This month I am looking back at a series that has been around for
quite some time. It is a series that has been sitting on my “To Read” list for
a number of years but I haven’t had the mental fortitude to get started until
this past November. The bulk of the books are about 1000 pages- so they aren’t
for the faint of heart! The first novel in the Outlander Saga
by Diana Gabaldon (pronounced as GAH-bull-dohn [rhymes with "stone"])is Outlander. It was published in
1991 with a new novel or related novella released every few years after. The
eighth book in this series is set for publication in June of this year (and
with any luck I will be ready to read it then…currently I have just started
book 5.)
For those who enjoyed
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and
Fire (aka: The Game of Thrones series)
this would be a series to consider trying. The storyline is generally speaking
geared towards women readers (the main character is a female and it tends
towards a romantic storyline) but would be enjoyed by anyone curious about
things such as time-travel, stone circles, Medicinal practices of the 1700’s,
English/Scottish historical events and politics. When I finished the first book
I was utterly amazed at the amount of information I learned about the time
period, the sheer volume of events/disasters/rescues etc., and the lack of
sleep that I could function with!
I have recently recommended
books to several persons by author Deborah Harkness: All Souls Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches, and Shadow of Night [the third is due to be published this summer]) and I think that
those same persons might also enjoy Diana Gabaldon’s series of books. So
if you have a “To Read” list put this series on it – or if you are feeling up
to the challenge pick up a copy of the first book today. The library does have
regular book, audiobook, and ebook copies of this story.
Review by Diana McCarthy, community librarian for Falkland Branch
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