Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Book: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon


Today, I finally finished Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (my thoughts on Outlander here). It took me ages because I checked it out from the library and then ran out of time, and had to turn it back in. Then I had to put another hold on it and wait another week for it to come back to me. Compared to Outlander, this one was a little slow going, especially the political parts in the first half. But once it got going I was really into it.

We left off at the end of Outlander (SPOILER ALERT) with Jamie & Claire headed to France. So I was surprised when Dragonfly in Amber started with Claire 20 years older, back in her original time (20th century) with a red-headed daughter. Well, that was tragic, but we got several hundred pages of flashback of what happened between their arrival in France in the 1740s and how she ended up heading back to the future.

I know it sounds confusing but it was actually quite interesting. And knowing she had left the 18th century but not knowing why, the reader is compelled through some of the slower parts of the story to get to the part where we find out! And as I finished the book, I wanted to pick up the next one.

Now I am starting The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. After that I am reading the first book in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Once I finish both of those, I will be digging into Voyager, the third book in Gabaldon's series.

4 comments:

Emily said...

This second book in the series appeals more to me than the first. (I haven't read either of them, so I'm just going on your descriptions of them.) I'm usually not interested in books that are set exclusively in the 17th-18th century, but since "Dragonfly in Amber" shows the main character back in the 20th century and does flashbacks, I am intrigued.

How does this book compare to Timeline? That's one of my favorite books, because even though much of it took place in medieval times, there was a strong connection to modern times (and a fast-paced plot!).

Linz McC said...

E- I am not familiar with Timeline. Who wrote it?

Well, I would have preferred that every few chapters were in the later time period with flashbacks to the earlier one, but instead, we just spent the first few chapters and last few chapters in the 20th century and about 5 or 600 pages in the middle in the 1700s.

Emily said...

I'm referring to "Timeline" by Michael Crichton. You know, the novel that was made into that really, really bad movie starring Paul Walker? You should read the book sometime, but skip the movie.

Linz McC said...

OK I managed to miss that movie so I guess that is good. I will avoid it now. I do like Crichton though.