@Corinne I listen at 1.8 speed. So it’s a bit faster for me. But when I physically read them I always get distracted. And take months to finish instead of a couple weeks.
I agree. Its so annoying. People assume it’s a romance and it’s not. Its historical fiction with a fantasy element. That has a romantic element like so many other historical fiction books.
@Corinne, I think my biggest gripe with the series is the casting. In my opinion, Jamie is completely miscast with the actor that they have in the role. Certain attributes are essential to his characterization, and this actor just doesn’t posses them.
Don’t jump on me, but I didn’t like them. Too much torture-porn in the first one turned me right off . I don’t think they’re terribly well-written too.
@Alexandra She is absolutely horrible to her readers. She is rude and condescending and is very problematic. She attacks readers, she’s very mean, and to be quite honest, doesn’t deserve my respect. I will not, under any circumstance, support an author who attacks, belittles, and bullies her readers or potential readers.
I’ve never heard that. But I can understand that. It’s why a lot of people hate terry goodkind too. But I love his books. Just buy second hand so they don’t get more money. Same with orson Scott card. He’s homophobic
@Alexandra I am not sure if it’s Orson Scott Card, but there is an author that I heard of that is very mean. Goodreads had this author banned from their site, but he has a blog and he writes the most cruelest things that don’t even make any sense.
Orson Scott card is a homophobe. Idk about his personality. Could be terry goodkind. He’s an ass. It sucks because his books are brilliant. I can’t find anything about Diana Gabaldon though. Not that I don’t believe you. I just am not finding anything.
@Alexandra She attacks fanfiction authors, and if you read the comments she makes on goodreads to her fans, you get to see a lot of her rudeness. She has a blog where she attacks people left, right and centre. In general, she isn’t a very good person and I will not condone that sort of rubbish behaviour.
I haven’t gotten that impression from Diana but I’ve never met her but I see her comments on her page and she does reply to some people. She is a little full of herself but I can’t say I blame her with some of the things fans say to her. Oh and I would gladly pay shipping for you to mail me anymore of her books that you get. I could read them over and over again but sadly only have two books so far.
I mean the only thing I found was one thing where some English major talked to her and she said “English major do you want fries with that.” And that wasn’t even bad. She was seriously just warning the person that a degree in that is not easy to make money with. Hell she was a marine biologist before becoming a writer. My husband struggled for years and is finally an English teacher. But literally I can’t find anything else anywhere. Unlike with terry goodkind which is all over the place because he’s a known asshole. So idk. I’m taking this with a grain of salt
@Alexandra I just know that she fights for us fans when it comes to the show. She is a consultant and fights for us to have a decent show even though Ron doesn’t always listen to her. It seems the episodes she criticizes the most and suggests the most changes to and they don’t listen to her are the worst episodes ever.
I’m in the minority regarding the books. I enjoyed the story but really did not enjoy the writing. I found certain descriptions overly long, repetitive, confusing and the writing, tedious. I would skip pages to get to the next part of the plot. I liked the story ideas enough that I am going to try the show and see if I like that better.
I love them both (book and movie). I’ve read the entire series, plus most of the off shoot books as well. I’m rereading each one with the season of the show.
I think they are life changing. I can’t get enough of the books. I’ve read some of them more than once. Yes there is a lot of sex and violence but that was the time period. Diana likes to take her characters through hell but they come out of it ok and soldier on. There are a lot of good parts of the books too and humor. I think book Jamie is so funny. I admit at first they were hard to get into because DG is so descriptive and wordy but they are worth reading.
I’ve read all 8 novels. For me between the show and the novels, it’s a mix bag. There are some scenes that are more expanded in the novels and therefore have a bigger impact, but there are things in the novels that for me felt overused, rushed or even overly melodramatic that the show smooths over and makes more coherent if not more reasonable.
The books are strangely addictive, even though I’ll be the first to admit, they’re not amazingly written (albeit well researched) but enjoyable IF you’re alright with historical romance fiction.
I read the books after I saw the first half of season 1. The biggest plus of the novels are incomparison that they are further ahead so you can keep reading. 🙂
@Leda I’m curious as to what you think wasn’t well researched? I know she is bad at remembering times and dates but as for the history a lot of it seems fairly accurate.
@Mitzy I think you must have misread, I said her books were well researched. Learned a lot of interesting historical things about Scotland from them. 🙂
As for the writing DG said that Outlander was her first book she had written and did not expect all this fandom. I’m not even sure the first book had an editor. I’m not a big fan of her long descriptions either but the story just sucks you in and you can’t help but keep reading.
