LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE

Author: Diana Gabaldon ISBN: 0385337493 9/2007 HISTORICAL FICTION Publisher: DELACORTE
Time Period: 1758 Georgian

In 1758, in the heart of the Seven Years’ War, Britain fights by the side of Prussia in the Rhineland. For Lord John and his titled brother Hal, the battlefield will be a welcome respite from the torturous mystery that burns poisonously in their family’s history. Seventeen years earlier, Lord John’s late father, the Duke of Pardloe, was found dead, a pistol in his hand and accusations of his role as a Jacobite agent staining forever a family’s honor. Now unlaid ghosts from the past are stirring. Lord John’s brother has mysteriously received a page of their late father’s missing diary. Someone is taunting the Grey family with secrets from the grave, but Hal, with secrets of his own, refuses to pursue the matter and orders his brother to do likewise. Frustrated, John turns to a man who has been both his prisoner and his confessor: the Scottish Jacobite James Fraser. Fraser can tell many secrets—and withhold many others. But war, a forbidden affair, and Fraser’s own secrets will complicate Lord John’s quest. Until James Fraser yields the missing piece of an astounding puzzle—and Lord John, caught between his courage and his conscience, must decide whether his family’s honor is worth his life.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I'm giving LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE a Four Rose ranking, mainly because of Gabaldon's use of historical data and the way she weaves it into a story to give such a fantastic sense of time and place. There aren't many writers who can so intricately entwine both story and time period together in such a way that it effortlessly transports a reader back into another world. It's about as close to time-traveling through history as anyone can get.

However, this book wasn't as riveting or enthralling as some of Gabaldon's previous works. There's not much romance here, although John and Percy have strong sexual tension charging between them throughout the storyline, and the reintroduction of Jamie Fraser from the Outlander books feels more like a ploy to bring in her historical romance fans, rather than his appearance being a necessary part of the plot.

The LORD JOHN series is not going to be for everyone. Yes, Grey is a homosexual, and yes, about the only romance you'll find here involves the love one man has for another during a time when being caught "gay" could mean certain death. But that is also what makes it original and a great reason to keep on reading. However, if you have any aversion to love and sex scenes that are not heterosexually based, then no, this Gabaldon series won't be for you.

Otherwise, there's plenty of action, suspense, and intriguing characters to keep a reader's interest and the pages turning, although I will admit that I struggled with some of the writing, at times, and the plot seemed to bog down a bit into the second half of the story. However, LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE is a very good book and I have absolutely no reservations about recommending it.

Nancy Davis