The Fiery Cross (Outlander Series #5)

BRILLIANT, SIMPLY BRILLIANT!

Yep - this one is a RATHER LARGE read, but everything in it is necessary. Some whinge and whine that it drags on but personally I think it is superb - especially since I enjoy the historical element of these books not just the emotionally charged scenes.
When I read a Gabaldon book I want to see, hear, taste and smell everything Claire, Jamie, Bree and Roger do. I want to feel like I am sitting on their shoulder, becoming part of their Clan so to speak. And in the Fiery Cross, that is exactly what I got.
Take your time, read it at your own pace, and whatever you do DONT RUSH IT. The characters that become apparent in this one impact on A Breath of Snow and Ashes, so if you fly through this, you'll get lost in the next one.
As always I cant praise this series enough, but at the end of the day, your opinion will be the only one that matters to you, however I hope what I say helps you make the plunge and embark on this amazing story with the same gusto you got reading Outlander aka. Cross Stitch. Brilliant read.

17 out of 18 people found this review helpful.

The Weakest Link

Having been hooked by Outlander, I anxiously awaited the sequels, and despite my vow not to purchase The Fiery Cross when it came out after waiting 2(?) years and suffering through Diana's Outlandish Cookbook (read: money-making scheme!), I broke down and purchased the new novel. I should have trusted my first instincts and waited for paperback! I finished the book in three days and not because it was a page-turner...I was just waiting for SOMETHING to happen! This book is about 700 pages too long and the reader is forced to suffer through the menses of each character, more breast-feeding passages than a baby-rearing text, and countless (and I DO mean COUNTLESS) descriptions of Jamie's 'flowing molten tresses.' Although the central theme of the novels is the love story between Jamie and Claire, it seems as though the first 300 pages of this book was simply there to re-establish just HOW MUCH they STILL love one another. Ditto Roger & Brianna. By page 250, the author had established that Claire & Jamie and Roger & Bree would STILL sleep together...and that's IT! There's a vague plot about the Revolutionary War coming on, also some other kind of plot involving Stephen Bonnet...but mostly the author resorts to flogging the reader with vignettes of Jamie & Claire and Roger & Bree's homelife. I have a home life with the every day banalities of kids and dishes and laundry and menses, etc. -- I don't want to spend my time reading about it too! This novel made me wonder if Diana is being paid per written word. So -- if you're a rabid fan of the series, invest the $28 for the book. Or if (like me) you're tired of the author trying to turn spoiled Brianna and dull Roger into the exciting Jamie & Claire of Outlander, wait for the paperback. Overall, a disappointing entry in an otherwise good series.

11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

When will this end?

After neglecting all my housework, chores, work, husband and general hygiene to pour through the first four books of this series, I am having trouble even making it to a halfway point in this book. Ugggg, what are they doing? Nothing! Walking around bonfires, talking to people about nothing, changing clothes, feeding babies, causing confusion to result and cause nothing. I am so bored I can hardly believe it.
There are the beginnings of several good story lines: the weird twins, the mysterious lady disappearing after giving birth, the murder of the slave, etc. But, just when things start to heat up, we leave any semblance of interest and start hearing about the food, the hair, Jamie's silvery mane flecked with amber, blah blah.
I really hope I can make it through the end of this book and continue with the next installment.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

review take from One Book At A Time http://onebooktime.blogspot.com

I can see were others would begin to fall out of love with the Outlander series at this point. They are tedious and heavy books that take awhile to read. But, I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. I do wonder about some of the details. It's almost like the editors were afraid to tell Gabaldon that she needed to take some things out. And, it also feel like not a lot happens. At the end, I came to conclude that it's a setup book. It's preparing to you for things to come. While the overall content of the book is basically day to day living on the ridge, there are events that happen that are important to the future. I was completely dumbfounded with what happens to Roger. There are some tense moments with the local wild life (including a snake and a buffalo). I wish we could have gotten so more closure with Stephen Bonnet, but have come to accept that it isn't time yet. I loved the interactions between the characters. I loved what happens with Ian at the end. But, most of all, this particular book just made me think. I began to wonder if it's truly possible for a time traveler to change what happens? And if they do, what might the consequences be?

