Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone: Outlander, Book 9

Michelle A.

Actually, it's NOT like reading the same Jaime & Claire story, and that's a good thing

"I'm a 20+ year reader of the Outlander series. I remember first discovering the characters of Jamie and Claire, and being engrossed in their passion. Over the years and books, I have enjoyed reading about their growing family. I have also enjoyed experiencing their relationship as it matured with their age. There were certain storylines I couldn't wait to see addressed in "Bees," with Roger and Jenny, and William and whatever he would get up to in this book. Both of those curiosities were answered. Beyond that, though, I was open to seeing where Diana Gabaldon would take the story. Personally I was quite happy with the expanding storylines of other characters, as well as some of the comfortable scenes of home and family. Was the book fast paced and exciting the whole time? No. But it was rich with story and life. I completed the book tonight and thought I'd check out what others have thought of the book. To my surprise, it seems many have not enjoyed this one. Too bad. Personally, I would say that expecting a re-run of Jamie and Claire running around the countryside fighting battles, now that they are in their 60's, or expecting them to be the same as they were decades earlier would have been the unfortunate story, but it seems that may have been what many readers were hoping for. Personally I have enjoyed their more mature storyline. Youth, and some of its craziness, is fulfilled through other characters. I remember many years ago feeling like The Fiery Cross moved too slowly in a lot of places, or wasn't as good as the previous books. And then I eventually re-read it. Maybe it was me, or maybe I just paid more attention, but it wasn't until I knew the shape of the main story that I then got to enjoy some of the finer details. So even though I just finished "Bees," I'm planning to start my 2nd read of it again right away. Why? To connect some of the dots that I might have missed the first time. And to be better prepared for what will come next. I am quite sure #10 is going to have so much between the history, the science fiction, the love, and the family, that it will be hard to keep up. ["

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December 14, 2021 Verified Purchase

