Bookworm Blurbs

DRAGONFLY IN AMBER is the second novel in the main OUTLANDER series. The book carries on the story begun in OUTLANDER, but begins with a brief framing story set in 1968, in which Claire Randall visits a young Oxford don named Roger MacKenzie in Inverness, in search of answers for her daughter, Brianna. Her request is unusual; she has a list of names, Jacobite soldiers who fought with Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s army, who took part in the disastrous battle at Culloden in 1746. What happened to these men, she asks, following the battle? Roger is surprised at her intensity, but intrigued at her question—and intrigued even more by her red-haired daughter. The answer to Roger’s search leads all three to an unexpected grave—and to a revelation that will turn all their lives inside-out.

Claire tells Roger and Brianna what happened during the year before the Stuart Rising: the political intrigues, the chain of spying, betrayal, and murder that led her and her husband James Fraser from the court of Louis XV to the windswept moors of the Scottish Highlands and the blood-soaked ground of Culloden. The horrifying trap of circumstance and honor that sent her back to the future—and the present set of circumstances that have led her to her quest, and to a still more shocking revelation. (source)

Diana Gabaldon is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is only the second book of hers that I've read, but I found it to be almost as amazing and addictive as its predecessor, Outlander. Claire Beauchamp's adventures are thrilling and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

The beginning of this book is utterly bewildering - and it's intended to be so. Claire's back in the modern world with Jamie's daughter, Brianna, who has absolutely no idea that her beloved "Daddy," aka Frank Randall, is not her biological father. When Claire shatters Brianna's world with the truth, she's furious, and the vast majority of the remainder of the book covers how Claire came to leave Jamie and return to Frank. Throughout the book, therefore, there is a sense of impending tragedy, as the reader knows that only something truly awful could compel Claire to leave Jamie's side. 

Dragonfly in Amber is much more political than Outlander was. While Outlander focused essentially on a) Claire's journey to 18th century Scotland and b) her budding romance with Jamie, Dragonfly in Amber follows Claire and Jamie as they try to prevent Bonnie Prince Charlie's attempts to reclaim his father's throne. Because of this, the story is a bit more slow-moving than Outlander was. However, it still has both the funny and heart-fluttering moments that were found in Outlander. I still am utterly swept away by Jamie - he's now one of my all-time favorite love interests in literature - and, on that note, the last page of this book has made me soooo anxious to get my hands on the next installment, Voyager. So, now, I'm going to pop over to my library's website and put that on hold. I continue to recommend reading this series and, again, I can't wait to continue reading it!