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Another Great Edition

The Fiery Cross was not my favorite out of Diana Gabaldon's novels but was by no means bad. I still enjoyed the story of Jamie and Claire as well as that of Roger and Brianna. The first 300 pages go by kind of slow but once you get about a third of the way through the novel picks up to what I would consider normal pace for this series. It was another great edition to the story and I was excited to pick up the next one.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Horrible

This book is so bad that I can't believe its average rating is 5 stars. Someone must be 'selecting' the reviews. Don't bother with this one; it's boring,plodding,tiresome, annoying,trivial,etc., etc. Go re-read Outlander or Dragonfly in Amber. If I have to read 'his eyes were hooded....' one more time , I'm going to scream! Just what does that mean anyway?

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Painful to get through the entire 1,443 pages of drivel.

Like Dragonfly in Amber, this book was painful to slug through it chapter by chapter. I dare say that Diana could have said the exact same thing in 700 pages rather than bore the reader to tears through 1,443 pages of pure drivel. If I didn't know better I would have thought that she was being paid by either word count or page count. While her descriptions are stunning and how she sets up a scene is invaluable, it appeared that she was making up whatever, willy-nilly, along the way to increase the page count, regardless of the fact that many pages just flat out were not necessary. I didn't think the Gathering or the wedding would ever end - enough already, get on with the rest of the book. I prefer books that move very rapidly (as Outlander, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn). I didn't think this poor dog was ever going to die. For 1,443 pages, one would think there would be far more instances of great sex and more on-the-edge scenes, but no. Even Ian's reappearance was anti-climatic, and this could have been a very intense and emotional scene.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

In Which Life Somewhat Gets Simpler but Not Really

This is my least favorite installment of the Outlander series; however, I did still enjoy the Jamie-Claire segments. Who wouldn't? As to why I wasn't so fond of this book: DG has entranced us with her emotional roller-coaster ride stories of Jamie and Claire. This book somewhat fails to deliver the same impact as it's predecessors. Nonetheless, she still manages to add conflict...just something we're not so used to.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Who wrote this thing?

This has got to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. I can't believe that Diana Gabaldon wrote this. It is nothing like her past books. This one is completely predictable and lacks intrigue and imagination. Even the 'revelation' scenes are so boring that you'll find yourself asking 'That's it?' The book can be summarized in 5 sentences and that's being generous. I had absolutely no desire to slog through all 976 pages of this, but I did. Her other books were ones that I could not put down. I finished The Drums of Autumn in two days. I read the first three books all at once in about 5 days. It took me 10 days to finish this one. It is just not interesting. The story is disjointed and jerky. There is no continuity from one scene to the next. It is VERY repetitive. If subsequent books are like this one, I'll never pick up a Diana Gabaldon book again. Diana, get yourself a new editor - NOW.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Mmmph

I've read all the Outlander books and I think this is my least favorite. It's long, it's tedious and it's just too dang descriptive. The first 200 pages is all about one day, and it was a day where nothing really happened. Well, there was a wedding and a baptism, but that was about it. I used to love the way Gabaldon described a scene, but I think she got a little carried away in this book.
I love the Outlander series, have read all the books multiple times (even this one), and am anxiously waiting for the next installment...but Fiery Cross just didn't do it for me.
It's very character driven, which is fine except the characters don't seem to do a whole lot. I understand Jamie and Claire are older and more settled now, but I was hoping for some sort of big plot with a climactic scene...but all the things that happen in this book are rather small and insignificant. One of the biggest storylines dealt with Roger and what happened to him. I found this one to be over done and he felt sorry for himself entirely too long I thought. He was so strong and resilient, but then this terrible thing happens and it's like his whole personality and character changed and he never really got back to the real Roger.
The other storylines were not resolved in this book at all. This is a set up book for the next one, and if you've invested time in the other four, you should read this book too as it does set up book #6.
I love Outlander, I love this series but this one is without a doubt my least favorite. I would recommend only to those that have read the other four and want to continue the series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love Hate Relationship

