Voyager

Outlander, Book 3

By: Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 43 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Diana Gabaldon's magnificent historical saga, begun with Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, continues with this New York Times best seller. Set in the intriguing Scotland of 200 years ago, the third installment in the romantic adventures of Jamie and Claire is as compelling as the first. Now that Claire knows Jamie survived the slaughter at Culloden, she is faced with the most difficult decision of her life. She aches to travel back through time again to find the love of her life, but, in order to do that, she must leave their daughter behind. It has been 20 years since she and Jamie were forced to separate. Can she risk everything, maybe even her life, on a gamble that their love has withstood the long, rigorous test of time?

Diana Gabaldon's powerful, witty, and heroic characters lend themselves well to the rich, melodic narration accorded them by Davina Porter. Under her spell, listeners find themselves transported back through time to exciting, faraway places alive with people they would enjoy knowing.

©1993 Diana Gabaldon (P)1998 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Triumphant....Her use of historical detail and truly adult love story confirm Gabaldon as a superior writer." (Publishers Weekly)

So good...I just love this series

STORY (historical fiction) - Voyager is Book 3 in the massive Outlander series (yes, the basis of the TV series). It's the story of Claire, a nurse in the 1960's, who passes through a magical stone and emerges in Scotland in 1743. It is NOT sci-fi. It is wonderful historical fiction, which is generally not one of my favorite genres. I'm surprised at how fascinating it is to hear details of everyday life from that period and the violent political climate between England and the Scottish highlanders. There is something for everyone in this book, including a wonderful love story.

PERFORMANCE - Lovely. That's the word that comes to mind. Davina Porter has a beautiful voice and a melodic presentation. I absolutely love it when a narrator can present decent-sounding characters of both sexes without one or the other sounding weird. Her performance is absolute perfection.

OVERALL - There are numerous sex scenes in the book, but they're not overly explicit and they only last a minute or two. There is a moderate amount of cursing and violence. This series is wonderful, but consider the time investment. There are, I believe, eight books in the series, and they're all around 40 hours long. So far I don't regret a single minute of listening and absolutely plan to continue the series till the end. You should listen to the books in order, as each one picks up from the end of the last one, but each ends satisfactorily as opposed to a cliffhanger ending. Highly recommended for adults, particularly females because of the romantic element.

Voyager - be warned repetitive, repetitive...

Well, I have enjoyed all three installments as to this point. However, Ms. Gabaldon, does take the name of the Lord in vain, continuously and it does get old. Also she continuously says: He licked his dry lips. l said dryly... He said wryly .... really ??? The English language doesn't have any other adjectives? I emailed her about this, and would be surprised if I would get an answer. Yes, the series is addictive, but I am tired of superman Jamie, yet, Claire can't get him any 1940's help and advice, really??????? Really.. wouldn't we want to help the way and the art of thinking we have learned 200 years later than people from the past... Folks not all that realistic... English is well written, but story becomes repetitive and boring. Narrator: YES, she does make the story. This is why I gave it 4 stars. PLEASE stop licking dry lips and use any one else other than our precious Lord's name in vain.

Time travel love story

If you could sum up Voyager in three words, what would they be?

True love survives

What did you like best about this story?

The whole story, the time travel, the twist with the "bad" guy in the past is related to her husband in the present. Great story. I loved it and have already started book two.

Who was the most memorable character of Voyager and why?

Jamie is amazing. A man's man. He is strong, kind, gentle and just awesome.

A little slow sometimes

This book was great but a little slow in spots. Just push through because it gets better!

Voyager is Terrific!

What did you love best about Voyager?

I love the descriptions of how Jamie & Claire feel about each other and the readings by Davina Porter brings it to life. I read the book and then listened to it and liked it better.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Claire with Jamie a close 2nd. She is so strong and fearless...follows her warrior lover through the stones to get back to him. Over 20 years and still she yearns....then after her daughter is safe, she returns to Jamie and the life she is meant to live. Marvelous character building by Gabaldon.

Which scene was your favorite?

I can't pick out just one scene. The scene between Lord John & Jamie in the stable is moving; the description of Jamie making love to Claire is amazing; the moment in the cave when Claire kills Gillie is also good. I think everything about the Gabaldon books is beyond being able to single out just one scene.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. I just wanted to listen to it constantly and thought about it when I wasn't listening to it. I had the same reaction when reading the book. This is true of all of her books. The scenes just stick in your mind and stay with you. I keep figuring how old Jamie & Claire are and hope that they can live forever. Or, at least that Diana can slow down the passage of time so that they appear to live forever. I can't imagine not having a next book....

Any additional comments?

I recommend all of these books as well as the Lord John series. I've read them all, too. Now I'm just collecting the audible versions of each of the Outlander Series. I have the hard copy of them as well as the Lord John.

Surprised, and very glad

I wasn’t sure the story was going to engage me, but was surprised in spite of few awkward segments how much I wanted to keep listening. I listen in my car primarily, and look forward to my commute now, in fact drive slower and never rush yellow lights so I can listen to more of the story. Davina Porter seems to have been born to deliver the audio version of this story. Her delivery, intonations, and accent changes for each of the characters is uncanny. I’m on book 4 now and downloaded 5 and 6, hear, unheard. Great story, top notch delivery and thankfully lots of content.

Excellent Read!

This whole series is well worth reading. I've read them all in book form and am finding that the audible form is just a good, if not better! Davina Porter really makes the characters live, I can't imagine anyone else narrating them.

Love it

3rd in a series with the other two worth the listen to get to this one. The author does an excellent job of putting all the pieces of the story together. ONLY listen to the unabriged versions!

Took me longer than first two

I had to go back to this book. They lost me when they were crossing the ocean. I started reading this series before the television series came out. I’m now watching season three and realized I wanted to go back to the books. I am glad I did. I made it past the ocean.

My Favorite Outlander Book.... So Far

I am a huge Outlander fan and I absolutely loved the story of Voyager. The performance of Davina Porter is amazing as she is for all the books. So much happens in the book, it takes a long time to get through it all (almost 44 hours!) but none of that time is wasted because there is constant action and excitement. This book also has some of my favorite sexy scenes between Claire and Jamie. I could listen to this book again and again.