A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
6th Book in the Outlander Series

Publisher: Delacorte Press; First Edition edition (September 27, 2005) Hardcover: 1157 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0385324162, ISBN-13: 978-0385324168

Time Traveller Claire Fraser is living two hundred years in the past with her husband Jamie and their family in the back woods of North Carolina.  This book shows Claire and Jamie’s life in America just prior to the American Revolution.  There is a large spectrum of events occurring from simple things like day to day life to Claire being arrested for murder, to Brianna, their grown daughter, being kidnapped.  The more exciting storylines each had their own satisfying build with a good climax. There are numerous other events that occur in the book which make the story very interesting.

I always enjoy reading about what life was like back then and this book does a good job of portraying the history of the 1772’s within an interesting fiction story.  There were also several action scenes which are very interesting to read. However if you were hoping for any romance there was none with very little in terms of sex between Claire and Jamie, maybe they are just getting too old and for this reason this book is not a romance in any way shape or form.

On the whole the book was entertaining but at times I found it to be a bit too mundane. The ending was a bit of a surprise and not at all what I was expecting but still interesting.  The story flowed well weaving the tale from event to event.  The majority of the book was told from Claire’s point of view but at times it did shift to some of the other characters.  This gave us a bit more insight into some of the characters in the book.

The book is stand alone as well as a continuation of the story, which I found satisfying.  I liked that the book completed all the story lines it started in the book and it answered all the questions raised during the book.  I understand there is now a 7th book in the series called An Echo in the Bone, but I also understand that it ends with a cliff hanger, so I think I will wait to read it once book 8 is also completed.

I enjoyed reading the book and found it to be entertaining and satisfying but I also found that it was a bit over descriptive with insipid details.  I do not think all these descriptions added anything to the storyline, if anything it made the story a bit cumbersome. For this reason I gave the book a 2 Treasure Box rating.

I recommend this book to anyone who has read the previous Outlander books, it was not one of the best books in the series but it was still enjoyable. However, if you were looking for the romance then this not the book to read.   I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading historical novels as this book certainly does this well.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.