Author Archives: A Novel Approach

Outlander – The Way Out

Outlander – The Way Out, the third episode of Season 1, is a particularly interesting episode.  One of the subplots of the episode is directly from the book, and the entire episode feels like it could have been pulled directly from the book (and some scenes appear to have been shuffled into this episode out of earlier chapters of the book) but if you are reading along in the novel Outlander you need only finish chapter 9.

Chapter 10, approximately page 178 of the novel, is where The Gathering begins in earnest, and as it happens, the title of episode 4 is slated to be… The Gathering.

Episode three might be one of the best episodes for those wanting to get a feel for how the book is being translated to the screen.  The plot-point that was taken as a subplot directly to the screen was the one that, as a reader, struck me as significant, and telling about multiple characters.  In an earlier article I remarked that it can be interesting to see what scenes in the book are so significant that every person in the collaborative process that it takes to make it a tv show is struck by that scene and agrees it needs to be on the screen.  As a reader this was one of those scenes I hoped they felt the weight and impact of.

The subplot they added, the character they created, to me made perfect sense, and again spoke volumes about every character that interacted with him.

Episode three had a nice balance to it, some moments that spun on the intonation with which lines were delivered, and the body language that characters made sure only one or two others saw… it was this deliberateness in some cases, and subtlety in others that kept my eyes on the screen, and kept me interested from start to finish… and had me wanting to re-read the book yet again, wondering if there were things I had missed, things I should have noticed, things I might now understand differently because I could quite literally see them differently having just seen them on screen.

It is quite safe to say Diana Gabaldon’s series of Outlander novels stand alone quite successfully.  And the STARZ Outlander television series likewise stands alone, and can be viewed independently of the books and a compelling drama unfolds before your eyes.  But the two, in combination, create this extraordinary experience, where one sets you up with questions to ponder and ask as you experience the other… whichever you experience first keeps you guessing during the other even though you are pretty darn sure you know the journey you are being taken on.

The Ruby Dice – Catherine Asaro

When I discovered The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro I was positively entranced.  It was another book in a series (the Skolian Empire) I had been enjoying, and that was why I picked it up, but more than that, it introduced a dazzling concept I had never encountered before.

A means of communicating and exploring ideas through a dice based game.  Elaborate concepts and structures were laid out, described as being somewhere between tremendous dominoes extravaganzas, and those multi-deck card houses my parents would demand I put away before going to bed because a card house simply was not meant to fill the entire carpeted floor of the living room — or so they thought.  But these structures were made up of dice, each of which represented concepts, people, ideas, and the game functioned as a part of the plot and intrigue in the story.

By the time I reached the end of the book I almost understood the dice game, and suddenly I wanted to read the book all over again, wondering if with that new found understanding parts of the plot might play differently.

I have never been one to play the games that require 10 and 20 sided dice, and yet I can not help but wonder if The Ruby Dice is a book that would make even more sense, and hold more meaning to someone who is accustomed to seeing meaning in dice where all I see is painted numbers on an object I roll while praying.

Detective Frost – Rizzoli & Isles – Lee Thompson Young

It has been a year since Lee Thompson Young passed away.

For those who have read the Tess Gerritsen novel The Apprentice that Rizzoli & Isles, Lee Thompson Young’s most recent show, was based on, you may recall this description of his character Detective Barry Frost:

{Rizzoli}’d always liked Frost, had always appreciated his sunny and uncomplaining nature, and she hated to see his pride laid low.  She gave him a pat on the shoulder, a motherly smile.

It was an early description of a character Lee Thompson Young brought to life so powerfully over the course of 56 episodes.

He was a talented child actor on The Famous Jett Jackson who transitioned into adult work, charming audiences in Rizzoli & Isles.  Having recently read this passage in The Apprentice we wanted to take a moment to share it with you, and encourage you to read the books, and tune in to Rizzoli & Isles on TNT Tuesdays 9 PM ET/ 8 PM CT, and watch for Lee Thompson Young’s episodes on DVD or in re-runs.

We also encourage you to take a moment to visit the website for the Lee Thompson Young Foundation

Outlander – Castle Leoch

Claire and Jamie in Outlander S01E02 Castle Leoch

Claire and Jamie in Outlander S01E02 Castle Leoch

STARZ Outlander‘s second episode, Castle Leoch, incorporates large portions of the chapters 4 through 9 (about 4 pages into chapter 9, or approximately pages 81-162) of the Diana Gabaldon novel Outlander, but begins to feel less like an attempt to precisely translate the novel to the screen, and more like an effort to capture the most powerful and dynamic pages of the book, and present them in the best possible way in moving images.

In episode two it feels like scenes are shifted in position, aspects and conversations changed.  Where in episode one minor characters from the novel did not appear, here it felt like a minor character or two was added to facilitate tension, drama, and keep both characters and the plot on track and focused.  And yet, even as I was aware of all of these subtle and nuanced changes, none of them felt as though they were in violation of the book, or characters, but rather like I was simply being exposed to a different and equally compelling edit of the same story — making me glad I’ve already read these chapters, and am now enjoying the STARZ presentation.

Outlander is an epic story, set at this point predominantly in the 18th century, but the show uses a nice technique of flashing back to Claire’s twentieth century memories as she tries to adjust to her life, and use what knowledge she has, in every respect, to survive in this new life.

Watch Outlander on STARZ to catch up, and tune in each Saturday night at 9 PM ET/PT