Outlander (Outlander, #1) in Shut Up & Read

Feb 22, 2008 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, favorites, bees

I have now read this book 5 times and I still love it and recommend it to anyone who likes a good historical/time-travel/love story/big old chunkster! Seriously, this is the fastest 850 pages I've ever read. I never get tired of this series.
Jamie and Claire are still hot. I still love Gabaldon's writing style.
I still **`REALLY, REALLY** like the love scenes...one in particular, fellow fans know the one I'm talking about, nudge nudge, wink, wink!
I still love the historical background and attenti ...more

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Jan 25, 2012 a_tiffyfit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-readable, kindle-bruiser, 2014-reviewed, 2014-favorites

Why did I wait so long to read this? Years ago my friend, Jen, told me to read this. I said, YES YES I HAVE BEEN MEANING TO! I even checked out the first three books from the library. But I never got around to picking it up. She reminded me again and again, and I went and bought the first three books. I gave them to my mom who raved about them and asked why I hadn't read them yet. *shrugged* I had a huge TBR and was going through them. Wasn't feeling a long series. I dunno.

*slaps self repeatedl Why did I wait so long to read this? Years ago my friend, Jen, told me to read this. I said, YES YES I HAVE BEEN MEANING TO! I even checked out the first three books from the library. But I never got around to picking it up. She reminded me again and again, and I went and bought the first three books. I gave them to my mom who raved about them and asked why I hadn't read them yet. *shrugged* I had a huge TBR and was going through them. Wasn't feeling a long series. I dunno.

*slaps self repeatedly*

So, since the show is coming out and the premier was offered for free, I decided to watch the premier. Hold the phone. God this sounds good! I should read it!

I don't have Starz, so I'm not going to be able to watch the rest until the first season is up and on netflix or something so NOW IS THE TIME. Called mom, picked up book, opened to the first page. Hissed, clawed, and growled at anyone who tried to interrupt me.

Claire Randall neé Beauchamp is on a second honeymoon of sorts, getting to know her husband again after six years apart due to the war. It's 1945. Claire worked as a nurse while her husband was abroad. To say that the war has changed them would be an understatement. As Frank's passion is genealogy, they are in Scotland tracing the route of his ancester Black Jack Randall when he was a dragoon commander in the highlands, two hundred years ago. And so the story begins. When Claire and Frank discover a stone circle and witness a druid ceremony, they are enchanted. Claire is interrupted before she can discover what that flower she saw was. She goes back the next day, touches one of the stones, and falls through time. She is at first convinced that she is watching a re-enactment or a movie being shot. But it becomes more and more clear that she is no where near 1945.

And so this tale revolves around Claire in the 18th century. She finds herself hostage/a guest of a scottish clan and inexplicably drawn to one James Fraser, nephew to the chieftain and a laird in his own right. Circumstances require that she marry him and suddenly she now has two husbands.

Let me tell you, ladies. From the brief description and interactions with Frank, from the get go you want her to choose Jamie. And I was SO frustrated with how she kept being a wishywashy about returning to Frank, returning to Frank, returning to Frank, when Jamie has done nothing but demonstrated that he puts her first. Not to mention, Jamie is very alpha, Frank is very not. This may be unfair to Frank as we haven't explored his character much in this book, but I'm one of those "it happened for a reason." I was so incredibly happy when she makes her decision. But then there is more heartache and danger and turmoil lurking about in the form of Frank's ancestor, Black Jack Randall.

Oh, he's hideous. He makes your skin crawl. He's vile. And you'll be brought to tears when Jamie comes to the rescue, and again when Claire comes to the rescue, and again when Claire understands and helps with the internal healing.

Wonderfully written, no grammatical errors, prose that flows, language that is salty and appropriate to both time periods, laughter as you read this romance and Jamie is asking things like "Who is John Wayne?" and Claire answers, "You." With a plot full of action and tension and anticipation, with betrayals and romance, with adorable conversations between characters, this is immediately on my favorites list, my re-readable, my kindle-bruiser, and one I look forward to reading again...after I finish the series of course. ...more

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Sep 23, 2008 Ellisa Barr rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, adult-fiction, romance

This book is so long, but every now and then I just get in the mood for a really good historical romance with kilts and fighting and passion and all that. This is book is at the top of its genre. And I guess what I really love about it is that the female lead character goes back in time, so she is constantly making comparisons to her own time. I love that she is a healer and gathers herbs. Every time I read this I end up starting an herb garden (which I don't use).

