| Gabaldon, Diana - AN ECHO IN THE BONE |
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AN ECHO IN THE BONE
When one is reviewing a book in the Outlander Series, written by one of the notably best authors in print, it is almost impossible to conjure the right words to express the feelings this book and story evokes. For those of you who have followed Jamie and Claire’s journey from young war torn lovers, to mature mated couple, you know the angst and anxiety of picking up the newest story, pouring your heart and soul into finding out what they have been up to and where they are going, knowing that after this brief 800 page journey, you have to wait once again to come home. The trepidation of wondering if it could possibly live up to its predecessors, hoping – yet doubting it could exceed those previous works.
AN ECHO IN THE BONE completely lives up to every one of my expectations and surpasses many others. Diana Gabaldon is a master at weaving story threads together. I have to say, I envision her in her home, like one of the Greek Fates of mythology, spinning her threads, crossing them, weaving them together, periodically cutting one, and seeing where they will lead. I read Outlander when it came out in 1991 and while I might not remember every part to every book, once in a while something is thrown into the newest story from those earlier books which just floors me. This book brings together many previous story lines and neatly ends some of them while furthering others. Old characters are thought of and reminisced over (do you remember Willowboughy?) and new characters are introduced.
We begin this voyage at the start of the Revolutionary War. Brianna, et al. have made it home to the future, and Jamie, Claire and Ian are in the midst of trying to go back to Scotland to pick up Jamie’s printing press so he can help the Patriot cause the best way he knows how. Trouble and intrigue always follow this family, and this book is no exception. I really do not want to do a summary on this book because so much happens, that I could not do it justice and will probably only anger those who want to read this story all to themselves. Let me say that all the primary characters are brought together in this book and given floor time. Fergus and Marsili (and their family) have a brewing story, Ian has some more life altering experiences, both good and bad, Brianna and Roger try to face their future in 1980’s Scotland and run across some very surprising issues. William and Lord John play a pivotal role in this book, and I look forward to seeing where THAT storyline leads, Jenny and Ian Sr, those at Lallybroch, and new characters, the Quaker brother and sister team the Hunters, and of course, you can’t have Ian and not have Rollo.
For those of you who had trouble making it through FIERY CROSS, or even the beginning of A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, I can tell you that the pace of this story is much quicker. Maybe a bit slower to start, but you will be wondering where the next 600 pages go, and by page 700, you won’t be able to believe the book is almost done. There are more cliff hangers to this story than I remember there being in the past, and I sincerely hope it is not another 4 year wait to get those questions answered because I might not make it that long wondering. Jamie and Claire are still front and center of the story, but share equal time with the other characters…to me, just the right combination, not too much and not too little. The humor we have come to expect from Gabaldon is in evidence and truly appreciated. For those of you wondering, there ARE long passages of medical minutia and Claires’ struggle with medicine and doctoring in the 18th century as there have been in the previous books. While I know this bothers some readers, to me, this detail had never effected my reading enjoyment in the previous books and did not here either.
Unlike some readers who can list exactly which book they liked the best and least and for what reason in this series, I have thoroughly enjoyed every story (even if FIERY CROSS was a tad slow moving). I can’t say exactly where on an “Outlander scale” I would place this story, but it would be at the top. Well executed, well paced, exciting, informative, and intriguing, I wouldn’t miss this installment. Savor each and every page, because even though it is over 800 pages long, it is over WAY too quickly!
Reviewed by Sarah Silversmith Rating: 5
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