Here’s What’s Going on with Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

I was super excited when I found out that Seven Stones to Stand or Fall was coming out and hit the pre-order button as soon as Amazon offered it. When it finally arrived, I was thrilled—happy Snoopy dance thrilled! Seriously, I do love a hardcover book.

Although while I’ve been over the moon about it, I’ve been noticing a lot of questions in our Outlander Reading Challenge group about what this book is, so I thought I’d take a minute or two and write up a blog post to breakdown what this book is. Keep in mind this isn’t a review as the only book I’ve read in it thus far is Virgins, it’s just a what’s what about the book.

The following short stories and novella are listed as they appear in Seven Stone to Stand or Fall.

The Custom of the Army (Lord John Grey 2.75)— London, 1759. After a high society electric-eel party leads to a duel that ends badly, Lord John Grey feels the need to lie low for a while. Conveniently, before starting his new commission in His Majesty’s army, Lord John receives an urgent summons. An old friend from the military, Charlie Carruthers, is facing court-martial in Canada, and has called upon Lord John to serve as his character witness. Grey voyages to the New World—a land rife with savages (many of them on his own side) and cleft by war—where he soon finds that he must defend not only his friend’s life but his own.

 

The Space Between (Outlander 7.5)— Joan MacKimmie is on her way to Paris to take up her vocation as a nun. Yet her decision is less a matter of faith than fear, for Joan is plagued by mysterious voices that speak of the future, and by visions that mark those about to die. The sanctuary of the nunnery promises respite from these unwanted visitations . . . or so she prays. Her chaperone is Michael Murray, a young widower who, though he still mourns the death of his wife, finds himself powerfully drawn to his charge. But when the time-traveling Comte St. Germain learns of Joan’s presence in Paris, and of her link to Claire Fraser—La Dame Blanche—Murray is drawn into a battle whose stakes are not merely the life but the very soul of the Scotswoman who, without even trying, has won his heart.

 

The Plague of Zombies (Lord John Grey #3.5)— Lord John Grey, a lieutenant-colonel in His Majesty’s army, arrives in Jamaica with orders to quash a slave rebellion brewing in the mountains. But a much deadlier threat lies close at hand. The governor of the island is being menaced by zombies, according to a servant. Lord John has no idea what a zombie is, but it doesn’t sound good. It sounds even worse when hands smelling of grave dirt come out of the darkness to take him by the throat. Between murder in the governor’s mansion and plantations burning in the mountains, Lord John will need the wisdom of serpents and the luck of the devil to keep the island from exploding.

 

A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Outlander 8.5)— Orphaned during World War II, Roger believed that his mother died during the London Blitz, and that his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in combat. But in An Echo in the Bone, Roger discovers that this may not be the whole story. Now, in “A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows,” readers finally learn the truth.

 

Virgins (Outlander 0.5) Read My Review— Mourning the death of his father and gravely injured at the hands of the English, Jamie Fraser finds himself running with a band of mercenaries in the French countryside, where he reconnects with his old friend Ian Murray. Both are nursing wounds; both have good reason to stay out of Scotland; and both are still virgins, despite several opportunities to remedy that deplorable situation with ladies of easy virtue. But Jamie’s love life becomes infinitely more complicated—and dangerous—when fate brings the young men into the service of Dr. Hasdi, a Jewish gentleman who hires them to escort two priceless treasures to Paris. One is an old Torah; the other is the doctor’s beautiful daughter, Rebekah, destined for an arranged marriage. Both Jamie and Ian are instantly drawn to the bride-to-be—but they might be more cautious if they had any idea who they’re truly dealing with.

 

The following novellas are brand-new and only in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

 

A Fugitive Green (Lord John Grey 0.5) is the story of Lord John’s elder brother, Hal, and a seventeen-year-old rare book dealer with a sideline in theft, forgery, and blackmail.

 

Besieged (Lord John Grey 3.5) Lord John learns that his mother is in Havana—and that the British Navy is on their way to lay siege to the city.

Here is the order the novellas/shorts (in red) found in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (fit into the Outlander and Lord John Timeline.

Virgins—Outlander novella featuring Jamie Fraser

The Exile—Outlander graphic novel

Outlander—novel

Dragonfly in Amber—novel

A Fugitive Green—Lord John Grey novella (Jamie Fraser appears) only in Seven Stones to Stand of Fall.

Voyager—novel

Lord John and the Hellfire Club—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Lord John and the Private Matter—novel

Lord John and the Succubus—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Lord John and the Brother of the Blade—novel

Lord John and the Haunted Solider—novella found in Lord John and the Hand of Devils

The Custom of the Army—Lord John Grey novella

The Scottish Prisoner—Lord John Grey novel (Jamie Fraser appears)

A Plague of Zombies—Lord John Grey novella

Drums of Autumn—novel

The Fiery Cross—novel

A Breath of Snow and Ashes—novel

An Echo in the Bone—novel

Written in My Own Heart’s Blood—novel

A Leaf in the Wind of All Hallows—Outlander novella

The Space Between—Outlander novella

Besieged—Lord John Grey novella—only in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall