Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Fiction, SciFi, Historical, Fantasy

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, Written in My Heart's Own Blood 

Synopsis: "War leaves nobody alone. Neither the past, the present, nor the future offers true safety, and the only refuge is what you can protect: your family, your friends, your home.

Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years of loss and heartbreak to find each other again. Now it’s 1779, and Claire and Jamie are finally reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children, and are rebuilding their home on Fraser’s Ridge—a fortress that may shelter them against the winds of war as well as weather.

But tensions in the Colonies are great: Battles rage from New York to Georgia and, even in the mountains of the backcountry, feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows that loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long before the war is on his doorstep.

Brianna and Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s—among them disease, starvation, and an impending war—was indeed the safer choice for their family.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is coming to terms with the mysteries of his identity, his future, and the family he’s never known. His erstwhile father, Lord John Grey, has reconciliations to make and dangers to meet on his son’s behalf and on his own, and far to the north, Young Ian Murray fights his own battle between past and future, and the two women he’s loved.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. Jamie sharpens his sword, while Claire whets her surgeon’s blade: It is a time for steel." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I am always amazed at how many storylines Gabaldon can incorporate into one novel (albeit a 900 pg novel). They are interesting, intertwined perfectly, fully developed, and somehow still easy to follow. I'm delighted every time characters make their reappearance. (Anyone else just LOVE Lord John Grey?)

I find that my favorite novels in this series have the Fraser family all back in the same time period. While this entire story does not take place at Fraser's Ridge, I'm glad that much of it does, making the reader feel enveloped in the nostalgia of a place visited once before. 

All the best things about the previous eight novels can be found in this latest addition to the series. I absolutely cannot wait for book ten, bittersweet knowing it will be the last installment of Claire and Jamie's story

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




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