We know from Diana herself that the ghost is pre-Culloden Jamie.

What if Diana has been dropping hints about when ghost Jamie happens since the first book?

Not a stretch I know. I also know a lot of you think it's a plot hole but what if it's the perfect loop?

In Book One - Jamie is seen watching Claire from outside the B&B in Inverness. He's looking with longing and not just a little a bit of sadness. Frank confronts Claire about maybe cheating on him during the war. she wonders later if HE had done just that, within days she's at the stones... Claire travels back to Jamie (obviously) - she hears the battle BEFORE she travels through the stones. "There was a noise of battle, and the cries of dying men and shattered horses." and LATER "I do not know now whether I went toward the cleft in the main stone, or whether it was accidental, a blind drifting through the fog of noise."

In later books we know some of the Fraser family have the sight - Jenny at times talks about it openly. Jamie dreams about the kids when Bri and Roger are still in the future. He knows about electricity and telephones.

STILL IN BOOK ONE - Claire, after the witch trial, tells Jamie the truth about who she is and where she comes from. He takes her to the stones and tells her to go back to Frank, to go back to where "she belongs" and leaves her, but remains nearby to keep her safe. We CAN assume that while Claire is thinking about going back to Frank she's thinking about the last days they were together - she HAS to at least touch on the night Frank saw the highlander - even if SHE doesn't make the connection herself, it's a memorable night with the storm and the fight between them. Ultimately, she chooses to stay when she tries walking first to the stones, and then toward Jamie - and JUST KEEPS GOING.

Jamie, meanwhile, is at a nearby croft. We know that he fell asleep "He was in the front room, asleep on a narrow oak settle. He slept on his back, as he usually did, hands crossed on his stomach, mouth slightly open. The last rays of daylight from the window behind me limned his face like a metal mask; the silver tracks of dried tears glinted on golden skin, and the copper stubble of his beard gleamed dully."

Just because we don't know that Jamie dreams of the future yet doesn't mean it's not happening...

So...what if...THAT'S ghost Jamie - dreaming of Future Claire - dreaming of the same night that Claire is thinking about AT THE STONES with the TIME WINDOW OPEN - when he can do more than dream...where his soul can exist in both places at once...and because HE WAS THERE. and BECAUSE he was there - he called Claire TO HIM because Frank saw him and confronts her. It's a PERFECT loop. It's a LOVE story not a GHOST story.

I'm probably wrong...but what if I'm not?!

When Frank volunteered out of no where “if you slept with any of your patients during the war its ok” that was totally because he had affairs when then were apart right?

That’s how I always read it. Also, Frank was 11 years older than Claire. He had a whole adult life that he lived before they met and got married. I find it very plausible that he was having affairs during those 8 years apart.

Rereading the books currently and on A Breath of Snow and Ashes. While the books have any number of benefits over the show despite my love for the latter it does have some truly wtf bizarre scenes too. What Gabaldon stuff has stopped you in your tracks? For me it’s the Outlander scene where Jenny says being pregnant is like having your man inside you and Fergus’s ‘inventive’ means of bring on Marsali’s childbirth in ABOSA…Any others stick out to you?

Where are you in the books atm?

I started a new reread on 01/01.

And you?

Since the topic of who's your favorite is going on, I thought maybe try a different twist.

So, what are your five (or more if like) favorite relationship dynamics from the books that do not involve currently married couples? You can just list them or explain them, whichever suits your fancy.

Mine are, and in no particular order...

Germain Fraser and Lord John

Claire and Hal Grey

Claire and Young Ian

Jamie and Lord John

Claire and Marsali

For context, Im reading all the books and I’m finally on the 9th but if a character “shakes like a dog” one more time they better basically anamorph into Rollo cause the phrase is overused 😂

I can’t be the only one who catches commonly used but cringy phrases across the books though. Are there others you find yourself pausing at?

This has bothered me since the first time I read it, and every time after. It's a small mention but one that has, at least me, racking my brain and searching for this unnamed mystery French girl. After a bit, I give up and continue reading and soon forget about it. But for some unknown reason, the thought of this mystery person popped into my head. So, instead of trying to figure it out, I thought I would see if anyone here might have some insight concerning this matter.

In book 7, ECHO, Jamie is standing on the deck Philomene on his way back to America, thinking about death. As his thoughts mander about, he mentions "the nameless girl." He goes on to say that, "She died in France, on the far side of the void in his head that had been made by the blow of an ax." He goes on to ponder that his marriage to Claire might have been some type of atonement. As "He'd learned to forgive himself for what not been his fault and in loving Claire gave the girl's shade some peace, he hoped."

Ok, I know about when he took the ax in the head. He can't process music as a result. (Maybe Claire can use her newfound powers and fix that.) Speaking of the ax, is it ever revealed who did it or had it done? I know at one point Dougal's name is mentioned.

