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The Chronicles of St Mary's #1
Un monde après l'autre
À l'institut St Mary de recherche historique, les historiens n'étudient pas seulement le passé, ils le visitent.
Derrière l'innocente façade de St Mary, le secret du voyage dans le temps a été découvert et reste bien gardé. Les chercheurs en Histoire ont ainsi une méthode de travail tout à fait particulière : ils " étudient 'en temps réel' les événements majeurs de l'Histoire ". En se faisant passer pour d'inoffensifs excentriques, ils tentent de répondre à certaines questions qui n'ont jamais été résolues, sans jamais toucher au cours de l'Histoire... au risque d'en mourir.
Madeleine Maxwell, une jeune et brillante historienne est contactée par son ancien professeur afin de rejoindre l'équipe de l'Institut St Mary. Au cours de son étrange entretien d'embauche, Maxwell comprend vite les possibilités qui s'offrent à elle...
De la disparition de Pompéi aux tranchées de la Première Guerre mondiale, du grand incendie de Londres à la destruction de la bibliothèque d'Alexandrie, la jeune historienne va revivre d'extraordinaires événements. Alors qu'au sein de l'institut naissent des enjeux de pouvoir...
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2013
4148 people are currently reading
48630 people want to read
About the author
Jodi Taylor
84 books5,381 followersJodi Taylor is the internationally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's series, the story of a bunch of disaster prone individuals who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel! She is also the author of the Time Police series - a St Mary's spinoff and gateway into the world of an all-powerful, international organisation who are NOTHING like St Mary's. Except, when they are.
Alongside these, Jodi is known for her gripping supernatural thrillers featuring Elizabeth Cage together with the enchanting Frogmorton Farm series - a fairy story for adults.
Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Over twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
Alongside these, Jodi is known for her gripping supernatural thrillers featuring Elizabeth Cage together with the enchanting Frogmorton Farm series - a fairy story for adults.
Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Over twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,340 reviews
July 31, 2016
The title unfortunately describes the way this book is plotted. Things happen, and they are sort of loosely slung-together, with very little sense of time passing (at one point the protagonist notes she's known another character for five years, and I genuinely thought only a single year had passed since their meeting at the beginning of the novel) and with absolutely no character development. No characters at all, really: Taylor's creations seem to turn on a dime, depending on whatever the plot ("plot"?) dictates. Out of nowhere, one character is suddenly revealed to be a sexual predator, because Taylor needs the reader to hate him now. The love interest up and screams at the protagonist, also out of nowhere, for...angst I guess? Oh and some rando background character suddenly calls the protagonist a slut and...sexually attacks her. Of course. I see more of a pattern here than to the plot and it's gross.
The main character has no personality except to be perfect at everything and drive evil people to fits of revealing rage -- classic Mary Sue stuff. I get annoyed with the overuse and misuse of that term, but it really applies here. Max feels like a self-insert. She, her love interest, and the innumerable interchangeable secondary characters are all amazingly under-characterized and flatly written: I couldn't describe a single one of them to you, nor could I tell them apart much of the time. (Which one was Markham and which was Murdoch again?) Early in the book, Max notes that she often does not react to things in a "normal" way, but this is never used to make a point about her history or to develop her character as the story progresses; instead, it feels like Taylor simply did not know how to write realistic reactions to situations and was using this as an excuse.
And nothing else makes sense either! You have a secret -- but not all that secret if it's known by a major university and receives "assignments" -- time travel organization, which for some reason is severely understaffed. At one point they only have four historians (a.k.a. time travelers) working for them, and don't hire more -- but no real qualification seems necessary? Like Max makes a big deal about how rigorous the training is, but without actually conveying that in any way, and it's also not explained why they can't just recruit more people for the training in the first place. Max's "specialty" as a historian is brought up, but then she never works on anything related to it. They send her back to study dinosaurs when her speciality was ancient Greek and Roman civ. You guys couldn't recruit some paleontologists?
As a time travel book, this novel makes poor use of its subject. In fact, nearly no use: the main conceit of historians using time travel in their studies was done better many times over by Connie Willis; the big "twist" is the starting point for many other time travel narratives, and seemed so obvious that the characters not figuring it out sooner just makes them look dumb. On the most basic level, St. Mary's does not seem like a fun or exciting organization to work for, so why would I want to read about it? This book was baffling for me from start to finish; I kept waiting for it to get going, then to get better. It didn't. Now I wish I could go back in time and not bother.
The main character has no personality except to be perfect at everything and drive evil people to fits of revealing rage -- classic Mary Sue stuff. I get annoyed with the overuse and misuse of that term, but it really applies here. Max feels like a self-insert. She, her love interest, and the innumerable interchangeable secondary characters are all amazingly under-characterized and flatly written: I couldn't describe a single one of them to you, nor could I tell them apart much of the time. (Which one was Markham and which was Murdoch again?) Early in the book, Max notes that she often does not react to things in a "normal" way, but this is never used to make a point about her history or to develop her character as the story progresses; instead, it feels like Taylor simply did not know how to write realistic reactions to situations and was using this as an excuse.
And nothing else makes sense either! You have a secret -- but not all that secret if it's known by a major university and receives "assignments" -- time travel organization, which for some reason is severely understaffed. At one point they only have four historians (a.k.a. time travelers) working for them, and don't hire more -- but no real qualification seems necessary? Like Max makes a big deal about how rigorous the training is, but without actually conveying that in any way, and it's also not explained why they can't just recruit more people for the training in the first place. Max's "specialty" as a historian is brought up, but then she never works on anything related to it. They send her back to study dinosaurs when her speciality was ancient Greek and Roman civ. You guys couldn't recruit some paleontologists?
As a time travel book, this novel makes poor use of its subject. In fact, nearly no use: the main conceit of historians using time travel in their studies was done better many times over by Connie Willis; the big "twist" is the starting point for many other time travel narratives, and seemed so obvious that the characters not figuring it out sooner just makes them look dumb. On the most basic level, St. Mary's does not seem like a fun or exciting organization to work for, so why would I want to read about it? This book was baffling for me from start to finish; I kept waiting for it to get going, then to get better. It didn't. Now I wish I could go back in time and not bother.
June 29, 2020
Light, fun and adventurous time travel romp. Just don't think too hard about it and you'll have a great time. :)
3.5 stars. Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Just One Damned Thing After Another was a wild roller coaster ride! It’s a time travel tale, but doesn’t care to get hung up on the theory or mechanics of it. The plot careens wildly around from place to place and event to event, and I just raced around with it. Mostly it’s about the adventures ― explosions! dinosaurs! conspiracies! ― but there’s occasionally some deeper introspection, though Jodi Taylor never lets it get in the way of the story.
At the invitation of a former teacher, Madeleine Maxwell, known as Max, applies for a job as a historian at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a rather secretive part of the University of Thirsk. It’s a little unclear what exactly her job will be, other than that it offers poor pay, worse conditions, and “a less structured existence.” Despite this unpromising description, Max decides to take a chance. She soon finds out that she’ll be part of a time traveling team of historians, investigating major historical events in the past. It’s a dangerous job: the mortality rate among historians is alarmingly high, and there’s something strange going on in the hierarchy at St. Mary’s itself.
One of the first things I noticed was how much Just One Damned Thing After Another owes to Connie Willis’ OXFORD TIME TRAVEL series, with university researchers using time travel to experience historical events first hand, and even with a key plot turn at the end. As in that series, history resists any deliberate or inadvertent attempts to change its course, but in THE CHRONICLES OF ST. MARY’S, history’s resistance to change is rather more personally threatening. Dr Bairstow, the Director of St. Mary’s, tells Max:
Still, Just One Damned Thing After Another is indisputably a fun, exciting ride, as long as you don’t think too hard about it. Max is enjoyably obstinate and mouthy, especially toward those who try to push her around or take advantage of her. She narrates the story with a chatty, informal voice, and her banter with other characters is witty and sometimes very sexy. Read it, not for any particular intellectual benefit, but for the sheer fun of the escape.
Content advisory: Violence, some F-bombs and sexytimes.
3.5 stars. Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Just One Damned Thing After Another was a wild roller coaster ride! It’s a time travel tale, but doesn’t care to get hung up on the theory or mechanics of it. The plot careens wildly around from place to place and event to event, and I just raced around with it. Mostly it’s about the adventures ― explosions! dinosaurs! conspiracies! ― but there’s occasionally some deeper introspection, though Jodi Taylor never lets it get in the way of the story.
At the invitation of a former teacher, Madeleine Maxwell, known as Max, applies for a job as a historian at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a rather secretive part of the University of Thirsk. It’s a little unclear what exactly her job will be, other than that it offers poor pay, worse conditions, and “a less structured existence.” Despite this unpromising description, Max decides to take a chance. She soon finds out that she’ll be part of a time traveling team of historians, investigating major historical events in the past. It’s a dangerous job: the mortality rate among historians is alarmingly high, and there’s something strange going on in the hierarchy at St. Mary’s itself.
One of the first things I noticed was how much Just One Damned Thing After Another owes to Connie Willis’ OXFORD TIME TRAVEL series, with university researchers using time travel to experience historical events first hand, and even with a key plot turn at the end. As in that series, history resists any deliberate or inadvertent attempts to change its course, but in THE CHRONICLES OF ST. MARY’S, history’s resistance to change is rather more personally threatening. Dr Bairstow, the Director of St. Mary’s, tells Max:
Think of History as a living organism, with its own defence mechanisms. History will not permit anything to change events that have already taken place. If History thinks, even for one moment, that that is about to occur, then it will, without hesitation, eliminate the threatening virus. Or historian, as we like to call them.Although Just One Damned Thing After Another completely sucked me in while I was reading it, in the cold light of morning its shortcomings became more apparent. There are several inconsistencies in plot and characterization, particularly where one character, at a key point in the story, acts in a way that seems completely out of character for him. The plot focuses much more on action than depth; several events get glossed over that really could have benefited from more details, like the main character’s abusive childhood, which is referred to only in the vaguest of terms, but has a lot to do with the person she’s become.
And it’s easy. How difficult is it to cause a ten-ton block of stone to fall on a potentially threatening historian observing the construction of Stonehenge? Another cup?
Still, Just One Damned Thing After Another is indisputably a fun, exciting ride, as long as you don’t think too hard about it. Max is enjoyably obstinate and mouthy, especially toward those who try to push her around or take advantage of her. She narrates the story with a chatty, informal voice, and her banter with other characters is witty and sometimes very sexy. Read it, not for any particular intellectual benefit, but for the sheer fun of the escape.
Content advisory: Violence, some F-bombs and sexytimes.
February 10, 2017
What a surprisingly delightful Time Travel novel!
I mean, if it wasn't for the great characters, and there were a ton of them, this book was still full of snark right down to the foundations. (And even sometimes under the foundations!) But even so, no one could hold a candle to Maxwell. I've never read a character so simultaneously dense about sex and love and so very, very brilliant and adaptable than her, while all the while being brainy, clumsy, and eventually able to go out and kick ass with the best of them.
Because, after all, nothing says Historian than a woman with a big gun. Right? Right! And raptors really are a bit more tiny than she expected. But, of course, the real predators are other Time-Travelers.
Do you like plot? OMG there's so much plot, and so much happens, and all the while I'm like... the author's touching upon so many great periods and so many historians are dying because they're idiots and how the hell were they trained and that's NOT RIGHT, but hell that's funny and I found myself telling myself that this has got to be one of the most comprehensively well-thought-out time travel novels I've ever read. At least, it's a lot more stable and a lot less outright weird than most, firmly rooted in all the things we know or we think we know, while focusing on being damn realistic about achievable goals, keeping the tech out of the public's hands because we know they'll fuck it up anyway, and just HOW did St. Mary's come to be? Oh, lordy.
I've read good Time Travel books, to be sure, but none of those had quite the breadth or the wide stretch of character change and development as this. Have I finally found my modern go-to SF series for plain frolicky fun and hijinks? Perhaps!
It's a bit more complicated than most of the Time-Travel books I'm used to, and while it has a lot of light moments, it's packed to the gills with the serious, too, and not always about personal safety. It's clever right down to the core.
And exciting. :) I can't wait for more. :)
I mean, if it wasn't for the great characters, and there were a ton of them, this book was still full of snark right down to the foundations. (And even sometimes under the foundations!) But even so, no one could hold a candle to Maxwell. I've never read a character so simultaneously dense about sex and love and so very, very brilliant and adaptable than her, while all the while being brainy, clumsy, and eventually able to go out and kick ass with the best of them.
Because, after all, nothing says Historian than a woman with a big gun. Right? Right! And raptors really are a bit more tiny than she expected. But, of course, the real predators are other Time-Travelers.
Do you like plot? OMG there's so much plot, and so much happens, and all the while I'm like... the author's touching upon so many great periods and so many historians are dying because they're idiots and how the hell were they trained and that's NOT RIGHT, but hell that's funny and I found myself telling myself that this has got to be one of the most comprehensively well-thought-out time travel novels I've ever read. At least, it's a lot more stable and a lot less outright weird than most, firmly rooted in all the things we know or we think we know, while focusing on being damn realistic about achievable goals, keeping the tech out of the public's hands because we know they'll fuck it up anyway, and just HOW did St. Mary's come to be? Oh, lordy.