@Mitzy I agree that Outlander isn’t the best written because it was her debut novel. Actually DiA is my favourite so I do think her writing did improve.
My critique of her writing is more geared towards her writing choices; style, dialogue and occasionally in characterisation, chief of whom is Brianna (who is much more three-dimensional in the show). But I do agree they are very very addictive. I rage quit after DoA, but I went back to reading a few days later. I just felt too compelled to keep reading. 🙂
@Mitzy I see your point. In time she did, but for me it never got to the point where I liked her. I rather became indifferent to her at some point while reading whereas before she kinda put me off reading. The access grew on me, she doesn’t look like book Brianna, but I liked her portrayal of her.
@Leda I tried to understand her as a person she was an only child and spoiled rotten and with a bad temper. Kind of like her half brother William. She does learn some hard lessens though like don’t go on a pirate ship and into the Captain’s quarters alone.
@Mitzy yes, though I feel the “don’t go into the captain’s quarters of a pirate ship alone” was very obvious, also unnecessary as a setting. It seemed like the narrative threw Briannas common sense through the window in order to create conflict. This is one of the things the show made more tangible in adaptarion to emphasise the lurking danger against women alone.
Mitzy Roberts I hadnt thought of that, good point. She is very much like Willie in that respect. Though I think the small difference is that the books comment on their spoiled attitudes differently. With Willie, his spoiled attitude is reflected as being actually there, and we are shown in time how much he’s changed as a young man.
With Brianna we see a spoiled attitude veiled in stubbornness but are constantly told that this is something to be upheld as a Fraser trait: it is meant to be endearing but it comes across as annoying. At least it did to me.
Very wordy! I have the first fiur books. Book 1 was a fun read, but the second book was a slog, and I found myself doing a lot of skimming in book 2. I haven’t read any more of tge series.
The books are excellent! They are all rather long, so you need to read them when you have lots of time. I’ve read the first three (I have the fourth one waiting for me to have time to read it).
I loved the books
WAY better than the show.
Reading the first one and loving it! Sit at work wondering what will happen next and can’t wait to get home
I loved the books – I have not seen the shows
My first instinct is to tell you don’t…. But a lot of readers loved it ?♀️
Not seen the show but have read first two books which i I thoroughly enjoyed.
Reading the second book, so far it’s not as good as the first
Push through. Book 3 is the best one.
^ agreed
I have books 3,4,5 and, 6 on the shelf. A lot of reading this year
I’m not too crazy about DIA but Voyager is sooo good.
I enjoy both but I love the books and only like the show. If you’re scared of the length I reccomend the audiobooks. They are excellent.
They’re all between 30-50+ hours long though, ha ha. Which is why I started my reread now for book 9.
@Corinne I listen at 1.8 speed. So it’s a bit faster for me. But when I physically read them I always get distracted. And take months to finish instead of a couple weeks.
Anything above 1 ends up sounding intelligible to me. At least on my iPod.
@Corinne Interesting, at 1.0 I tend to get sleepy because sometimes narrators are so slow.
At first it does sound crazy but my ears adjust and now I’m used to it. I’ve seen some people do it at like 2.5. And it sounds crazy when I try.
Loved the books!
The book are awesome – first one is the best! The show is not too bad. My Jamie does not look like the show’s Jamie
Agree so much about Jamie
My Jamie is also very different to the adverts I’ve seen
My book Jamie is similar to Sam but everyone else is different especially Claire.
Just started Outlander. I was worried I wouldn’t like it. I don’t like romances. I have been pleasantly surprised.
I loathe that it gets consistently tagged as a romance, when it’s more historical fiction and action with a love story thrown in.
It definitely does not follow the romance formula. It has so much well researched history!
I agree. Its so annoying. People assume it’s a romance and it’s not. Its historical fiction with a fantasy element. That has a romantic element like so many other historical fiction books.
It’s so much more than romance. It’s romance, historical fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, drama and adventure.
I’m reading the book
The books are one of my favorite series! In fact, I’m currently on Book 5 of my third read-through.
The series, however . . . I couldn’t get through the first season ?
I couldn’t get through season 1 either.
@Corinne, I think my biggest gripe with the series is the casting. In my opinion, Jamie is completely miscast with the actor that they have in the role. Certain attributes are essential to his characterization, and this actor just doesn’t posses them.
Both the main characters were completely miscast, imo.
EXCELLENT!!!
So much for no spoilers…
Thanks…
My apologies. I got sidetracked. Deleted my comments though, not that that really helps much…
Me too. I’m guilty. Sorry!!!
