What happens to Buck MacKenzie in Written in My Own Heart's Blood? (Does Buck die?)

When in 1980, Buck MacKenzie learns that the year of his death is given as 1778. That’s the year Buck came through the stones. Does it mean he dies in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood?

During the eighth book, Buck MacKenzie decides to travel to the past with Roger to save Jemmy. They both think they are going to 1778, so it makes sense for Buck to go with them. However, they end up much earlier in 1739.

As Buck goes through the stones, he suffers from heart problems. Do those heart problems kill him? Does he actually technically die in 1778 but in a different time period?

Buck MacKenzie is left in 1739 in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood

Buck and Roger come across a fellow time traveler and a healer, Dr. McEwan. He is able to heal Buck’s heart, but I get the sense that it’s enough for Buck to ever be able to travel again. Healing isn’t just a case of one flash of blue light and that’s it for a lot of cases, as we see when McEwan heals Roger’s throat, which is going to take time to heal 100%.

With Buck healed enough, the two men can go in search for Jemmy MacKenzie. Buck also has another interest in the past. He knows that his birth parents, Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan are in this time period. He wants to visit his mother, and he is immediately attracted to her. Yuck!

The last we see is Buck leaving with Geillis. Roger imagines a flash around Geillis’s abdomen and Buck disappearing, suggesting that Buck will simply cease to exist when Geillis ends up pregnant with him. After all, the same person can’t be in two timelines, which is why Roger was once kicked out of the stones.

Roger never explains where Buck is. We just know he’s left in 1739, and we haven’t found out what happened to him since. It does make sense why people in 1778 believe Buck to be dead, though.

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