Outlander

Outlander, Book 1

By: Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 32 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

This stunning blend of historical romance and time traveling adventure has captured the hearts of millions of readers around the world and catapulted author Diana Gabaldon to the top of the New York Times best seller list. Outlander introduces an exhilarating world of heroism and breathtaking thrills as one woman is torn between past and present, passion and love.

In 1945, former combat nurse Claire Randall returns from World War II and joins her husband for a second honeymoon. Their blissful reunion is shattered when she touches a boulder in an ancient stone ruin and is instantly transported to 1743 Scotland, a place torn by war and raiding border clans. Will Claire find her way back to her own time, or is her destiny forever linked with Clan MacKenzie and the gallant James Fraser?

©1991 Diana Gabaldon (P)1997 Recorded Books, LLC.

Critic reviews

"Davina Porter maintains the distinct voices she creates for each character throughout the lengthy narration. Her delivery of 18th-century language sounds authentic and is easily understandable." (AudioFile)

Captivating

I just had to follow the story to the end. It was hard to set it aside. I have seen the TV slow, the book is worth it.

Such and Amazing Saga

It's a little slow going, but boy once it gets going!!! I loved it. This is an incredible romance story, but also includes some amazing historical details, huge villains, and nail biting suspense.

the love growing between Jamie & Clair

I love all of the Outlander series. I watched every episode multiples times and liistened to each book seversl times. like everyone else I dont want it to end..

Nice Romance; a Little too BDSM

i have 4 things to say about this book:

1. the narration is excellent
2. the romance is...very romantic
3. the history is...fun
4. the "naughty" stuff is...(see below)

it's common for romance novels, especially ones that appeal to medieval European settings, to bring in sexually charged themes of bondage, whipping, and nonconsensual intercourse. this book goes rather SO far in that direction, though, that it distracts from the otherwise dignified plot.

Below is an abbreviated breakdown of the action, just to let you know just how kinky things get.

MH=Male Hero / MF=Female Heroine / MV=Main Villain / V=Villain

1) MV threatens to force himself onto FH
2) random V's threaten to force themselves onto FH
3) MV whips MH and forces himself onto MH's sister
4) 2 V's force themselves on FH in front of MH
5) MV forces himself on FH in front of MH
6) MH whips FH (gives her a "strapping")
7) MV tortures MH
8) MV forces himself on MH (!!!)
9) FH pretends to be MV in (non-psychologist approved) reenactment of #8 designed to "cure" him of his shame (?!)

and all of this in lurid detail, with a great deal of time spent recalling past whippings and beatings and tortures. not sure how all this made it past the editor, but...

at least now you're warned, and there is a good story and some good writing buried in there!

Don't tell anyone that I liked it...

I bought this audiobook because it was in the sci/fi fantasy category. The write up claims it has "a dash of time travel" - and that's all it has in the way of fantasy/time travel - a dash.

Time travel is used as a way to launch a HISTORICAL ROMANCE. And, ultimately, this is exactly what it is: a very detailed romance novel set in 18th century Scotland.

Keeping that in mind: it is VERY well done. The narration is terrific and the story engaging (though I did use the fast forward several times to get through the long descriptions of clan family lines, or details of the clothing/housing/etc of the time).

I don't like romances and I don't like historical fiction so I thought the two together would mean I had wasted my credit. Not so. Even though it's as far from my usual listening choices (sci/fi or cop/detective stuff) as it could be, the story flew by: I caught myself smiling at events in the story pretty regularly.

Assuming a starting point of 3 stars for an average story, I added one star for the narration (which brings the story to life) and a second star for making me smile in public. I took off a half star for requiring me to fast forward some of the descriptions = 4.5 star story. So I give it 5 stars because 4.5 is not possible. (I did buy the next book in the series too.)

Remember though, this is a romantic novel with some/lots of sex (though having made it through the sex scenes in Altered Carbon, this is pretty "romantic" sex) - so if you're looking for sci/fi or fantasy, you will be disappointed in this.

