Finished: Drums of Autumn (Gabaldon) Finally read the next book in the Outlander series, which has Jamie and Claire shipwrecked in the American colonies and making their home there...though I do miss the major character of  "Scotland" now. They've got Jamie's nephew, young Ian, there with them as they establish their home on Fraser's Ridge in North Carolina. They also meet the aging and blind Jocasta Campbell, who is the sister of Dougal and Collum McKenzie, as well as the sister of Jamie's mother. She's thrilled when Jamie shows up at her plantation and wants to immediately have him take over and be her heir. Neither Claire or Jamie are thrilled with the idea of owning slaves though, and so they nicely decline the offer and set off to build a home in the mountains. They establish a friendly relationship with the local Native American tribe, and Ian in particular spends alot of time with the tribe hunting, fishing, etc. Oh, and Ian has a really cool part wolf dog named Rollo. I can't help but think of the direwolves in Game of Thrones, and now I wonder which series was written first? hmmm, I'll have to check that out. (P.S. Outlander was published in 1991 and Game of  Thrones in 1996, so there ya go.) Anyway, back in the modern times, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, has fallen in love with Roger, and he with her. However, they are maintaining a long distance relationship, she in Boston and he at Oxford. When Roger finds an ancient newspaper article that shows Claire and Jamie will die in a fire in January of 1776 on Fraser's Ridge, he destroys it and doesn't tell Brianna. Of course, Brianna, who is doing her own research into her parents' history, finds the same article and then goes through the stones in Scotland, back in time, hoping to find her parents and warn them. This is exactly what Roger was afraid she would do, and when he finds out, he follows her through the stones. Brianna meets Jenny, Ian and their brood at Lallybroch and begins to love being a part of this family she's never known. Both Brianna and Roger take separate ships to America and have their various adventures, or misadventures. Eventually, after landing a few weeks apart, they meet up and while each is angry at first, they make up, declare their love and finally consummate their relationship. Then, Brianna finds out that Roger already knew about her parents and kept it from her and they have a huge fight which causes a lengthy separation that neither saw coming. Brianna is raped by Stephen Bonnett, the same pirate who Roger came across the sea with...AND...the same pirate that Jamie had helped escape from a hanging earlier in the book....AND...the same pirate that then subsequently robbed Jamie and Claire of the three precious jewels, their only source of income, that they had brought with them from Jamaica. Needless to say, later in the book when Jamie finds out that he helped save a man who raped his daughter, the guilt pours upon his shoulders. I don't know about this obsession Diana Gabaldon has with rape, but it's very disturbing to have seen three innocent, good people (Jamie, Mary and now Brianna) brutally raped in her books. One of the most heartwarming scenes in the book is when Brianna and Jamie finally meet! He's never laid eyes on his daughter and they form an instant bond. Of course, they also clash stubborn heads quite a bit since they are just alike! Another great scene is when Jamie takes Brianna home to Fraser's Ridge to see Claire, the mother she never thought she'd see again. The mother and daughter reunion is very touching! And, of course, it ends up that Brianna is pregnant! She's pretty certain that Stephen Bonnett is the father, since he raped her two days after her sex with Roger, during which, she tells her mother that to aid against pregnancy, Roger had "withdrawn" at the end. After having a bit of good family time with Jamie, Claire, Brianna and her cousin, Ian, the stress hits the fan when Jamie finds out Brianna is pregnant and her young maid who sailed with her across the ocean, Lizzie, erroneously informs Jamie and Ian that the man who raped Brianna was "McKenzie". Of course, Roger has taken the name Roger McKenzie for his American crossing, and not Roger Wakefield. However, Brianna has told her parents to be on the lookout for Roger Wakefield. After their huge fight, she still feels like Roger will show up there for her any day! And, show up he does, but he's recognized by Lizzie, who only saw them fight and she tells Jamie and Ian that McKenzie is here. Thinking he's the man who raped their daughter, and  not knowing he's actually Roger, Jamie and Ian beat him senseless and then give him to a less friendly Indian tribe!! Yikes! Anyway....there are so many details in the book that it would take forever to write it all down. When the despondent Brianna sketches a picture of Roger one day, Jamie and Ian go white and realize the man they gave to the Indians was Roger! The whole story about the rape and misunderstanding comes out and Jamie, Claire and Ian set off to find Roger, leaving the now six months pregnant Brianna at River Run with her Aunt Jocasta. Oh, and the lovely Lord John Grey shows up twice in the books...once just to see Jamie and Claire, but with his 12 year old stepson William in tow...the William who is really Jamie's son! And, he shows up again at River Run to keep Brianna company while her family is off hunting for Roger. Jamie, Claire and Ian DO find Roger, a prisoner/lackey of the Mohawk tribe. Jamie strikes a bargain to trade Roger for a bunch of the liquor he has distilled, but they want more. A man for a man...so before Jamie can offer himself up, Ian has beat him to the punch and is already painted, shaved and about to be baptized with an Indian name. He's 17 now, and actually fallen for one of the tribe girls and is so used to the Indian ways that he insists to his uncle that he'll be fine! With no other choice, really, Jamie, Claire and Roger head back to Brianna. This book leaves off with Roger and Brianna about to be married, while the baby, little Jemmy (Jeremiah) has become the light of all their lives. Well...except for Roger's, since he knows that the baby is most likely not his. He loves Brianna though, and vows to love Jemmy as well and raise him as if he's his own. I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle the next Outlander book, which is probably also close to 1200 pages...but I'm sure one of these days I'll break it open and continue with the saga!! :-)