Home > Science Fiction & Fantasy > General Fantasy > A Breath of Snow and Ashes

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

List Price: $7.99

Save 5.0%

You Pay: $7.59

Want this eBook?Our eBook Library Software is required to purchase and download eBooks. Download it here.

Tell a Friend

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Gabaldon is the creator and author of the Outlander novels, a series that has remained strong for 15 years. Time-travel, romance, and historical fiction combine to bring to life 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century time-traveling wife, Claire. In this adventure, it is 1772, and the American Colonies are at odds with King George III and what they perceive as oppressive British rule. Violence has already appeared in the North Carolina backwoods where they live, with cabins being burned to the ground. Jamie is a Loyalist who is asked to safeguard the colony for his King. The governor begs Jamie to try to unite the people in loyalty to the Crown and thus restore peace in North Carolina. What happens to Jamie and Claire and the lives that intertwine with theirs is an exciting adventure through a tumultuous time where traitors are heroes and supporters are outcasts. Davina Porter does an excellent job as narrator, spanning characters with ease and skill. Gabaldon's fans will not be disappointed by this last installment. Highly recommended for all public library popular fiction collections.-Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon was born in Flagstaff, Arizona on January 11, 1952 . She has a Ph.D. in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology, a M.S. in Marine Biology, and a B.S. in Zoology. She has worked as a university Professor and has written freelance for various magazines and companies such as Walt Disney. Gabaldon is the well-known author of the "Outlander" series. She is married to a drag racer and has three children. 030

Customer Reviews

  • 5 stars out of 5This entire series is wonderful.

    Posted October 25, 2009 by Shirley Gordon, New York

    You are really transported back in time and the characters (all of them -- not just Jamie and Clare) are so real, with all their flaws and personal difficulties, that to think this is the last book in the series brings a disappointment that you'll hear no more about them. It is great that Ms. Gabaldon has followed up with another book

Additional Info

Imprint

Delacorte Press

Filesize

3.90 MB

Number of Pages

992

eBook ISBN

9780440335658

Awards

  • Quill Awards

Excerpt from: A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

Chapter One

An Interrupted Conversation

The dog sensed them first. Dark as it was, Ian Murray felt rather than saw Rollo's head lift suddenly near his thigh, ears pricking. He put a hand on the dog's neck, and felt the hair there ridged with warning.


So attuned as they were to each other, he did not even think consciously, "Men," but put his other hand to his knife and lay still, breathing. Listening.


The forest was quiet. It was hours 'til dawn and the air was still as that in a church, with a mist like incense rising slowly up from the ground. He had lain down to rest on the fallen trunk of a giant tulip tree, preferring the tickle of wood-lice to seeping damp. He kept his hand on the dog, waiting.


Rollo was growling, a low, constant rumble that Ian could barely hear but felt easily, the vibration of it traveling up his arm, arousing all the nerves of his body. He hadn't been asleep-he rarely slept at night anymore-but had been quiet, looking up into the vault of the sky, engrossed in his usual argument with God. Quietness had vanished with Rollo's movement. He sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the side of the half-rotted log, heart beating fast now.


Rollo's warning hadn't changed, but the great head swiveled, following something unseen. It was a moonless night; Ian could see the faint silhouettes of trees and the moving shadows of the night, but nothing more.


Then he heard them. Sounds of passage. A good distance away, but coming nearer by the moment. He stood and stepped softly into the pool of black under a balsam fir. A click of the tongue, and Rollo left off his growling and followed, silent as the wolf who had been his father.


Ian's resting-place overlooked a game trail. The men who followed it were not hunting. White men. Now that was odd, and more than odd. He couldn't see them, but didn't need to; the noise they made was unmistakable. Indians traveling were not silent, and many of the Highlanders he lived among could move like ghosts in the wood-but he had no doubt whatever. Metal, that was it. He was hearing the jingle of harness, the clink of buttons and buckles-and gun barrels.