Monday, November 9, 2015

Written in my own Heart's Blood

Written in my own Heart’s Blood, Diana Gabaldon

This eighth book in the Outlander series was released with great anticipation mid last year. I read it straight away but never blogged about it. I bought the book the day I found out my grandmother died, flew to Sydney, led the service and then got on a plane to join my family in Singapore for a week’s holiday. That led to a 3 month break from blogging, so some books were never reviewed. 

However I always planned to re-read this one and finally did so in the last month. Gabaldon’s books in this series are enormous, so it’s no surprise there is a fair wait between volumes. The seventh in the series An Echo in the Bone finished on a cliffhanger in about 3 separate story lines. This eighth book was a 4 year wait, and was well worth it. 

Picking up right where the previous book ended, we are thrown into 18th century America, in the time of the War of Independence. Minor storylines are also continued in 1739 and the 1980s in Scotland. I reflected again that I like these books because Gabaldon portrays strong marriages. Any characters where she includes both the husband and the wife, have a positive marriage: Jamie & Claire, Roger & Brianna, Ian & Rachel, Denzel & Dottie. It’s remarkably refreshing.

It was suggested that this book would be the last in the series and it finished in a satisfying yet hopeful way. However, I am now informed there in a ninth in production – so there is more to look forward to, in about another four years!


No comments: