The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel

I have never been so disappointed in anything in my life!! I took the word "graphic" to mean that the story would be bloodthirsty etc because it was supposed to be the story told from Jamie's point of view. It ended up being a lurid comic strip thing on shiny paper and the drawings were terrible in my opinion. I suppose we all have a picture in our head about what Jamie and Claire might look like but this book ruined it for me. I have shown this book to family and friends and they are all disappointed. I know the author has a right to do what ever she wants with the characters but in my opinion I was
ted my money big time. Sorry to be so negative but I had the date of release on my calendar and was really looking forward to the book. Am I the only one? I would be interested to hear other points of view.

Unfortunately, I didn't pay enough attention...my fault, I know. Anyway, I didn't realize that this was a graphic novel, and bought it for my kindle.

Now I can't really read it. The pictures are too small to make sense of, and the text too small to read, on my kindle screen. Yes, I can enlarge it, and scroll frantically around trying to make sense of it and get things in the proper order; it only took a couple of pages to give that up as an abject failure. I paid for it, now can't read it, and am left wishing I could just get the text and be done with it.

Unfortunately, I didn't pay enough attention...my fault, I know. Anyway, I didn't realize that this was a graphic novel, and bought it for my kindle.

Now I can't really read it. The pictures are too small to make sense of, and the text too small to read, on my kindle screen. Yes, I can enlarge it, and scroll frantically around trying to make sense of it and get things in the proper order; it only took a couple of pages to give that up as an abject failure. I paid for it, now can't read it, and am left wishing I could just get the text and be done with it.

The Outlander series has been a wonderful adventure....each new book eagerly awaited. Diana however, seems to need to write about other characters and apparently, in unusual formats. I so wish she would stick to continuing the story of Clare and Jamie.....at least until the series is completed. This new graphic novel is a diversion I could have done without...Diana, please get back to the next novel in the series.....the waiting is killing me~

I have read Outlander at least twice and now reading "The Exile" helps me to know Jamie's side of the story.
And you can never have too much Jamie. The art work is awesome and I think you'll love it.The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel

I am a huge Diana Gabaldon/Outlander series fan and have read or listened to all of the books in the series multiple times, but I feel like a sucker for ordering this book. The "story" or comic book very superficially and loosely parallels the first part of Outlander and it's characters, but adds nothing to enrich the original....no depth to this at all. The pictures are good, but there are definite Asian influence in the facial characteristics of some of the characters faces (esp. Claire in several of the pictures) which doesn't fit the series or the vivid way the characters are described in the original novels. My recommendation is to save your money for the next book in the series and just check this book out at the library if you are a fan and must "read" it.

I love Diana Gabaldon books. The detail in her books make them come alive. I was really excited when I saw she had another book and that it was based on Jamie's viewpoint. Then I saw that it was a "Graphic Novel". I wasn't sure if it was my thing or not but I really enjoyed the stories I wanted any missing information in the story so I ordered it. I was truly disappointed. It was difficult for me to keep focused and I didn't even finish it. I got midway through and couldn't figure out who was talking and bored out of mind. I will wait until she brings out her next book in the Outlander Series and hopefully there won't be anymore that are Graphic Novels.

While agree with other reviewers that it was sometimes difficult to tell which male charachters were speaking, I enjoyed the graphic novel. It was interesting to see a glimmer into Murtagh's point of view and find out a few nuggets from the novels that were unknown to me. It will hold me over 'til the next book, which is exactly what I wanted. No doubt, I will end up re-reading them all again, while I wait...
On the whole, the artwork and depictions of the beloved charachters were good.

I am a great Diana Gabaldon fan and have read the entire Outlander series. This book was a disappointment. I didn't realize that I was buying a comic book. It was overpriced and I was disappointed. The flip side is that I gave it to someone who likes "graphic novels."

I am so disppointed with this "book or comic" It left me feeling it was just put out to see if people will buy this types of novels. Very very sad that this was even released. Try a better format and maybe it will sell. This type will not be bought by me again.

While agree with other reviewers that it was sometimes difficult to tell which male charachters were speaking, I enjoyed the graphic novel. It was interesting to see a glimmer into Murtagh's point of view and find out a few nuggets from the novels that were unknown to me. It will hold me over 'til the next book, which is exactly what I wanted. No doubt, I will end up re-reading them all again, while I wait...
On the whole, the artwork and depictions of the beloved charachters were good.

