Written in my own Heart's Blood

Written in my own Heart’s Blood, Diana Gabaldon

This eighth book in the Outlander series was released with great anticipation mid last year. I read it straight away but never blogged about it. I bought the book the day I found out my grandmother died, flew to Sydney, led the service and then got on a plane to join my family in Singapore for a week’s holiday. That led to a 3 month break from blogging, so some books were never reviewed. 

However I always planned to re-read this one and finally did so in the last month. Gabaldon’s books in this series are enormous, so it’s no surprise there is a fair wait between volumes. The seventh in the series An Echo in the Bone finished on a cliffhanger in about 3 separate story lines. This eighth book was a 4 year wait, and was well worth it. 

Picking up right where the previous book ended, we are thrown into 18^th century America, in the time of the War of Independence. Minor storylines are also continued in 1739 and the 1980s in Scotland. I reflected again that I like these books because Gabaldon portrays strong marriages. Any characters where she includes both the husband and the wife, have a positive marriage: Jamie & Claire, Roger & Brianna, Ian & Rachel, Denzel & Dottie. It’s remarkably refreshing.

It was suggested that this book would be the last in the series and it finished in a satisfying yet hopeful way. However, I am now informed there in a ninth in production – so there is more to look forward to, in about another four years!