The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (audio)

Only a slightly over a week left until the publication of An Echo in the Bone, and I am getting more than a little excited.

I had a six hour round trip voyage to make last Friday for a work related conference. I finished listening to the audiobook of The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon as I drove and it made my trip go by much faster.

I once again listened to the abridged version of the book as read by Geraldine James. James does an excellent job reading the novel. The music has also been vastly improved as compared to the earlier audiobooks. The abridged version leaves out considerable detail that is contained in the actual novel, but it is a good refresher for someone who needs one before reading An Echo in the Bone.

The Fiery Cross is the fifth novel in the Outlander series. This novel moves more slowly than previous novels and encompasses only about two years from 1770 to 1772. Claire, Jamie, Brianna, Roger, and Jemmy are all together at Fraser’s Ridge in North Carolina. The novel starts at a gathering of the highlanders, and Brianna and Roger prepare to get married. Further plot points include a squirmish with the militia, a near hanging of a major character, the Tory gold mystery, and more information about another time traveler, Otter Tooth. The best part of the novel however is the rich detail of life in the eighteenth century and the love between Jamie and Claire, and Brianna and Roger. It is so hard to describe these novels. They contain so much – a passionate love story, historical fiction, adventure, time travel, etc. I love them!

I had two favorite passages in this novel:

The first is when Jamie fears he is dying and he tells Roger:

“Tell Brianna I’m glad of her, “ Fraser whispered. “Give my sword to the bairn.”

. . .

“Claire?” he asked quietly. “Is there anything ye’d have me tell her?”

. . .

“Tell her . . . I meant it”

My other favorite quote is the last passage in the novel that Jamie says to Claire:

“When the day shall come, that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’ – ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.”