I am a great Diana Gabaldon fan and have read the entire Outlander series. This book was a disappointment. I didn't realize that I was buying a comic book. It was overpriced and I was disappointed. The flip side is that I gave it to someone who likes "graphic novels."

I am so disppointed with this "book or comic" It left me feeling it was just put out to see if people will buy this types of novels. Very very sad that this was even released. Try a better format and maybe it will sell. This type will not be bought by me again.

This added nothing to the series. In fact, it strongly detracts from the series by containing inconsistencies. My biggest complaint about Gabaldon as a writer is that she is lazy and self-indulgent. There is only so much you can blame on an unreliable narrator or "it was the times" before you break the reader's suspension of disbelief by having too many contrived plots, inconsistencies, and superfluous tangents. The only person who has ever needed an editor more than Gabaldon is George Lucas for the Star Wars prequels. It is a consistent problem. You would think she could keep everything consistent for something as short as a graphic novel, but nope, no effort to respect the intelligence of her readers.

I love the Outlander series and the Lord John stories. However, this book was a big disappointment. I ordered it through my Kindle, not realizing it was in comic book style. It didn't fit my Kindle well, the words were to small to read, enlarging the print made it harder to read on the Kindle. If I'd know the book was a comic book, I would never have bought it. I wish I could get my money back. I can't wait until her next book comes out, I just hope it isn't in the same form.

I have been a DIE HARD fan of Diana Gabaldons Outlander series for the last 15 years. All it took was reading Outlander once and I was hopelessly addicted. I did not have any concerns that I would dislike the new graphic novel, The Exile. I have only had this book in my possesion for about 3 hours and I have read it through once and flipped through it several times. I absolutely loved it. I really don't understand why so many people are upset about it. I did not expect the entire story again in comic book form and I surely did not want her to rewrite anything. I will continue to wait for the next Outlander novel as well as (I hope) a new graphic novel. Thank you Diana for a wonderful series!

This is a hard cover comic book, juvenile and boring. The pictures are well done but remind me of Asian anime cartoons. The author should have stuck to writing real books for adults, this might appeal to a 10 year old, but what a waste of time and money.

Nothing wrong with this book...but it's a graphic novel, which is a glorified comic book. If I had not previously read the Outlander series, I would not have understood any of it. I read it in 1/2 hour and was left feeling foolish for spending $ to purchase it. No more graphic novels for me!

I am a huge Outlander fan and love to read about Jamie and Claire. While it's interesting to see the book in a graphic novel format, it falls short. I don't think the story line of Kenneth really fit well and the book overall doesn't capture the emotional relationship of Jamie and Claire. Also, many of the characters looked the same so it was hard to tell one from another.

I have never been so disappointed! I pre ordered this book and couldn't wait for it to come. I must admit I was not expecting the "graphic" to be so graphic! If I didn't have to pay for shipping to send it back I would have returned it immediately - instead I have put it in my "burn pile" I will continue to encourage others to read the Outlanders novels but will not mention this awful instalment.

My first impression of the GN was that Hoang's drawings are absolutely beautiful. The color and light are amazing...I could go on and on about them. Yes, they're that gorgeous. While it was a little difficult to tell some of the characters apart, I was impressed at how wonderfully he depicted expressions, from humorous to quizzical.

As for the content, well, I expected it to be fast-paced and action-packed, without sacrificing Diana's great talent for humor, so I wasn't disappointed at all. I loved Murtagh's character in OUTLANDER and DIA (his silence always said so much), so I was thrilled to be privy to a few of his adventures and private thoughts. Thanks Diana! Who knew so many things were happening in OUTLANDER that Claire was completely unaware of?

Would I rank this up there with Diana's full-length novels? Well, no, but only because this GN is a completely different format. I bought it with that knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed it for what it is.

This book is for the Outlander fan. It is an excellent adaption of the original story, but from a different perspective. We can see things that went on that was not in Claire's story because she was not privy to these events. The artwork is fantastic. Beautifully done!!

Having a graphic novel in Kindle format is a waste of money. The text is too small to read - and if you make it bigger, you can't see the picture -- and since the pictures only show in black and white they are too poor to be able to discern what they are. TOTALLY unreadable!

The Exile has trivialized what is otherwise an exceptional work of modern story-telling. I'm rereading Outlander in order to vanquish the taint left by this oversimplified and often silly rendition of one of my favorite epic novels.

I am a HUGE Gabaldon fan. I own every book she's written. DO NOT BUY The Exile. It is a $25 comic book. So disappointed ! A death in my family kept me from looking at it til a couple of weeks past return date. What a waste of money this was !

I really enjoyed the new storyline and the artwork. I have never read a graphic novel but thought that it was well done. I am so glad that I bought it for my collection of Diana's work. I also thought the illustrator paid close attention to the details of the characters and was surprised that this was his first graphic novel.

What a waste of money. Juvenile conception, and frankly, very boring. I couldn't believe my eyes - cartoon format?? The book description was very misleading. I can't imagine anyone reading this and enjoying it EVER. 0 star.

I ordered this book without previewing it because I am a fan of the author and have read all of this series. But cartoons are not my thing!! This was a huge disappointment. Is there any way that I can return it? I have never, not finished a book, but I can't plow through any more of this one!

I love Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series, but this book I really didn't care for. I didn't realize it was a comic book when I bought it. Had I realized that I wouldn't have bought it. Please, Ms Gabaldon, stick to novels. Your true talent shines much more brightly in that format.

Meh.

I wasn't expecting much since I have been seeing the samples and following the discussion for months about the book. I enjoy graphic novels and wanted to know more about Murtagh, my favorite secondary character. I thought that the $13 pre-publication price and free shipping offer was a good deal.

Now that I have the book in my hands, I'm underwhelmed. For starters I wasn't expecting a hard cover book of on the small side. All the artwork I had seen and handled was 8-1/2 by 11, so I was expecting a full-size, soft-cover graphic novel similar to most of the other graphic novel I own. The hard cover and full-color pages would explain the $25.00 cover price. Most of my soft-cover graphic novels are priced lower, but they aren't full color.

I finally came to accept Claire's breasts falling out all over the place as an attempt to convey a sense of how sluttish she must have appeared to the 18th-century characters. Fair enough, I can live with that.

What I couldn't accept was the inconsistency of the drawing of the characters. If you compare the first pages of the book with those at the end, you wonder if you are looking at the same characters or whether they are drawn by the same artist. By the middle of the book, all the characters blur together to the point it is almost impossible to tell one from another. Except Claire, of course. She's the one with the breasts spilling out of her dress. The men look like some kind of elf kin. Now and then a beard or distinctive article of clothing gives a clue, but usually not, and not enough.

In spite of the fail, props to Diane for being willing to try something different.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it, just meh.

A totally different telling of the Outlander tale. Quick read but really good. Looking at the story from another angle & perspective. Pictures were welcome additions! Kudos! Looking forward to the next full length novel.

This is the first graphic novel I have ever bought. I absolutely loved it! The artwork was so beautiful that I found myself almost forgetting to read the words. It was lovely to see characters I have loved for so many years depicted in a new format. Diana Gabaldon expanded the original Outlander story by telling it from different points of view, revealing a new character and including additional details fans of the series will enjoy.

Absolutely terrific. The book was a surprise and the condition was excellent.
Everything the seller said about the condition of the book was right on.
Will look forward to doing business with the company again.

While the book wasn't exactly what I had expected (having never read a graphic novel before), I loved it. The artwork was amazing! It was great to see Outlander from another point of view, and I think Diana did a fantastic job!

I did not read the description well enough and was not prepared for a comic book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a big fan of Ms. Gabaldon and
was very disappointed with this book.
I will order books by her again, but can not recommend the Exile.

I did not realize this written was like a comic strip! I know I should have read description better, but was excited about another Diana Gabaldon book out for kindle. Unfortanuatly, I can't make the print large enough on kindle to read words written in this style. It is probably a good story. They should make it more clear of literary style!!

It was bad. Claire looks like a hore. And it's not really from Jaimes point of view. There are a few thoughts but the rest is the same as the book. It basically turned outlander into a bad comic book. Absolute waste of money!!!

