SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have finished Chapter 26 in A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Holy mother of god on high. Once we found out Marsali was alive and well - I expected to witness the birth of her bebe. What I did NOT expect was to read - in my opinion - one of the most erotic scenes in the entire series - involving HOT ASSED FERGUS. Holy CRAP. I am speechless - still - and I read it at 9:00 this morning. When the "suckling" started... I was a little taken back. When it continued - along with lots of French murmuring - I was verra interested (we all know how Carol loves murmuring. LORDDDD I LUVSSSS the murmuring.) And when Fergus was pushing the table up against the door, I was almost in full-on labor along with Marsali. AND I'M NOT EVEN PREGNANT.
It was THAT good, y'all. Diana sure knows how to write the sexy. Mmm hmmm. Sho does.
Carol ~ I am so glad you stopped by the site!
ReplyDeleteFergus is ... *sigh* Marsali is one lucky girl but sheesh! she needs to use those dauco seeds. A member posted a pic of who might be the perfect Fergus. No spoilers in the thread ... just drooling. ;)
http://outlanderbookclub.freeforums.org/fergus-and-marsali-t359.html
I have a love hate thing happening with Fergus. I sometimes just can't believe how distant and conflicted he is! He seems like such a tortured soul. At least with Roger you feel like the fact that he was, as someone pointed out (was it Laura?) "nurtured by a different time," that's behind all the angst. With Fergus, I still remember when he lost his hand (was it Dragonfly in Amber?) and how brave and adorable he was about it, and then the devastation that has followed that event :-(
ReplyDeleteAnd oh Lord yes does Diana know how to write the sexy!! I didn't know Marsali had it in her to be so uninhibited! must be the french influence :-)
A good friend of mine was really upset in DiA and FC for Fergus. To her, it seemed as if it was all about Roger... (Roger Roger Roger kinda like Marsha Marsha Marsh Brady)...and what about Fergus, aye?
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things in ABOSAA is that it's much more Fergus-heavy than some of the previous books (was he even IN Drums???). Sirena, totally agree about Fergus and how conflicted he is. (BTW, he lost his hand in Voyager, when Jamie was living in the cave.)
ReplyDeleteI think a HUGE part of his problem is that he is TOTALLY a fish out of water. Even with two hands, Fergus is SOOO not a farmer boy. His skills have always been about running the more shady areas of Jamie's empire in the most charming way possible, and I think he is just not cut out for the lifestyle of the land. Combine that with the fact that he DOES only have one hand, he's got four petite mouths to feed, and his adopted father is so content with/good at a lifestyle that he himself quite plainly sucks at, and you've got some self-esteem problems a brewin.
Here's a thought: Do we ever find out what happened to Fergus while Jamie was in Ardsmere/at Ellsmore? I'm guessing he lived with Jenny/Ian, but haven't really ever thought about what his life was like during that time.
ReplyDeleteGood question, Tracey. Fergus lost his hand in 1753 (the year Jamie leaves the cave) He was 18 (although the story reads like he was much younger), When Jamie returns from Helwater in 1764, Fergus is 29. We don't know what Fergus did during those years. Did he remain at Lallybroch the whole time? Find work in Edinburgh? We do know he stuck around Lallybroch enough to fall in love with Marsali, but says his prospects for actually acquiring permission to marry her are slim (all in Voyager). So ... who knows?
ReplyDeleteOn the Ridge, Fergus seems to do well in the early years (DoA and FC) because he is more of the messenger. He is constantly traveling here or there on errands and not actually farming.
I loved how Fergus handled losing his hand so well... because he knew that meant Jamie would take care of him forever and he'd be family.
ReplyDeleteLaura - that picture on your site is STUNNING. WHO is that guy?! He's better than mine - I've been thinking Orlando Bloom for Fergus but that guy is awesome.
Sirena - I always feel like I almost want to dislike Fergus, but then he'll open his mouth and say something so charming and commanding and I'll think "sigh... I love Fergus".
Tracey - but why now? I mean - shouldn't these problems have been brewing for years? At least since they got to Fraser's Ridge. He seemed OK in The Fiery Cross...I guess he just got more uncomfortable with each child that came along...
Carol-Who didn't well up when Jamie realized he couldn't rush out of the cave and fight off the soldiers because he had to let Fergus' sacrifice mean something??!! *Sob*
ReplyDeleteCarol--agree with the fact that the more bairns that Fergus had, the worse things got for him--but also agree with Laura in that during Drums and FieryX (was he even IN Drums??), Fergus was more of an emissary for Jamie's "shadier" dealings. Didn't he have a lot to do with getting the underground whiskey operation up and running? That fit more with his skill set....
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog!!! You are freakin hillarious!!! Love all your post! I kept finding myelf laughing outloud...agreeing with you!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I worry how Jamie is SO MUCH Jamie (Himself :-) lol) that it's hard on the other guys - Fergus, as you said, sometimes roger, the Tom Christie animosity, etc... It's not Jamie's fault, it's just that Jamie is so capable, etc... And I DO totally love Fergus, but he breaks my heart sometimes. I can't believe he was 18 when he lost his hand! I remember it as if he was still a little street urchin. Um, also can't believe I care so much about these characters but there you go :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Angela! Thank you for your kind words... and Welcome to my little slice of Outlander insanity. We have a good time here - please keep commenting! :)
ReplyDeleteIan and Fergus are my favorites, so far, of the secondary characters. It totally went over my head that Fergus was 18 when his hand was cut off. I think that is because he is described as small when this happens.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that Fergus's talents were in carrying out any kind of subversive task, whether for himself or Jamie. It fits entirely with his upbringing. He did what he had to do to survive as a child, which resulted in a hard, but verra interesting life. It also resulted in someone who, despite welcoming Jamie's protection, liked his independence. Fergus did not care for authority (other than Jamie's) and that was what ultimately caused him to lose his hand.
