I am 300+ pages into this book and I swear it’s like every single time Jamie is shirtless we get a description of his nipples and nipple hair. My goodness. If there are no nipple lovers left on earth it’s because Diana Gabaldon doesn’t write about Outlander man nipples anymore.

Do we know what happened to it? Roger used 3 of the bars to buy rifles. What about the rest?

Jamie said he was going to move it from the Spaniards cave.

Ok, so I am reading the books for the first time (have watched the show) and in chap. 3 (pg. 34) of Voyager there is this line (of Claire’s memories shortly after returning to 1948): “I knew Frank hadn't been celibate since my disappearance. In his late forties, he was still lean and muscular, dark and sleek, a very handsome man.”

I thought Claire was 27 when she went through the stones the first time, and came back 3 years later, making her 30 years old in 1948.

Does this mean Frank is 15-20 years her senior??

In the later episodes in season 2, it’s revealed that Mary is carrying Alex Randall’s child, but she ends up marrying Jonathan Randall which is reflected in the records that Frank finds later on.

Does Frank ever find out about the truth when Claire comes back? I’m reading the book for the first time and have already seen the show but I’m rewatching it as I read. I can’t remember if he did.

Season 1 episode 1 talks about how ghosts are freed and able to walk around… is that how Jaime sought Claire in the end… not really asking just venting lol

I’m in the middle of season three and the happy reunification has just occurred, so please no spoilers beyond that point!

But I’m just musing on Claire’s relationship with both Jamie and Frank. Obviously, Jamie is adorable and they have a powerful connection, but I wonder if part of his appeal is the drama and adventure of life with him, versus the stable life with postwar Frank.

Considering Claire was a combat nurse for the six years of the Second World War, she became accustomed to a life of struggle, near constant adrenaline pumping through her body. When we first meet her, the war has just ended and she’s happy with Frank, but she probably wouldn’t have been for long. She seems like one of those people who needs to live on the edge, and life with Jamie provided that same level of drama and adventure she had known during the war. Once she fell in love with Jamie, she couldn’t really go back to a “normal” life with Frank.

So even though she tried, the peace and stability of family life in Boston was not something Claire could manage. She wasn’t raised in a normal family situation—adventure and drama was her normal.

I write all of this because I was reading an old thread yesterday about would you pick Jamie or Frank? While I have ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFICULTY seeing Jamie’s… shall we say, finer qualities 😂, I cant even imagine choosing life with him over a life of peace and tranquility with Frank (I mean show Frank, not book Frank, as I understand book Frank is less lovable than show Frank.) Being married to a highland outlaw would be beyond stressful! I can’t even imagine… I mean, the guy constantly has a price on his head. As I’m watching the wonderful reunion episode, I’m thinking great! Now move out of the brothel and get a nice little place of your own and be happy and peaceful for the rest of your days! But of course, that can’t happen with Jamie. There will always be drama. That’s what it is to be with him. For Claire, that is a feature, not a bug. I, on the other hand, would be a nervous wreck.

So i know there were alot of mixed opinions about the ether storyline and i thought i would share mine.

I think it was the show's way of showing how Claire was struggling and that she really didn't how to cope. Kinda like how some people will turn to alcohol to help them cope. It was not a good thing for Claire to do and she should have opened up to Jamie sooner but Claire had hit her breaking point and she didn't know how to cope. She was hearing voices, Dougal, BJR, Geillis, Lionel Brown etc. All of the trauma since she came through the stones overwhelmed her, her kidnapping and rape by the Browns was her breaking point and she didn't know what to do so she turned to the one thing that gave her relief, Ether. I think after everything they've both gone through it was reasonable for her to have hit her breaking point. Yes being a doctor she should have known better but no body thinks straight when they're dealing with emotional trauma.

Just my opinion.

Thoughts?

Hello! So I'm in need of advice from people who have read the books and watched the shows.