Susan Frank

Loved it

"Loved it. After such a long wait, "Bees" arrived on my kindle. With a trans-Atlantic flight ahead of me, I waited to start until I was on the plane. I've never had a flight pass so quickly as that one did. Of course, I came nowhere near finishing the book, and in a great test of willpower, spread the reading over the next week. This allowed me to savor what I'd read before moving on to the following chapters. The book never disappointed me, though I admit to a few bouts of frustration while reading. One of the biggest things I noticed about this book is that it doesn't move from one crisis to another as many earlier books did. It is more character-driven, with time spent watching those characters grow, change, adjust, and generally deal with day-to-day life and life-changing situations. The story picks up where the previous book left off, with the return of the MacKenzies to Fraser's Ridge. Claire and Jamie's happiness is evident, but so is their concern over what the future holds. Though Jamie resigned his commission in the Continental Army after Claire's injury in MOBY, they know that the war will eventually spread to their area. Jamie already sees the writing on the wall, as residents of the Ridge are split between Rebels and Loyalists. One particular resident, Captain Cunningham, will prove to be especially troublesome. It falls to Jamie to ensure the protection of his people, and he forms a militia company to do so. I loved the descriptions of his efforts to train them, including a hilarious riding lesson. I've seen complaints from other readers that the relationship between Jamie and Claire is lacking in this book. I'm afraid I have to disagree. It is perhaps a little quieter but no less intense. Claire knows him well enough to understand when she needs to worry about him and when she can write his actions off as business as usual. At the same time, Jamie knows when to stay out of the way of Claire's medical work and when he can offer a bit of guidance. Jamie certainly knows that leaving her behind when he goes to fight is not an option. Both are haunted by the ghost of Frank Randall, thanks to his book that Brianna brought with her from the future. Knowledge of the upcoming battle at King's Mountain hangs over their heads. Other happenings involving friends and family: With the return of the MacKenzies, Brianna, Roger, Jem, and Mandy must readjust to life in the 18th century. Roger found his calling with the ministry and finally pursued his ordination as a Presbyterian minister. Religious life on the Ridge is as much entertainment as spiritual, and nearly everyone attends all services, including the Quaker meeting led by Ian's wife. Some of those scenes are pretty funny and go a long way toward encouraging tolerance of others' views. Brianna continues her work as an engineer helping her father and as an artist. Thanks to Lord John, she receives a commission to do a portrait in Savannah. I enjoyed the descriptions of her subject and the challenges she faced. It also put Brianna in the right place for an unexpected and frankly somewhat creepy portrait request. The descriptions of that event were so vivid that I felt as though I was there. While in Savannah, Brianna had the opportunity to spend time with her half-brother, William. I liked his protectiveness toward his sister and his support during that weird portrait session. Brianna is aware of the strain between William and Jamie and uses the time to talk about Jamie. I laughed out loud when she told William about that particular sound he makes ("mmphm"). William matures a fair amount in this book. While he still hasn't quite come to terms with the truth about his parentage, he is getting closer. He is still just as determined to renounce his title and corrects anyone who refers to him by it. Since resigning from the British army, he's been at loose ends, so he takes on the investigation into his cousin Ben's reported death. This includes dealing with Ben's widow, Amaranthus. I freely admit that I do not like her or her hold on William. The shocking information he discovers about Ben could destroy the family, and her part in it made me dislike her even more. I liked William's friendship with John Cinnamon, the half-Indian, half-white man he met while visiting the family's Virginia property. John was an interesting character, and his connection to Lord John made for some tense moments until the whole story came out. I loved Brianna's part in John's story and its effect on him. During Roger and Brianna's trip to Savannah, they stopped briefly in Charles Town, South Carolina. The visit served a dual purpose. First, they returned Germaine to his parents, Fergus and Marsali. He lived on the Ridge while they all recovered from Henri-Christian's death. Fergus and Marsali run a successful printing business, working solidly on the side of the Americans. Fergus's connections make him the perfect person to help Roger and Bree acquire rifles for Jamie's militia. The descriptions of everything involved in this undertaking were, at times, scary and hilarious. There were some intense moments when Loyalists made their unhappiness with Fergus and his views plain. The danger motivates Fergus and family to relocate. Fergus also has another encounter with someone claiming to know the truth of his birth. Other residents of the Ridge also have their challenges. Frances (Fanny), the girl William rescued in the previous book, lives with Jamie and Claire. It takes a long time for her to believe that she is safe with them and doesn't have to worry about her future. Her grief for her sister profoundly affects her life, and I ached for everything she experienced in her short life. She is an interesting mixture of innocence and experience, and some of the things she says are both funny and heartbreaking. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for her. Life in the backwoods can be hazardous, and tragedy can strike without warning. The gruesome death of a young woman brought that danger home in a memorable scene. I ached for Bobby over the loss of his wife. In another scene, attending a difficult birth brings Claire closer to the manifestation of her full healing powers. It also brings another girl to the attention and guardianship of the Frasers. Young Ian and Rachel have settled on the Ridge, along with Ian's mother, Jenny. Their love was as surprising as it was intense, and I enjoyed seeing their continuing adjustments to life together as Mohawk and Quaker. When Ian receives word that his first wife is now a widow and could be in danger, nothing will stop him from checking up on her. I loved that Rachel insisted on going with him, along with their baby and Jenny. I wasn't sure how that encounter would go, and I admit to being pleasantly surprised. The scene between Emily and Rachel was incredibly emotional, and I loved every moment of it. There was an interesting twist involving Jenny, and I look forward to seeing where it goes. I also enjoyed seeing some minor characters from previous books make appearances. The Quaker woman and her daughters who helped Jamie in the last book are on his mind when Ian heads north. When Jamie asks Ian to check on her during his trip, Ian is shocked by what he finds. I loved his honor-fueled protectiveness and the actions it led to. It did somewhat complicate his life and journey. An unexpected twist ended with Mrs. Hardiman and her daughters traveling back to the Ridge. Ulysses (from River Run) was a less welcome visitor in a British uniform and bearing ill intentions toward Jamie. Lord John and his brother Hal, Duke of Pardloe, have several appearances in this book. Hal's seniority in the army put him at the center of the action. His views on the war don't necessarily match those of his compatriots. I liked his devotion to his family and ached over the effect of Ben's actions on him. John's relationship with William continues to be strained over the revelations of his parenthood. The same goes for his friendship with Jamie, thanks to John's brief marriage to Claire. Strained or not, John is there for William when he's needed, and there is never a doubt about how much he cares for William. John's past comes back to bite him when he's kidnapped in an attempt to influence Hal's plans for a trip to England. Double agent (but for whom?) Richardson makes another appearance. This time he has an agenda of his own that he will do anything to advance. William is especially disturbed by Richardson's statement that he knows Brianna and the hint of an underlying threat. A rough sketch done by William and shown to Brianna makes the unthinkable not only possible but terrifyingly real. The book ended in a cliffhanger with Lord John still a captive and William searching for help to save him. I hope that the next book doesn't take as long as this one did. I need to know what happens! ["

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December 9, 2021 Verified Purchase

Buf2teach

A GRAND ADVENTURE AWAITS YOU. BUZZ.