I have a few questions for the people that didn't know what they were buying:

1) When has Dr. Gabaldon EVER written a novel under 700+ pages? And you thought this was the next installment of the series? I'm sure that Book 8 will be at least 900 pages. Lord John books (DG's short stories) run around 300 pages or more.

2) As mentioned in other reviews, "Graphic Novel" is in the title - and you are surprised it is a "comic book"? What part of "Graphic Novel" is so difficult to understand?

3) It's a little scary that people get on the internet and blindly purchase things and don't know what it is they are purchasing. I guess that's one of the reasons the internet is a great place for scammers...

As far as reviewing the book itself - it was an interesting read. I do wish it had been a little longer - I would have liked to see Lallybroch, Jenny, & Ian. Well, we see Jenny in Jamie's thoughts, but it's not the same. But maybe there will be one for DIA. I went into this book knowing that it was a collaboration. I had seen pages posted on DG's website. The artist doesn't have a window into DG's mind, so he can not make the characters look exactly like she sees them. If you read the back of the book, "The Making of..." section, she explains quite clearly all of the impossibles when doing a graphic novel on long established characters.

I enjoyed the story from different characters' perspectives. I enjoyed the artwork - there are some I'd love to put on my living room wall, and 1 or 2 that would work in the bedroom. ;-)

Not what I had expected. Probably my fault hit buy before I actually looked at it close enough. If you want a cartoon book this is for you. I did not want to read or pay this much for a book of cartoons. And very bad cartoons at that.

I was disappointed to see a couple of rips, well one looks like a cut about 1/8 long and the other the paper is ripped - about 1/2 inches wide by 1/2 inch long. Not really a big deal but these things make the book look like it was used.

I must admit I was not prepared for the layout of this book. When I took a step back and revisited it for what it was I fell in love with the beauty of it. Seeing from a different angle always makes your vission clearer. I savor every work that Diana produces. Thankyou for the trips you take us on.

I downloaded to my Kindle and the print was too small and I didn't like the pictures. I was misinformed as to the kind of book that I purchased. I will not purchase a graphic novel ever again. I did not finish the book, only sent it to the my library. Very disappointed.

While I was not terribly familiar with graphic novels, I loved comic books well into my teens, and looked forward to The Exile. I, for one, am not disappointed. Given the constraints of the format I thought it was enjoyable -- and I loved the way Jamie and Claire were depicted by the artist. Someone wrote that Jamie looked too young and naive, seeming to forget that he was only 22 and still a virgin when he married Claire. I do agree that in some of the panels his looks changed somewhat, but usually due , IMO, to the artist attempting to convey emotion. Real people do not look the same all the time -- sometimes we look great and other times pretty darn unattractive (and I have the pictures to prove it!). The beautiful images of Claire succeeded in wiping away that horrible illustation that appeared on the cover of the first mass market edition to be released in the U.S. back in the early 90s -- the one where Claire looked like a middle aged washerwoman.

Now to the negatives: I agree that the color of Jamie's eyes didn't seem quite right, they looked too dark (Gabaldon wrote that his eyes were dark blue, but in the book they looked almost black); and the story of Kenneth was unnecessary and confusing. One of the problems with a graphic novel is that wonderful pieces of discriptive passages, with which Outlander abounds, are eliminated by the format. But I feel that Hoang Nguyen's beautiful illustrations of Scotland in many ways compensated for the lack of narration. I would like to see more of this format.

If you read Outlander and then read The Exile, you'll realize something is lost between the novel and the graphic novel, but that is owing to a couple of factors.

1) Change in mediums. You can't expect to fit 800 pages of flowing description and sweeping romance into a graphic novel unless you want it to be gigantic. The Exile covers the span of the first THIRD of Outlander. This is important that people know it's not going to cover everything that happens in Outlander.
2) Change in perspective. Gabaldon writes from Claire's POV, and this is told more through Murtagh's POV (perhaps 'semi-omnipotent' might be better suited here). What makes the romance of the novel come alive is because it's told through the eyes of one of the participants, and the fact this story isn't told solely through Jamie's or Claire's eyes takes away some of that connection.
3) It's not meant to be a retelling of Outlander. It is its own story, but it does follow the same timeline (essentially) as Outlander.

