And so concludes another installment of the madcap adventures of that time-traveling Highlander clan, the Mackenzie-Fraser whatevers. This was the least weird, but most melodramatic of the books so far. It was wacky and I enjoyed it, despite some issues.In 1767, Claire, Jamie and Ian are fresh from being shipwrecked off the coast of Georgia. In 1969, Jamie and Claire’s grown daughter, Brianna, grows closer to Roger Wakefield, the only other person who knows her family’s secret: they are time-travelers. And Roger, too, is a time-traveler. The two plotlines move separately–Jamie and Claire begin the long, slow process of building a life in the new world, and Bree learns to live without her mother, even as she reluctantly falls in love with Roger. The two stories intersect when Bree finds an article documenting her parents’ death, and she travels back in time to prevent the incident from happening. Roger follows her. All sorts of things ensue. This is an Outlander novel.(view spoiler)[A whole bunch of wacky stuff happens in this book. Jamie kills a bear, basically by jumping on it and hugging it to death. Claire gets lost in the snow and meets the ghost of a dead native, who also turns out to have been a time-traveler. Claire operates on a mountain man’s balls. Ian is forcibly adopted by a tribe of Algonquin. Roger helps a couple on a plague ship, who turn out to be his ancestors. Brianna tries to blackmail Lord John Grey into marrying her, otherwise she’ll tell everyone he’s into dudes. Jamie helps a man escape who was supposed to be hanged. Later, that man steals all their money. Later than that, he rapes Brianna. That last thing isn’t so much wacky as horrifying.Here’s the thing about these books. Most of that stuff isn’t really all that wacky in context (although it’s really hard to ever read that bear thing, or the ghost thing, in any other way). While I thought the first half of the book was a little too slow, I can appreciate Gabaldon’s impulse to show Jamie and Claire figuring out their new situation, and thankfully as you get towards the middle, she skips years of time so we don’t get too bogged down in unnecessary details. Once Bree and Roger arrive in 1767, the book is relatively fast-paced. (I say relatively, because it’s Diana Gabaldon and she pretty much just does whatever she wants.)There was a bunch of stuff I really liked. A lot of time is covered, while it does get a bit tedious, mostly Gabaldon skips the boring stuff and shows us intervals of Claire and Jamie setting up Fraser’s Ridge. Also, we see the first inklings of the Revolutionary war. I mostly loved the stuff with Roger and Bree (until her rape and the mix-up with Roger Wakefield/Mackenzie). I loved the scene where Jamie and Bree meet for the first time. Loved Jamie and Willie hangin’ out (although it annoyed me that Gabaldon switched POVs so we could see it). The Gabaldon weird was there, but it tracks with the other weird, sort of psuedo-spiritual stuff we’ve seen (the Loch Ness monster in book one, suggested to be a time-traveling dinosaur?; the magical uterus healing form book two, the voodoo cave magic from book three, etc.) Brianna meeting the Frasers at Lallybroch was delightful, although I could have done without the appearance by Laoghire.I did have some issues. Really, only a couple, but they’re kind of large ones. Was it really necessary for Brianna to be raped? That makes her the fourth important character to be sexually assaulted. Is this a prerequisite for all of Gabaldon’s characters? Surely she could have found some other way to bring about all the plot-happenings. All this rape, it’s just tiresome. I also hated Jamie being an asshole to Brianna near the end. Roger not accepting baby immediately was out of character for me. That guy worshipped at Brianna’s feet, and I didn’t take him for the territorial type. Surely he would have accepted that baby immediately. I bought he and Bree having ahard time getting back in the flow of their relationship, but not that he wouldn’t immediately decide to be with her. Stephen Bonnet, not sure how I feel about him. It was also a bit frustrating that such major plot happenings hinged on Jamie and Ian mistaking Roger for Bonnet, the servant girl thinking Roger raped her. All of these coincidences feel like lazy, cheesy writing to me, and they mar an otherwise very enjoyable book. (hide spoiler)]
As far as Outlander novels go, Drums of Autumn is the most bodice-ripperish out of the 4 I've read so far. Mainly, because the entire book is plotted around a MISUNDERSTANDING that could have been resolved with one adult conversation. Oh, how I hate those in romance novels!Here is how it goes. In this installment Claire and Jamie are in America establishing a Scottish colony in North Carolina, of course not without a fair share of difficulties and misfortunes. Two hundred years into future Brianna discovers information that forces her to risk her life and travel back in time in secret to visit her parents and possibly change their destiny. Roger, Brianna's fiancee, follows her and the couple immediately consummate their relationship. A mix-up concerning Roger's identity (specifically, his last name) is what drives the main conflict of this novel. This tiny misunderstanding leads to a series of pretty dramatic events. It's not a secret that while Diana Gabaldon is a great storyteller, she is a weak plotter. She admits so herself, saying that she assembles her book as a puzzle, first writing separate scenes and then piecing them together with a plot. Thus very often her plots are overridden with very unlikely coincidences and sometimes deus ex machina. Drums of Autumn is no exception, but here the entire misunderstanding twist is just way overdone and makes some characters (particularly, to my chagrin, Jamie) act like complete idiots.Another hot button issue for me is this: does every character in the Outlander series have to get raped at some point? There is a new addition to the list of Lord John, Jamie, Claire, and Fergus. I mean, enough already with the sexual abuse! I am sure even 200 years ago not everyone was assaulted, right?Brianna and Roger's relationship is given a lot of screen time in this book. Not sure if I care for these two much and believe in their love. Brianna is a pretty unlikable, spoiled, rash person and a source of almost all misfortunes in the story. And poor Roger. He has to go through a lot of pain and suffering for his love.And the last complaint. For a book of this length (1070 pages!) and with such an extensive use of words like "virgin" and "maidenhead," Drums of Autumn is definitely very light on sex. You might ask why with all these problems I am giving this novel 4 stars? Well, like I said, Gabaldon is a great storyteller. She is so wordy, so descriptive, so in love with the scenes she writes, so self-indulgent to the point, I think, that she doesn't edit out any of her own writing, and yet I am ready to read anything she writes. There is just an addictive, cracktastick quality to her stories. I love being taken on adventure and Gabaldon does just that. I will undoubtedly read the next book, regardless of rapes, deus ex machinas and contrived plots. But can Jamie be not such a possessive dumb-ass in The Fiery Cross though? Pretty please?