I know I'm not making this book ...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Cooper rated it did not like it

If I were a 13 year old girl in junior high, I would have loved this book. As such, I am not an adolescent looking for a historical romantic novel full of trite romantic dialogue, dull characters and lackluster action. After being told of how great this series was, I was very excited to get lost in the adventures of a young woman (Claire) who finds herself transported back in time – from 1945 to 1742. Oh, those measly 200 years. It took her no time at all to adjust to her new surroundings and fo If I were a 13 year old girl in junior high, I would have loved this book. As such, I am not an adolescent looking for a historical romantic novel full of trite romantic dialogue, dull characters and lackluster action. After being told of how great this series was, I was very excited to get lost in the adventures of a young woman (Claire) who finds herself transported back in time – from 1945 to 1742. Oh, those measly 200 years. It took her no time at all to adjust to her new surroundings and forget her husband! You know the one Claire, the one you have back in 1945. But that’s OK because she soon finds his replacement and the sex is much better. But for the reader the sex scenes left us unsatisfied and disappointed.

What can one say about Claire – dull, annoying, mindless. Everything she does is only in reaction to the world around her and acts surprised every time she finds herself close to being killed. If the author was trying tell a story, it would have been nice if Claire actually had some personality and actually wanted to do something other than scream or have sex with her cute 23 year old Catholic former virgin warrior (with whom she has incredible sex and loses all interest in her husband or getting back to 1945). I’d let you in on the storyline, but unfortunately there isn’t one. It just goes from Claire fucking up and almost getting killed to just fucking her cute 23 year old Catholic former virgin warrior. Wow, for 632 long, boring pages – that’s it. The only time it came close to being interesting is when she realized there were others who had also gone back in time (this was during a time when Claire had fucked up and was on trial for being a witch – yea, can you believe even that was written with no intensity). That whole, other people who’ve traveled back, would have made for an interesting plot twist, but sadly it died quickly. Unfortunately the book did not and I drudged through to the bitter end. Do yourself a favor, use this book as kindling and find another book to read by the fire. Maybe ‘Jane Eyre’ or ‘A House at Riverton’ -- ...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mgr, romance, historical-fiction, historical-romance, part-of-a-series, time-travel, rrrc, scotland, highlanders, new-to-me-author

Jan 24, 2018: Still 4 stars. I enjoyed the book like before but unlike the last time I am more interested in seeing what happens next.

I enjoyed the story but I found it to be a tad too long. I would have been perfectly happy to see the story end a little sooner then it did. Will I read the others? Not really sure, as I'm happy to see it as a stand alone, (view spoiler) ...more

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Sep 16, 2008 Marla rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, series, with-reservations, adult, book-club, girl-power, historical-fiction, chick-lit, fantasy, zz-2010

3.5 stars. A little violent for my taste in love stories, but interesting historical romance in the vein of Barbara Cartland, but more graphic and definitely more violent and not nearly as innocent. Not our typical book club novel, but besides the length (my paperback copy was 650 pages long), it was okay, but not great. But I liked Jamie and will probably read more to see what else happens.

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Jan 02, 2012 Sasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3.5 stars

I have a confession to make. Ready? Here goes:

I hate time travel stories.

Loathe them, in fact, with the heat of a thousand fiery suns… you know, that kind of thing. I think that most of them are handled quite poorly and are a cop-out, a way for an author to gratuitously explore history without having to actually put themselves in the mindset of the time or do any heavy research. I mean, all you have to do is plop a modern-day guy or gal down, for example, in medieval England; before lo 3.5 stars

I have a confession to make. Ready? Here goes:

I hate time travel stories.

