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details