Written in My Own Heart's Blood: Outlander, Book 8

The long anticipated book 8 of this epic did not disappoint. Its been a long time since I read her last and I have to say I missed her flowing prose and description. First the plot: in this book she opens and many plot lines as she closes down. One thing I am very satisfied with is her ability to eventually get around to bringing clarity and closure to early open questions. For example, she closes a question raised in book three -- this kind of attention to detail is commendable in a writer and Gabaldon certainly demonstrates her mastery in this work.

She introduces more characters and lines in this book than I though necessary and I would have liked a little more focus on Roger and Brie and Jamie and Claire shifting some of the attention from Lord John and William -- after all they have their own series. That being said, she still crafts characters that I love and she does it with such grace and art. Got to love Jenny and Rachel and Ean and Dottie. The dialog of plain English was exceptionally well done.

This book is something to be savored, I though Galbaldon showed more of the human side to Jamie and Claire (certainly how they are ageing) and I very much like they way she did. I've read some criticism about her history and timelines and only say to those critics it is historic romantic F-I-C-T-I-O-N and a great one at that.

Must listen to book eight. Must listen to the series. Her blog says she hasn't started on book 9 and hints that book 9 might be the last. It will be torture to wait another two years but it will be worth the wait. Davina Porter rocks it out of the park -- who else can do Claire?

Love the ending -- that all I'll say! Please listen to this series.

Once again, Diana Gabaldon proves to be one of our centuries timeless and great writers. Staving in with one of the most beautifully written prologues, she relentlessly pulls at the heartstrings of those who have been painfully waiting, wanting, and sorely longing to adventure again with Claire and Jamie.
Davina Porter's performance is golden. She perpetually amazes me with her astounding skill at all the accents of so many characters. I tend to completely forget that there is just her solo voice.
A hundred-thousand thank yous to the both of you for creating/performing such a classic and beautiful work of fine literature/recording. I cherish them all!

Well, how can you not love DG's ability to whisk you away totally & completely into the world of our favorite couple, Jamie & Claire Fraser? Like her other devoted fans, I waited anxiously for WIMOHB for years & was not disappointed....totally. That is to say that I was just the tiniest bit let down with a few smallish things. First of all I think DG crammed a little too much into this book, one reason I wonder if this might be the end. The last quarter of this tome seemed to contain every scenario she'd ever considered, giving it just a bit of a rushed feel, which I'd never felt in the previous installments. We've all read books where we could definitely tell where the writer got tired & started skimping on details & jumping long periods of time with less description. I kinda, sorta felt that during the last chapters of WIMOHB.

SPOILER:

The abrupt absence of the Brianna/Roger Mac story line bothered me a bit too. After 5,6 chapter without any mention of them, or Jem I began wondering where they were & what had happened to them. When all was said & done it was obvious that this was deliberately done to offer the faithful reader the big ending, the "Cheer, cheer, the gang's all here," moment. It was great to end with all the family together on Fraser's Ridge, But it caused me to break out in chills, because it had the feeling of a happily ever after 'The End'. I know, she claims this isn't the last one, but it could end this way, couldn't it? After all, if it keeps going, one of our beloved couple will in all likelihood die & who could bear that? I hope I'm wrong. I apologize for the pickiness of my complaints. There was nothing awful about the book, just a bit of long-time fan criticism. That said, I'd read it again, as I have the other 7. This series remains my #1, all-time favorite.

It's taken be 5 days (and nights) to finish this 44 hour book-and one might think that after 44 hours, I wouldn't need to say, at the end of the book, "NO..It can't be over YET!". But thats exactly what I did say!. then I rolled back to the first 6 hour 'episode' and started over again. With any of the 8 Diana Gabaldon novels in this series listening (or reading) over is the name of the game! Prior to my joining Audible, I'd start re-reading from book 1 about 2 months prior to a new book release so I can have the whole story, the many many characters remembered, the historical fiction bits looked up on Wikipedia (another great addition to life) and my 20+ year old flow chart out so I can connect all the strings once more.