Loathe them, in fact, with the heat of a thousand fiery suns… you know, that kind of thing. I think that most of them are handled quite poorly and are a cop-out, a way for an author to gratuitously explore history without having to actually put themselves in the mindset of the time or do any heavy research. I mean, all you have to do is plop a modern-day guy or gal down, for example, in medieval England; before long it’s shenanigans and “Why is there no internet in the 1500s” and “I’d love to love you, King Henry, but you people don’t really understand hygiene yet and also, you behead all your future queens. I mean, spoiler alert.” The main protagonist has all this foresight because they typically have some knowledge about the past into which they are thrown, and they act flippantly, condescendingly modern throughout the book with little consequence. I won’t name names, but I’ve read several books and watched several movies/tv shows with this plot premise, and disliked them all with equal measure for these reasons.

Except Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is awesome.

So, given my current contempt for all things time-travel, whatever possessed me to pick up a book like Outlander and say, “Hey, this looks interesting. Let’s give this a try”? Well, I will admit that I was somewhat intrigued by the idea of 1700s-era Scotland. I don’t know much about the country aside from caricatured Scottish people in movies, so I guess I wanted to check out a book that supposedly was rich in culture and Scottish detail. Plus, the average rating of the book on Goodreads was 4.01, which usually indicates a pretty good book.

I actually liked Outlander a lot more than I should have. At the start of the book, Claire is reunited with her husband, and they’re on a second honeymoon together in post-WWII UK. Claire explores an old rock formation one day and with a touch is magically transported to the same place… nearly 200 years earlier. Thrust into a world of lairds and Scottish rogues, Claire quickly has to adapt in order to survive.

As soon as Claire arrived in 1700s Scotland, I began liking her less and less. She runs into a band of men that are traveling and fighting the British, and among them is a strapping young Scottish lad named Jaime. There are some sparks between them, but for the most part Jaime is a true gentleman. Then the first plot twist: in order to avoid suspicion, Claire must—must—marry a Scotsman. Naturally, Jaime is a great choice. But wait! You may cry. Isn’t Claire married? And in love with her husband back home in 1945? Why yes, dear reader. She is. And it wouldn’t have been so bad, except that Claire proceeds to marry—and then consummate said marriage repeatedly—with Jaime and then pretty much forgets that she was ever married in the first place. If you wanted to read a book about how to cheat on your spouse and not feel guilty about it, take notes on this character. I found myself hard-pressed to respect Claire after that, regardless of how much I liked her and Jaime together. I think that the story would have been equally as effective if Claire was not married.

Another thing I hated? The blasé way in which domestic abuse was depicted. At one point in the book, Claire disobeys Jaime or something and that apparently is cause enough for Jaime to beat her black and blue, to “discipline his woman.” I understand that things were different back then, blah blah blah, but then Claire actually comes to accept the fact that Jaime did it and it’s somewhat implied in her manner that she thinks she deserved to be beaten. Um. Pardon my French, but what the hell?! No! Just… no!

Gabaldon’s prose is fluid and quite descriptive and the characterizations are colorful and almost tangible. Despite my misgivings, I actually found myself enjoying this time-travel novel much more than I anticipated. The villain, in particular—a high-ranking English officer who likes to sexually abuse men and is creepily attracted to Jaime—was bone-chilling to read about. However, I just didn’t enjoy the book as much as I could have because I just don’t appreciate adulterous characters, nor the violence, regardless of how Gabaldon attempts to justify it in the novel. This book wasn’t really my taste, but I recommend it to those who appreciate sprawling, epic romances with dark villains, dashing love interests, and feisty heroines.
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Mar 16, 2016 Yusra Asaad rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-stars

The beautiful love story of Jamie and Claire :)

It starts with a 27 year old nurse called Claire in the year 1945, childless but happily married to Frank Randall and living a quiet life in post war Scotland.

One day she goes investigating a plant she sees in a stone circle, when she suddenly gets pulled in and finds herself in the year of the Lord 1743 about two hundred years prior her time.

She encounters Frank's six-time great grandfather Jonathan Randall otherwise known as Jack Black. Then gets ...more

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