"Excellent time travel historical tale"

Though officially war has not been declared, blood has fallen in Massachusetts Bay. On Fraser's Ridge, North Carolina Jamie Fraser already knows the outcome of the Revolutionary War because his spouse Claire told him having journeyed from the future to his past knowing the details about the Revolutionary War because she read about it in the American history books.

Tension is high so Colonial Governor Tryon asks Jamie, leader of those residing along Fraser Ridge, to help keep the peace there. He is not sure how to respond because Jamie knows that those who support the monarchy will either die or flee in exile yet Jamie still hopes he can avoid bloodshed. There is also the matter of knowing that three plus years from now The Wilmington Gazette December 1776 reports that Jamie and his family died in a fire. Jamie knows that the devil is in the details, but how can a mortal change history even if the events have not yet occurred. Now in 1773 he must take sides knowing that soon people he cares about will die.

The latest Gabaldon time travel historical tale is a superb entry because of the dilemmas facing the hero who knows the outcome of the upcoming war and is aware of the deaths of himself and his beloved family yet must make difficult choices. For instance, perhaps he should relocate elsewhere so that the Frasers and others are nowhere near the mid December 1776 inferno, but that also means neglecting his responsibilities. Jamie, Claire, and the others are at their best when knowing what is coming, but sometimes an ethical person must choose a losing perhaps deadly position. Ms. Gabaldon is at her epic best with this powerful saga. The paragraphs above fail to even hint at the vast deep look at North Carolina on the verge of war because it is impossible to describe the scope of this work in a few paragraphs.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 20, 2005

Summary

The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest. With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence -- with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie's death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future.