Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

By: Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Diana Gabaldon has earned a massive and devoted following for her Outlander series. Now Lord John's fascinating story continues.

It is 1758, and the flames of the Seven Years' War are burning hotter than ever. The rigors and dangers of battle are actually a welcome respite for Lord John and his brother Hal, who feel the constant strain of their family's troubled history. Blending war, family secrets, and forbidden love, Gabaldon crafts a suspenseful novel that loyal fans and newcomers alike with find irresistible.

©2007 Diana Gabaldon (P)2007 Recorded Books LLC

My Favorite Lord John Novel so Far

The Lord John short stories get woven into the places between the Lord John novels, and tie them together. Both short stories and novels tie the gap in the Outlander novels between Dragonfly in Amber where John first appears, and Claire disappears and Voyager where Claire/Jaime's story continues. This is ~1745 to ~1773.

In that nearly 30 year gap, John has been off on journeys of his own, and it's wonderful how Diana Gabaldon weaves history and research into a story in such detail without detracting from the characters or their situations. While I enjoyed Private Matter very much, Brotherhood is still my favorite, and you see John at his best, and his worst, sometimes funny and always enjoyable. There's a couple of battles, which are always my favorite parts when reading Lord John, and interaction between him and his family, and a mystery.

In this novel John is searching for answers about the death of his father, but the plot is woven with other subplots that converge neatly (or messily) when John has to face a crisis of honor, and finds the clue to both answers in Jamie Fraser.

There are plot pieces and characters here that find their way into other Lord John stories (Haunted Soldier, Custom of the Army) or Outlander (Breath of Snow and Ashes, Firey Cross, Echo in the Bone), but resolve themselves nicely for the time being within this book. I think, however that "Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner" (not yet released as of this review) will be the one to watch, and carry the events of Brotherhood and Custom forward to fill in a large gap in the rocky evolution of John and Jamie's friendship.

Yes, there are a couple of graphic sex scenes - if graphic sex of either hetero or homosexual participants troubles you, I suggest you back quickly away from any book in the Outlander/Lord John universe by Gabaldon.

The narrator, Jeff Woodman, does all the work in this series and does a great job, especially with John, Harry and Tom.

Could do without the graphic sex scenes

The book is good, but It would have been great without the repeditive, graphical, sex scenes.

Lord John and the Brotherhood

Pure Gabeldon story but missing the eloquent reading of Davina Porter.

Reliably Well Written

Like all of Diana Gabaldon, this book is reliably well written and the details and development make it interesting. Lord John is such a lovable character.

Excellent ...

The best of the Lord John books by far. Worth the read, you won't regret it.

Loved it.

Would you consider the audio edition of Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade to be better than the print version?

I adore this narrator! His accents are great, and his reading style, enunciation and pace are all a clear 5 stars.

An intriguing Lord John mystery

Loved it. Gabaldon sense of humour and fondness for mystery shine in this novel. Hal and Minnie are delightful and play a more significant role than their parts in the Outlander series. Find out what happened between Lord John and Percy Wainwright! Discover what Lord John did to cause the rift between himself and Jamie Fraser. Must read!

Enjoyable but too many characters to keep track of.

I found Lord John a compelling character. He is mixture of refinement, intelligence, and “beast,” a term he uses to describe himself. His sardonic humor is balanced by an empathic sensitivity toward others. There were two main storylines, both filled with too many superfluous characters who sometimes crossed storylines. I frequently had to backtrack to figure out who was who and what their significance was, if any. I thought that the narrator was very good.

Great Story on its own

Wonderful expansion of the Lord John character. It explains so much that ties into the Outlander series!!

Great character, great book!

I love Lord John. I think he is a wonderful character. I've listened to all the books and wish there were more. It was interesting to hear his perspective on Jamie Frasier but he can definitely carry his own story.