Dragonfly in Amber ANNOTATION
Following on the heels of the mass market publication of Outlander, which introduced readers to Claire Randall and her journey through time, Dragonfly in Amber returns us to the heroine 20 years after her fantastic voyage through the stones in Scotland.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
With her now-classic novel Outlander, Diana Gabaldon introduced two unforgettable characters — Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser — delighting readers with a story of adventure and love that spanned two centuries. Now Gabaldon returns to that extraordinary time and place in this vivid, powerful follow-up to Outlander....
For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ... about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ... and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his....
Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ... in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ... and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
This immensely long, compulsively readable sequel to Outlander follows time-traveler Claire Randall and her 18th-century Scottish husband, James Fraser, to the court of Louis XV in 1744, as they seek to forestall the disaster due to overtake the Scottish Highlands at the battle of Culloden Moor the following year. Having learned from Claire about the forthcoming disaster, James, the son of a Highland chief, gains Prince Charles's friendship in order to subtly sabotage Jacobite efforts to raise funds for an invasion of Britain. When James is banished after dueling with his nemesis, Jack Randall, ancestor of Claire's modern-day husband, he and Claire leave France convinced they have accomplished their purpose. They settle back in Scotland, looking forward to peace, only to learn of Prince Charles's landing in Scotland and his signing of James's name to a declaration of the Stewart right to rule, effectively forcing the couple to the Jacobite cause and a fate they are unable to prevent. Portraying life in court and hut and on the battlefield through the eyes of a strong-minded, modern participant, Gabaldon offers a fresh and offbeat historical view, framed by an intriguing contemporary issue of Claire's daughter's paternity. (Aug.)
Library Journal
This time-traveling romantic adventure will please fans who have been waiting for the further adventures of Dr. Claire Beauchamp Randall, a 20th-century American who goes to Scotland in search of her 18th-century husband, virile Scot Jamie Fraser, whom she met and married in Outlander ( LJ 7/91). Book 2 of a planned trilogy takes readers along on Randall's quest, as she hopes to find a state or time (like that of the title's dragonfly suspended in a piece of amber) where Fraser still exists. This imaginative novel suffers somewhat from the author's overuse of personification (``spectacles gleaming with concern and curiosity'') and her confusing switches between the two first-person narrations, which sometimes cloud an otherwise intriguing adventure. But Outlander 's readers will still devour this hefty volume without complaint.--Marlene Lee, Drain Branch Lib., Ore.
AudioFile - Miriam B. Kahn
In the second book of the Outlander series, Claire and Jamie desperately try to prevent the Battle of Culloden and foil the plans of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Davina Porter is perfect as narrator and performer, bringing laughter and a multitude of emotions to her characters and to her listeners. As Claire and Jamie experience French society, the good, bad and ugly, Porter brings Gabaldon's world to life, complete with sounds, smells and not a little blood. The adventures will continue to echo in your mind long after this tale ends. M.B.K. cAudioFile, Portland, Maine
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