| Dragonfly in Amber | 
 enlarge | Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publisher: Delta
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $6.00
You Save: $9.00 (60%)
New (39) Used (17) Collectible (4) from $6.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  258 reviews
Sales Rank: 2011
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 752
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385335970
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385335973
ASIN: 0385335970
Publication Date: August 7, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 1993mm paperback.coverwear.spinewear.COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED.clean/tight.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great book July 13, 2007
I love this book, which is why I bought it. I recommend that you read it in sequence with the others in the series, but this is definitely my favorite book of the Outlander series.
As it relates to buying this book from Amazon, I'm always pleased with the condition of my item - books are so hard to ship without some damage. And this book is quite sizeable. It's a thick book no matter which size you order.
Ye will want to read this intriguing and riveting tale !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July 9, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read Outlander several months ago and felt exausted, yet fulfilled afterward. The book was so great that I actually felt as though I had went on this long, hard fought journey with Jamie and Claire myself! So, I decided to wait a while before picking up the second installment Dragonlfy in Amber. I wished I hadn't waited so long....
As others have said, don't let the size of the book daunt your efforts...it's a definte page turner and will fly by so fast you'll soon be on your way for the 3rd book ~ Voyager!
The book begins in the present (for Claire anyway) of 1968. Having lost her husband Frank a couple of years past (and having been away from Jamie for 20 years), she decides to finally tell her daughter, Brianna, the truth of her time travels, a truth that will change the perception of her daughter's life forever. Back in Inverness Scotland, the site of Craigh Na Dun, the infamous fairy hill where Claire was able to miraculously transport herself accidentaly back in time 200 years, Claire decides this is the place where she must give her daughter the facts, take them or leave them, she must tell her, if not for Brianna's sake, but for her own as well.
From Claire's telling of the story, we are brought back to 1744-46 (?), and hearing the rest of Jamie and Claire's saga through Claire's eyes. It begins with them in the French court trying to protect Scotland and it's people from the inevitable rising that Claire knows will kill almost all of the Highland men, save 45 (the battle of Culloden). With this knowledge of the future, Jamie and Claire set out to try and thwart the war of the Jacobites, which is led by Bonnie Prince Charlie and save all of the innocent...or not. We see Jamie and Claire have many adventures throughout Paris and the counrtyside, wrought with danger, revenge and intrigue that leads them further with clues as they set out to find a way to stop the uprising, under the Bonny Prince's own nose. Introduced is a myriad cast of colorful, interesting, and possibly hundreds (ha) of characters that they meet along their journey through the royal court of France. Some good, some evil, some leaving the reader wondering who's side their really on. Having only eachother to trust, they must tread lightly in their wake and be secretive to their plans or they could possibly face a lifetime in prison, but possibly worse...treason.
From France, we get to see Jamie and Claire's adventures pick pack up in Scotland at his childhood home of Lallybroch, where he is laird. Jamie heads home to prepare for what he knows is coming....a bloody war and quite possibly his death. This is where I thought the story really swelled and was unputdownable! I flipped every page with the excitement of a kid opening a present at Christmas and also with the hestitation of what was ahead on the next page. The twists and turns were many, but never with a feeling of cliche. They were in all the right places and as Jamie and Claire made discoveries that further unraveled the truth, we also made those discoveries with them and felt their emotions, as they did. Liken it to a roller coaster ride...the cart reaches the top and when a new tidbit was found out, the coaster sails to the bottom leaving you breathless for a moment or two....blinking. Exhilarated or dumbfounded, this book can pull emotions from you and can also sometimes make you want to throw it in the fire to burn...but of course you won't because you're too curious to see what happens next. I could sometimes feel the anxiety of my gripped palms cluthing the book, and my tightened jaw as some of the characters surfaced in the book, though I'll not say who. (!!!!!!!)
No doubt about it, this book is fantastic. It's a love story at it's essence. Two souls, destined to meet across a span of hundreds of years, come together for a common goal and cause...to love one another in the purest fashion possible, and to put their knowledge of the future to good use for the better of the people, regardless of what may come of themselves. That's real love right there.
What happens during the war at Culloden Moor? Does Jamie and his Sassenach Claire succeed? Does Jamie meet his fate? I guess you'll have to read and find out, for one spoiler isn't worth the price of the pleasure of reading this for yourself. I will say, that at the end I shed lots of tears, both because I was sad, and because I was happy. It is a very emotional read, for men and women alike. Thank you Diana Gabaldon for giving me a wonderful way to spend a few days. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every bit as good as the first June 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've read the book twice, and am now listening to the audiobook for the third time. I love the story and the series!
CAUTION: Plot spoiler. In the second book, Claire has returned to her own time to raise her daughter. She lives in this time (beginning around 1946) for about 20 years. Two years after the death of her first husband, Frank, she returns to Scotland with her now grown daughter.
There, she meets up with the now grown Roger Wakefield (He was 5 in the first book.). With his help, the 3 - Claire, her daughter, Briana, and Roger - research what happened to the men involved in the Battle of Culloden. Accidently, Claire happens upon Jamie's grave and her daughter learns the story of her real father.
The narrative switches back to the time leading up to the battle. The reader learns how and why Claire had to return to her own time. In keeping with the first book, you also learn a lot about the history of the time.
The ending filled me with such anticipation that if the third book had not already been published by the time I read the second, I'd have been mad with anticipation. Mad, I'm not. But addicted to the series I am, for sure!
Dragonfly in Amber June 16, 2007
Loved it!!! These characters reach out and invite you into their lives, loves, hurts. I can get enough of this series!!!
Extremely interesting for a wide audience May 23, 2007
I was taken aback by this detailed work of fiction. No question is left unanswered for the listener. The narrator was superb. I can better enjoy a book w/ such a wide variety of dialects when it is read to me leaving me free to enjoy the story not struggle w/ foreign languages and dialects.
It was romantic and gives you a sense of what it was like to live in such a time as the 1700s. The story line is believeable and everything ties in neatly together. My husband got a few ideas from listening to it also.
The audio may be 33 hours long but it flew by. I listen to audio books when I drive on long road trips and when I do housework. I try to make sure I have something new to listen to when I take a road trip because it makes the trip so much more enjoyable. If you haven't read/listened to any other works by Diana Gabaldon, I recommend you do so. I usually ck them out from my local library to see if it's something I'd like to own (so that I don't waste money). I am buying the entire DG line on faith. I don't believe this author could make a product that I wouldn't thoroughly enjoy. NJM
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