The next one, "Brotherhood of the Blade", a much better story, is an adventure in Germany which features the battle at Crefeld, for the first half and then his recovery from injuries at the home of a German landgraf, Stephen.
I see my pain pills were in full control of my brain when I wrote this, because the next one is "Custom of the Army". Sigh
Post by Howard DuckLord John is gay, is he not? You may have mentioned that.
Yes his is, alhough he married twice and was engaged to a young woman (fake engagement too). Before he married the first time, he went to a brothel to see whether he could manage to perform his husbandly duties and could. Although it is questionable whether he ever did so with his first wife. He absolutely did with his second wife, while drunk, and again the next morning which is why when her husband returned from the dead, he broke his face.
And yes I did. There is more of the gay sex stuff in the one you are reading that in the others. He has several lovers through the entire series, Hector, Percy, Stephen, Manoke, are named but there are other brief encounters. I can only remember 3 that are somewhat graphic.
Strange for a protagonist.
Well remember his NOT a protagonist in the BEBs. In fact he's rather flat for the first 5 books except for his brief engagement to Bree. He is only a protagonist because the real protagonists in the main 10,000 page story are not present. He is a very minor character for the first 5 books. But by book six, he and his brother, the sister-in-law, his parents, his nieces and nephews, his military buddy Harry Quarry, his step-brother Percy and a host of others are living their own lives that have nothing to do with Jamie and Claire, their family, or their acquaintances. They do not start rubbing elbows and becoming stronger supporting characters until the period just before the American Revolution.
Maybe a bit uncomfortable to my old fashioned
No I had the same reaction when I read it 16 years ago, which is why I never read any of the BEBs until the TV series. But you'll have to agree it is not a gay character with an agenda inserted by the writer. He just "is". He is gay the same way he is short and blond. The same way Jamie is tall, red haired and straight.
I'll just be a bit more forthcoming
Well then you would completely identify with the main romantic character, Jamie, in the BEBs who had a similar experience of being approached when he was 19 and a much worse experience when in the first Outlander book Jack had him at his mercy in a dungeon in the prison the night before he was supposed to be hanged. Ii affects him for the rest of his life (so far) gives him nightmares etc.
It is a very graphically depicted at the end of the first BEB "Outlander" and is very graphically depicted on screen in the TV series. It is essential to the plot, and had to be filmed but everybody cringes when talking about that episode. I can't watch it. I didn't want to watch it the first time because I knew what was coming but did not realize that was an episode and a half, and the fans expected the other part of the ending would be taking more of the screen time, yet it was deleted entirely. The actor who plays Jamie says it took 14 days to film that one hour episode partly because they had to keep redoing the makeup (lots of blood). He spent them living at a B&B next door. It was a very very dark time for him. Most of us when we rewatch that episode cover our eyes to get through the torture scenes. That's because most of the extreme fans are women who read the series for the romance. These women are bonkers, regardless of age, jr hi giggley over the fictional character and the real life actor who plays him. Torture isn't usually the kind of thing appreciated by those types of readers. But we are also peeved that he did not win the BAFTA award for that work.
DO NOT READ "Outlander". But if you choose to, skip the chapter when he is in Wentworth Prison. That would be at the end, Chapter 35 Book 7. Skip that chapter. You'll get the gist of how badly he was damaged in chapter 36 as well as the thrilling really creative escape from the prison without having to read torture.
Post by Howard DuckPlease pardon my lack of tact and sensitivity.
Actually I thought it was just plain honesty and brave of you.
On one of the Facebook fan pages there was a discussion of whether Jamie was raped when he fathered the child with Geneva or whether she was. It was a rather unique event, creatively plotted and well written, much debated among fans. At one point to make my point, I revealed that I had been raped when I was 19 and a virgin. I had never ever admitted that before. Back in those days, we never heard the concept of acquaintance rape and I didn't know I could have and should have reported him. I only said so because the group was "secret" and nobody I know was a member. And this is only the second time I've ever outed myself, and nobody "around here" hangs out on RAM either. I know the impact of what you shared. And I suspect this thread is not read by many.
If you like the one you are reading after you get to the surprising end, and would like to read another, I can assure you that in the next one, "Custom of the Army" there is only the slightest reference to a gay relationship but its only one sentence. It is about his time in the colonies and participating in the capture of Montreal. And there is a mystery, but its not outright murder.
However in "Brotherhood of the Blade" the best of the Lord Johns(that does not cross with the main characters) his mother marries for the 3rd time, and John establishes a relationship with his new step brother. There is one very brief romantic interlude with him, and then the brother has an interlude with another soldier, they are discovered and sentenced to death. Its like 2 paragraphs out of the whole novel, although John spends a lot of time thinking about his lover, but he does with his first lover Hector who died at Culloden and with Jamie in every story almost and Jamie is not and never will consent to be his lover.
I'm glad you can at least appreciate what a great writer she is even if you aren't thrilled with her subject matter. She is extremely creative going in places you don't expect to go, and has plot twists you which always surprise. But as I've said before, "Private Matter" is the worst of all the stories she has written IMO, because of those same things that bother you. Turned me off for 15 years.