I couldn't put down the first book. This book was so slow and drawn out I had to force myself to pick it up. It did have some good parts but those were few and far between the character deveopment sections of dreams and inner thoughts.Just when I thought the book was getting good again, it would start dragging. There was parts that were redundant from previous books and even from the beginning of the book. Also, the whole "I can't kill Bonnet cause he might be Jemmy's father" is ridiculous. Jamie is still sexy even though in parts it felt more like comfortable marriage than the previous sexual tension. (I know, I know they are married and that's what marriage is about)A review written in Nov. 2001 says it perfectly about the banalities of real life--we experience dishes, laundry, children,etc. I don't wish to read about it page after page after page. I'm torn as to whether to attempt the next book or not

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Huge Disappointment

I have read all the other Outlander series book and enjoyed them very much. This book was slow and tedious. I got bored reading about the descriptions of the land and it colors, its textures. I'm also tired of reading about Jamie's copper colored hair glistening in the sunshine.

Nothing eventful or extraordinary happens in this book. It appears to be a rambling series of incongruous chapters. Upon completion of the other books, I always looked forward to reading the next book. Not this time. I didn't even finish this book. After 1200 pages, I had enough. I'm not sure when or if, I will read the other books in the series. It's time to move on and get back to reading for enjoyment again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Continuing the series with alacrity

At this point, I'm very invested in the characters and they continue to surprise me. Love the historical context melded with the mystical. Brianna and Roger are the more interesting couple at this point. I wish they longed for modern conveniences more...it seems too easy for them to give up bathing, for example. I did find it amusing how many times the word 'alacrity' came up...wish I could use my Nook to count all instances.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely Wonderful

After reading "The Fiery Cross" I was totally enthralled with it from beginning to end. Of course, I have read the first four books. This one was my favorite. The other books are excellent and exciting. What I really like about "The Fiery Cross" is that it really digs into each of the characters. You really get to know each of them. Like them or not, they're human. You get a look into their lives and what it was like to live in the 1770s. The love story continues between Claire and Jamie, it deepens, and matures and their passion remains...well, passionate. I never thought this book was boring. I could not get enough of Claire and Jamie's world. I loved getting to know Roger and Bree better. I was happily engrossed with this story, so much so that the hours flew by. I would dream about these people what was happening with them. I would find myself thinking about the story all through the day always anxious to get back it. I read because I love a good story, especially a good love story. It's wonderful to get into Diana's books and totally leave the real world behind for a while. This is an excellent continuation of the series. I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it highly.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Extremely Disappointing!

I loved all of the other Outlander books in the series and had been so anxious to get the latest that I pre-ordered it. Boy what a let down. The story (what story there is) seems very disjointed without much of a plot. The other books I could hardly put down and when I neared the end felt so sad that the read would soon be finished. With about 100 pages left I just keep wishing she'd get it over with.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have read the first four books in her Outlander series and l

I have read the first four books in her Outlander series and loved them ! The fifth book has not disappointed me at all ! If you like to get lost and engrossed totally in your books and within the characters in your books ........ these are the stories to do that in. Rich in historic detail these are books for historical romance people.

Can't pull myself away

Love Jamie and Claire!!

Highly Recommended

If you love the rest of this series you won't want to put this book down once you start to read it.

This MP3 version is very good.

The only problem I had with it is that the recording cut off parts of the end of a page or a chapter. I hope this can be rectified by Barnes and Noble

highly recommended

I love the whole series. I have three of them and couldn't put them down.
Not much housework got done.