Don’t jump on me, but I didn’t like them. Too much torture-porn in the first one turned me right off . I don’t think they’re terribly well-written too.
I liked the first one. The second one was okay. Then I got bored with the series and never finished them.
Theyre fab!! Theyre just a bit long so audiobooks are the way to go for me! I do highly reccomend them though
I loved the first three but found the later ones to be sadly overwritten.
I adamantly refuse to support this author. All of her books that are given to me as gifts are sent directly to the charity shops.
@Tiffany why?
@Alexandra She is absolutely horrible to her readers. She is rude and condescending and is very problematic. She attacks readers, she’s very mean, and to be quite honest, doesn’t deserve my respect. I will not, under any circumstance, support an author who attacks, belittles, and bullies her readers or potential readers.
I’ve never heard that. But I can understand that. It’s why a lot of people hate terry goodkind too. But I love his books. Just buy second hand so they don’t get more money. Same with orson Scott card. He’s homophobic
But I get that. I just never heard that about her.
@Alexandra I am not sure if it’s Orson Scott Card, but there is an author that I heard of that is very mean. Goodreads had this author banned from their site, but he has a blog and he writes the most cruelest things that don’t even make any sense.
Orson Scott card is a homophobe. Idk about his personality. Could be terry goodkind. He’s an ass. It sucks because his books are brilliant. I can’t find anything about Diana Gabaldon though. Not that I don’t believe you. I just am not finding anything.
@Alexandra She attacks fanfiction authors, and if you read the comments she makes on goodreads to her fans, you get to see a lot of her rudeness. She has a blog where she attacks people left, right and centre. In general, she isn’t a very good person and I will not condone that sort of rubbish behaviour.
I don’t blame you!! I hadn’t hear that before though.
I’m still not finding anything. Idk why. But yeah I wouldn’t put up with that behavior either.
If you have any links, that’d be appreciated because I’m still finding nothing.
I haven’t gotten that impression from Diana but I’ve never met her but I see her comments on her page and she does reply to some people. She is a little full of herself but I can’t say I blame her with some of the things fans say to her. Oh and I would gladly pay shipping for you to mail me anymore of her books that you get. I could read them over and over again but sadly only have two books so far.
I mean the only thing I found was one thing where some English major talked to her and she said “English major do you want fries with that.” And that wasn’t even bad. She was seriously just warning the person that a degree in that is not easy to make money with. Hell she was a marine biologist before becoming a writer. My husband struggled for years and is finally an English teacher. But literally I can’t find anything else anywhere. Unlike with terry goodkind which is all over the place because he’s a known asshole. So idk. I’m taking this with a grain of salt
@Alexandra I just know that she fights for us fans when it comes to the show. She is a consultant and fights for us to have a decent show even though Ron doesn’t always listen to her. It seems the episodes she criticizes the most and suggests the most changes to and they don’t listen to her are the worst episodes ever.
I’m in the minority regarding the books. I enjoyed the story but really did not enjoy the writing. I found certain descriptions overly long, repetitive, confusing and the writing, tedious. I would skip pages to get to the next part of the plot. I liked the story ideas enough that I am going to try the show and see if I like that better.
When I read book 4, I’m fairly certain I skipped ALOT. But, I still enjoy them!
@Jeanne I tried to read Book 1. Just was not my style I guess. I could not get into it
I have bad ADD and I admit I skimmed over parts but fully believe they are worth reading.
I love them both (book and movie). I’ve read the entire series, plus most of the off shoot books as well. I’m rereading each one with the season of the show.
Love the books!! ❤️❤️❤️
Books are a lot better than the tv show.
Books are incredible!! Read them!!
The first one was OK. The rest, meh. Didn’t finish the series. Not all that well written, IMO.
I think they are life changing. I can’t get enough of the books. I’ve read some of them more than once. Yes there is a lot of sex and violence but that was the time period. Diana likes to take her characters through hell but they come out of it ok and soldier on. There are a lot of good parts of the books too and humor. I think book Jamie is so funny. I admit at first they were hard to get into because DG is so descriptive and wordy but they are worth reading.
Best books I’ve read I need years. Love them
I like the first 4 books but not the rest
Thanks for the input guys! I think I’m going to get the books 2nd hand and see if I like them. ?
Very good books and great series on TV….enjoy…
never finish the book #2 … barely read few chapters and i drop it
I LOVE the books. I’ve read them multiple times. I’m super sad that she’s finishing the series. They are engaging and her writing is fantastic.