I've read good Time Travel books, to be sure, but none of those had quite the breadth or the wide stretch of character change and development as this. Have I finally found my modern go-to SF series for plain frolicky fun and hijinks? Perhaps!
It's a bit more complicated than most of the Time-Travel books I'm used to, and while it has a lot of light moments, it's packed to the gills with the serious, too, and not always about personal safety. It's clever right down to the core.
And exciting. :) I can't wait for more. :)
April 17, 2014
Madeleine Maxwell has had two pivotal moments in her life to date. Her second moment arose after a former teacher suggested applying for a job as a Historian at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. During the interview, St. Mary’s is cagey about the exact nature of their work, but once Maxwell accepts the job, she discovers they are historians who use time travel to correct historical inaccuracies. St. Mary’s has a certain eccentricity about it that appeals to her own rebellious nature:
“We finished with a tour of the grounds… Even as I opened my mouth to ask, there was a small bang from the second floor and the windows rattled.
‘Hold on,’ said Chief Farrell. ‘I’m duty officer this week and I want to see if the fire alarms go off.’
They didn’t.
‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ I said.
He sighed. ‘No, it just means they’ve taken the batteries out again.’”
***********************************
The rest of my topical but undeletable review (like the ginger-haired Maxwell, I will insist on marching to my own beat):
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/0...
AND
http://carols.booklikes.com/post/8574...-
June 3, 2022
Second time reading it, and actually loved it even more
Second Rating : *** 4.44 ***
Best example of rapid cycling manic-depressive storytelling ever😃👍
“Thinking carefully is something that happens to other people”
First Rating: *** 4 ***
A buddy read with the MacHalo Freaks:) We believe that discovering history is the new sex!!!
At least, this is what Max, Madeleine Maxwell, the young historian from the St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, would like us to believe:) I kind of agree with her - history is almost as good as very good sex, but only if you can relate to it. And in this book, the researchers at St. Mary's are doing more than relating to history - they are reliving it!!! Time travel pods are the means of transport to any desirable point in time and many rules need to be followed if one is to travel in that manner. No traveler should ever try to involve themselves in the historical time they are visiting and no emotional attachments are advisable, since after all, they are from the future and the history is in its proper timeline... This super secret Time project is very secret, and very underfunded. So, not all of the involved parties have honorable intentions as far as the Institute and its survival are concerned. Because if we have learned one thing from historical data, greed and power have always been stronger in the human character then the desire for uncovering the truth and living in near obscurity, while trying to do your best for humanity... *deep sigh* ... Alas...
"..."“I certainly wasn’t where I should be and it would be the cautious, the sensible thing to do. But, for God’s sake, I was an historian and cautious and sensible were things that happened to other people.” ..."
Max, Doctor B. and Chief Farrell are three of the good and hilariously funny guys in the crew! Most of the story is told from her, Max's point of view and we get to follow her training, her friendships, her frenemies, and her propensity for disaster which obviously follows her around as a faithful puppy. I liked that the way the author let us acquaint ourselves with the main players was through their actions and banter, rather than being spoon fed descriptions and assurances about their characters. The writing stile was a bit different, but very pleasant overall and had a wonderful undertone of humor, without making the seriousness of curtain parts of the story fall flat. There were moments I was surprised by the starkness and bleakness of the mood, since I had expected just a humorous and fantastical tale of not much debt or substance. Here is for low expectations being topped!:):):)
"..."“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” ..."
I enjoyed the book very much and am definitely planning on continuing with the series!!! It is a perfect read for fans of Time Travel and some sci-fi:)
"..."“Strangely, I found the conclusion quite liberating. When you’re fucked, you’re fucked. Things really can’t get much worse.” ..."
Now I wish You all Happy Reading and Many Wonderful Books!!!
Second Rating : *** 4.44 ***
Best example of rapid cycling manic-depressive storytelling ever😃👍
“Thinking carefully is something that happens to other people”
First Rating: *** 4 ***
A buddy read with the MacHalo Freaks:) We believe that discovering history is the new sex!!!
At least, this is what Max, Madeleine Maxwell, the young historian from the St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, would like us to believe:) I kind of agree with her - history is almost as good as very good sex, but only if you can relate to it. And in this book, the researchers at St. Mary's are doing more than relating to history - they are reliving it!!! Time travel pods are the means of transport to any desirable point in time and many rules need to be followed if one is to travel in that manner. No traveler should ever try to involve themselves in the historical time they are visiting and no emotional attachments are advisable, since after all, they are from the future and the history is in its proper timeline... This super secret Time project is very secret, and very underfunded. So, not all of the involved parties have honorable intentions as far as the Institute and its survival are concerned. Because if we have learned one thing from historical data, greed and power have always been stronger in the human character then the desire for uncovering the truth and living in near obscurity, while trying to do your best for humanity... *deep sigh* ... Alas...
"..."“I certainly wasn’t where I should be and it would be the cautious, the sensible thing to do. But, for God’s sake, I was an historian and cautious and sensible were things that happened to other people.” ..."
Max, Doctor B. and Chief Farrell are three of the good and hilariously funny guys in the crew! Most of the story is told from her, Max's point of view and we get to follow her training, her friendships, her frenemies, and her propensity for disaster which obviously follows her around as a faithful puppy. I liked that the way the author let us acquaint ourselves with the main players was through their actions and banter, rather than being spoon fed descriptions and assurances about their characters. The writing stile was a bit different, but very pleasant overall and had a wonderful undertone of humor, without making the seriousness of curtain parts of the story fall flat. There were moments I was surprised by the starkness and bleakness of the mood, since I had expected just a humorous and fantastical tale of not much debt or substance. Here is for low expectations being topped!:):):)
"..."“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” ..."
I enjoyed the book very much and am definitely planning on continuing with the series!!! It is a perfect read for fans of Time Travel and some sci-fi:)
"..."“Strangely, I found the conclusion quite liberating. When you’re fucked, you’re fucked. Things really can’t get much worse.” ..."
Now I wish You all Happy Reading and Many Wonderful Books!!!
July 17, 2023
Unfortunately I seem to have enjoyed this read a lot less than the rest of my MacHalo buddies. I really wanted to like it, based on trusted buddy reviews, but nope.
The premise: fascinating. Especially the part about history fighting to preserve itself, like a living entity.
The characters: a brilliant variety of realistic freaks.
The storyline: fast-paced and creative.