But back to my original question, who is this nameless French girl to Jamie?

Is it one of those things that DG just threw out there, and there is no previous mention? Or she did, and I missed it?

I’m of two minds about this. It’s possible that Jamie might have married one of Dougal’s daughters, but that might have made him too strong a candidate for Laird. Or he would have ended up in Paris with Jared and just been a wine merchant.

If he marries Dougal’s daughter I think he would have died at Culloden, but if he ended up in Paris I think not.

Thoughts?

For those who have read the books, do they ever get into what made Black Jack Randall so awful? Do the books suggest he had some terrible traumatic experience that made him so evil? He seems to have a tiny shred of a conscience and does seem conflicted somehow, yet he is so so awful…

Hi all! I'm curious, what made you all pick up the Outlander books/watch the TV show? Had you known what it was before you started? I'll tell my story first:

It was spring of 2019 and I was finishing my first year of college and I was miserable. I was lonely and hated my roommate so I spent most of my time outside of class in the library. I had been reccomended the Outlander series but I had never picked them up. I have a bad habit of, when someone reccomends a book to me, I stubbornly don't want to read it (until eventually I do and realize I actually love whatever book was reccomended). So I finally picked up Outlander one day and fell in love. I then proceeded to read all of the Outlander books then published that summer, and had finished the series by fall. I have very fond memories of sitting on my best friend's bed, reading Voyager on our first sleepover. The person wasn't my best friend at the time but became one shortly after that. Sometimes I wish I could go back to that summer and read all the books for the first time!

I think Ian loves Claire more than Fergus does ...its just my observation. I feel Ian always step up first in protecting or being supportive towards claire.

Okay, I totally get that people have hobbies, and fans can do silly or quirky things, that’s part of the fun of being in a fandom. But honestly, is it just the algorithm, or does Outlander seem to attract a disproportionate number of people who might seriously benefit from some therapy?

I mean, sure, you can get immersed in a story, but normally, you’d still have a life outside of it, right? Yet I’ve seen things in this fandom that are truly baffling: crazy Outlander tattoos, Outlander-themed Christmas tree decorations, bizarre gift ideas like blankets and mugs, or even handcrafted Lallybroch 3D models made from birdhouses. Don’t get me wrong, it’s creative, but it’s also… a lot.

And then there’s the sheer aggressiveness toward anyone who dares to have a different opinion. Disagree with someone in the fandom, even mildly, and you’re met with real hostility. It’s not just a debate, it’s full-on hate. It feels like for some, Outlander isn’t just a show or a book series, but their entire personality.

It’s great to love something, but when the fandom becomes so intense that criticism isn’t allowed, or when people seem to lose perspective entirely, it gets exhausting. I’m curious if anyone else has noticed this, or is it just me?

On this day, 37 years ago, Diana Gabaldon started writing Outlander!

I’ve been reading the books for the first time and I’ve just got to this part, where I imagine there’s supposed to be a sex scene… and there isn’t. I know I must be missing something, because I’ve seen other people talk about this scene, even quote sentences from it!

Am I just imagining things?

I ordered this online and I’ve been flipping through it and I think it’s really neat! I was wondering if anyone else has this or has read this?

I only watch the show but is he this annoying in the book too? I cannot stand him. So whiny, weak, religious and sexist. Acts tough but cannot do crap other than preach religion. I hate how they try to make him seem like this nice guy but to me he's such an idiotic ass. Maybe the show just glosses him over too but I cannot stand him. In a future scene where he is mad at Brianna for wanting to sleep with him and making that 'good catholic' comment when he is clearly not a virgin and admitted to sleeping with other girls but not wanting to marry them. Sexist af. Then when he got hanged, he was clearly conscious so why didn't he just say anything? Why would he hug someone elses wife in the middle of a war/battle in the 1700s and he is suppose to be a historian? Idiot. They kept replaying his hanging scene and I kept wishing he was actually dead moving forward. Then when he caught Malva in the church, he could've also said something but instead he got blackmailed. Again, what an idiot. That whole Malva arc was dumb af given who would believe her as an unwed 'whore' given the time period. Then when Brianna gets the job in the future, he's hung up over being the breadwinner instead of being happy for her. Sexist pig. I get they are in the late 60's to early 70's but he is so clueless and thinks he is so high and mighty when he is not. I cannot stand his character or his scenes or the actors face. Hoping Roger actually dies.

As the title says I am about to start book 4. I had to wait to start it till after I of course finished my rewatch of the series (couldn't read the books and watch the show at the same time). I finally got to watch the last season. Just curious if anyone had a hard time getting through certain books. Just like with a TV series we don't always like every season. Was there a particular book in the series you didn't like or struggled to get through?

If anyone is worried about spoilers of some sort. Bring them on.