Otherwise... if you're not the romantic type but, like me, stumble onto this story by accident only to find that you like it - don't worry, we won't tell anyone...

An Unexpectedly Good Time

I never read the Gabaldon books when they first came out, both because I'm not a huge fan of the romance genre and because a quick turn-through of these books led me to the opinion that the writing was somewhat trite. I still think the writing is somewhat trite, and as a novelist Gabaldon does not rate 5 stars. However, as a storyteller and creator of interesting characters, she scores big-time with this one. When you pair that with an absolutely superlative narration by Davina Porter, a pot-boiler becomes great entertainment. I probably wouldn't have even tried this download without the impetus of (1) Audible putting it "on sale" for a brief time and (2) the information in the reviews posted here. Thanks to Audible and my fellow listeners for an unexpectedly good time!

What a most enjoyable mistake I made!

For some reason I thought I was downloading "Highlander" and when I started listening, I couldn't figure out why the story line was about a post-war nurse in the '40's. I persisted in my listening and quickly became totally immersed in Diana Gabaldon's delightful time-traveler story of Clair -- and what an absolutely mesmerizing story it turned out to be! The reader was extremely skillful with all of her accents, switching from female to male characters, old and young...I fully expected to wake one morning with a deep Scottish brogue myself! It was a wonderful story that adeptly swooped me away from my mundane, everyday routine of work and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! I hated to see the story end (even after 33+ hours!) An abundantly superb read!

absolutely a MUST

Okay, there must be truly something wrong with me. I originally downloaded this book as I thought it would be an easy read to listen to on long drives. But I quickly became so immersed, so wrapped up in the vivid characters, the story line, the intensely realistic view of life in the 1700's, that I found myself thinking about this book and its characters all the time. I consider myself a sophisticated reader and am also a pro writer and NOT a fan of romance novels. But the grit, passion and compelling personalities and story carried me away. I then listened to the other unabridged books in the series -- and also tried out the abridged ones (PLEASE give us the complete UNABRIDGED series!! The abridged ones, 6 hours of a 40 hour unabridged version is like cheap cliff notes!!), then bought the books that were lacking in the Audible series. NOW I find myself, having very recently finished all the books and with brief spurts of listening to other titles in the meantime, immediately plunging back into Outlander! I am nearing the close and will re-read or listen to the whole series again. I said there was something wrong with me :-) I can not recommend this book and the series highly enough. You will not be able to put it down AND, if you are like me, once you finish the hours and hours of listening or reading, you will just want to pick it up and start again. I listen, chuckling out loud, sucking in my breath with Jamie and Claire's perils and with tears running down my face confronted by their pain and the intensity of their passion and devotion. Can you understand why I give this five stars? Would there be more...more books, more stars, more UNABRIDGED books in the series on Audible...

Outlander

Excellent writing...the rich detail pulls the reader right in...and the reader, Davina Porter, has an amazing range of voices. I am so glad my introduction to Gabaldon was through audible.

What a Great Book

STORY - There is no doubt that Outlander is very long, but it's interesting and exciting the entire time. There is adventure, danger, love and vivid glimpses of life in 1700's Scotland. I usually do not enjoy stories in this primitive and brutal time period, but this one was wonderful.

Possibly due to the length of the book, I became more involved with the characters than usual. This made their pain and emotions more realistic and their story more enjoyable. (And Claire is my new favorite heroine -- she is so smart and brave!)

This is the first book in a very long series and I will absolutely hear all of them, but surprisingly this story can stand alone. Things pretty much come to a conclusion, but you will still probably proceed quickly to the next in the series!

NARRATOR - The narrator is amazing. English and Scottish accents, male voices, female voices - all excellent. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.

OVERALL - I think everyone will love this book. It is DEFINITELY worth a credit and your time.