Where do I start with my review of “Drums of Autumn”, the fourth book in Diana Gabaldon’s wildly popular “Outlander” series, which is also a highly-rated television show on Starz? How do I put into words the massive thoughts and emotions running through my head after finishing this grand opus of adventure, honor, love, and family? I think it starts with, “My name is Scott and I am an Outlander fan…”

Over the last year, I have devoured the first three books in this unbelievably well-written series. It has so many elements, including history, time travel, adventure, mystery, and yes, romance. Each book is epic and overwhelms the reader with rich background, complex plotting, and strong dialog. Each book in the series builds on the multi-layered mythology of the previous one, and each one just seems to be better than the previous one. I can only speak for myself, but I am living proof that men can read and enjoy the Outlander series.

As many are already aware, the plot involves Claire Randall, a 20th-century doctor who survived going back and forth through the ancient stone circle multiple times. There she met Jamie Fraser, an 18th-century Scot involved in the Jacobite uprising against England. In order to avoid death, they were forced to marry and fell in love. She later returned to the present to bear and raise his child when he was assumed killed in battle. Twenty years later, when their daughter, Briana, is grown, Claire discovers he survived and she risks everything to return through the stones to Jamie.

When “The Drums of Autumn” begins, Claire and Jamie have landed in colonial America several years prior to the War for Independence. The story alternates between them building a homestead and future together amongst many challenges in the untamed frontier of North Carolina while their daughter Brianna and her boyfriend/family friend Roger deal with their developing relationship and being left behind in the late 1960s. There are several plotlines that pull the characters together and create lots of conflict, starting with Brianna and Roger finding an article that tells of Claire and Jamie’s deaths a few years after reaching America in a horrible house fire. Roger is driven to keep it a secret from Brianna, only to discover she knows and plans to go through the stones to save her mother and finally meet her biological father. However, Brianna’s and Roger’s journey into the past is full of struggle, pain, and heartache as they struggle to be reunited with both her family and with each other.

“Drums of Autumn” is a massive read. My copy clocked in at 888 pages. Patience and attention are required of the reader, but it comes easily. In being completely honest, the first 20% of this book starts slower than the previous three in the series, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it, because I did. The primary reason was that this story built slower at the beginning, needing more time to percolate and heat up in order to create the multiple emotional payoffs throughout the last half of the book, including golden moments between Brianna and Roger, Brianna and Jamie, Brianna and Claire, Jamie and Roger, Brianna and Lord John, and Brianna and Roger again. The strength in this book was how Gabaldon elevates love and conflict in the relationships of family – of father/daughter, mother/daughter, and husband/wife. The use of secrets, good intentions, and a lack of willingness to open up are lessons learned the hard way in the “Outlander” world.

In my opinion, Gabaldon is an excellent writer that has mastered several key areas of great writing, including plotting, character, scenes, and dialog. Her plotting is well-planned, multi-layered, detailed in whatever time period is involved, and full of many twists that lead to opportunities for future development. She grabs your attention and requires even your senses as you delve into her world. Her characters are rich and complex. Each have their own unique personalities, motivations, and attributes. You cannot stop yourself from loving the good guys and hating the bad guys, but every character is three-dimensional and real in every sense. You can picture them so clearly in your mind.

I personally believe that her ability to write scenes and dialog is probably her greatest skill as a writer. Each of these books have such wonderful pay-off moments in them, especially in this book. I mentioned several of them earlier, but my one that really stuck out to me was Lord John counseling Brianna on raising someone else’s child. It was a golden moment. When it comes to characters conversing and providing information to each other to push the plot forward, she is excellent. Her conversation flow has a certain rhythmic quality that stands out above most writers. I was especially impressed with how much Roger’s character changed and grew through the challenges he faced. He was not the same man at the end of the book that he was in the beginning.

Overall, “Drums of Autumn” is another excellent outing for Gabaldon. For me, she has found a way to create unforgettable characters that I have come to know and deeply care about. I am not afraid to admit that I have shared some deeply personal moments with them, including laughter, struggle and challenge, pain and sadness, and tears of joy in the moments that matter most in a family. I cannot wait for the journey to continue…

4.5 stars

This book truly kicked my ass.

It was so intense and engaging that it left me completely drained. The story was filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I found myself completely immersed in the world that the author had created, and I couldn't put the book down until I had finished it.

Now that I'm done, I need a drink. Or maybe a whole bottle. I need something to help me unwind and process everything that I just read. This book was an emotional rollercoaster, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for another one like it anytime soon. But I'm glad that I read it, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great read.

The love between the highlander Jamie and his Sassanach Claire persists. After a twenty-year separation, they've successfully reunited and are now in America, ready to build a life together at last. However, their path is far from smooth. Whether it's the Indigenous people of the area, the untamed land, or the constant threat from the English, they must always be on guard.

Brianna, for her part, is struggling to come to terms with the fact that her mother is gone. Due to the time difference, Claire is technically long dead, but for Brianna, her mother is still very much alive in many ways. Her main concern is to find out if Claire found Jamie and if they are happy together. Brianna also has to deal with her growing love for Roger. But before she commits her life to him, she must find her parents, no matter how dangerous the journey may be.

The POV in Drums of Autumn changes several times, but the story remains easy to follow. However, the characters seem to become more and more despicable with each word they utter. Gabaldon continues to include homophobia, racism, and yes, rape, which we've become accustomed to in this series. At this point, it seems that Gabaldon believes these problematic elements are necessary for her story.

With the Frasers in the New World and interacting with Indigenous people, there is ample opportunity for racist behavior. To some extent, Jamie is a man of his time and has a racist attitude towards Native Americans. However, this didn't have to be the case just because the Outlander series is a historical fictional novel. Clearly, there were those who saw the humanity of the indigenous communities even then, and it wouldn't have disrupted the fragile historical setting of the series to have Jamie view people of color as his equals. Both Jamie and Claire consistently refer to the Native American tribes they interact with as savages. Claire, however, has no excuse like Jamie, as she lived in 1968 and is fully aware of the disastrous effects of colonization on the Indigenous peoples of America. She is only interested in the Indigenous tribes to the extent that she can learn about herbs from them.

Since the Frasers are in pre-revolutionary America, slavery is thriving. Claire continues to be extremely against slavery, and given Jamie's problems with the English, he is also not in favor of it. Jamie turns down a large inheritance, in part because it would make him the owner of a large number of slaves. Don't get too excited, though, as this is still Gabaldon's series. Brianna, Claire and Jamie's daughter, feels the same way about slavery as her parents and also attempts to reject the same inheritance her father turned down to avoid becoming a slave owner. However, Brianna is partial to the benefits she receives from slavery.

The Outlander series is at its core historical fiction, and in Drums of Autumn, we are presented with what initially appears to be the star-crossed love affair between Brianna and Roger. Roger, like Frank, is a historian, and like Jamie, he is a terrible love interest by any measure. When Roger pursues Brianna and asks her to marry him, she refuses and instead suggests they have sex. Roger quickly rejects the offer and slut shames Brianna.

This isn't the only time Brianna is attacked. On her way to finally meet her parents, she is raped by a pirate while trying to retrieve Claire's gold wedding band. Like many rape victims, Brianna blames herself, wondering if she could have prevented it if she had fought. Jamie, a fellow rape victim, decides to assure his daughter that she couldn't have stopped what happened, but of course, the best way he can think of to do this is to physically assault her.

Overall, Drums of Autumn continues the Outlander series with its mix of romance, adventure, and problematic elements. While the story may be engaging, the characters' actions and attitudes leave much to be desired.

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