A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Outlander, Book 6

By: Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 57 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A worldwide sensation with more than 12 million copies in print, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series has produced #1 best-selling novels and earned a fiercely devoted fan base. Another spellbinding entry in the series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the saga of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century, time-traveling wife, Claire. The year is 1772, and the rift between Britain and its American colonies has put a frightening word into the minds of all concerned: revolution. In the backwoods of North Carolina, violence has already reared its ugly head, as cabins have been burned to the ground. To preserve the colony for King George III, the governor pleads with Jamie to bring the people together and restore peace. But Jamie has the privilege, although some might call it a burden, of knowing that war cannot be avoided. Claire has told him that the colonies will unite and rebel, and the result will be independence, with all British loyalists either dead or exiled. And there is an additional problem. Claire has discovered a newspaper clipping from 1776 that tells of Jamie’s death. With its epic scope, historical details, and sweeping romance, A Breath of Snow and Ashes is everything Gabaldon’s fans love and more.

©2005 Diana Gabaldon (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"[A]n enthralling experience." ( Booklist)

Unabridged!

Fortunately the author and her agent have negotiated a change in her copyright contract to allow the sale of the unabridged version. Part of the agreement is that the abridged must remain available but that hopefully won't tempt anyone with a modest amount of good sense. After all how can you modify a book so large into such a small recording? (not without mangling it bad) The author is well known to dislike the abridged versions of her novels and is anxious that the remaining one, The Fiery Cross, be available in unabridged form around Nov. of 2011. As always I recommend reading the novels in order to get full benefit of the story of Claire and Jamie: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and Echo in the Bone. Each is technically self standing but each builds on its predecessors and you will be very happy to discover older characters and evens. So if you haven't read any of the Outlander series yet do start with the first, Outlander. You'll be glad you did. A Breath of Snow and Ashes is worth waiting for anyway. :)

Another terrific listen.

Davina Porter's narration is perfect -- again. She is the voice of Claire for me. When I read the words, I hear Davina Porter. Plus, she handles all the other characters incredibly well, with a superb ability to set them apart and to hold their distinctions from beginning to end and from book to book.


Once again, I'm at the end of 57 hours of listening and would be just fine if there were more. I marvel at Diana Gabaldon's ability to write with quality and in quantity. If you're a fan, this is one of the most terrific books in the series. If you've not become a fan yet, start at the beginning. The characters are complex and getting the full measure of their lives is one of the most splendid things about this series.

This is my favorite so far and I loved all!

I'm thrilled that Audible got the rights to the unabridged version of this, I hope the other will follow soon. Davina Porter is perfect in her narration. She pronounces the words perfectly, and carries the voice changes beautifully. It is a very long book I believe 57 hours, however it flew by because it was written and narrated perfectly. Thanks Audible.

The Fraser family is addictive

I loved this book. I was so happy when Briana and Roger went through the stones to re-unite with Claire and Jamie. What a wonderful family saga. I have to say that Davina Porter does an incredible job reading these books. She brings them alive for me and how she manages to do all the accents and voices I don't know. I only know she does and it's wonderful. I'm reading Echo in the Bone and am sad that temporarily, until Ms. Gabaldon comes out with another book, I will be Fraser-less and MacKenzie-less. Something to look forward to.

Yet another fantastic addition to this series

I love this series of books. I love this narrator. I love that all the books in the series are now available on Audible (there were two in the middle that previously weren't). The Outlander series is what Audible is all about.

The series is the story of a woman who accidentally travels 200 years back in time and meets the love of her life. Whenever I explain this premise to people I get raised eyebrows, but the truth is that the books are more historical fiction than sci fi/fantasy. I read an interview with the author once in which she said she set out to write historical fiction, but just couldn't get into the mindset of an 18th century woman so devised the time travel in order to place a modern woman in the period she wanted to write about. That decision made the books even more interesting. All of the main characters are relatable and fleshed-out. The history is meticulously researched. The conversations, love stories, intrigue, etc feel organic. The descriptions of Scotland - both modern and historical - are amazing and make me love the country even though I've never been. I really have almost no criticisms of the writing.

Meanwhile, Davina Porter is one of the best narrators I've encountered in an audiobook. (Thank you, thank you to the narrator and audiobook producers or whoever arranged for the same narrator to read the whole series so far.) She manages to have a completely different voice for each main character and to my untrained ear moves effortlessly from one accent to another as the story dictates. Her American accent is not perfect, but it's still very good. She has a great cadence, sounds like she's read the book 100 times prior to narrating, and never stumbles over what must be incredibly difficult Gaelic words... (in fact, a friend of mine who is reading the whole series on paper calls me occasionally to have me pronounce the Gaelic words for her).

Clearly, these are some of my favorite all time audiobooks. Despite their length, I'm on my third time through the series. Speaking of length, all the books in the series are pretty long, but still only one credit so if you have an Audible subscription, they are great deals. In short, buy the books, you won't regret it.

It's about time!

A great read to be sure! I read this when it was first released. And I was so disappointed when I found it was not offered as unabridged. Davina Porter's voice has certainly become Clair's so no other will suffice. When I saw that it is now available it took me about 5 seconds to click the download button. It's so easy to slip back to the 17th century when listening.

great story bad download

the broken up download was awful. please don't do that again. it was annoying for listeners

Great stories.

I have a long commute and I really enjoy Diana Gabaldon's books. They are long, but the stories are so detailed I get lost in them. Davina Porter is a superb narrator. One forgets it is just one person acting out all of the characters. Very enjoyable!

Excellent -

This is an exceptional series. It is remarkable that Diana Gabaldon has maintained the writing quality in each book, not to mention throughout the series. While the last book was a minor step-down (a 4 v. 5), this one rebounds to the amazing level of prior books. Excellent book, excellent performance ~ !

Uh...Mazing

This might be my favorite yet! One twist after another! I couldn't stop. It was worth the wait.

Finally!!!!

Yesyesyes!! Finally the last book ofthe voyager series with Davina Porters beautiful voice.

Thank you Audible! Its been worthwhile waiting.

At last

It's been a long wait for audible uk to release this. Having listened to and loved the first five of the outlander series I did not want to listen to this in an abridged version with another reader. Davina Porter is the voice of the Frasers. Now I can complete the series, I'm very happy, thank you.

multiple parts makes continuity choppy

all the other books were one part but this one is in seven parts intro and ending after each part not good

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

I have really enjoyed every book in this series... Diane Gabaldon is a very gifted writer and the brilliant narration of Davina Porter brings every story to life.

Outlander series will get you hooked

Don't start this series unless you are prepared to spend a lot of hours listening.It is compulsive and very difficult to put down.
The only complaint I have is that it is too racy to listen to when I am driving as I can't keep my attention on the road!

Another great audible book

Another great performance by Davina Porter. She is fantastic with the different accents and is able to convey all the emotions in the book. I probably enjoyed The Fiery Cross slightly more than this book but I still couldn’t put this one down and love the vivid descriptions written Gabaldon. I am very keen to now move onto the next book in the series.

Amazing

Loved it and really think the narrator is the best there is. Absolutely fantastic from start to finish.

Completely Enthralling

This is the way history should be taught, the story line is strong and made me feel a part of the family. I couldn't find enough time to listen so I went without sleep to do so. What a story ... Wonderful!!

Great narrator

This person reading is awesome. Made the book tolerable. Book is so long and a lot of meaningless dialogue. But I will finish this series lol

brilliant from start to finish

I absolutely love this book, couldn't stop listening, now on to the next one in the series