@Heather she isn’t finished yet she is going to book 10. Book 9 should be out sometime this year. I can’t wait for Bees.
@Mitzy you just made my day. Last I heard she said she was stopping at 9!
I’ve read all 8 novels. For me between the show and the novels, it’s a mix bag. There are some scenes that are more expanded in the novels and therefore have a bigger impact, but there are things in the novels that for me felt overused, rushed or even overly melodramatic that the show smooths over and makes more coherent if not more reasonable.
The books are strangely addictive, even though I’ll be the first to admit, they’re not amazingly written (albeit well researched) but enjoyable IF you’re alright with historical romance fiction.
I read the books after I saw the first half of season 1. The biggest plus of the novels are incomparison that they are further ahead so you can keep reading. 🙂
Edit: heads up, minor spoilers in the thread.
@Leda I’m curious as to what you think wasn’t well researched? I know she is bad at remembering times and dates but as for the history a lot of it seems fairly accurate.
@Mitzy I think you must have misread, I said her books were well researched. Learned a lot of interesting historical things about Scotland from them. 🙂
@Leda oh, oops, sorry. Now I feel stupid I’m always telling others they lack reading comprehension.
@Mitzy 🙂 it’s alright, this happens to everyone, including me.
As for the writing DG said that Outlander was her first book she had written and did not expect all this fandom. I’m not even sure the first book had an editor. I’m not a big fan of her long descriptions either but the story just sucks you in and you can’t help but keep reading.
@Mitzy I agree that Outlander isn’t the best written because it was her debut novel. Actually DiA is my favourite so I do think her writing did improve.
My critique of her writing is more geared towards her writing choices; style, dialogue and occasionally in characterisation, chief of whom is Brianna (who is much more three-dimensional in the show). But I do agree they are very very addictive. I rage quit after DoA, but I went back to reading a few days later. I just felt too compelled to keep reading. 🙂
@Leda I felt that Brianna improved with time. I’m not really a fan of the actress chosen though. Maybe she will grow on me like in the books.
@Mitzy I see your point. In time she did, but for me it never got to the point where I liked her. I rather became indifferent to her at some point while reading whereas before she kinda put me off reading. The access grew on me, she doesn’t look like book Brianna, but I liked her portrayal of her.
@Leda I tried to understand her as a person she was an only child and spoiled rotten and with a bad temper. Kind of like her half brother William. She does learn some hard lessens though like don’t go on a pirate ship and into the Captain’s quarters alone.
@Mitzy yes, though I feel the “don’t go into the captain’s quarters of a pirate ship alone” was very obvious, also unnecessary as a setting. It seemed like the narrative threw Briannas common sense through the window in order to create conflict. This is one of the things the show made more tangible in adaptarion to emphasise the lurking danger against women alone.
Mitzy Roberts I hadnt thought of that, good point. She is very much like Willie in that respect. Though I think the small difference is that the books comment on their spoiled attitudes differently. With Willie, his spoiled attitude is reflected as being actually there, and we are shown in time how much he’s changed as a young man.
With Brianna we see a spoiled attitude veiled in stubbornness but are constantly told that this is something to be upheld as a Fraser trait: it is meant to be endearing but it comes across as annoying. At least it did to me.
@Leda you gotta remember though that she was young. She may have been 20 but she acted like a bratty teenager. I don’t really like her till book 6.
Best books ever! Loved every one.
Amazing❗️
Love the books!
Absolutely the best ?❣️???
Amazing
Wonderful – the books are always better than the movie/TV shows
The books are awesome
the books are brilliant, way more in them than the tv
The books are unbelievable! So good
Books are great!!
The books are much better than the series I actually stopped watching the series because it took away what I got from the actual books
I feel you!
I agree Debbie! The books are fantastic but the series became boring
The best! Better than the show and the show is really good!
Excellent!
Very wordy! I have the first fiur books. Book 1 was a fun read, but the second book was a slog, and I found myself doing a lot of skimming in book 2. I haven’t read any more of tge series.
The books are excellent! They are all rather long, so you need to read them when you have lots of time. I’ve read the first three (I have the fourth one waiting for me to have time to read it).
The books are great!! Love them. Getting ready for book 7 this year!
The books are better than the movies. The movies are kind of slow to me.
The Outlander series are the best books I have ever read in my life <3
My main series of 2019 then. Soon to be started.
Soooooooo good!?
I currently in the fourth book(drums of autumn) and absolutely love them! I’m waiting to finish the books before I start the show.
@Debbie