"My thoughts: A GRAND AND MIGHTY ADVENTURE AWAITS First, a general comment on Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone All things may NOT be as they seem. My profile picture (if you can find it) and my age are not true. That is a fact. It is from my last trip with university students many years ago. I’ve changed, the students have changed, but we have stayed in touch BECAUSE of our wonderful story together. Now, for my thoughts about the book: 1) I am very old (with a poor health prognosis) and didn’t even know if I would live to read Bees. I did, however, a preorder THE DAY it was announced and held my breath. I ordered it BECAUSE I believed in the story Diana Gabaldon has crafted over the years. I had HOPE that I would read the next story, and devoted the last year to reading EVERYTHING DG has written (albeit I had to learn how to do it on Kindle). I wouldn’t change a thing . . . Even the errors . . . Even inconsistencies with dates. I made it. 2) Gabaldon’s vocabulary prowess and use of the Gaelic has been used since Book One (Outlander/Crostitch). And, because I admire someone who says something beyond, “I didn’t like it,” I challenge you to read every word. In addition to a beautiful story spanning multiple generations and places in time, the language, formed together in snippets of seemingly insignificant incidences of hum-drum daily life come crashing down, forever changed, but also show the resiliency of the characters in the story. Often, they are vulnerable, shocked, tested, and torn apart. At other times, they are strengthened by their family, faith, friends, and EVEN previous foes. Here, Kindle works it’s magic. With the flick of a finger, the reader can get the definition and even get some of the origins/translations of words. 3) We may not all agree with any book, but as I have read and reread Gabaldon’s books, they have become my constant companions. In fact, other than a Bible and a couple of devotional books, DG’s books are the ONLY hardback/paperback books I own now (I donated a VERY LARGE classics collection to the university where I taught for years). And, I have all of them on Kindle. WHY? Because I wanted to CONTINUE reading this wonderful saga. My eyesight had changed as to where I could not read the actual hardback, so I CHANGED. I adapted. And I wanted to read more. I continued on and oh my! I’m so thankful I did! I would have missed SO MUCH of a beautiful story had I not continued. Bees is no different. It captures life in a time with twists at every turn. At first, these parts may seem disjointed or ill-connected, but as I have completed a quick read and then several slower reads, the pieces have started coming together for the final installment of this series (or at least I hope it will be so I live long enough to enjoy it). 3) I do not predict what will happen, because I do not think ANYONE of us can aptly predict the mechanics or creative mindset of this author. And I caution readers to proceed at their own risk. Although I have written for academics, I cannot capture the nuances of the characters way into unique patterns and tell such memorable stories I continue to reread, read, and look for clues. For potential readers, avoid social media and dig into Bees. Listen to the conversations between people who are brought to life (and back again on other occasions) with the BEES—the insect—and note EACH conversation. It will help you to understand the title, the people, their “histories” (which are not always as they seem), and the worlds that collide around them. Remember, with Gabaldon, history may not always be as it first seems. I would not recommend reading Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone without reading the other books. There’s just too much; I have noted many frustrated readers posting they are “lost” and “disappointed,” only to discover they have only watched the STARZ series and can’t figure out who all of these characters are. The side books (Lord John Grey series and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall are not required reading in preparation for this book, but they do offer more background to many of the other characters. Peace, joy, and love. ["

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January 7, 2022 Verified Purchase

Blue Horizon

Je l'adore this book!

"Here is the thing about Outlander. My mom read the books in the late 1990s, and got my grandpa and me both hooked on them. Which means I have been reading these books for at least 20 years (more than half of my life). I love them. I don't just love them -- they're a living part of my life. My favorite things in Outlander are not the things that happen but the characters and the way Gabaldon writes about them. From the show, and the "just like Game of Thrones!" advertising around it, people seem to focus on the sex and the violence. However, those, to me, are the least important parts of the books. I read these books because they are wonderful to live in. Honestly, I occasionally skim the sex and violence. Those aren't the heart of the story. Gabaldon is an ecologist, and she writes like one. Her books are rich with detail, with nature, and with the small and wonderful stories that happen all around us all the time. (What shall we make for dinner? Are there enough clothes clean? Is the horse's hoof a disaster or just a rock? Why is the floor so dirty? Did someone let the fire go out?) These intimate details, the tiny bits of historical accuracy, the wonderful way she embraces all her characters: That, to me, is what makes the books worth reading. A lot of people get hung up on reading The Fiery Cross I think because that's where the books start to slow down. It's one of my favorites of the books for that reason. Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone is in that vein. It's not as breakneck as An Echo in the Bone, and I love it more. I adore these books. I love Gabaldon's work. I love Brianna and Roger and John and Fergus and Marsali and Jenny and William and Ian and Rachel and Claire and Jamie and Lord John and Hal and Clarence the mule, and all the dogs and horses and kids. I love the characters, I love the details, I love the life Gabaldon breathes into the stories. These are some of my favorite books in which to live. ["

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September 26, 2022 Verified Purchase