So what's the problem? The writing. If I had to describe it in one word (and this is just what I refer to it in my head; please don't take me too seriously), it would be British. Namely, dry, wry and matter-of-fact. If ever there was emotion involved in the plot, you wouldn't know it from Jodi Taylor's tone all throughout her book. Sometimes, this wordy style really works to the advantage of the storyteller and gives humor and personality to every scene: my best example for a successful pull-off of "British" style writing would be Terry Pratchett. Unfortunately, Jodi Taylor's attempt didn't sit as well with me and because of that, my enjoyment of Just One Damned Thing After Another was seriously dampened.
Too bad! Perhaps I will give To Say Nothing of the Dog a try, as I've heard Jodi Taylor may have gotten her inspiration/ideas from this very similar series.
The premise: fascinating. Especially the part about history fighting to preserve itself, like a living entity.
The characters: a brilliant variety of realistic freaks.
The storyline: fast-paced and creative.
So what's the problem? The writing. If I had to describe it in one word (and this is just what I refer to it in my head; please don't take me too seriously), it would be British. Namely, dry, wry and matter-of-fact. If ever there was emotion involved in the plot, you wouldn't know it from Jodi Taylor's tone all throughout her book. Sometimes, this wordy style really works to the advantage of the storyteller and gives humor and personality to every scene: my best example for a successful pull-off of "British" style writing would be Terry Pratchett. Unfortunately, Jodi Taylor's attempt didn't sit as well with me and because of that, my enjoyment of Just One Damned Thing After Another was seriously dampened.
Too bad! Perhaps I will give To Say Nothing of the Dog a try, as I've heard Jodi Taylor may have gotten her inspiration/ideas from this very similar series.
July 15, 2025
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: “History is just one damned thing after another” - Arnold Toynbee
A mapcap new slant on history that seems to be everyone's cup of tea...
Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet.
Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process.
But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting.
Follow the catastrophe curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake...
A story of history, time travel, love, friendship and tea. Meet the disaster-magnets at the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around history, observing, documenting, drinking tea and, if possible, not dying. Follow the catastrophe-curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. Discover History – The New Sex.
My Review: With a healthy dollop of the Old Sex tossed (!) in for good measure.
Addictive.
Crack-level addictive. This book was free on Amazon for the Kindle. I've gently recommended (stop laughing) that others would do well to avail themselves of the storytelling goodness, free or not. I slurped it up in one long day. Because, well, how does one not fall under the spell of a short, buxom, foul-mouthed redhead whose purpose in life is to cock a snook at Authority and go about the business of making the Cretaceous safe for Dinosaurkind despite the fact that we all know how it ends for them?
While, not incidentally, nourishing a serious and well-requited pash for a dark-haired omnicompetent quiet dynamo of a man, fighting most satisfactorily against the evil-hearted plotting of a seriously tall and elegant femme fatale (in the best and most literal senses of that term) and battling to save THE LIBRARY AT ALEXANDRIA!!!!!!
And so much more!
Does anyone remember the Paratime series by H. Beam Piper? Darn good fun, similar in nature to this series in that the Paratime Police dash about trying to maintain the intended course of History. The difference is that this series assumes there is One History, as opposed to Paratime's many many historys in a multiverse. Both have their strong points, from a narrative structural angle, and their weaknesses.
Knowing how pantiwadulous so very many people become at the merest whiff of a spoiler ::eyeroll::, I will say that Taylor's History has a very...personal...stake in the Universe. Go find out fer yer darnself!
Now. Nothing is flawless. No book is absent goofs, errors, infelicities. This one is no exception. The only one I feel it necessary to mention in this context is that age-old problem of time travel stories, getting it all to hang together. Several characters are set up with a specific backstory that, to the reader, would lead them to know of their own personal knowledge certain other characters. Yet they don't. But they do know other things that fit within the backstory. That's an oops moment.
The others, merest minor gaffe-lets. Punctuation spacing errors, the odd repeated word, blah blah blah. Nothing that merits more than a grunt of annoyance. And each of those is measured against several laughs, a few giggles, a large number of grins, and the odd sniffleback at moments of sentiment. The less disciplined will shed a tear or two, or stand accused of heartlessness.
In short: Excellent fun for the reader in need of fun, thrills, and a larger sense of significance that can easily be ignored if the mood is light. Free. Now, what on earth are you waiting for? Free! Go! GO!
The Publisher Says: “History is just one damned thing after another” - Arnold Toynbee
A mapcap new slant on history that seems to be everyone's cup of tea...
Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet.
Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process.
But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting.
Follow the catastrophe curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake...
A story of history, time travel, love, friendship and tea. Meet the disaster-magnets at the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around history, observing, documenting, drinking tea and, if possible, not dying. Follow the catastrophe-curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. Discover History – The New Sex.
My Review: With a healthy dollop of the Old Sex tossed (!) in for good measure.
Addictive.
Crack-level addictive. This book was free on Amazon for the Kindle. I've gently recommended (stop laughing) that others would do well to avail themselves of the storytelling goodness, free or not. I slurped it up in one long day. Because, well, how does one not fall under the spell of a short, buxom, foul-mouthed redhead whose purpose in life is to cock a snook at Authority and go about the business of making the Cretaceous safe for Dinosaurkind despite the fact that we all know how it ends for them?
While, not incidentally, nourishing a serious and well-requited pash for a dark-haired omnicompetent quiet dynamo of a man, fighting most satisfactorily against the evil-hearted plotting of a seriously tall and elegant femme fatale (in the best and most literal senses of that term) and battling to save THE LIBRARY AT ALEXANDRIA!!!!!!
And so much more!
Does anyone remember the Paratime series by H. Beam Piper? Darn good fun, similar in nature to this series in that the Paratime Police dash about trying to maintain the intended course of History. The difference is that this series assumes there is One History, as opposed to Paratime's many many historys in a multiverse. Both have their strong points, from a narrative structural angle, and their weaknesses.
Knowing how pantiwadulous so very many people become at the merest whiff of a spoiler ::eyeroll::, I will say that Taylor's History has a very...personal...stake in the Universe. Go find out fer yer darnself!
Now. Nothing is flawless. No book is absent goofs, errors, infelicities. This one is no exception. The only one I feel it necessary to mention in this context is that age-old problem of time travel stories, getting it all to hang together. Several characters are set up with a specific backstory that, to the reader, would lead them to know of their own personal knowledge certain other characters. Yet they don't. But they do know other things that fit within the backstory. That's an oops moment.
The others, merest minor gaffe-lets. Punctuation spacing errors, the odd repeated word, blah blah blah. Nothing that merits more than a grunt of annoyance. And each of those is measured against several laughs, a few giggles, a large number of grins, and the odd sniffleback at moments of sentiment. The less disciplined will shed a tear or two, or stand accused of heartlessness.
In short: Excellent fun for the reader in need of fun, thrills, and a larger sense of significance that can easily be ignored if the mood is light. Free. Now, what on earth are you waiting for? Free! Go! GO!
April 30, 2018
At some point last year, I must have been on a kick to enter tons of Goodreads Giveaways in the hopes I'd get a bunch of free books. Included in that over-zealous moment was Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. I tend to get lucky in terms of winning a giveaway once each month, and earlier this year, I won this book. When I received the email, I looked the book up as I couldn't remember anything about it... and for the life of me, I couldn't understand why I picked it given it's science fiction and fantasy. I reasoned out that it had a cool premise where historians time travel to the past to see what happened, and well, that does kinda raise my interest. So... trying to clear off my list of ARCs (I've got 11 left... almost there for my 5/31 deadline... and I punished myself by not allowing any new ones until these are done)... I slotted it for this week, and wow! It was such a surprise and fantastic read.
It's the first (except for a short prequel) in a series with ~10 books already (and it's only been 3 or 4 years since the author started writing the series from what I can tell). A group of modern history buffs work for a secret organization who travels back in time to either correct any interference from criminals trying to alter the timeline or to study and learn the reasons why things happened (that we never really understood). In this initial book, we visit dinosaurs, great library fires, epic wars and battles, and other great historical events. Throw in some romance, many suspenseful moments, the classic good versus evil battle, some interesting history lessons, and a really fun and easy-to-read style, and you've got a winning book series.
It was a difficult start because the two year old inside me kept saying "but what about," or "how did this happen," and then "you never explained" ... yet truthfully... it's the kinda book and topic where you will never have all the answers as it doesn't exist in reality. Time travel isn't a real thing (as far as I know, but clearly I don't know everything so there's some potential I am dead wrong), so why should I feel the need to invent all these rules and structure. The book has several already to give us appropriate constructs within which the historians can move around. We don't learn how the machine was built, what it can/can't do, etc. We just know the researchers can get in a pod, punch in coordinates and voila, they are there. That's good enough for me as I don't read this genre often. If you get hung up with needing all the specifics, then I don't think this book is for you unless in future ones within the series, it's more clearly explained. That said, it's such a fun journey, I really don't think you need to worry about knowing everything. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride as the historians do.
The main character changes jobs and is at the end of her rope when a former mentor invites her to a mysterious meeting. Fast-forward five years later to when she's a leading member of the historian team jumping through time. She's smart and spunky, but definitely has a few flaws. It makes her more likable and human. When she battles the evil characters, I kinda laughed at how she just survives anything thrown at her, but it's good drama. I really can't encourage you enough to just let it flow and think about the fantasy aspects of this opportunity. It's not real life, so if she can kill a few people and walk away without worrying too much, then I suppose I can do that for a few hours, too!
Thank you to the author and publisher for including this in a giveaway. You've got a new fan and I will pick up another in the series this year.
It's the first (except for a short prequel) in a series with ~10 books already (and it's only been 3 or 4 years since the author started writing the series from what I can tell). A group of modern history buffs work for a secret organization who travels back in time to either correct any interference from criminals trying to alter the timeline or to study and learn the reasons why things happened (that we never really understood). In this initial book, we visit dinosaurs, great library fires, epic wars and battles, and other great historical events. Throw in some romance, many suspenseful moments, the classic good versus evil battle, some interesting history lessons, and a really fun and easy-to-read style, and you've got a winning book series.
It was a difficult start because the two year old inside me kept saying "but what about," or "how did this happen," and then "you never explained" ... yet truthfully... it's the kinda book and topic where you will never have all the answers as it doesn't exist in reality. Time travel isn't a real thing (as far as I know, but clearly I don't know everything so there's some potential I am dead wrong), so why should I feel the need to invent all these rules and structure. The book has several already to give us appropriate constructs within which the historians can move around. We don't learn how the machine was built, what it can/can't do, etc. We just know the researchers can get in a pod, punch in coordinates and voila, they are there. That's good enough for me as I don't read this genre often. If you get hung up with needing all the specifics, then I don't think this book is for you unless in future ones within the series, it's more clearly explained. That said, it's such a fun journey, I really don't think you need to worry about knowing everything. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride as the historians do.
The main character changes jobs and is at the end of her rope when a former mentor invites her to a mysterious meeting. Fast-forward five years later to when she's a leading member of the historian team jumping through time. She's smart and spunky, but definitely has a few flaws. It makes her more likable and human. When she battles the evil characters, I kinda laughed at how she just survives anything thrown at her, but it's good drama. I really can't encourage you enough to just let it flow and think about the fantasy aspects of this opportunity. It's not real life, so if she can kill a few people and walk away without worrying too much, then I suppose I can do that for a few hours, too!
Thank you to the author and publisher for including this in a giveaway. You've got a new fan and I will pick up another in the series this year.
July 24, 2013
I am angry with this book. I so wanted to like it. It is not one of those one stars where you just can't get hooked by the story, and leave it after 30 pages. It started out so well. But there are gaps in the storyline, the caracters are sketchy at the best, sometimes doing things that are not in line with their previous caracteristics. The plot is oveer 5 years but there is no developement. And you don't get a real explanation as to why somebody did something. I mean, there is some explanation, it just doesn't ring true.
But I would have put up with these if the story didn't turn to pure nonsense towards the end.
I stopped the book at 88% as I really wanted to get to the end. But here. I could take no more.
But I would have put up with these if the story didn't turn to pure nonsense towards the end.
I stopped the book at 88% as I really wanted to get to the end. But here. I could take no more.
December 6, 2024
💀 DNF at 6%. Because no. Just no.
If you want the real thing, get yourself a copy of To Say Nothing of the Dog. Because this book right here?
March 12, 2020
Great little story. Loved it. It really sparks the imagination as should any good time travel novel. Although this one has more relationship development and less time travel. Some romance, and some worthy sex scenes, tasteful and properly motivated. The protagonist is a strong female character that is very believable. As soon as I read the first hundred pages I purchased the next three in the series. By the time I finished the first one I was glad I did. This book is four stars instead of five even though I read it in one sitting. There were a lot of British colloquialisms that tossed me about some along with the language and syntax where I had to go back and reread (and still found it difficult to understand even in context). Overall, loved the story and the characters and I’m strapped in for the rest of the series.
For any time travel aficionados, I highly recommend this one.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.
For any time travel aficionados, I highly recommend this one.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.
September 3, 2016
I enjoy a well-written time travel story, and I really, really thought that “Just One Damned Thing After Another “might be one. But it wasn't, I just read for educational, scientific purposes and kept urging the plot: “Come on, give me my bone, I’m digging for!” No bone, no happy reader.
But let’s start from the beginning. At first I was struck by the lack of some punctuation marks or just missing letters (I thought that it was a bad edition or smth, but nope, two other editions, I tried, had the same problem). But if the story is good and gripping – I can live this that. But again it wasn’t.
The biggest problem in this book for me was that the time travel wasn’t presented in a full I –know-what-I’m-writing way. The historical base had no deep background, I couldn’t fully imagine the past, the traveler’s visited. Maybe it was because of so much going on in more than three places. I found the scenes of the Dinotopia better described.
I quite liked the don’t-dare-to-change-anything-in-history-or-you’ll-be-destroyed thing, but I needed more such warnings. But anyway they try to change history in some way (the “accident” in the hospital) Also I was eager to wait for some results from trying to change history in saving some stuff, which was doomed. But I guess it was meant to be kept do-nothing-and-be-quiet. Oh and the so called time travel machine-pod aka a small stone hut. It always landed so conveniently, no tension, like for example landing in the middle of some battle or on the butt of some dinosaur. Or smth more wicked. Also it was so “convenient” that nobody found the pods-huts accidentally. I would have liked for some bad wanderer from the past to trip accidentally on some of the pods thinking: ‘Tra lalaa, I’m just going to have some free time peeing around. And voila (ups, sorry, wtf ) what is this stone hut-some-modern-toilet doing here, I gonna bang somebody on the head or smth.”
Of course there were a lot of speculations and worrying for anything bad could happen while landing, but it never happened. Damn, why do we need safety in landing during time travel! What is more I felt a lack of mean and clever villains. The biggest part of the ones in the story (bad colleagues or the evil captain of the other time travelers) were simple and quite predictable. Though I liked the creepy colleague, Davey Sussman, he was created quite skillfully. I didn’t expect how the things turned involving him.
The main character, a shy historian, was quite likable. Her behavior was interesting to observe (her actions and emotions being in danger), also she was funny, even racy sometimes, though bossy and quite slow-witted sometimes.
I have diverse feelings about this book. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either :D
But let’s start from the beginning. At first I was struck by the lack of some punctuation marks or just missing letters (I thought that it was a bad edition or smth, but nope, two other editions, I tried, had the same problem). But if the story is good and gripping – I can live this that. But again it wasn’t.
The biggest problem in this book for me was that the time travel wasn’t presented in a full I –know-what-I’m-writing way. The historical base had no deep background, I couldn’t fully imagine the past, the traveler’s visited. Maybe it was because of so much going on in more than three places. I found the scenes of the Dinotopia better described.
I quite liked the don’t-dare-to-change-anything-in-history-or-you’ll-be-destroyed thing, but I needed more such warnings. But anyway they try to change history in some way (the “accident” in the hospital) Also I was eager to wait for some results from trying to change history in saving some stuff, which was doomed. But I guess it was meant to be kept do-nothing-and-be-quiet. Oh and the so called time travel machine-pod aka a small stone hut. It always landed so conveniently, no tension, like for example landing in the middle of some battle or on the butt of some dinosaur. Or smth more wicked. Also it was so “convenient” that nobody found the pods-huts accidentally. I would have liked for some bad wanderer from the past to trip accidentally on some of the pods thinking: ‘Tra lalaa, I’m just going to have some free time peeing around. And voila (ups, sorry, wtf ) what is this stone hut-some-modern-toilet doing here, I gonna bang somebody on the head or smth.”
Of course there were a lot of speculations and worrying for anything bad could happen while landing, but it never happened. Damn, why do we need safety in landing during time travel! What is more I felt a lack of mean and clever villains. The biggest part of the ones in the story (bad colleagues or the evil captain of the other time travelers) were simple and quite predictable. Though I liked the creepy colleague, Davey Sussman, he was created quite skillfully. I didn’t expect how the things turned involving him.
The main character, a shy historian, was quite likable. Her behavior was interesting to observe (her actions and emotions being in danger), also she was funny, even racy sometimes, though bossy and quite slow-witted sometimes.
I have diverse feelings about this book. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either :D
September 25, 2022
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been a fan of the St Mary’s gang for a number of years, I’ve read all of the series to date (the newest of which, Hope for the Best, is released next week) and I’ve grown to love these characters like extended, eccentric, members of my own family. So when Jodi’s books were picked up by the major publishing company Headline at the beginning of the year, I was excited to see how they’d preserve the essence of St Mary’s and bring the gang, and Jodi’s wonderful stories, to a wider audience.
This is a book about time travel. Although the historians of St. Mary’s institute prefer to call it ‘the investigation of historical events in contemporary time’. They’re a motley group of disaster magnets, often bouncing from one time period to another and trying not to get killed by contemporaries, or the omnipotent History, in the process. In one chapter we might find them peeing up a stone block in medieval England, the next we could be fighting off T-Rex’s with some pepper spray. As long as there’s a cup of tea at the end of it, the possibilities, and time periods, are endless.
I think that’s where this first novel lets itself down a little. Taylor has so much story to tell, so much history to cram into one book, that the plot often moves around without much cohesion, and a lot of chaos. The passage of time depicted during ‘modern day’ segments are uneven, one minute going from a training period of new recruits and their first mission, to suddenly mentioning they’ve been there for 5 years without much explanation. I will say that this chaotic nature gets better with each book, and the world becomes more established. Time travel is a complicated subject to get your head round, and Jodi just about manages to hold onto the topic in the first book without it getting too complicated and out of hand.
That being said, Taylor’s gift is in immersing the reader in history, any history, and making it interesting and accessible. She can drop her characters anywhere in time, and make me want to learn more about it. The writing is good, well described and fast paced (perhaps too much at times!) and Taylor’s passion for history, and the infallible research that goes with it, is great to read and shines through. She manages to encompass so much both socially and on a wider scale that I’ve felt personally compelled at times to read up on some topics that I wouldn’t normally ever be interested in, or been exposed to. That’s a wonderful talent to have.
I don’t think you can enjoy these books if you don’t love the characters too. Madeline Maxwell, Max, the main protagonist is self deprecating, smart, unable to keep her mouth shut, and a lover of chocolate. She’s the glue that holds this story together, and she’s by no means perfect, but I like that Taylor isn’t afraid to show strong, intelligent women in less than perfect ways. The same goes for her colleagues Kalinda and Helen. Combined, they’re a formidable force that as a reader you also want to be a part of. In fact, the undeniable bond that forms between them all is rather lovely, and when Jodi rips this away with her unbiased deaths, it makes them all the more hard hitting and difficult to cope with. And believe me, Taylor holds no punches when it comes to killing off characters you’ve just started to get to know and love.