I was watching Season 8, finished episode 6, then didn't want it to be over yet. So I then watched BOMB (wow. Love it so much! The casting! Beautiful series) because I knew I was missing some important background information based on some posts in this sub. Glad I did! Can't believe how deep everything is.

Anyway, after BOMB, I decided to rewatch from Season 1, now having all the history wanted to see any nuance I missed first time around. So I'm in the beginning of Season 2, and I'm wondering if I should stop and read the books, then go back to finish the series? Or, do I just get the end over with by watching through Season 8, then go read the books?

Appreciate any responses :)

I watched the show with my wife over the last 6 months. We haven't read the books.

We noticed a steep decline in quality after the third season story wise and I was wondering if this is just the tv show or did the books quality decline as well around the same point

Thought I'd bring up a topic that's been a popular thread in the past.

My favorite villain is Gellis Duncan, second is probably Rob Cameron (and aliases). I suppose I like the more mysterious ones. I love to hate them.

My least favorite is Stephen Bonnet. He's so repellent I want to skip the whole storyline. I don't know why I hate reading him so much. Maybe she spent too much time on him?

Curious about the opinions of others on this. What kind of villains do you love to hate?

Estaba terminando de leer el capítulo 99 del libro cinco de outlander, pero quedé bastante confundida en la parte donde Jamie tiene un sueño sobre Loaghrine y se excita y despierta a clare, se muestra celoso porque su ex está con alguien más y no lo entiendo. El decía que no la amaba y que el tiempo que pasó con ella apenas se toleraban. Entonces no entiendo esta reacción. Luego le pregunta a claire si ella también fantasea con alguien más cuando tienen relaciones. Entonces el lo hace seguido?
Me podrían dar su opinión alguien respecto

Hello, I just finished last episode of season 8, and started rewatching season 1.
I’m thinking about reading the books as well. I normally listen to audiobooks, but I don’t know if I can do 33 hrs of audio per each book.

I searched the posts but I don’t see the mention of the “half books” and there are quite a few of them.

What these in between books are? A regular part of the series?

Thank you.

Hi! You might remember my post from 30 days ago. I had ordered the Outlanders books online and my copy of the 6th book arrived with a ripped cover and folded pages.

Thankfully the rest of my books arrived in perfect conditions and the replacement process for my damaged book went well! I received every book 6 days after my initial post.

I was extremely busy this past month but I took some time this morning to clean up my bedside bookshelf and move my books there. Unfortunately, it’s not quite wide enough to fit them all. But I can easily grab a book while my cats hold me hostage now!

​

Excerpt from A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT, Copyright 2026 Diana Gabaldon

Hal gave up the notion of neatly folding his uniform coat—it looked simple enough when his valet did it, but as with many things, practice evidently mattered—and rolled it into a sort of thick sausage, which he folded in half and crammed into his saddlebag, moleskin breeches, clean neckcloth and gold-laced epaulets stuffed in on top. Anything else?

“Shirt, God damn it,” he said aloud, clutching the front of the one he was wearing. Cursing under his breath, he pawed through the armoire in search of a clean frilled shirt. The search not only resulted in a shirt—already folded, too!--but focused his mind to a sufficient extent as to remind him of stockings, dress boots and…what? Something else was missing…

“Oh, gorget, yes. Can’t forget that.” ‘That’ was on his dressing table, as usual. He picked it up, weighing it in his hand as he usually did before putting it on, for the tactile pleasure of it. Solid, smooth silver-gilt, gracefully made, with his regimental insignia embossed upon it. He reached to drop it into the saddlebag, then impulsively put it on instead, tucking it down inside the rough shirt he’d put on for the journey. Strange, that it should have the same effect upon his spirit as putting on armor might have had to an earlier warrior—though that’s what it was, in all fairness—armor, the remnant symbol of a breastplate.

He took a deep breath, and with it, found the last scrap of courage that he needed.

He closed the flap of the saddlebag, set it with its fellow by the door, and sat down at his desk to write to his wife.

