Scan barcode
A review by finding_novel_land
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Goodness this is a tome and a half!
And unfortunately I think this is the book's downfall. For something that was an overall enjoyable read, its length and speed really let it down. There were some sections that were completely unnecessary and it's complexity made it hard to follow in places - I still couldn't tell you what Jamie was falsely accused of! This took me four months to read, and it was only my 2022 reading goal of 52 books that pushed it over the finishing line; it just wasn't something I actively wanted to pick up.
That aside, as a fan of the show I'm really pleased I finally read this. As all the books are a similar length the aim was never to read the whole series, so its issues aren't too much of a disappointment. Once I sat down and got into it, I really enjoyed reading it (well apart from the last section which was just disturbing) and, despite my complaints, the level of complexity means I would find it hard to cut it down to a more easy-to-handle length, as 9 times out of ten the text was contributing to the overall plot.
And unfortunately I think this is the book's downfall. For something that was an overall enjoyable read, its length and speed really let it down. There were some sections that were completely unnecessary and it's complexity made it hard to follow in places - I still couldn't tell you what Jamie was falsely accused of! This took me four months to read, and it was only my 2022 reading goal of 52 books that pushed it over the finishing line; it just wasn't something I actively wanted to pick up.
That aside, as a fan of the show I'm really pleased I finally read this. As all the books are a similar length the aim was never to read the whole series, so its issues aren't too much of a disappointment. Once I sat down and got into it, I really enjoyed reading it (well apart from the last section which was just disturbing) and, despite my complaints, the level of complexity means I would find it hard to cut it down to a more easy-to-handle length, as 9 times out of ten the text was contributing to the overall plot.