He wouldn't give up the cask of ale to the soldiers just because they were figures of authority, English authority at that. He even taunted them by wiggling his butt at them when he took off and shouting obscenities at them in French, thinking they wouldn't follow him into mushy ground off the trail. But they did because he made them so mad.
I think DG has done a great job in character development with Fergus. His story is not only interesting, but I can see how the decisions he makes stem from his background, his personality and the circumstances happening at the time.
OK, so speaking of the whole Fergus/Marsali/birth of Henri-Christian scene...there is a part of the sequence that we MUST discuss, since it contains perhaps the HUGEST continuity error I've read so far in these books. When F/M are getting busy in the surgery, Claire thinks back to when Bree was born, and how Frank helped bring on her labor by...mmphm...
ReplyDeleteHOLD ON.
Was it or was it not made VERRA clear in Voyager that the first time that Claire and Frank did it after her return was during what Carol likes to call the "La Leche Incident," on the rug in Bree's nursery???? Was I the only reader who, whilst reading Claire's description of Frank's slow, gentle, tender love-making and how her water broke a few hours later, went, "Ummm...WTF???"
Paging Karen--has HERSELF ever commented on this?
Jo, you are so right. Nothing can make me cry on a dime more than the thought of James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser in that cave, or in prison. Add on the Fergus/hand incident and I am a mess.
ReplyDeleteTracey - you are SO RIGHT. We need Karen on this pronto!
HUGE mistake. My question:
What does DG say is the CORRECT story?? DYING to know which is the right one. I hope it's la leche cocktail being the first time. It was hard enough for me to swallow that she hooked up with Frank THAT fast. BEFORE the birth? With Jamie's SEED IN HER WOMB? OH I might actually pass out if that's the truth. Until I hear differently, I'm going with nursery sex, y'all.
BTW, I read through the ENTIRE Compuserve thread Laura referred to somewhere else with DG comments on ABOSAA and didn't see ONE reference to the Claire/Frank thing. I canna believe NO one has picked up on it!
ReplyDeleteSorry, coming in a bit late here -- I had no idea y'all were asking for my opinion on this! (Carol - next time, email me or drop me a note on Facebook, OK?)
ReplyDeleteI did a little digging around on Compuserve and found a thread from about a year ago where someone asked a very similar question. Hope this helps!
About Fergus - I just listened yesterday (again!) to the scene in DRAGONFLY where Fergus is first introduced. "I found him in a brothel" made me laugh out loud. Jamie's matter-of-factness, contrasted with Claire's total bewilderment, always cracks me up. But the bit where Jamie promises that if Fergus should lose a hand, Jamie will support him for the rest of his life, always gives me chills. I know Diana says she doesn't plan the books out in great detail years in advance, but it's impossible not to read a scene like that and think of what will come later.
And I think Fergus's response to the birth of Henri-Christian was handled very well. Very natural and believable.
Karen
Okey dokey. So...I read the Compuserve thread Karen references above, which in a nutshell states (and is confirmed by HERSELF) that it's not indicated in the "La Leche Cocktail" scene in Voyager that it's the first time Claire and Frank have gotten busy--just the first "significant resumption" of their sex life.
ReplyDeleteNow, y'all know that I think HERSELF walks on water. These books are so fabulous I don't know what to do with myself, and when I'm done with Echo, the thought of years before another volume of Jamie Fraser might drive me to my bed until a release date is set for the next one.
That said....
I respectfully disagree with DG on this one.
In my chosen field of literacy curriculum development, we tell kids to support their opinion with examples from the text. With that in mind, I present an excerpt from pp. 27-28 of the big paperback of Voyager (and OMG if this is breaking copyright rules, PLEASE forgive me...)
"I hadnt' seen Frank naked since my return; he had always dressed in bathroom or closet. Neither had he tried to kiss me before this morning's cautious peck. The pregnancy had been what the obstetrician called "high risk," and there had been no question of Frank's sharing my bed, even had I been so disposed—which I wasn't."
And yet, according to ABOSAA, Frank made tender, gentle love to Claire some months before so she could more easily pop out Bree. Hmmm. Maybe Claire was like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman"--"no kissing on the mouth, Frank." (Note to self: where can I fit Richard Gere in the Outlander movie??)
Now here's the thing: had that part from Voyager not been included, I would have ABSOLUTELY believed that Claire and Frank would have done it before the La Leche cocktail--even though Claire was devastated and mourning Jamie, I think she would have done it with Frank if for no other reason than he was her husband and she felt obligated. But in my eyes, it was made VERY clear from Voyager that it didn't happen that way--and, BTW, that fact IMO made La Leche even more significant when it finally did happen. So reading in ABOSAA that, well, no, that wasn't the case and Frank was Mr. Kind and Gentle just rang really, REALLY false with me.
OK rant over. Thank you for listening. (And DG, don't hate me!)
Tracey:
ReplyDeleteGutsiest move I ever saw, Man.
That was beautiful. Couldna have said it better myself.
Totally agree with Tracey!! This is not the first inconsistency I have found...
ReplyDeleteAs for gutsiest move lol I AGREE!
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