Intriguing. Very intriguing. 950 pages to make me read the next book. Ok, Gabaldon. You have me hooked. ( )

There were parts of this story that I liked, but for some reason I just could not get through this installment in the series. I quit about 80% of the way through the book.

A lot of the sections in France moved slowly. I think I also wasn't excited to read the end since I have watched the show.

As someone who has had a miscarriage, I appreciated Gabaldon's addressing of that topic.

I've watched the show through season 3, and although I know that the books are different, I think I'll probably just continue with that. Being pregnant again myself, I am feeling totally distracted and not up for continuing to tackle all of the huge books in this series right now.

One quote that I really liked:

"You cannot save the world, but you might save the man in front of you, if you work fast enough."

Reminded me that we don't have to be high-profile movers and shakers to make some kind of difference. ( )

I feel as though I have just finished an emotional roller coaster. From start with finding she's gone forward again to the story that led to her going forward. Knowing Jamie will perish and the hopeless feeling as I realized the time had come for it to happen. I enjoyed this book and am compelled to continue on to the third book. Very well written it dragged me in and kept me wanting more, while being emotionally invested in the characters and the journey they were going on. ( )

Epic - This is really the best word to describe the 2nd Outlander book. From Claire, Brianna, and Roger to the fields of Culloden and back again. This book requires attention and diligence. The first few times I started to read it I had to quit as I was too confused about Jacobites and King George and the Bonnie Prince and Louis of France. Thankfully watching the TV show helped put all the politics in order in my mind. At its heart it is still Claire and Jamie‘s epic love story. ( )

This one is even better than the first one. ( )

As the pandemic wears on and escaping into fiction continues to be a necessity, I ask myself: does a novel actually need to be good? Isn't it enough to provide distraction from reality, not enrage me in any specific way, and go on for as long as possible? I can't say that 'Dragonfly in Amber' was particularly great, but I certainly devoured all 963 pages with great enthusiasm. The writing is pleasantly undemanding and, having read [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529065012l/10964._SY75_.jpg|2489796], I knew what to expect: lots of violence, sex, emotion, and melodrama, plus some rape. Admittedly, there is less rape than in [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529065012l/10964._SY75_.jpg|2489796], but the consequences of the prior book's sexual assaults are still significant in the sequel. After wracking my brains for what the two novels reminded me of, I finally hit on it: Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series ([b:A Kiss of Shadows|139417|A Kiss of Shadows (Merry Gentry, #1)|Laurell K. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486707201l/139417._SY75_.jpg|3341459] and sequels). Admittedly the [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529065012l/10964._SY75_.jpg|2489796] novels are much less funny and the setting is very different, but the approach to sex, violence, and sexual violence is curiously similar. In both, there is a political plot transpiring, yet the majority of the book is taken up with sex, romance, violence, sexual violence, and many discussions about sex and the trauma of sexual assault. Constant objectification of handsome men and the protagonist's keen awareness of her own breasts are likewise common to both series.

This realisation also reminded me that I read both Outlander novels as fantasy. I can't really take them seriously as historical fiction, even when the magic and time travel aren't obtrusive. Possibly because I live in Scotland. They make sense as fantastical romantic/sex dramas, though. 'Dragonfly in Amber' had more contemplation of time travel consequences than [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529065012l/10964._SY75_.jpg|2489796], which I enjoyed despite it being crowded out by melodrama. There really are some soap opera-level twists. Admittedly, these are quite fun. Villainous rapist Jack Randall is not dead after all and has a saintly brother who looks exactly like him! So that makes three guys named Randall running around with exactly the same face; is someone cloning them? Then at the end: the man who has fallen in love with Claire's daughter in 1968 is related to the time-travelling witch who was burned at the stake in the previous book! Amid these shenanigans, which keep the pace up for more than 900 pages, there are also some genuinely moving scenes discussing trauma and grief.

When deciding between a rating of three or four stars, I went back to my initial question. 'Dragonfly in Amber' provided distraction from reality, did not enrage me in any specific way, and went on for a long time. However, I could say the very same for [b:Gravity's Rainbow|415|Gravity's Rainbow|Thomas Pynchon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414969925l/415._SY75_.jpg|866393]. On balance I enjoyed the two novels about the same amount, albeit in rather different ways, so three stars it is. I gather the quality of this series deteriorates subsequently, though, so doubt I'll read any more of them. Despite worrying what library deprivation and hermit life are doing to my taste, I do still have preferences. ( )

We join Claire in the difficult task of convincing her daughter of the truth of her parentage. With a side order of trying to save a life, only to realise it isn't her place to play god. Bonnie Prince, indeed! In her attempt to share the truth with Brianna, Claire recounts the uprising of 1745. Of course seeing is believing...

