Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone By Diana Gabaldon

The 1700s were dangerous times to be alive, plagued as they were by severe food shortages, wars, and like a cherry on top, a host of plagues and infections. It is in this backdrop that Brianna and Roger ponder whether they have made the right choices along the way in their quest to find an escape route for their young family.

Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser are finally reconciled with their girl, Brianna, her spouse Roger, and their kids. The Jacobite Rising in the late 1740s tore the former apart. Twenty long years passed before they could reunite. Will the American Revolution spare them from suffering the same fate again? Will their supposedly utopian dream of their family staying together be realized?

I still remember reading Outlander for the first time a few years ago. Seven years of waiting for 'Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone' has left me with a million mixed feelings. I'm of the personal opinion that Gabaldon has conspiratorily avoided writing this book similar to her previous works in the series. The book is 902 pages long, but the conspicuous absence of a concrete plot hits you as soon as you're about 50 pages in. This possibly works in her favor because her writing style means that plot or not, she is able to bring these characters to life in the reader's mind in a very vivid and unique fashion.

It is also true that the length of the book and the annoying little errors and inconsistencies in it frustrate the reader to no end. To say that the editing was shoddy, would be an understatement. It occasionally feels as if the author just rambles on and on about a particular subject with no real connection to the plot. Learning informational nuggets about the bees, cadavers, construction of houses, etc., are all well and good, but almost making a thesis out of them is tiring for the readers, especially in a long series like the 'Outlander'. Although there are innumerable twists and turns across the entirety of the eight novels in the series, the reader is bound to feel some disappointment in terms of its uncanny similarity to series like 'Clan Of the Cave Bear', or even 'GoT', wherein the reader is too weary and disappointed by the gradual petering out of the plot after the high of the first couple of books in the series.

For die-hard Outlander fans, this book is decent enough as a trailer to the supposed finale in book 10 of the series, albeit a very long one at that. For those already on the fence, this particular novel probably will not improve your opinion of the series.