Outlander is a romance/fantasy series on the Starz cable network and app with a huge dose of history, war, nursing, medicine, herbology, intense relationships, family drama – the list goes on. It’s not strictly fantasy, and it’s not strictly chick flick material – it’s packed with substance, great acting, intricately woven storylines, and an overall captivating experience.
I read the novels in college and waited 142 years for the rights to be optioned. Starz began production in 2013. I was elated. But I was also a little apprehensive, because I had read all of the books to date, and I was worried that the actors chosen for the roles would not match up with the characters I had envisioned in my mind. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about, as the casting has been superb in the series.
If you haven’t read the novels, I would recommend doing the hard work first: read the books before watching the TV series. Everything is more in the novels. Each book is close to 1,000 pages long. There’s much more substance in the books and a great deal more character development. The reason for that is the material has to be truncated to fit into an approximately 47 minute episode each week. And the seasons are short – it varies, but right now we’re in Droughtlander, waiting for the second half of Season Seven to resume. And when I say waiting, I mean waiting for up to a year and a half. But enough about Droughtlander. It’s a sore subject.
I feel sorry for people who only know that the TV series exists and who don’t – or won’t – read the books.
Sidebar: for anyone who adores costume history as much as I do (and believe me, I do, it was my minor in college), the costumes in this are exquisite. The costumes in Season Two are especially jaw-droppingly beautiful, as the show takes place mostly in France. Please don’t get me started on French fashion. I will blabber on for hours.
My rec: start with the novels, then watch the series. I’ve watched (and read) Outlander *way* more than five times. And they’re worth it.
The books and TV series get: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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“It's Amy,” I said. 
I still haven’t seen it, but I doubt I have the energy to read any more books at the moment. I really do prefer tv shows or movies. I’m glad the show is great since it’s from books. Thanks for sharing!
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Sure, no problem!
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It is a really good series. Both the books and the show!
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Yes, both really good!
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1,000 pages? I can’t even make it through an entire take out menu lately. I can’t fathom tackling 1,000 page book. I tip my cap to you. 👍
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Thank you. it’s a commitment, but then you get hooked and you can’t stop. 😆
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If it’s easy reading, it’s certainly a lot less painful, true.
By “easy”, I mean good characters, story, etc. It just sounds like a ton up front 😄
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😆 the books have way more detail, and actually the TV series changes some of the storyline, and people who haven’t read the books don’t know that.
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I think a lot of book to movie/tv adaptations tend to do that.
As far as detail, in a 1,000 page book, I should hope there’s more details! 😄
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Yes, definitely😊
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Thanks for this. Just the other day I was staring at this on Netflix not sure if I was going to watch it. I think I’ll give it a go…
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You’re welcome. Give it a go and let me know what you think.
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I watched up through…I think… season three… but then for me it took a really dark turn with that sadistic British captain and his imprisonment… couldn’t go any farther
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Yeah, some people have a hard time with that. It didn’t bother me because I already knew from reading the book, but in reading something you can gloss over the parts that are disturbing. Seeing it on a screen is a different ballgame. The only thing I can say is skip that season and go to season four. Because things get better.
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