The pacing of this book is quite slow and of course it is very long. I strongly urge reading these books in the hardback format. it will seem to go by faster owing to the larger page size. ( )

I give up. I made it about 60% of the way through and Claire is just such a fucking twat and I’m not sorry for saying so. ( )

Wow!!! is all I have to say about this book. I was actually reading the first one and this one simultaneously and although I will never do it again due to the confusion. I must say it did make it a little bit easier for me understand more about the Jacobites. I there are some spoilers but nothing to reavealing as I know many people are still reading this book as we speak. If you thought the story of Jack Randal was over think again. That loser has Nine lives. I swear I thought we were done with him. Hopefully soon we will be. I am off to start "Voyager"

Historical Fiction

Quite good as a development of the story of Claire and Jaimie. Although in places this story doesn't sound very believable, it's fun reading. In my opinion, this second book does a pretty good in job bringing the story to its logical and expected ending and doesn't really need to be continued in further installments. However, I will probably go on reading the following books out of simple curiosity but I doubt that I will get as far as book 8 unless the characters develop further and story deepens rather than just continue to list adventure after adventure. ( )

I just finished my reread of "Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon, the second book in the Outlander series. Although I have the paperbacks on my shelves, I read the Kindle edition because it is much easier.

I read this first more than twenty years ago, but still remembered quite a bit of the plot. It was interesting that I had the same reaction to the first half of the novel - I was not a fan of the action in France and couldn't wait for Jamie and Claire to return to Scotland. Once there, I enjoyed it immensely, although there were some lengthy parts as well, which is why all in all I amended my rating from five to four and a half stars. Some of the twists and turns seem a bit exaggerated to me (such as Claire's forced trip to the Duke of Sandringham, Hugh Monroe's death and Jamie killing Dougal - I had not remembered any of that and was just shaking my head, waiting for Claire's departure before the battle of Culloden.).
But still - there are hardly any literary characters who seem so real to me and whom I hold so dearly as Jamie and Claire. Their separation in the end just broke my heart once again, and all the chapters after that gave me goosebumps. I think I read the last few pages hardly daring to take a breath!
I just love this story with all my heart and feel like diving straight into book 3, which I will not do because somehow I have to return to the real world, and because I cannot face a novel of 1000+ pages right now! ( )

I set out hoping to enjoy this second book as I had got to know the characters etc. but gave up on page 380, as again so drawn out. Had hoped to read the whole series, but sadly not for me.

Not nearly as good as #1, but entertaining nonetheless. Should have definitely stopped here! ( )

Better than the first IMHO ( )

4.5 stars rounded up. There were some parts that seemed to drag a little bit to me, others where it seemed like too many twists or drama were put in just because (maybe a little absurd?) but that may have been because I was reading during a stressful time in my life so I was reflecting my annoyance onto the book. ( )

After reading the first book we have come to expect a story filled with in-depth characterization and a meandering plot, and this book delivers. The pace is character driven and very creative. Excellent description of the time period and setting, and an imaginative tale of Claire and Jamie's travels. You'll love to see their love grow, despite some painful knots of loss they endure.
I enjoyed the history of Paris, the customs, and dress. The unrest the characters experienced due to the times in Europe with the War of Religions still an afterglow, added to the tension. Taboo topics of the time like rape, sorcery and women rights are touched upon. This author is not afraid of married love scenes, nor does she shy from the horrors many women faced back in that era concerning their treatment.
The story moves from Paris back to Scotland. The war to bring back the old king pulls apart all clan life. The politics and the back stabbing is very complicated and makes for a true political thriller (for the 1700's).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. Bravo, looking forward to next story in the series. ( )

Even better than the first!! Don’t see how the series will keep going & keep my interest! ( )

Davina Porter is marvelous with her narration. See my Kindle edition to see my thoughts on the book itself. ( )

3.5* ( )

Having read OUTLANDER, the first book in Diana Gabaldon’s time traveling historical fiction series about a year ago, and liking it, I decided to give the second book in the series a try. Coming in at nearly 950 pages, DRAGONFLY IN AMBER is no quick read, but it is one of those immersive stories specifically written for those readers who love to get lost in a big thick book, and the adventures of the characters within. I like a decent time travel story, and well written historical fiction, and that is what drew me to OUTLANDER, even though I usually have little patience for “romance” books or chick-lit in general. But Claire Randall, the WWII era nurse who goes through a portal between some ancient rocks on a hillside in 1945 Scotland and comes out 200 years in the past, and Jamie Fraser, the Highland warrior she meets there, are compelling enough characters to grab my interest and hold it.

