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November
2001's
Author of the Month
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Diana
Gabaldon
(Chosen by reviewer, Beverly J. Rowe) |
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I chose Diana Gabaldon as author of the month for November because she is such a great storyteller. Her first novel, Outlander, was a great success, with each succeeding novel gaining momentum in the publishing world. Her fifth novel in the Outlander Series, The Fiery Cross, will be published this month, and I just can't wait to get my hands on it.
Beverly Rowe
Diana was born in 1952 and grew up in Arizona. She has degrees in zoology,
and marine biology, with a Ph.D in behavioral ecology. After spending 12 years
as a scientist and university professor, she started a novel to see just what
it might ta ke to be a writer, and to see if this was what she really wanted
to do. Many scientists do not have the imagination and flair for storytelling:
Diana is the exception. She began posting excerpts with her writing group on
Compuserv, who encou raged her to find an agent. She did, and the rest is history...Scottish
history, to be more exact. Her novels cover a number of historical periods and
events requiring a great deal of research...and her rendition of history is
accurate.
Her books have been classified as romance, as fantasy, and as historical novels. They are all of those combined; not easy to classify.
Her critics say that she shows too much anger toward men in general, and Jamie in particular, that her plots are patch-worked, and how could a woman be in love with, (and married to) two different men in two different centuries, anyway? Maybe so, but for me, her novels are engrossing, can't put-down, stay-up-all-night books...and I am in love with that great, red haired Jamie Fraser...lead me to the stone circle.
Diana is branching out into the genre of contemporary mysteries with her upcoming book, White Knight, which will be published in 2002.
| Diana Gabaldon Home Page |
| All Things Outlandish |
| Bookworm's Lair - Diana Gabaldon |
| James Thin - Diana Gabaldon Page (the UK version) |
| Great new contest: Diana Gabaldon Outlander challenge |
| Chapter Excerpt from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon |
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Outlander
Series
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Outlander
- 1991 (Cross Stitch in UK)
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Dragonfly
in Amber - 1992
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Voyager
- 1994
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Drums
of Autumn - 1997
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The
Fiery Cross - 2001
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Sons
of Liberty - (planned 6th installment of Outlander series)
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Nonfiction
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The
Outlandish Companion - 1999 (Through the Stones in UK)
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Mystery
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White Knight - 2002 (Contemporary mystery) |
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Collaborative
mystery novel: (chapter eleven by Gabaldon)
Naked Came the Phoenix - 2001 |
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Short
Stories published in these anthologies:
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Mothers
and Daughters - 1999 ("Dream a Little Dream for Me"
with her daughter, Laura Watkins)
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Mothers
and Sons - 2000 ("Mirror Image" with her son, Samuel
Watkins)
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Out
of Avalon - 2001 ("The Castellan" with her son,
Samuel Watkins)
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Fathers
and Daughters ("A Stillness at the Heart")
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Novella published as an e-book: |
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Hellfire
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| (No longer available in English, but here is the link to a previously published excerpt from Hellfire) |
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte - 1991
ISBN: 0385302304 - Hardcover
Romance / Fantasy
Explicit Content
Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.com
Buy
a Copy
Gabaldon gives readers adventure, passion and love on a grand scale in this
historical novel set at the end of the first World War. Combat nurse Claire
Randall and her husband are enjoying a second honeymoon in Scotland while
he researches his ancestors. She inadvertently steps between two halves of
a split stone in a stone circle, and magical forces sweep her two hundred
years into the past. At first she thinks the battle before her is a movie
set, but it soon becomes apparent that the warriors aren't play-acting. She
is taken to the Castle Leoch with the MacKenzie clan. She is a "Sassenach,"
or outlander, a British woman suspected of witchcraft. Then her nursing skills
gain her respect when she applies these skills to the wounded red-haired Scottish
warrior, Jamie Fraser.
Gabaldon's characters are unforgettable and her history is accurate. Writing
this book required some serious research. The traditions and ways of life
in the Scottish highlands of the 1700s are convincingly rendered with energy
and excitement. Claire and Jamie are caught up in the war-torn struggles of
the times and face many life-threatening situations. Claire struggles with
loyalty to her husband in another century and her desire for another man.
