Customer Reviews

Hellfire

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Romances. Historicals. Time-Travel Adventures. No matter what you call them, they're simply good books. I'm talking about, of course, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, of which there are currently four published novels: Outlander, Dragonfly In Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn. Fans such as myself are eargly, if not impatiently, waiting for the publication of The Fiery Cross and Sons of Liberty, the final two books in the series. In the meantime there is the classy Hellfire, an all-too brief mystery story featuring one of the major characters from the Outlander series, to hold us over. From the very first lines of Hellfire, Gabaldon expertly plunges us into the fascinating world of 18th century London, complete with all the details and authentic dialogue necessary to make such a setting as real to us as our own 21st century world. At the center of Hellfire is Lord John Grey, a character who played a key role, most memorably in Dragonfly In Amber and Voyager, in several pivotal plot lines involving Jamie Fraser, the beloved hero of the Outlander novels. In this story that is all his own, Lord Grey must solve the mystery behind the death of a young man he feels personally responsible to. His quest leads him deep into the seamy underbelly of London Society -- with shocking results. On her website and in The Outlandish Companion, the encyclopedic reference to the Outlander novels published a couple of years ago, Gabaldon makes no secret of the fact that mystery novels are on her agenda. Thank the God of Books! If Hellfire is any indication, she will be as successful in the mystery genre as she has deservedly been with the Outlander series. I found myself wishing Hellfire was in the thousand-page-plus length of her novels, but, alas, the story is only twenty-three pages long, though by no means any less enjoyable for being as short as it is. For those of you leery of purchasing a computer disk instead of a book, I can only say: don't be. It couldn't be easier and I promise, with Hellfire, it will be well worth your time to do so. Then, if you haven't already, get yourself copies of Outlander, Dragonfly In Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn. And suffer the wait for The Fiery Cross and Sons of Liberty along with the rest of us.

If you're one of those fans like I am that is anxiously awaiting the Fiery Cross, you may be tempted to pick up this little story, as I did. It does contain all of the wonderfullly discriptive and detail oriented talent that Gabaldon is known for. Though Lord John Grey is an interesting character in the Outlander series, his position and references to Jamie Fraser (from the series) are completely lost in this little story. They only work to suck the series fan in. A new reader woudn't have a clue. Though mystery for Gabaldon may be a new venture and it could be developed into something special, there seemed to be too many characters and settings in this story. It was hard to follow and understand, let alone get wrapped up in the mystery plot of the story. The reader is dragged into the "cult" group at the end before he understands what is even taking place. It seems to belong in a much longer book that Gabaldon just didn't have time to finish. Not for the Outlander series fan looking for a fix. Wait for Fiery Cross.

A Warning to the Outlandish series readers: THIS DOES NOT HAVE JAMIE OR CLAIRE IN IT.

This is a stand alone story about one of the secondary characters in the Outlandish series. I picked it up because I, like many others, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of book number five. While it is not about either Jamie or Claire, it shows John Grey in a way that he has not been shown before. In this story, he is the main character, and as such provides an extremely strong storyline. For me, it was wonderful to see a seconday character getting a story of his own. I only hope that she will write one about Roger...

I can understand how die-hard fans of Diana Gabaldon would really love to get their hands on this diskette Hellfire. I thought I was one of those people. The truth of the matter is, I'm not overly fond of Lord John Grey's character so I didn't really enjoy this story set up just for him. The story is in typical Gabaldon fashion. I guess what I'm trying to say is; don't feel like your missing anything by overlooking this particular story.

I have always been an avid reader of historical novels and when my best friend introduced me to the works of Ms Gabaldon I was hooked. I have read all of her published works including the Companion novel and I am looking forward with great excitement for the next two. I have been very busy of late, can someone give me an expected release date. I found her books to be very involving, I could never put them down and I find now that I have started reading them all once again. She has a great turn of phrase which in turn makes you want to follow her through the stones. I have three Scottish friends and they positively adore her writing. I must be off now as lunch beckons and as usual I am the only cook in residence! Sandra.