Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Okay Outlander Fans.  Have you picked it up yet?  The newest offering from Diana Gabaldon has arrived in the form of The Scottish Prisoner.  Feast your eyes on this here book.

Yeah, I’d rather feast my eyes on Jaime Fraser himself, but since I don’t have him handy (and believe me, I’ve looked), the next best thing is this here novel.

Just to be clear, this is a Lord John novel, which is not to be confused with the Outlander series.  While related, in humble opinion, they are definitely not the same.  I must admit that I have never read a Lord John novel. It’s not for lack of trying, mind you. It just didn’t have the same lure for me as the Outlander tomes.  Nevertheless, I have purchased every single one of the Lord John novels just in case I get the hankering to read them.  So you can’t get too upset at me, Lord John fans.  I only do this because I’m a sucker for that super-awesome character, Jaime Fraser.

I suppose I should also admit that I haven’t read the last Outlander novel, An Echo In the Bone.  <Outlander fans will now gasp in unbelief.>  Before you stone me, I feel like I have some good reasons.

First, there was such a long gap between An Echo In the Bone and A Breath of Snow and Ashes that I had forgotten who some of the characters were.  This became clear to me within the first few chapters.  Unreasonably or not, I felt jipped.  I had been waiting so long for the book and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out who various individuals were.  That was definitely frustrating, which affected my enjoyment of the book.  So rather than plowing through with this puzzled feeling, I put the book down.

Second, I couldn’t bear the thought of finishing Echo In the Bone and then waiting 2-3 years for the next installment.  Why I’d be in the same boat– figuring who was who again.

I read somewhere that Ms. Gabaldon was working on Volume 2 of the Outlandish Companion.  When that gets published, it will help my plight, but until then, I only have my flawed memory to rely on.

I may decide to wait until the next Outlander novel comes out before I read An Echo In the Bone.  That way I can immerse myself in approximately 2000 pages (oooo, the thought thrills me) of Jaime Fraser (and Claire, too).

But I’ll probably read the Scottish Prisoner now (e.g. my to be read list.) Allow me a small rant at this point.  Barnes and Nobles was selling it for $28, and if you are member, you can purchase for $25.20.  I nearly choked!  When Borders was still in business, newly released books could be bought for around 20-30% off the cover price. The deals were even better if you were a member.  Now that Borders is gone, the lack of competition leaves much to be desired.

And yes, I still consider myself a loyal fan, thank you very much.

Happy reading!

~ Literary Tiger