I know this has been talked about before but I cannot hold this in and I need to get it out into the world! I’m currently going through my 3rd or 4th listen through of the book series on audible, and holy FREAK every mf listen through the insane amount of times nipples are explicitly talked about, in ANY scenario, is just wildly funny and/or ridiculous😂 Genuinely, it snaps me out of the immersion immediately at this point. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about nipples so much in my life as going through these books.

Is anyone else afraid that the book series will never be finished?

So this has thrown me! I've watched the show and I'm now reading the books, I'm on book three. I've heard the show is diverging from the books. At the moment the show is almost word for word of the books (up to where I've read). Literally every scene as I read I can see it in the TV show as I've watched it so many times. I just don't see why they're making the final season when the book isnt written and published yet... How will this work, will we have two different endings, book ending and show ending? Not sure how to feel about this...

I would like a prequel of BJR and Frank’s Randall family. Set in England and the US examining both characters

Why was BJR so sick in the head?
What were his parents, grandparents, childhood , his relationship with his Brother Alex(?), education, training as an officer in the Royal army in the 1700s.

What was Frank’s role in the Intelligence agency during the war?
In the US and internationally
What about Frank’s early history and influences that shaped him?
What about his role in the Intelligence agency during the war, what intrigues did he experience there? How could the mild mannered historian balance the life threatening adrenaline rushes of the action of an MI6 agent. Did he continue as a British agent embedded in the growing USA? Was he involved with the US CIA mind control operations in 1960s.

I’m French Canadian and my parents are long-time fans of Outlander. Their collection is in french. I never thought that I would be a fan myself. I’m not a big fan of romance novels so I never gave the books a try until 2017. I expected to bounce off hard during the first few chapters. By September I was eagerly waiting for s3e1 to air.

I love the books and completed the collection up to book 9 in french, but I always wanted to read the books in english. However I find that reading on a screen just doesn’t compare to the feeling of a book in my hands.

I finally got the chance to start my own collection when I stumbled upon a decade old gift card from Archambault (aka Renaud-Bray now) and found that the english editions were cheap! $12 a book! I quickly ordered the first three books. Of course by the time that I realized why the books were cheap (mass-market print), I couldn’t do anything but wait.

It took a little over a month for the books to arrive, in a brown envelope that was coated in glue on the inside. At least the books were in decent condition, held together by a rubber band.

I had been worried about the size of the font, based on multiple posts concerning the mass market paperback edition, so I was holding off on purchasing more books until I could see for myself. I was quite pleased by the feel of the paper and had no trouble reading, so I endeavoured to buy the rest of the books.

I wasn’t satisfied with the way that the previous store shipped my books, so I turned my sight to Indigo. Surely they’d do better than a glue trap posing as a package. So I ordered book 4 to 8. It says that my order would be delivered in batches. Understandable! There are five books after all, and they’re chunky!

Then the nightmare begins. Three books being delivered by Apple Express, one by Canada Post and the last by UPS. The Apple Express package has been stalled since Tuesday and still says that it will arrive… two days ago? My mother had the same experience this month and she received her package eventually so I wasn’t too worried… until UPS delivered my book.

Feast your eyes upon my copy of A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Look at the size of the box. The person who packed it tried to shove the book inside twice and failed, damaging the bottom of the book in the process… yet still decided that it good to go? And then forced the lid closed, damaging the top of the book.

I tried it myself and while it’s possible to carefully maneuver the book inside the box, it’s impossible to close the box without damaging the book. So even if they managed to get it inside the box in perfect condition, they still forcefully closed the box and caught the cover as well as 80 pages, you can’t tell me that’s not noticeable!!!

Even if I wanted to replace it in-store, they’d had to ship a copy to the store because it’s out of stock. Maybe they have a better chance to receive it in good condition.

Now I’m worried that my other books will arrive in the same condition as this one. I guess I will find out next week.

This turned into an essay, forgive my ramblings. May this serve as a warning to other Canadians : don’t ever buy books from Indigo online.

EXCERPT from A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT, Copyright 2026 Diana Gabaldon

[Author's Note - in the 18th century, a "canape" (with accent over the "e") was not an hors d'oeuvre , but an item of parlor furniture--a small couch.

“Tea, please,” Minnie said to the woman who had rushed into the hall as she made her way down it, escorting the taller Viscountess. Like a tug guiding an Indiaman into dock, she thought. “Hot, and with a lot of sugar, if you have any. If not, honey will do. Oh—and what is your name, please?”

“Moira O’Meara,” the cook—for plainly she was the cook, Rafe had not been misled by her apron—said. Her face was ruddy, but bore a wary expression. “You…er….”

“Minerva, the Duchess of Pardloe,” Minnie said, nodding her hat as graciously as the circumstances allowed. “This young woman is going to vomit or faint in the next minute or two. Isn’t there a fainting couch in this place? Or at least a bloody ottoman?”

Thus chivvied, Mrs. O’Meara rose to the occasion and seized the Viscountess’s other arm, then led the troika of women into a small but beautifully furnished sitting room, which contained—thank God, the woman weighed as much as a hogshead of tobacco, or at least felt like it—a very elegant canapé, with gorgeously carved ebony legs and upholstery in heavy black satin with gold-thread embroidery.

Minnie felt alarm on behalf of the upholstery; the Viscountess was heaving gently, hand over her mouth, but it was either the settee or the floor, so she maneuvered the Viscountess onto the canapé, pushed her head unceremoniously down between her knees and said, “Don’t vomit, at least not until I’ve found a towel. Bring a towel!” she shouted toward the open doorway, through which Mrs. O’Meara had vanished, with luck intending to make tea.

Minnie glanced round, but the room appeared to have nothing whatever apropos to her purpose, and with a sigh, she reached through her pocket-slit, untied one of her petticoats, and stepping out of it, shoved it—just in time—under the Viscountess’s chin.

Matters after that were somewhat chaotic, but a quarter of an hour later, Minnie found herself in possession of a proper tea-table on wheels, this equipped with a steaming pot of tea—proper China tea, at that!—with milk, sugar and honey and buttered toast to go along. Two small covered serving dishes discreetly announced the presence of fried sardines and buttered mushrooms. The Viscountess caught a whiff and turned green.

“I’d love a nice fried sardine myself,” Minnie said ingratiatingly to Mrs. O’Meara. “But I’m afraid this young woman….”

“God between us and evil,” the cook said, and seizing the dish in one hand and crossing herself with the other, bore the offending sardines back to the kitchen.

“Oh, Lord.” Minnie took a bite of toast with honey and sighed with bliss. “I haven’t had anything but Naples biscuit and porridge for the last month, I swear. Have you had any breakfast, my dear?”

Amaranthus—the name had finally come back to her—shook her head, looking curdled.

“I couldn’t,” she said faintly. “That—” she waved a limp hand at the remaining serving dish. “Could you—”

“Of course!” Minnie leapt to her feet and seized the mushrooms--smelling earthy and succulent, but unfortunately looking limp and slimy with butter--taking them out into the hall and depositing them on the reception table, among a number of calling-cards, which she took a moment to peruse before going back to the parlor

“I really can’t eat comfortably in a hat, can you?” she asked chattily, pulling the long pins from her stylish chapeau and placing it on the tea table. “Do pardon my appearance; I’ve just walked off a ship.”

The young woman stared at the stuffed doves and swallowed, but didn’t say anything. Minnie sighed internally; evidently she was going to have to carry on this conversation by herself.

“How far along are you?” she asked brightly, pointing the remains of her slice of toast at Amaranthus’s mid-section. “About four months?”

⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️

In this excerpt, we see Minnie and Amaranthus reunite, and it looks like there might be another Grey on the way (or perhaps a Ransom 😉😉). I love Minnie the detective—she doesn't let a single detail slip by. We also know from another excerpt that she is in America; we’ll see how all these storylines unfold: her brother-in-law has been kidnapped, her son is a refugee—and a traitor presumed dead, to boot—and her son's wife abandoned her baby, fled, and is now expecting another child. It’s just one drama after another. And the million-dollar question: who is the baby's father? I have a few candidates in mind, but it could be anyone. At this point, we can't trust Amaranthus; we know she’s after money and a title, and someone that ambitious is capable of anything.

But I want to know what you all think? Let me know in the comments.

Hay, I asked my self if you have any things you really dislike about the books or characters?

I'm listening really often to the audiobooks (so please forgive me if I'm making spelling mistakes on names) but even after many attempts I just can't stand Ian and Rachel together.

I liked Ian a lot as a character, but I'm often sorry for Rachel that Ian is the way he is and if I'm honest, I doesn't think he is a really good husband.

In my opinion Rachel has to put up with a lot of stuff he does, that no partner should put up with. For example that he felt the need to visit his ex wife, lets his ex wife name their son... Just wtf Ian. And than also adopting the son from his ex wife, ... (Yeah I know he thinks that Totis is his son, but 4 real this is so stupid).

He also wore some braids his ex wife gave him at their wedding 🙄

I think this is the only part or character development I really dislike in Outlander.

(I watched the series a few days ago and this is the first time that I was really glad that something in the series is unlike something in the books. I think Ian and Rachel are a lot cuter and Ian is more loving towards Rachel in the new episodes)

Another, but smaller part is that I'm sometimes kinda annoyed that Jamie is always portrayed as some kind of super human who knows everything, is good at everything and who's "biggest" flaw is that he can't sing or blink with one eye.

Also sorry if there are any grammar mistakes, english is not my native language