The Space Between: An Outlander Novella

THE SPACE BETWEEN is a short story/novella (~100 pages) that occupies the space between the last two OUTLANDER NOVELS, AN ECHO IN THE BONE and WRITTEN IN MY HEART'S OWN BLOOD. It takes place in Paris in the mid 1770s, and focuses on Joan, Jaimie's stepdaughter who in en route to a become a nun. Joan, it turns out, hears voices and is prescient. The fill in of her back story is fascinating and welcome. But the most interesting characters are the return from the (presumed) dead of le Comte de Saint Germain and M. Grenouillle, the very mysterious frog-like alchemist/sorcerer/time traveler who knows what from several novels back.The writing is still enchanting and the plotting still captivating. Ant the characters! Often the weakest part of fiction, Gabaldon makes them all come alive and the complex interpersonal relationships are fascinating. This novella focuses much more on the fantasy/sci-fi aspects of time travel and alchemy than most of the novels, and is welcome for it. The whole series is an amazing amalgam of historical fiction, fantasy and sic-fi, military strategy and romance, and is absolutely addicting.Highly Recommended for fans.JM Tepper

Warning - if you haven't read all seven of the books in the Outlander series, this novella will make absolutely no sense to you; there's too much "back story" that is assumed the reader knows. That said, if you HAVE read those books, this novella is a delight. It picks up the story of Joan MacKimmie (Jamie's step-daughter), who is journeying to Paris to become a nun. She's accompanied by Jamie's nephew, Michael Murray, who came home to Scotland for his father's death/funeral. Michael works in the family wine business in Paris and offers to escort Joan on her journey.Enter the Comte, whom we all thought died in DIA, and Master Raymond and some time travel, mystical stuff. The Comte mistakenly believes Joan is Claire's daughter and kidnaps her for his experiments. Michael rescues her (of course). There's some reference to Claire and the Comte "belonging" to Raymond and they disappear together - to who knows where and why - at the end.As Diana Gabaldon herself often says, "Wait and see."

This is an interesting side story to the Outlander series. As with all of Diana Gabaldon's stories, the character development is good, the story is almost non-stop action, and the quality of the writing is excellent. The story involves Joan, the daughter of Loaghaire, the wanna be girlfriend of Jamie's from the first Outlander novel. Joan is taken to Paris by Michael Murray to enter the convent. However Joan hears voices that tell the future. It is a captivating tale, typical of Gabaldon, that there are many promises of romance or stories to relate, but it also suffers from the feeling of being left hanging. Gabaldon's ability to pull you into the story so you don't stop reading is apparent in this novella. There is non-stop action and more of a science fiction content than with most of the Outlander stories. Both the characters, Michael and Joan, are quite sympathetic and the reader is desperate to hear more about them. Gabaldon has her work cut out for her to address all of these stories in future novels.

For Outlander fans who have wondered what became of Marsali’s little sister, Joan McKimmie, and who Master Raymond really is, this is a satisfying read! Interesting back story for the Compte de St. Germaine.

Diana does it again! Pulls you into her outlander world so quickly you aren’t prepared!Excellent short story!Don’t miss this one.

As a fan, I decided to read this Novella. It starts out as richly and as interestingly as her other books. I found myself intrigued by the characters and the personalities that began to unfold. The concept is brilliant, but the execution falls short. About two thirds thru the book, the story intensifies and then ends like a cheesy novel - it's like falling off a cliff, it ends rather nowhere, except to leave the possibility open for MORE story or a sequel.I was disappointed in this novella. I wanted it to go on, I wanted more story. So, as much as I felt as though I wasted my money purchasing this novella, the writing was excellent, as the work of Diana Gabaldon truly is. Again...the concept great, but the story wasn't large enough, despite the breadth of the story line, it lacked depth.If you like Gabaldon's work, you will find it a pleasure just to fall into her words and let them take you where they will, but it's not a keeper, not something to keep in your Library to read again and again and again.