_I had hoped to surprise you with an early return to England, but Things have fallen out otherwise. Ben is alive—but I forget, you likely don’t know he was supposed to be dead. He’s not. He has turned his Coat, though, and I must go and—_

He broke off and eyed the paper, twiddling the quill between his fingers.

“And what?” he said aloud. Reproach Ben? Kidnap him? Kill him?

“God knows,” he muttered, and wrote, “_mend Matters. I love you_.” He hesitated for a moment, considering whether to add “_trust me_”, but didn’t, instead folding, sealing and stamping the note. He wrote “Her Grace the Duchess of Pardloe” by way of direction, then laid it atop the pile of mail for one of his aides to take away.

His stomach growled; he hadn’t eaten anything yet today, he hadn’t been hungry before. He glanced at the leather case that lay on the desk, and the hunger pangs disappeared.

He knew everything was in order, but flipped the case open anyway, unable not to check once more.

The brace of duelling pistols lay gleaming somberly in their lambswool beds, facing each other like the men who would hold them.

[end section]

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I love military objects, for assorted reasons, but one thing that I do several times over the course of these books (which have a lot to do with war, fighting, men, etc.) is to show a man getting ready for a coming battle, especially dressing in his uniform or prepping his weapons. There's a sense of ceremony in such objects, and the shape of that ceremony--as well as the weapons themselves--tells you a lot about the man involved, and also in his circumstances and frame of mind.

For instance, contrast Hal's and Jamie's attitude toward potential combat (and the circumstances of that combat). Note also that their wives are among the most important objects in their preparations....]

Excerpt from A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT, Copyright 2026 Diana Gabaldon

“So,” I said, sitting up. “You’re proposing to go off for some unknown period of time, to unknown places, to do unknown things that are likely bloody dangerous, fortified only by your memories of my hands and my bottom?”

“They’ll be my shield and buckler,”Jamie assured me, straight-faced.

“What _is_ a buckler? I’ve always wondered.”

“It’s something like a targe,” he said, reaching for his shirt. “A bittie round shield. About the size of your arse,” he added helpfully.

“I’ve _seen_ targes, you know,” I said, somewhat coldly.

“Have ye ever sat on one?”

“No. Have you?”

“Aye, many times. Comes in handy, if you’re tired to death and out in the wet or havin’ to eat your supper in the snow. Mind,” he added fairly, bending to pick up his kilt off the floor, “ye canna do that if ye’ve got one o’ the fancy ones wi’ a spike in the middle. I couldna afford one o’ those, though—not at the time.”

_Not at the time_. I rather thought the last time he’d held a targe would have been at Culloden. I felt the expected pang at the thought of that—but for once, the memory was tempered by another. He’d come back from that battle. _And a good many others_. And at least this search would keep him off battlefields. I hoped.

I slid off the table as he turned round, and put my arms around him, comforted by his solid warmth and the taste of salt on his skin.

“I’ll remember your hands, too,” I said. “If I recall what Roger was saying in church last month, though, that psalm says, “His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” If a buckler _is_ a shield, why do you need another?”

“To guard against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Sassenach,” he said, and kissed my brow. “A targe is for swords and knives. The close work, aye?”

****************************

Basically, objects are like any other story element: any object you use should have a purpose (in the story, as well as just in action), and YOU need to know what that purpose is, even if you plan to conceal it from the reader.

In both these snips, though, the purpose of the objects is clear: both men are preparing themselves--both emotionally and physically--to go out and do something that's likely to be dangerous. We can see from the clumsiness of Hal's packing that a) he's upset, and b) he doesn't normally pack his own clothes (because he's a Duke and a senior officer) , and c) the fact that he _is_ doing it himself is a strong indication of his state of mind and the urgency of his circumstances.

Jamie, on the other hand, is pretty cavalier at the moment (he's just had sex with his wife--which is a definite part of _his_ prep for war), but you can tell from the way he describes targes to Claire that he's _very_ familiar with his weapons.