If you sit down to read this graphic novel expecting it to be a lean, mean retelling of Outlander, you'll be sorely upset. If you read it keeping in mind it's in its own medium (which has to follow its own guidelines), it's a decent read. The romance between Claire and Jamie, part of what makes Outlander so compelling, was very diluted in the graphic novel (it had to be, since it doesn't allow for much inner monologue). I could have also done without the Kenneth storyline. It felt thrown in and unrealistic given the parameters of the novel. I didn't really understand his purpose in the story until I'd already seen him a few times, at which point I had already decided he could've been taken away from the story without it losing anything.

The illustrations are gorgeous, though. Sometimes it felt like Claire's boobs got bigger with each page, and sometimes she looked like a different person altogether, but all the other characters looked very well-done.

All in all, it's a decent story. If you're looking to blow a couple of hours, go for it. It took me an hour and a half to read it from cover to cover, not because I'm a fast reader but because the pages go by really quickly.

NOTE: I'm not sure whether I got a misprint or what, but the first 30-50 pages were VERY out of order. I'd start in one scene and the next page is three days later, then twenty pages down the road it's back to that scene that was cut-off halfway through. I was able to figure it out, but it was distracting until it got lined out. This is why page numbers are IMPORTANT. Just thought I'd warn anyone in case they have this issue, too.

Disappointed in this---I've read every other one of her books and thought I'd take a chance. This turns out to be a beautifully illustrated comic book! Not at all what I expected. PLUS SURPRISE---only when I tried to return it did I learn IT"S NOT RETURNABLE to the store!

If I had seen this book before I purchased it,
I would not have purchased it. I know the
word graphics and the word novel, but when
you put them together, I guess I didn't really
know was a graphics novel was.

Just briefly, I want to state my main disappointments. I struggled to tell the male characters apart. The story lost its storyline since every other "bubble" I had to try to figure out who was speaking. Hair color, beard or beardless? It was not fun. Murtagh wasn't older and funny looking, for example. He looked pretty much like Dougal, who looks like Colum (when Colum is sitting - ok he may be more pale) who looks like Kenneth, who looks like Randall when Randall wasn't in his red uniform. I did like the distinctive drawing of the lawyer and Colum's bodyguard -- two characters I could recognize and enjoy. Also, this was a familiar story told from the viewpoint of a different character (Murtagh). But we didn't learn anything new about Jamie and Claire. Therefor, I give this book a low score. I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1, because it is a book of art, and tells a story in a different way which may appeal to a different set of fans. However, to fans of the novels, this won't be satisfying or adding to the story. (I disregard the Kenneth storyline, since it didn't add any new knowledge to the original story). Had the characters had more distinction, I would have given more stars just for the beauty of the drawings.

Absolutely dreadful (and I am generally a big fan of Gabaldon's). Poorly drawn artwork (all the Scotsmen but Jamie are pretty indistinguishable from one another, for example), and the story has been shortened to such an extent that it loses all charm and credibility. For mysterious reasons, The Exile introduces a new character who comes through the stones at roughly the same time as Claire, is familiar with Claire, and reports Claire's arrival to Geilis. I have no idea how this mysterious person fits into any narrative arc within the novels (all of which I have read, at least those published through 2017). I also cannot imagine why the author would introduce this plot twist now -- unless, god forbid, she means to raise Geilis from the dead at some point.

I thought "Echoes of the Bone" was the very last book of this series, then a friend informed me that a new book was coming out from "Jamie's" perspective. I immediately ordered it thrilled for another good read. I told my sister and she said "you'll be sorry, cause it's a hard covered comic book". I felt sick, so I emailed Diana Gabaldon's web site, the response I received was.. don't judge it til you see it. So when it arrived I opened it in the middle of the book, and sure enough it was a hard covered comic book. I promptly closed the book and sent it back. The book is tacky, the end.

The storyline in this graphic novel ("comic book" to some people) is interesting, and adds new elements previously unheard of in the Outlander series (a new character and Murtaugh-focused sub-plot). However, it's also a little choppy and disjointed.

The illustrations are beautiful and sometimes spot-on. They are, conversely, also sometimes very far off if you're familiar with the details of the series. For example, Jamie is clearly in the 5'10" area in this book, and never appears "a head above" the other men. Additionally, it's very hard to follow which man is which, as they are all portrayed almost identically.

