At Sara's Table

A Breath of Snow and Ashes
by Diana Gabaldon
My Rating: 5/5 


Summary from Goodreads: Eagerly anticipated by her legions of fans, this sixth novel in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander saga is a masterpiece of historical fiction from one of the most popular authors of our time.


Since the initial publication of Outlander fifteen years ago, Diana Gabaldon’s New York Times bestselling saga has won the hearts of readers the world over — and sold more than twelve million books. Now, A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire.


The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.


With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence — with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future.


My Review from Goodreads: Tragedy. Comedy. Revolution. Hidden Treasure. Slavery. Mystery. Prison. Sickness. Adultery. Lies. Kidnapping. Sex. Birth. Time Travel. Marriage. Escape. All of the above is glued together with the strength of love and faith, and that is just the plot.


Never have I read a series that is more complete. A Breath of Snow and Ashes is perhaps my favorite book in the series aside from the first. Gabaldon answers a lot of questions that I had about situations in this series, and also opens new doors.


Aside from the plot, Gabaldon infuses her exciting story line with so much factual historical information. She has so much information written within her text that it could suffice as a textbook if you knew what to separate from the fictionalized plot. She also writes all of this factual information without being boring, and sometimes I even overlook it and forget it is there. 


Gabaldon has woven the information within her text and fused it to her story line. She has recreated the historical era for her text and touches on essential historical environments. The text touches upon historical views on different religions, economics, cultural traditions, medicine, family structures, and gender relations. It does not stop there. She has built a platform for the role of linguistics and the environmental aspects of plants, animals, and geography, too. The fact that I am an early American History teacher and archaeologist and can learn information collected from these different disciplines through her book thrills me. It is clearly evident that even though she has a Ph.D. in ecology, she has done a great amount of research outside of the discipline. 


I am also in love with her characters. I feel that I know each of the the main characters personally. There is something that I can identify with in each and every one. I have developed a strong relationship to them and their story makes all 980 pages worth reading. 


I recommend this story to anyone who loves historical fiction. However, I caution that it is not a quick read. To get the most out of this series, reading it is a commitment. Skimming these books would be doing it an injustice. Read and savor slowly, my friends.