A great start to what has become one of my all time favourite series. Come for the history, told with a passionate hand, and stay for the flurry of wonderfully imperfect characters.
I’ve been a fan of the St Mary’s gang for a number of years, I’ve read all of the series to date (the newest of which, Hope for the Best, is released next week) and I’ve grown to love these characters like extended, eccentric, members of my own family. So when Jodi’s books were picked up by the major publishing company Headline at the beginning of the year, I was excited to see how they’d preserve the essence of St Mary’s and bring the gang, and Jodi’s wonderful stories, to a wider audience.
This is a book about time travel. Although the historians of St. Mary’s institute prefer to call it ‘the investigation of historical events in contemporary time’. They’re a motley group of disaster magnets, often bouncing from one time period to another and trying not to get killed by contemporaries, or the omnipotent History, in the process. In one chapter we might find them peeing up a stone block in medieval England, the next we could be fighting off T-Rex’s with some pepper spray. As long as there’s a cup of tea at the end of it, the possibilities, and time periods, are endless.
I think that’s where this first novel lets itself down a little. Taylor has so much story to tell, so much history to cram into one book, that the plot often moves around without much cohesion, and a lot of chaos. The passage of time depicted during ‘modern day’ segments are uneven, one minute going from a training period of new recruits and their first mission, to suddenly mentioning they’ve been there for 5 years without much explanation. I will say that this chaotic nature gets better with each book, and the world becomes more established. Time travel is a complicated subject to get your head round, and Jodi just about manages to hold onto the topic in the first book without it getting too complicated and out of hand.
That being said, Taylor’s gift is in immersing the reader in history, any history, and making it interesting and accessible. She can drop her characters anywhere in time, and make me want to learn more about it. The writing is good, well described and fast paced (perhaps too much at times!) and Taylor’s passion for history, and the infallible research that goes with it, is great to read and shines through. She manages to encompass so much both socially and on a wider scale that I’ve felt personally compelled at times to read up on some topics that I wouldn’t normally ever be interested in, or been exposed to. That’s a wonderful talent to have.
I don’t think you can enjoy these books if you don’t love the characters too. Madeline Maxwell, Max, the main protagonist is self deprecating, smart, unable to keep her mouth shut, and a lover of chocolate. She’s the glue that holds this story together, and she’s by no means perfect, but I like that Taylor isn’t afraid to show strong, intelligent women in less than perfect ways. The same goes for her colleagues Kalinda and Helen. Combined, they’re a formidable force that as a reader you also want to be a part of. In fact, the undeniable bond that forms between them all is rather lovely, and when Jodi rips this away with her unbiased deaths, it makes them all the more hard hitting and difficult to cope with. And believe me, Taylor holds no punches when it comes to killing off characters you’ve just started to get to know and love.
A great start to what has become one of my all time favourite series. Come for the history, told with a passionate hand, and stay for the flurry of wonderfully imperfect characters.
September 30, 2017
I've done it! I can't believe I finished this book and am still alive! Just so you don't get the wrong idea: it was that thrilling and gut-wrenching!
Boy-oh-boy. The book has history, alternating funny and dark moments, some memorable characters, more history and lots and LOTS of timey-wimey stuff! How on Earth could I not have loved it?! :D
Let's start at the beginning (and bear with me, this might take a while).
This book is about an institute that researches history. Well, not the sand-digging variety, nope. They do time travel! How they discovered the method and how the St. Mary's was founded exactly almost threw me off for a while and is a bit like the egg/chicken question but it's also quirky, just like the rest of St. Mary's and all the employees so it fit.
We have an MC with a bad childhood (although we don't know exactly what happened) who got to have a better life thanks to a good teacher and starts as a historian at St. Mary's. We get to know the building and the people through her and it was absolutely amazing. Not least because Max is a hilarious character.
The historians are all quirky and noisy and completely out of control but that is what endeared them to me so much.
Example:
"Hold on," said Chief Farrell. "I'm duty officer this week and I want to see if the fire alarms go off."
They didn't.
"That's good, isn't it?" I said.
He sighed. "No, it just means they've taken the batteries out again."
This really was my sort of place.
And not just the historians because St. Mary's consists of many more people such as techies, IT people, security, reasearch & development, doctors, cooks - and the security, by the way, is there to protect the world from St Mary's, not the other way around. ;P
They accidentally blow things up, cheat in their tests (but in very creative ways which means technically they were doing what they were told to do to the letter), conduct the most idiotic experiments and it was such FUN! Eccentric, hilarious, but quite down-to-earth-realistic-humour.
And the building itself. I lost myself in the description when Max first arrived. The library but also the hall must be so fascinating. I would feel right at home there too!
You get sucked into the routine of scientific historian-timey-wimey-work and time flies by for Max as much as for the reader. But just then, when you think you know where the story is headed ...
I was completely blind-sided. I was unprepared. Boy, was I flabberghasted!
That, by the way, is when we find out how St. Mary's was founded. But not just that. There is so much more.
So we settle, like Max concentrating on the Here and Now, and accept the new direction and that THIS is where the story is going ...
BOOM! New information, new revelations and IT ALL MAKES SENSE, you were just not seeing it right away. Blind-sided. Again. Flabberghasted. Again.
So you suck it up, take a deep breath, curse the train for arriving at your destination now of all the possible moments and read on as soon as you're able.
And then you're in deep waters. Because now the author knows she's got you right where she wanted your innocent, unsuspecting, history-loving butt! And now the proverbial shit really hits the fan. As the title says: Just One Damned Thing After Another!
At first I had thought bursting out with hysterical laughter on the train had been embarrassing, but now I'm much wiser, knowing that uncontrolled sobs are even worse. I really felt for the characters. I was sad, I was devastated, I was so ANGRY! The only consolation: looking at how far along in the book I was, seeing how much further the story would go and that there had to be a resolution - even if I had to travel to the author's house and force her to write another ending.
Obviously, I cannot go into any details because that would spoil the fun, but I can tell you this: a rollercoaster's got nothing on Jodi Taylor.
One more example of the fine, down-to-earth (and much needed) humour in this book:
He'd been involved in the disastrous Icarus experiment last year, tumbling off the stable roof with his wings all ablaze. He'd thudded heavily into the paddock, panicking the horses who took exception to small, burining humans dropping on them from a great height. Running for his life and looking anxiously over his shoulder, he'd run slap bang into a horse's bottom and knocked himself senseless. The entire unit lay face down on the ground laughing. Even the Boss barked out something between a snort and a cough. The security section clubbed together and sent a Get Well Soon card to the horse, who promptly ate it. That's St. Mary's for you.
