so-soI'm almost ashamed to say I read this novella. I picked it out from the library on a whim. It was a quick read. I like the characters and the show, but the books make me homicidal. For all the touting of having a great research library at her disposal for the main series, she didn't visit the history section much. It was nice to see Jamie and Ian younger. I love those two characters and their relationship.
GingerAntics She skipped out on what I saw as a pivotal scene of the story and it's unclear if Jamie killed an innocent woman (who stabbed her in the heart and how in the hell would doing so lead to very little blood coming out?!). Some things were over described when they didn't need to be and others were just not described at all when they needed to be. That's sort of her thing though, isn't it? The parts that were good, were great. 6y
GingerAntics The parts that weren't, we're aganizingly not good (my polite view of the matter). I don't like her as an author (I'm pretty sure she secretly hates Jamie and can't wait to torture him to death) and I don't like that she has set her MC up as one type of person and then writes him in ways that don't fit the character she created. It annoys me. The show is nice, but they can't undo all of her menotonous repetition. 6y
GingerAntics AT LEAST JAMIE DIDN'T GET ARRESTED IN THIS ONE (just)!!! I didn't know there was such a thing as an Outlander story where Jamie wasn't arrested for something he didn't do at least once. #outlander #novella #virgins (edited) 6y
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julesG Wonderful review! I liked the first books but that was then, when they first appeared on the horizon. I got stuck in book 6 and haven't missed reading the books for the same reasons you mentioned. Re: the stabbing, it could cause little blood to trickle out since the knife works like a winestopper if left in the wound. Pull it out and there should be significantly more blood, though not as much as you'd think. If the heart stops no more blood flow 6y
GingerAntics @julesG I thought of that, but when Jamie rushed to her he didn't know she'd been stabbed yet (so the knife probably wasn't in her chest still) and she died in his arms, so it should have been more blood than described. I'm a historian of Scotland (and pretty much the rest of the British Isles) in that period and the historical inaccuracies wouldn't let me past the first book. I was glad that the show corrected as many as they could. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG that one was pivotal to the plot though, so they kind of had to keep it. I feel like they did Jamie's character truer to Jamie than she did, too...but that's just me. 6y
julesG Historical inaccuracies! 😵😵😵 They make me cringe so often. Especially, use of words that had not yet entered the English vocabulary at the time the book is set in. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG The most glaring inaccuracy (which I found on accident while confirming another) was that the last witch was burned in Scotland in 1727 when Jamie was 6 years old...at which point it was outlawed. So the entire plot point of half the first book is impossible. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG I was told by superfans on IG and FB that this wasn't a court but a church so it was still possible. 🙄 Um, no. All Ned had to do was walk in and as an officer of the court (as we would call him now - not then) the entire thing would have ended, because a continuation would have made every person an accessory to breaking the law and Ned was whitness. He never would have participated. It's ridiculous. 6y
julesG That's true, about the witch trial. I wonder whether she wrote about this in the back of the book, under notes. You know, where authors disclaim having taken certain liberties to make the story more interesting and a lot less historically accurate. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG does she have any of those? I seriously didn't get that far, but no one seems to know about it (even the uber fans) if she did. 6y
julesG Let me check 6y
julesG No. Not a single sentence about artistic liberty. But there is a time line of the historic events in one of the copies we have. But it's only about the Jacobites. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG I'm shaking my head. I just can't. I swear, she just doesn't know. All she looked up were the jacobites. She just assumed. People usually do when it comes to witch burning. Sigh. 6y
julesG It's what I hate about historical fiction, when authors don't do fact checks and get away with it. A tiny disclaimer about bending the facts goes a long way. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG exactly!!! Sometimes it's unavoidable so just say that upfront and it's all good. It's like nonfiction works of history. If you have a clear bias in your writing and you acknowledge that up front, it's all good. Pretend it doesn't exist and try to get away with it. This book you've spent years of your life on is now rubbish and those were wasted years of your life, because it has zero credibility. Way to go. 6y
julesG I read a lot of historical fiction and romance, and I'm always astonished when authors point out in detail where and why they bend the historical facts, sometimes providing references for further information. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG "Hey I had this idea and had to bend this a bit, but here is the truth and where to find out more." That is an educated decision, I'm game. "I need to fudge this, maybe no one will notice" or "this is probably what happened, no one will notice because of my brilliant writing" I just can't do. I have a feeling that Outlander is the latter with all her bragging about her research library. 6y
GingerAntics @julesG this is why I'm terrified to try my hand at historical fiction. I'm afraid I'll get something wrong. I'm afraid it won't be perfect. 6y
julesG I just chuckled at your last comment. I have the same reason for avoiding historical fiction. But we're both well-educated, know the pitfalls, know what we don't want to read, which mistakes to avoid. We should just do it. A short story maybe? 6y
julesG Would you like to get together off-Litsy to talk? We could email, for example. My email address is JulesGDSide@gmail.com. 😉 6y
GingerAntics @julesG that makes total sense. I have a friend who taught 3rd graders and wanted me to write her something fun about a kid at the alamo so she could read it to her kids, but I couldn't quite do it. Logically, we should be able to do this. I'll send you and email. lol 6y
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