Having said that, though, I do think it's worth reading, and as a die-hard fan, I believe it's worth owning.

One last note: Please don't review with one star just because you didn't know what a graphic novel was. That's not fair to the author or artist.

I was unfamiliar with the term Graphic Novel. So I was greatly dissappointed when I opened my package and found not a companion book but a comic book style "novel". So I am forwarned never to by anything that is clasified a graphic novel.

Disgraceful. A joke. Ruined the entire series by this last piece of garbage. She needs to be ashamed of herself for even printing it - what a waste of paper. Will never read anything she writes again! Even I could have come up with (based on the previous books) a wonderful "next in series" book building on the characters. My suggestion is she shut down her computer, break her pen and throw away her paint brushes!!!

I did know that I was purchasing a graphic novel, and I was still hugely disappointed. I was expecting to learn more about Jamie as a character, but it seems that everyone is rushing around pretty thoughtlessly (perhaps as a consequence of the picture-driven format, there is hardly any thoughtful conversation, let alone thoughtfulness). To me, what was magical about the Outlander books is the conversations so perhaps I am not the best person to judge a graphic novel. Objectively, though, I do believe that if this book is going to retell the Outlander story, it ought to at least get that story correct. But at several points in this book--two that I noticed right away are the walk to the church for the wedding and when Jamie takes Claire back to the standing stones--the story is just plain not the same story as it was in the original. Retell the story, if you must, but please do not make it a different story. I am giving this book two stars instead of one because the pictures are lovely.

Very Disappointing. Seemed like a weak reason to write a "graphic novel". Quality of the writing was way below what I expected from Gabaldon. Book did not do justice to Outlander...from anyone's perspective. You had to know Outlander to make sense of The Exile. Initially kind of fun to see the drawings, but then it grew tiresome when little text was printed and mostly a rehash of Outlander. Too bad...it would have been a fascinating, clever book to read Outlander from another character's perspective. Gabaldon has an unusually devoted fan base that would be anxious to read something new.

I was looking forward to another Diana Gabaldon book as I am a huge fan of the Outlander series. This book just doesn't come close to adding anything to the series. The illustrations are fine for scenery, but the people all look alike so one cannot tell them apart and they all have an Oriental look to them. Jamie's "cat eyes" are not always blue as stated in the novels. The story line is ragged and really has no flow to it. Sorry, I will just wait until another Lord John book or Outlander novel is published.

What a disappointment. The Outlander series was amazing; The Exile is not. The art work is beautiful, but this is a comic book. I was looking forward to great writing about Jaime. Even reading the "bubbles" there isn't anything new or enlightening. I expected more from Ms. Gabaldon. I'd send it back, but don't want to spend the return shipping. Sadly disappointed. My bad, graphic novel means comic book.

I did not realize "graphic novel" meant comic book. I thought of graphic as detailed. I should have looked inside before purchasing. Big disappointment!!! I have loved all the other books in this series. Wasted my money.

The Exile is a graphic novel in the popular Outlander series by American author, Diana Gabaldon. The text is by Gabaldon; the artwork by Vietnam-born Hoang Nguyen. Gabaldon states that it covers approximately the first third of the first book, Outlander, but in reality, it covers the first two thirds. The story is mostly told from the perspective of Jamie’s godfather, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, and begins where he meets Jamie returning from France.

While the novel contains some new information, as well as some overlap with the novella, Virgins, much of what it tells is already known to the Outlander reader, although perhaps with some slight variations. The characters are given speech bubbles and thought bubbles, which does put a new slant on some of the characters’ motives, and there is a new character, Kenneth, another visitor from the future.

Gabaldon has herself illustrated comics earlier in her life, so perhaps this is the impetus for this form of novel. Hoang’s artwork is detailed and colourful, but the Highland men are difficult to tell apart, except for Jamie with his red hair, and Colum Mackenzie with his (over)exaggerated lack of height. Claire is given a set of pneumatic breasts that seem to expand with the story, and Jamie’s injury cannot seem to make up its mind whether it resides in the left or right shoulder.