Finally, when faced with a possible death sentence, she marries Jamie Fraser.
There were some scenes in which I was upset with the characters and wanted
them to behave differently than the author dictated...still, I couldn't put
the book down, and did not hold a grudge against the author for not doing
it my way. It was a very satisfying read ending with an unexpected but satisfying
conclusion. I can't wait for the next book by Diana Gabaldon.
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte - August 1992
ISBN: 0385302312 - Hardcover
Romance / Fantasy
Explicit Content
Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.com
Buy
a Copy
This second book in the Outlander series begins in 1968 when Claire Beauchamp
Randall returns to Scotland. Her husband, Frank, is now dead, and her beautiful
red-haired daughter, Brianna, accompanies her as Claire plans to tell Brianna
the secrets of her birth. She also hopes to find out what happened to the
great love of her life, Jamie Fraser.
Claire again chances a trip back in time to 18th century Scotland. Claire
and Jamie flee to France, to the court of Charles Stuart and an ongoing, volatile
feud with "Black Jack Randall." (Ancestor to Claire's 20th century
husband Frank Randall?) "Black Jack" is a real stinker, cruel and
vindictive.
Gabaldon's vivid imagination makes the battle of Culloden overwhelmingly,
devastatingly realistic. She is able to convincingly portray the customs,
fashions, laws and traditions of the times and the places where the story
takes place. The French court is an exciting place and the characters introduced
there will stay in readers' memories. Her historical facts are well researched.
She gives us yet another surprise ending. I wish it wasn't so long between
books; I am always anxious to read the next one.
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte - January 1994
ISBN: 0385302320 - Hardcover
Romance / Fantasy
Explicit Content
Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.com
Buy
a Copy
This third installment of the Outlander series tells us of Claire's reunion
with Frank Randall, her 20th century husband, and the birth of her daughter
Brianna, who is Jamie Fraser's daughter. Claire has raised her daughter and
become a doctor.
Claire discovers that Jamie Fraser survived the Battle of Culloden, and she
is driven to try to find the love of her life again. Risking death and the
possibility of never seeing her daughter again, she steps through the stones.
This time her reunion with Jamie takes them on a flight for their lives to
the West Indies and the American Colonies. The excitement escalates as they
are thrown from one adventure to another. There are smugglers and pirates,
voodoo and political intrigue. Gabaldon's remarkable imagination never seems
to run out of ideas to keep me up all night. I found myself chastising the
characters aloud when I thought they should have behaved differently. There
are twists and turns in the plot that keeps you guessing.
The time travel aspect of this series is fascinating, and there are hints
throughout that maybe some of the other characters have come from other times.
I wonder if I could find a magic Druid stone circle...and if I did find one,
would I dare to try it?
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte - January 1997
ISBN: 0385311400 - Hardcover
Romance / Fantasy
Explicit Content
Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.com
Buy
a Copy
This fourth book in the Outlander series is set in pre-Revolutionary War America.
The Frasers are faced with the choice of returning to Scotland, where there
is extreme poverty and famine, or making a life in the New World. Claire,
of course, knows that the Revolutionary War is about to start, and they both
know their daughter is safe in the future. They choose the American wilderness,
where they confront hardship, Indians and wild animals.
Brianna sees the future and is driven to try to warn Claire and Jamie in order
to avert the disaster she foresees. She steps through the stones and transcends
the time barrier. She's soon followed by Roger, the man who loves her and
who can't stay in the future without her.
The book is a wonderful mix of history, romance and heart-pounding adventure.
The Claire Randall Fraser/Jamie Fraser romance continues, but new characters
are introduced or old characters are given a larger share of the plot.
Brianna seems like a bit of a spoiled brat and could use some "fetching
up." Her 20th century ideas outrage her father. Gabaldon wrings every
bit of emotion out of her characters and her readers as Claire sees history
in the making and wants to change it.
After four very large volumes, I still can't get enough of this marvelous
series. What great entertainment!
| 2001's Honorary List | |||||