Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series has expanded a bit thanks to a new collection of short stories that have been compiled into an anthology called Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall marks the first time that all the short stories and novellas in Diana Gabaladon’s Outlander universe will be collected in one place. Gabaldon, in her preface, gives a history of these short stories and a chronological order as to where these stories fall in the Outlander universe.

As Gabaldon states in her preface, the stories can be read as standalones in any order. That being said, there are a certain amount of references to previous events that reading out of chronological order leaves readers feeling like they are missing something. It should be additionally noted that there are full-length novels that feature Lord John Grey and/or Jamie Fraser that fall in between several of the stories.

Of the seven stories in the collection, five were previously published as standalones, or in other collections featuring the works of various authors. The first new item in the collection is the short story “A Fugitive Green.” It focuses on Lord John Grey’s older brother Hal and his sister-in-law Minnie. The second new item is “Besieged”, a short story that focuses on Lord John Grey and his mother.

Gabaldon refers to these short stories as “bulges.” They are essentially off-shoots of the Outlander series. Most, but not all, feature Lord John Grey and his extended family. Fans of the Starz adaptation of the Outlander series were just introduced to a young Lord John Grey at the end of season 2, played by Oscar Kennedy. When series 3 returns this fall, there is a jump in the timeline. Lord John Grey will at that time be played by David Berry.

The central themes of most of the Lord John tales are honor and duty. What does an honorable man such as Grey do when faced with adversarial conditions? What are the duties that he owes to himself, his family, his troops, and to the law? What is the right and just thing to do? There are never any easy answers, and often resolutions are bittersweet.

In Besieged, Lord John Grey, who has been in Jamaica as the acting governor, suddenly finds himself having to go to Havanna on a rescue mission. The British and the Spanish are once again about to engage in hostilities, and alas the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe, John Grey’s mother, and several other members of his extended family are in the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time.

Fans of the John Grey novels and novellas will be happy to see familiar faces such as John Grey’s beleaguered personal valet, Tom Byrd. Byrd is his usual irascible and forthright self as he assists Grey. Byrd is more than a caricature of the put-upon servant, though as usual he supplies an ample amount of comic relief. He is Grey’s right-hand-man. It’s obvious that there is no one Grey trusts more when the situation turns dire.

Other repeat faces include Malcolm Stubbs, the ne’er-do-well, philandering husband of Grey’s cousin Olivia, and Roderigo, who we last saw as a quasi-zombie. There are mixed emotions when we finally have our reunion with the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe. She is a women who has seen much in life, and that toll is evident.

In “A Fugitive Green,” we have a delightful introduction to a young Minnie who Outlander readers will recognize as Lord John Grey’s eventual sister-in-law. Previous novels have hinted at Minnie’s unconventional past with her father as a code breaker, and dealer of secrets and intrigue.

Minnie’s path is a multi-tiered one. She is filled with questions about her mother, who she has never known, and she starts a secretive search. Along the way, she crosses paths with the recently widowed Duke of Pardloe, Lord John Grey’s older brother, who has his own inner demons. Though neither of them was particularly looking for it, sometimes love is found in the most unusual of places and in the most unusual of circumstances.

Minnie is utterly enraging, intelligent, resilient, and resourceful. Gabaldon is going to have a problem on her hands. Readers are going to want a whole lot more of Minnie. If ever Minnie and Claire Fraser get together, look out! The men in their world will have more than met their match.

In the end, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall is the collection Gabaldon fans have long awaited. In the fall Outlander returns for season 3, and it has already been greenlit for season 4. If the Starz TV version of Lord John Grey is half as intriguing and he is on the page, perhaps a series featuring Lord John could be forthcoming.