The book is a quick read, especially for those familiar with the story, the presentation is on beautiful paper, and devoted fans of both graphic novels and Outlander may want to lay out between $20 and $30 for this quality hardback; those less fervent are advised to borrow it from the library. 3.5 stars

As a devoted fan of the Outlander series, I was deeply disappointed in The Exile. Nothing and no one looked remotely like I envisioned--Scottish mountains do not resemble the Himalayas. The color palette was drab at best. Claire's eyes were brown, not whiskey-colored. Jamie's eyes were brown, except on rare occasions when the artist remembered they should be blue. All the males were about the same height, stature and looks. Most of the time the only way I could tell them apart was Colum's short legs and a bit of red to Jamie's hair. Unfortunately, Colum is not around much. Gone were Claire's tangle of curls, Jamie's height, thick eyebrows, wide mouth and even his build. Everyone had the same eyebrows--men and women--and I got lost in the sea of "visitors from another planet." The addition of another time traveler, Kenneth, was weird, not necessary and totally confusing. The idea of a graphic novel is daring as everyone has her own idea of how it should look but this one didn't seem like the artist even read Diana's descriptions. I know she approved the characterizations and art but I guess she has created characters that her readers envision much differently than does she.

Jamie's side of the story as told by Murtagh.

If you aren't familiar with the story of Outlander at all, just know that this is the same exact story, just told from the male perspective instead of Outlander's female main character, Claire. Jamie is the 'hero' of our story and Murtagh is his godfather. Murtagh tells this story from his point of view as he tries his hardest to keep his god-son, Jamie Fraser, out of trouble.

Of course I loved this but there was an extra character in this book that really confused me. He is woven into the original story within this graphic novel but was not in Outlander at all that we know of. I don't know if this character comes up in the sequels since I haven't read any of them yet.

I had issues with the illustrations at times. Other than Claire, Jamie, and Captain Randall, they all looked the same. I had a really hard time discerning the mystery character from Murtagh and Rupert and the other clans men. Their faces and hair were all the same. The only difference was that Murtagh wore a red sash while all the others, including the mystery character, wore the same tint of green. On top of that, and more importantly, Jamie's face changed so much throughout the book and at times looked way too much like Captain Randall with red hair. And Claire went from having one physique to being super busty. It was all quite frustrating at times.

I definitely think fans of Outlander will enjoy this new perspective.

I stumbled across Dragonfly in Amber a number of years ago in a used book store. I was hooked. I own all of the books in the Outlander series and am facinated with all the characters. Like many other fans, it is difficult to wait three years for the "next chapter", so I eagerly awaited this new book and genre.

Truthfully, it is a major let down. There is nothing new here and I don't find much of "Jamie's perspective" at all. To me, it is the first part of Outlander reduced to nothing. The graphics are not that great. It's hard to tell who is who. Also, in the cover graphic, it looks as though Jamie is holding a revolver which didn't exist at this point in history.

I would love to read a thousand page novel by Gabaldon that is written from Jamie's perspective. Can I hope?

Please Ms. Gabaldon, don't do any more graphic novels. Stick to your original format. Your fans will be much happier.

I am a real fan of the Outlander series and eagerly await each new release. I counted the days until this book came out and was excited to see what Diana Gabaldon would do with this new genre. I was really disappointed.

My main gripe with this book is that it was such a superficial treatment of the Jamie and Claire story. I understand the limitations of the graphic novel genre, but The Invention of Hugo Cabret and The Arrival proved to me that a great author/illustrator can tell a nuanced story with deep emotional appeal (in the case of The Arrival and The Invention of Hugo Cabret the story is told without the use of any text) in the graphic format. As much as I hate to say it, Gabaldon and Nguyen fail pretty miserably in this regard. As much as I adore Jamie and Claire, I was left feeling very ho-hum about them after reading this book and after 224 pages I really don't know anything new about them.

Even with my familiarity with the story line, I found the book hard to follow. There was not enough of a difference in the appearance of Murtagh, Dougal, and Kenneth for me to be certain who was speaking in many frames. I was looking forward to some unexpected plot twists when the Outlander story was told from Jamie and Murtagh's perspective, but the only thing new as far as I could tell was the Kenneth plotline (which didn't really go anywhere and seemed kind of tacked on).