**************************************************

LINK TO VIDEO ON USE OF OBJECTS IN WRITING:

Is it me or the last two seasons or certainly the 8th feel rushed?
Brianna and Roger there, then suddenly here. No in between.
Or one moment Claire and Jamie are at the Ridge, then boom, in Lord John’s house.

Also, the Roger’s internal monologue when he ended in the wrong time was weird. Funny but weird.

Edited to Add: I have not read any of the books

I’m rewatching Outlander. I’m on season 2.

This is not something I remembered hearing the first go around, but it kind of confirms my theory that Master Raymond is also a time traveler.. maybe? lol

"His Mask of Civility" by Charles Young Walls.

This is an illustration created for the Suntup Editions publication of Outlander.

This is such a moody portrait of Captain Black Jack Randall in his lair! Gives me chills! The overturned teacup, the iron ring embedded in the column, that brazier that probably has a branding iron in it... yikes! And the lavender smoke...

[SPOILER] Many pelple here say that Jamie dying for a bit (before being brought back to life by Claire) was necessary so he could visit her as a ghost, grow the forget-me-nots and kinda "start the loop". But he could also do that after he dies let's say of old age, in 20-ish years right ? Cause there are still 200 years between him and Claire and it's not like planting the flowers was "time-sensitive". I just dont get why people say him dying was "necessary" for the storyline.

I started watching outlander about 6 years ago and have been watching all of the new seasons since as they were released. I never rewatched it before and there is a lot that I don’t remember. After I finished the series, I was left wanting so much more. I’m not ready to say goodbye to it yet. Should I rewatch the show not remembering much except for major plots/deaths, or should I read the books for the first time? I have had the first four sitting on my shelf for years but never got around to reading them. The size of them is a bit daunting, haha

I'm currently listening to the "written in my own hearts blood" audiobook which is one of my favourites, however I've noticed that Dottie completely looses her plain speech (Quaker) when visiting her dad and Lord John in New York. Is this just an oversight or does she purposefully only do it around Denzel etc. Seems like she's not truly embraced the Quaker lifestyle/religion!

Man, sometimes you can really tell that Diana doesn’t proofread or edit very thoroughly. For example in Echo I just got to the part where Brigadier Simon Fraser died, and William and Jamie both attend his deathbed. Claire’s internal monologue is waxing poetic about William’s resemblance to Jamie in face and voice, as though she hasn’t encountered him less than a month prior in a prisoner of war camp and had a whole conversation with him. Same thing earlier when Jamie goes to rescue Denny and sees William, it says “he hadn’t seen the boy since he was 12” but he had seen him only a few years before, standing next to Brianna on the road in…was it Wilmington? But anyway, somewhere. They basically keep making it seem like Jamie and Claire haven’t seen William since he was 12, but they’ve both encountered him on more than one occasion before now.

Also, Claire muses in the deathbed scene about whether William had seen a death of someone he loved before. Then she shakes her head and basically scolds herself for being silly because he’s in the military so he must have seen battle death before, but maybe it’s different when it’s someone you know. But like, girl, you know William saw his stepmother Isobel die in front of him on the ship to America back when he was 12…you’d think Claire would recall that.

Basically Diana is a bit scattered about her side characters and their histories and I notice it more now that I’m rereading.

He is definitely Jaime's father—always fighting for the love of his life.

For those who have read the books, do they ever get into what made Black Jack Randall so awful? Do the books suggest he had some terrible traumatic experience that made him so evil? He seems to have a tiny shred of a conscience and does seem conflicted somehow, yet he is so so awful…

So i was rewatching season 6 and I was thinking about the guilt Fergus was dealing with. He thought he wasn't enough to protect his family. If they were gonna have him die in season 8 at least he went out protecting his family. It was a fitting dead imo. I know probably an unpopular opinion but I wanted to share.

Thoughts?