I love accurate Historical Fiction and Gabaldon does her best to be as accurate as her novelists license allows her to be. Her research is immaculate and spot on and you aren't going to find a battle taking place at some strange site when it actually took place elsewhere..Yahoo for this kind of writing.

I know that the next book is the last one..or D.G. says it is at least... and I know it will be another 5+ years before it's out but honestly ***I Want It Now***. For every story arc that was cleared up, a new one was begun until the last and final paragraph when yet another exciting and unexpected incident occurs at Frazer's Ridge and my mind went crazy with "What??" I absolutely can't fill anyone in on what goes on, suspense is the name here, but it's a true thriller.

If you've followed Outlander's Jamie and Claire for 20+ years as I have, and as my daughter has-(she started reading them in High School and is as hooked as I am) then this is yet another novel you'll have to have. Now I've got to go get a hard copy so I can have it autographed when she comes to Portland next month.

And, Don't forget the Outlander Book 1 series on Starz coming up in a couple of months!

Diana Gabaldons writing is as always beautiful and Davinia Porter Brings the characters to breathtaking life.

I love them all but I have to say I really did enjoy William in this book.

She gives each character their own voice it's impossible to pick a favorite,

I wish I could have, but its 44 hours long.

You really need to read or listen to all of the Outlander novels in order to appreciate the scope of the story. If you haven't read them yet, do it. You wont regret it.

Davina Porter is truly amazing. I don't hear a woman trying to sound like a man or a kid, I hear the people she is portraying when she reads a story! What a unique skill, and I really appreciate it.
The Outlander series of books are at the top of my list of favorite books!
I cried, I almost cried, I laughed, and there were times that the events stressed me out to the point I needed to take a break. Diana Gabaldon knows well how to manipulate emotion! We fall in love with the characters then we root for them. Written in My Own Heart's Blood is the same. Echo in the Bone ended with so many cliff hangers, it's nice to have some answers!
As I said in the title, I didn't want it to end.

I gotta say that I'm a little disappointed with this one. I've loved them all, but this one felt forced. I'm sure Diana is under a lot of pressure to continue this wonderful series, but I think she's burnt out. Of course, if you've read the other seven books then you must get this one, but it may fall a little short of expectations.

I tried to stretch out listening to make the book last longer. I could not put it down. Every step of the way it had me. I was glued to it and could think of nothing else. Diana G and Davina P are a kick ass combination. I've read nothing that can compare to this series. All I can say is it better not be finished,

If a person has made it this far in the Outlander series, this being book #8, then that person is evidently hooked on the series, which I am. Diana Gabaldon has created an amazing series that after all these pages, these hours of listening or reading. You feel like you know the characters and you like them. And, Davina Porter as the narrator is awesome. To me, Davina is Clare Frazier and she brings the stories to life. There have been a lot of memorable characters in this series and in this book she seemed to bring a good number of them back into the story, both good and bad people. She does a good job of giving you a bit of a memory jolt in refreshing you on characters and incidents. It makes me wonder if I would ever want to listen to the complete series again from the start? I think not, at least at this ime, but you never know I guess. For some reason I thought book #7 was the last in the series but with this book there is no doubt the series isn't at an end. Can't wait for the next one and I really, really liked the way she ended this book.

Ooooh, what can I say about this epic saga? Is it over? It could be. I would be alright with the way it ended. A few lingering questions, but overall, satisfying.

It is difficult to rate just this one book, really, as the lives of the many complex characters have ebbed and flowed over the course of all 8 novels. However, I will surely report to any fan that has not read this one yet, that I was not disappointed.

As I always like to mention (when worthy), Davina Porter, the narrator of the series in audio is vying for 1st place in my heart along with Jim Dale. Distinguishing and consistently performing such a huge cast of characters in different and memorable voices is a rare talent. Seriously, I have listened to hundreds of audiobooks and only few narrators stand out as having this unique and rare ability. Bravo! Standing O and all that.