• “The smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting 'Scrooge McDuck' comics.”—Salon.com
  • A time-hopping, continent-spanning salmagundi of genres.”
    —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
  • “These books have to be word-of-mouth books because they're too weird to describe to anybody.”
    —Jackie Cantor, Diana's first editor

Virgins (in DANGEROUS WOMEN)

Cover for U.S.A. hardcover edition

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The story is set in 1740, in France, in which Jamie Fraser (aged nineteen) and his friend Ian Murray (aged twenty) become young mercenaries. “Virgins” is a novella, part of the Outlander series, and is included in the anthology DANGEROUS WOMEN, edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois, which was released in the U.S.A. and U.K. in hardcover on December 3, 2013.

Click here to read excerpts of the stories in the anthology, written by many of today’s leading science fiction and fantasy authors (excerpts provided by Tor).

Publisher’s Description

All new and original to this volume, the 21 stories in DANGEROUS WOMEN include work by twelve New York Times bestsellers, and seven stories set in the authors’ bestselling continuities—including a new “Outlander” story by Diana Gabaldon, a  tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of The Magicians, and a 35,000-word novella by George R. R. Martin about the Dance of the Dragons, the vast civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones.

Also included are original stories of dangerous women—heroines and villains alike—by Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Sherilynn Kenyon, Lawrence Block, Carrie Vaughn,  S. M. Stirling, Sharon Kay Penman, and many others.

Writes Gardner Dozois in his Introduction:

“Here you’ll find no hapless victims who stand by whimpering in dread while the male hero fights the monster or clashes swords with the villain, and if you want to tie these women to the railroad tracks, you’ll find you have a real fight on your hands.  Instead, you will find sword-wielding women warriors, intrepid women fighter pilots and far-ranging spacewomen, deadly female serial killers, formidable female superheroes, sly and seductive femmes fatale, female wizards, hard-living Bad Girls, female bandits and rebels, embattled survivors in Post-Apocalyptic futures, female Private Investigators, stern female hanging judges, haughty queens who rule nations and whose jealousies and ambitions send thousands to grisly deaths, daring dragonriders, and many more.”

About the Editors

Author of the New York Times-bestselling “Song of Ice and Fire” series that begins with A Game of Thrones, and called “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R.R. Martin is one of the leading authors of fantasy today.  Gardner Dozois is an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy editor and novelist who has won fifteen Hugo Awards for his editorial work.

Amazon Best Book of the Month

DANGEROUS WOMEN was chosen as one of Amazon’s ten best books from the month of December, 2013. Amazon editor Robin A. Rothman wrote:

“The sci-fi and fantasy genre is known for going big: epic series, massive tomes, epic series comprised of massive tomes. And even here, short stories— 21 original tales in total— combine to form a tremendous 800-page genre-crossing collection. Co-editor George R.R. Martin contributes a story set in Westeros, nearly 200 years before A Game of Thrones begins. Likewise, other authors offer glimpses into their signature worlds. Jim Butcher gives the Dresden Files a twist by focusing on his protagonist’s assistant. Lev Grossman hones in on a group of girls at the wizarding school that’s central to The Magicians. Diana Gabaldon, Brandon Sanderson, Megan Lindholm… A range of fantastic writers, both male and female, offer an equally exciting range of ways to talk about “Dangerous Women”— from an unlikely bounty hunter to a gunslinger, a mother accused of the unthinkable to a young princess on the run. Dangerous Women is perfect for clamoring fans, as well as new readers, who may find these bite-sized stories an undaunting way to get to know new authors.”

Outlander Chronology

For more information on how “Virgins” fits into the Outlander series, see the Chronology of the Outlander Series.


This page was last updated on Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 12:47 a.m. (PDT).