• Outlander

  • Outlander, Book 1
  • By: Diana Gabaldon
  • Narrated by: Davina Porter
  • Length: 32 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (78,198 ratings)

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Outlander  By  cover art

Outlander

By: Diana Gabaldon
Narrated by: Davina Porter
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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)

Featured Article: Jamie Fraser—An Outlander Character Guide


To understand what makes listeners love Outlander, you have to understand the characters. So, here is your guide to Jamie Fraser, the romantic lead and one of the major driving forces behind the Outlander series. At the heart of the story is the romance between Jamie and Claire, two people who ultimately would not let time or distance—even hundreds of years—keep them apart. He is fiercely loyal and will protect his family and loved ones at all costs.

What listeners say about Outlander

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59,878
  • 4 Stars
    10,569
  • 3 Stars
    4,106
  • 2 Stars
    1,974
  • 1 Stars
    1,672
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55,326
  • 4 Stars
    7,452
  • 3 Stars
    2,230
  • 2 Stars
    672
  • 1 Stars
    673
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51,232
  • 4 Stars
    8,432
  • 3 Stars
    3,360
  • 2 Stars
    1,629
  • 1 Stars
    1,425

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • DE
  • 05-19-23

I cannae finish it, lass.

I got halfway through. After 15 hours of listening, I think I can render an opinion.

The protagonist is a mature, modern woman who cannot logically connect two thoughts together, lacks any semblance of emotional self awareness, and is predictably and repeatedly her own worst enemy. In short, she’s a stereotype: emotionally driven, volatile, and irrational.

The villain is a closeted homosexual who uses sexual predation on women to conceal his “indecent lust”. (Quoted words are from the book.)

The hero/love interest is a strong, tough, manly, virile, self-possessed, stern, gentle, loving, manly Scottish man whose only fault is that he doesn’t verbalize his emotions. Needless to say, his failure to verbally validate the protagonist upsets her, so she puts him through the physical and emotional wringer. Again. And again. And again.

There is a story in here, and I was kind of hoping I could finish it, but I can’t. The prolonged and repeated sex scenes, interspersed with episodes of sexual threat to the protagonist, coupled with the inability of the protagonist to use available resources to achieve her objectives, makes for an exceedingly long slog.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best love stories of all time

This is probably my 5th time reading this book as it is such a lovely story of love, hardships, and working through life together. I love her description of what it feels like to be pregnant. Makes me cry at how beautiful it is every time. Such a wonderful gift we have as women.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not sure about this one

Spoilers in this review.
I realize this is an immensely popular story. However, I am about halfway through and waiting on the story to develop. She is stuck in the past and there's a lot of soft porn. Lots, to the point of boredom. There is a bit of a story line around the main character and I keep waiting for more to develop outside of her sex life. Perhaps the story would move more if the it was shorter?
Got this on Plus catalog so will just remove from library. Not worth the rest of the time to listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love it

I have read and listened to all the Outlander books several times and every time I enjoy them more and more

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Love love love

This book was absolutely captivating. I enjoyed every syllable. I love hearing the pronunciation in a bit of history. The story will resonate with me for years.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely loved it!

I couldn’t get enough! I can’t wait to read the next!! The narration was perfect and the story was beautiful.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding on every level!

This was a completely captivating listen and I recommend it most highly, especially if you seek an exhilarating tale with skillful narration. Escapism at its very best!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Off to a great start.

Absolutely a wonderful story. Can't wait to start the next book in the series. I know I'm doing this backwards by reading the books after I've watched all the seasons of the show. But I've had the books and decided I wanted to read them to see what parts they were leaving out or changing for the show. And how much more I could learn about the characters through the books. This one is almost exactly the same. I won't spoil it for you though. If you want to know what's different you must read it yourself.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story AMAZING performance!

I really have enjoyed this story and the evolution of the characters. However, what makes it for me is the voice actor and I say this rather than narrator because they have such amazing range and accents and give life to the characters. Wonderful performance! I think any thing less than this will be so disappointing from now on this has really set the bar high!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the show!

Way better than the show. Book 1 aligns to season 1 but there are so many more details and journeys than they could fit in the show. I imagine parts would have been hard to read with the Gaelic & Gaelic/English Hybrid

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