Dragonfly in Amber

From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...

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....

Genres

• Historical Fiction

• Romance Fiction

• Fantasy

• Time Travel

• Adult Fiction

• Scotland

Content Warnings

*** romantic spice warning

947 pages, Paperback,

First published July 1, 1992

My Verdict

This is Book #2 of the Outlander Series. Dragonfly in Amber begins in 1968 Inverness with young historian Roger Wakefield opening his front door to Claire Randall and her grown daughter, Brianna. Claire has stopped by out of the blue to ask Roger for an unusual favor: she wants him to research what happened to a group of men who fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Roger takes over the twentieth century part of the story (in third person). He finds Claire mysterious and fascinating, and is strongly attracted to nineteen-year-old Brianna. As he does the research Claire requested, and he and Brianna sightsee around Inverness and become better acquainted, Claire's secrets are slowly revealed – to Roger, but more importantly, to Brianna.

The majority of the book then flashes back to the eighteenth century, picking up in 1744 where Outlander left off with Claire and Jamie, expecting their first child, settling into their new life in Paris. They throw themselves into trying to change the future and stop the Rising. First step: Jamie infiltrates Bonnie Prince Charlie's inner clique while Claire, excluded because she is a woman, volunteers at a charity hospital.

The consequences of time travel and and the confusion of paradox are explored in depth in this book, but what I find the most intriguing about Dragonfly is Jamie and Claire's relationship. Since we spend the entire novel knowing that they will ultimately be separated, the progression of their emotional and physical intimacy as they weather devastating turns in the plot is especially poignant.

Theme: Fate is cruel and history cannot be changed.

Without spoiling too much...

Is what happens to Faith a metaphysical punishment for trying to change the fate of an entire country? Are there exchanges? Are certain things meant to be?

While the first novel was about love, this novel is largely about marriage. Yes, this book has its share of spice, but I would argue that anyone can write about sex. Garabaldon instead writes about intimacy, and she does it extremely well. Jamie and Claire are such different people, and not just because they were born in different centuries. Because of her time travel secret and witch-like advanced medical knowledge, the only person Claire can be herself with is Jamie. Her love for him is in everything she says to him and about him, and vice versa. It's never gushy; they don't idolize each other, or try to change each other. They converse with total frankness when alone, and in experienced marital shorthand when others are present. If it is not the perfect love story, it is pretty darn close.

There was a lot of history in this book and it got long at times, but boy am I glad I stuck it out. I loved this book and I give it a very solid 4 stars.