Bottom line, this book makes me really hope that Gabaldon will stick to her gift (which is storytelling in a conventional novel format) from this point forward. If this is how the Jamie & Claire story is going to be handled in other formats, I _really_ hope that Outlander is never produced as a movie or mini-series. To have an Outlander movie done as unsuccessfully as this book was would break my heart.

I am a huge fan of Diana Galbadon's Outlander series. I was extremely disappointed with this graphic novel. The characters were well drawn in the first few pages but became completely different by the book's end. If you compare the first pictures to the last ones, they look like completely different people. I felt like the artist was too rushed to finish by a deadline or else someone else finished up the book. I also didn't like that the characters looked Asian instead of Scottish. I would not recommend buying this book. If you really want to read it, try getting it a library.

The Exile by Diana Gabaldon is a graphic novel that picks up the story of Outlander, somewhere in the middle. It tells the story from Mortagh's point of view and shows things from Jamie's side, rather than Claire's. It is essentially an alternate look at a select few events from the first book in the Outlander series, put together with fantastic graphics.

The Story

The telling of the story of Jamie and Claire from an alternate point of view is interesting. I love Jamie and Claire's story, but it is always told from Claire's point of view. Seeing it from the outside, from Mortagh's point of view, is a refreshing look at the story. These scenes play out as I expected and I get a good idea of how the other characters felt about the story in the original book. I didn't feel that it was completely revolutionary and not a replacement for the actual novel, by any means.

The Artwork

The artwork in The Exile is fantastic. It is all hand-painted, detailed and gorgeous. The scenery is beautiful and the color and style used is dreamy while realistic. The characters, while not necessarily fitting my exact vision, portray the descriptions in the book well. It was a amazing to get a real visual, backed by Diana Gabaldon's opinion, for the scenes that I had before only seen in my head. Each frame is in full color and worthy as a piece of art all on its own.

The X-Factor

The absolute best thing about The Exile is that it is a continuation of the Outlander canon. I adore Diana Gabaldon's series and any addition to it can only make it better. Getting to revisit my favorite book in the series in a new way is well worth the time!

The Verdict

As a graphic novel in and of itself, I don't know how well a reader would enjoy it. It is well-written and beautiful but, having been a fan for years, it's hard for me to gauge how a non-fan would see it. However, check it out if it interests you! If you're a fan of Outlander, this is a must read. Go out and get it right now!

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When it comes to Diana Gabaldon, this is what I've concluded:
1) She's sold enough books that she can write whatever she wants to write. Good for her.
2) She and her publisher don't appear to care much for what her readers want to read. Not so good for us.

Earlier reviewers have nailed many of my own issues with this book, but here's what irks me the most:
Why do all the men look alike?
Why isn't Murtagh old, tough and ugly?
Why doesn't Jamie look like his description? Where's his wide mouth? What's with the cliche superhero chin?
WTF is up with the Sasquatch-looking guy who's in league with Geillis? Of course, once he mingled at Leoch he looked exactly like all the other plaid-clad men we can't tell apart. If he's the the gargantuan, primal, muscle-bound creature on the last page of Chapter One, oh puh-leeze.
What would someone make of this book who'd never read the Outlander books?
(OT but I have to say it) How many of us are going to go to our graves without know how Master Raymond, the Loch Ness Monster and Stephen Bonnell are or are not connected, among other burning issues? What really happened to Claire's parents, and Roger's? Can travelers steer their way through time, space and distance? Not that I expected this book to answer any of that, but it didn't answer much else, either.

Anyone who's fallen hopelessly in love with the Outlander series and all the characters therein will buy the next book, and the one after that...presuming we and the author all live that long. But I, for one, will devote no money, time or anticipation to future projects like this. (The publisher yawns. "Hey, we got your money -- what do we care whether you liked the damn thing or not?") I feel had, and sad... it's such a potentially golden chance squandered. There's nothing here for me and I won't be opening these lovely, baffling and ultimately, soulless pages again.

I wasn't disappointed that this was a graphic novel. I expected that, and enjoy several other graphic novel series. Gabaldon clearly enjoyed writing this and working with the artist. Again, good for her...and for the fans who'd love everything she ever wrote, down to her grocery list. As for me....Half Price Books, here I come. I predict a lively resale rate for this title.