For the most part, DRAGONFLY IN AMBER manages to avoid the sophomore slump many book series seem to fall into. The book is bracketed by sections set in the year of 1968, where we learn that Claire came back to the modern day twenty years before and returned to her husband, Frank, even though she was pregnant with Jamie’s daughter. Though she told Frank the truth about her disappearance, he believed she was suffering mental trauma brought on by her abduction. Nevertheless, he raised her daughter, Brianna, as his own, passing away some time shortly before DRAGONFLY begins. Now, Claire returns to Scotland with her daughter, to whom she wants to reveal the truth of her origin, and learn the fate of Jamie, who was in the middle of the disastrous Jocobite rebellion against the English king, a rebellion Claire knows will badly for the Scottish side. We don’t know the circumstances of how Claire got back to the 20th Century and I admit that it is a good hook for the rest of the story. After about eighty pages, Claire sits down and begins to the recount events that led her back to the modern day, and the narrative shifts to 18th Century France, which was where we left Claire and Jamie at the end of OUTLANDER. In Paris, they attempt to sabotage the attempts of Charles Stuart—Bonnie Prince Charlie—to return to Scotland and proclaim himself king, something Claire knows from history will not end well for the Scottish. There is intrigue at the French court, rape and attempted rape, plague, dueling, a miscarriage, sodomy, Satan worship, and the horrors of 18th Century medicine. Failing to dissuade Prince Charlie from his ambitions, Claire and Jamie return to Scotland, where they hope to keep a low profile during the coming rebellion, but as always in these kind of stories, the plot takes a turn and they soon in the thick of the fighting as one event after the other leads to Culloden, the last pitched battle on British soil, where hopes for Scottish independence were brutally crushed. It’s a calamity that hangs over the whole book, as we know from the opening pages that is does end happily for our main characters.

Though I enjoyed DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, I must admit that some of the parts set in Paris felt drawn out, though Gabaldon made up for it by having there be a plot twist every chapter or so, including the resurrection of the villainous Jack Randall, the ancestor of Claire’s husband, Frank. I do think the story was on more solid and compelling ground, when Claire and Jamie got back to Scotland. DRAGONFLY also boasts some strong supporting characters, like Fergus, the young Parisian pickpocket whom Jamie enlists to steal the Prince’s correspondence and who accompanies them back to Scotland; Mother Hildegarde, the nun in charge of the Paris hospital where Claire works for a time, and Master Raymond, a mysterious apothecary who may be more than he lets on. There are two particularly odious villains, the Comte St. Germain and the Duke of Sandringham, one of whom Gabaldon can’t help but make out to be a sexual degenerate, an old writer’s trope when they want to make you really hate the bad guy. The author has clearly fallen in love with Claire and Jamie, and really wants the readers to love them too. In doing this, she runs the risk, as some other reviewers have pointed out, of making them just too perfect, of making Claire into a Mary Sue. Maybe so, but I bow in respect to the massive amount of historical research Gabaldon has done, and then applying it to the awesome amount of world building she pulls off effortlessly.

The last fifty pages or so brings the story back to Scotland in 1968, and sets up where the series continues from there. I like that the loose thread of Gillie Duncan is addressed, and the twist with the origin of young Roger Wakefield, who is taking quite an interest in Brianna. I have my copy of VOYAGER, the next installment of Gabaldon’s saga, as I do want to see what she has in store for Claire and Jamie, and all the other characters who populate this world. ( )

Love this series and this book especially. I was hooked on time-travel romances from this point on, but none out at the time came up to the high standard that Diana Gabaldon set with these books. ( )

By the end, I also was in love with Jamie. ( )

I sure liked this one-just not quite as much as Outlander, which I'll probably read again at some point. This book felt like it could have been split into two shorter books or edited down a bit to be a shorter book. Gabaldon does seem like an author that plans far ahead, though, so maybe some of the details that I thought were superfluous will be important later. I love Jamie and Claire and the possibilities for more adventures and interesting story lines with the new characters that have been introduced. Gabaldon is a wonderful storyteller, and I will keep listening/reading this series. It's one that I listen to on my work commute but keep the actual book readily to hand to find my spot and read when I'm not in my car. ( )

The beginning and the last couple hundred pages of this book are good. The five hundred killingly boring pages while they're in Paris? Yeah, not so much. ( )