What do You think about Drums Of Autumn (2001)?
I know!! That got me really mad! And I'm sitting at the edge of my seat, wondering whether Roger will forgive EVERYONE for the shit he went through! I know he eventually will, but, damn, if I was in Roger's position, I will throw a major bitch fit!
—Fathima
5 STARS!!!! ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL!!!!!!!! ...and Jamie and Claire’s story continues, taking them from the wild and untamed West Indies to the unclaimed land of the new world. And once again, the story has completely captivated me. Many characters remain... and many new characters appear, both good and BAD!!! And their journey through the past is yet interrupted again by a visitor or two from the future. Then the room relaxed in cheers and babbling, and she turned in his arms to kiss him hard and cling to him, and he thought perhaps it didn't matter that they faced in opposite directions - so long as they faced each other. The romance, the adventure, and the excitement never ebb. I found my emotions all over the place reading this book. And near the end, I was completely gutted!!!! I cannot express the praise and awe that these books have stirred in me for Diana Gabaldon. I’m sure Diana’s highly descriptive writing style isn’t for everyone, but for me... I’m speechless. I have found myself completely in her trance, her characters lodged deep in my heart, as if they were a part of my family. It is rare to connect with a work of fiction so intensely. All I can say is that for those of us who fall under the Outlander spell...fantasy is real!!! I highly recommend this series, words cannot express!!!!!!! It is more than worth the length of the books, in fact I dread reaching the end...
—Karen
Grade: B+ or 4 Solid Stars... Very good story for fans of Jamie and Claire!The StoryDrums of Autumn begins soon after Claire and Jamie shipwreck off the coast of Georgia in 1767, which is the last event in the third Outlander book Voyager. Claire is aware of future events to occur in the American Colonies, and after surviving Culloden she wants peaceful living for her and Jamie. A series of unfortunate events leave the couple no choice for traveling abroad. Then, Jamie feels the land call to him. He needs to build, establish tenants, and become the landowner he was always meant to be. In 1968, Brianna Randall misses her mother. She maintains contact with Roger Wakefield communicating via letters, phone calls, and making the occasional visit. Roger wants more, but neither is quite sure of the other’s feelings due to the extraordinary circumstances of their initial encounter. Their long-distance courtship continues while she pursues her degree in the States. When Roger discovers tragic news involving Jamie and Claire he withholds it to prevent Brianna from going through the stones. Brianna makes her own discovery and travels through the stones to save her parents with Roger in close pursuit. My ThoughtsThis book’s pacing and storytelling is similar to Dragonfly in Amber, which I loved. It doesn’t have the “epic” feel of DiA, with the goal of preventing the massacre of Culloden. Instead, this story focuses on Jamie and Claire establishing a place of their own; Claire’s need to protect Jamie from future violence, and Jamie, having relinquished his inheritance in Scotland, needs to build and independently provide for his family. (His shame at having no land, home, or money is the first I’ve seen of Jamie lament his losses. Jamie’s keen humiliation of having to accept the charity of others is a reminder that he is a proud man. ) This poor family can’t seem to catch a break. The unfortunate events in this story aren’t as extreme as in Voyager nor are they non-stop. It is one act of kindness that backfires, causes heartache, then comes full circle. “No good deed goes unpunished” is an apt phrase. Poor Jamie! His guilt and bitterness is immense. Claire does make a couple of “too stupid to live” choices. Her poor decision-making leads to a major discovery (view spoiler)[the skull and stone and if she hadn’t searched for Jamie in the snow he would have frozen to death. Who knew Jamie had a bad back? Huh. (hide spoiler)]
—Anna (Bobs Her Hair)
