"The Space Between" reactions

Here are a few of my reactions to Diana Gabaldon's latest story, "The Space Between", the novella about Young Ian's brother Michael, Marsali's sister Joan, and the Comte St. Germain, which was recently published in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand as part of a story collection called A TRAIL OF FIRE.

If you're looking for more information about A TRAIL OF FIRE, see the FAQ here. "The Space Between" is currently only available in A TRAIL OF FIRE, but it will be published in the US on Feb. 19, 2013, as part of an anthology called THE MAD SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION.

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Don't read below if you haven't finished "The Space Between"!

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- I found the Comte St. Germain's point of view completely fascinating. <g>  Everything we learned about him in this story raises more questions.  I love the way he can sense not only the blue aura that marks other time-travelers, but the internal workings of the body at a cellular level.  Wow.

- Rakoczy doesn't seem terribly frightened by the prospect of going through the stones.  I wonder why not?  And how many times has he done this??

- Why does he want to go forward in time?  Just for the novelty of it, to see if he can?  Or does he have some other motive?

- I really enjoyed the colors in this story.  The "blue vitriol" (known today as copper sulfate), the torches burning with green fire, etc.

- It was fun to see Master Raymond again.  I do wonder what "lost daughter" he's referring to.  Is it Claire, or someone else?  And I was just blown away by Raymond's ability to disappear like that.  How the heck did he DO that??  (There has to be a rational explanation, and I hope we find out what it is, some day. <g>)

- Joan is a very appealing character.  I liked her in ECHO, and I like her even more in this story.  I hope we see more of her at some point.  I love the way she thinks. <g> 

- Michael is also a very likeable character.  Like Jamie, he's a logical thinker (I liked the way he matched wits with Mother Hildegarde <g> ) who also feels very deeply.  I loved the little flashback where he and young Ian talk about their grief.  And I see parallels to ECHO here, in the way that Michael pulls himself out of that abyss of grief and loss by focusing on someone who still needs him (Joan), just as Claire talked herself out of suicide by thinking about Bree and the others.

- I thought the memorial keg of whisky in Ian's honor was a nice touch. <g>

This story leaves us with plenty to speculate about.  Just like Rakoczy, my mind "bubbled with questions" when I finished reading it, and I'm very interested in hearing what the rest of you think!

If you want to tell Diana Gabaldon what you thought of the story, or share your comments, questions, or speculations with other fans, please feel free to join the discussion about "The Space Between" on Compuserve here. Diana always likes to hear from her readers, and she has been participating actively in that discussion.