Ok everyone! Who is ready to get elbow deep into Book 3 of the Outlander Series – Voyager by Diana Gabladon. If you do not have a copy you can get one here as a hardcopy, digital, or audiobook version.
I am testing out how I want to do this, so there may be a change in formatting here and there. I will always try to put the synopsis and content discussion under a cut. That should keep spoilers down to a minimum.
Today we will be talking about the Prologue and Chapter 1
Warning…..there be spoilers ahead!
Prologue
Honestly, I rarely read the prologues. I am far too interested in getting back to the story. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise if I tell you that during reads 1 through 5 I skipped or skimmed it.
This time, however, I have it a good read.
In this passage, the narrator recounts why she only walked through puddles at dusk as a child. It is a pretty and poetic passage, but it really doesn’t sound like the Claire we know. Our Claire is pragmatic and scientific, not fanciful and superstitious. From a strictly literal sense it does not fit for me.
Metaphorically speaking we get so much more from it. In Gaelic mythology, the Otherworld (the world of the Faeries) is closer/more accessible during certain points of the day. These “turning points” are dawn, noon, DUSK, and midnight. That Claire feels safest during this time and anchors to a point of light foreshadows her upcoming (past?) relationship with Jamie. He is her point of light. He is her anchor to life, and is what keeps her from falling into the abyss (despair).
When we ended Dragonfly in Amber, Roger has told Claire that he believes Jamie may have survived. Together, Roger and Bree decide to see if they can find proof that Jamie lived through the Battle of Culloden.
Chapter 1 The Corbie’s Feast
Synopsis
“He was dead”
Jamie awakens, believing himself to be dead and in purgatory. The pain he is experiencing is both too mild to be hell, and unlikely if he was in heaven. He takes stock of what he must endure, and like a knife to his heart, he thinks of Claire and their unborn child. For the first of what will come to be innumerable times, he sends up a prayer,
“Lord, that she may be safe. She and the child”
As he becomes more aware of his surroundings, he realizes that he is in fact, not dead. Despite a terrible wound to his leg, he survived Culloden, waking with the body of Black Jack Randall atop him. He is discovered by two Jacobite soldiers and they take shelter in a nearby farmhouse alongside other survivors.
Jamie knows that his wound is fatal and so he prays again,
“Lord, that she may be safe. She and the child”
Inevitably, the English find the farmhouse and all the men inside are labelled traitors and sentenced to death. Due to a debt of honour owed to him, Jamie’s life is spared. After festering in the farmhouse for two days, and weak from infection, Jamie is to be sent home to Lallybroch.
Thoughts
“He was dead” – Nooooooooooooooo!
Of course he HAS to suffer. Thanks a lot Diana.
Why do you hate my book boyfriend so much?
Ohhh Jamie….sigh
Grrrrr……BJR. I hate you!
Oh! Ravens. Dinnertime!
Thank you! Jamie is not alone.
Hang in there. Don’t die!
Oh…he is sooooo sad. I am sooooo sad. Thanks a lot Diana.
Ooooooh…..Melton…..what’s his story?
Ahhh……plot twist!
Last minute reprieve
Home to Lallybroch!
Yaaay!
This opening chapter is a pretty good indication of the road that Jamie must travel (thanks a lot Diana) before he can be reunited with Claire. He fully expected the agony of Purgatory. Little did he know he was to live it. Jamie is set unto home, dying from infection and fever. There will be pain. There will be sorrow. Will there be relief?
Join us next week as we discuss Chapters 2 and 3.
Please add any comments below. I am looking forward to your input. Please be considerate and leave the comment section spoiler free. Thank you!
P.S. We are planning some fun giveaways for those who join in.
#bait
#youknowyouwantto
#don’tbeshy