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A Breath of Snow and Ashes
First published 2005 · 1456 pages
A sprawling, immersive epic that balances the quiet intimacy of a long marriage with the looming dread of a historical powder keg.
What it feels like
Reading this massive installment feels like settling into a long, harsh winter in the backcountry, where the warmth of a hearth fire is constantly threatened by the howling winds of impending war. The narrative pace is steady and deeply immersive, taking its time to revel in the sensory details of eighteenth-century domestic survival before plunging into moments of breathless, brutal action. It is a book steeped in foreboding, as the characters and the reader carry the heavy burden of knowing the violent history that is about to unfold. Yet, at its core, the emotional texture is anchored by an unshakable, mature romance. It will thoroughly delight readers who crave sprawling, meticulously researched historical epics where intimate family dramas play out against the terrifying, grand canvas of a revolution.
- Mood
- foreboding
- rustic
- atmospheric
- tense
- Tone
- earnest
- dramatic
- intimate
- sweeping
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the weight of impending history · enduring love amidst chaos · survival and resilience · the burden of foresight · family loyalty
- The writing
- Richly textured and immersive, prioritizing sensory historical detail and deep character interiority.
- The arc
- Moves from the quiet tension of domestic life on the brink of war to explosive, heart-wrenching crises and hard-won survival.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love getting lost in sprawling, meticulously researched historical epics anchored by a fierce, enduring romance.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- sexual assault
- medical trauma
- child loss
- torture
About the book
Eagerly anticipated by her legions of fans, this sixth novel in Diana Gabaldon's bestselling Outlander saga is a masterpiece of historical fiction from one of the most popular authors of our time.Since the initial publication of Outlander fifteen years ago, Diana Gabaldon's saga has won the hearts of readers the world over -- and sold more than twelve million books. Now, A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire.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.From the Hardcover edition.
Description from Open Library.
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