And Max really is brilliant, not just intelligent, but a magnet for disaster AND clumsy. And sometimes a little thick maybe?
This scene is when she and two other female staff members decide to go out to a fancy restaurant.
The table was laid for six.
"This is the wrong table," I said. "This is for six people."
I'm not bright.
[...]
"Look!" I said, cheerfully. I know, but the margaritas were beginning to kick in. "There's some of our guys."
I'm not bright.
"Oh. What a surprise," said Helen. "So there are."
"Oh. Goodness me, you are right," said Kalinda.
"Shall we ask them to join us?"
"Why not," I said. "There's plenty of room."
Have I said I'm not bright?
As I said: endearing. Not all the characters (there are quite a lot) are equally memorable but that didn't concern me. With such a cast it was bound to happen. Also because some are MCs, some have supporting roles and some are "just" in the same picture.
As a history buff this sounded intriguing to me, but what I got was really more than I could have ever imagined - dinosaurs! - and it was a blast. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series (hoping the author manages to keep the quality up).
Boy-oh-boy. The book has history, alternating funny and dark moments, some memorable characters, more history and lots and LOTS of timey-wimey stuff! How on Earth could I not have loved it?! :D
Let's start at the beginning (and bear with me, this might take a while).
This book is about an institute that researches history. Well, not the sand-digging variety, nope. They do time travel! How they discovered the method and how the St. Mary's was founded exactly almost threw me off for a while and is a bit like the egg/chicken question but it's also quirky, just like the rest of St. Mary's and all the employees so it fit.
We have an MC with a bad childhood (although we don't know exactly what happened) who got to have a better life thanks to a good teacher and starts as a historian at St. Mary's. We get to know the building and the people through her and it was absolutely amazing. Not least because Max is a hilarious character.
The historians are all quirky and noisy and completely out of control but that is what endeared them to me so much.
Example:
"Hold on," said Chief Farrell. "I'm duty officer this week and I want to see if the fire alarms go off."
They didn't.
"That's good, isn't it?" I said.
He sighed. "No, it just means they've taken the batteries out again."
This really was my sort of place.
And not just the historians because St. Mary's consists of many more people such as techies, IT people, security, reasearch & development, doctors, cooks - and the security, by the way, is there to protect the world from St Mary's, not the other way around. ;P
They accidentally blow things up, cheat in their tests (but in very creative ways which means technically they were doing what they were told to do to the letter), conduct the most idiotic experiments and it was such FUN! Eccentric, hilarious, but quite down-to-earth-realistic-humour.
And the building itself. I lost myself in the description when Max first arrived. The library but also the hall must be so fascinating. I would feel right at home there too!
You get sucked into the routine of scientific historian-timey-wimey-work and time flies by for Max as much as for the reader. But just then, when you think you know where the story is headed ...
I was completely blind-sided. I was unprepared. Boy, was I flabberghasted!
That, by the way, is when we find out how St. Mary's was founded. But not just that. There is so much more.
So we settle, like Max concentrating on the Here and Now, and accept the new direction and that THIS is where the story is going ...
BOOM! New information, new revelations and IT ALL MAKES SENSE, you were just not seeing it right away. Blind-sided. Again. Flabberghasted. Again.
So you suck it up, take a deep breath, curse the train for arriving at your destination now of all the possible moments and read on as soon as you're able.
And then you're in deep waters. Because now the author knows she's got you right where she wanted your innocent, unsuspecting, history-loving butt! And now the proverbial shit really hits the fan. As the title says: Just One Damned Thing After Another!
At first I had thought bursting out with hysterical laughter on the train had been embarrassing, but now I'm much wiser, knowing that uncontrolled sobs are even worse. I really felt for the characters. I was sad, I was devastated, I was so ANGRY! The only consolation: looking at how far along in the book I was, seeing how much further the story would go and that there had to be a resolution - even if I had to travel to the author's house and force her to write another ending.
Obviously, I cannot go into any details because that would spoil the fun, but I can tell you this: a rollercoaster's got nothing on Jodi Taylor.
One more example of the fine, down-to-earth (and much needed) humour in this book:
He'd been involved in the disastrous Icarus experiment last year, tumbling off the stable roof with his wings all ablaze. He'd thudded heavily into the paddock, panicking the horses who took exception to small, burining humans dropping on them from a great height. Running for his life and looking anxiously over his shoulder, he'd run slap bang into a horse's bottom and knocked himself senseless. The entire unit lay face down on the ground laughing. Even the Boss barked out something between a snort and a cough. The security section clubbed together and sent a Get Well Soon card to the horse, who promptly ate it. That's St. Mary's for you.
And Max really is brilliant, not just intelligent, but a magnet for disaster AND clumsy. And sometimes a little thick maybe?
This scene is when she and two other female staff members decide to go out to a fancy restaurant.
The table was laid for six.
"This is the wrong table," I said. "This is for six people."
I'm not bright.
[...]
"Look!" I said, cheerfully. I know, but the margaritas were beginning to kick in. "There's some of our guys."
I'm not bright.
"Oh. What a surprise," said Helen. "So there are."
"Oh. Goodness me, you are right," said Kalinda.
"Shall we ask them to join us?"
"Why not," I said. "There's plenty of room."
Have I said I'm not bright?
As I said: endearing. Not all the characters (there are quite a lot) are equally memorable but that didn't concern me. With such a cast it was bound to happen. Also because some are MCs, some have supporting roles and some are "just" in the same picture.
As a history buff this sounded intriguing to me, but what I got was really more than I could have ever imagined - dinosaurs! - and it was a blast. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series (hoping the author manages to keep the quality up).
May 30, 2016
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/30/...
What a fun little time travel book! As someone who frequently goes trawling through Audible’s site looking for sci-fi and fantasy releases, I often see the audiobooks in this series pop up in my recommendations and I’ve always been curious about them. Now the first book is finally being released in the US in print (seven volumes are already available in the UK, where the series has become quite a sensation) and when the publisher Night Shade Books offered me a review copy, I absolutely couldn’t resist.
Just One Damned Thing After Another is a novel that wastes no time getting to the good stuff. The story stars our plucky narrator Madeleine “Max” Maxwell, a historian who gets recruited by a group of time travelers working undercover behind the façade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. After the most hilariously bizarre interview process, Max join up with them and the adventures—and the disasters—immediately begin. There’s a rigorous training program required for all newbies where they learn all the dos and don’ts of time travel, and they also have to pass a series of tests, including a physical component because you never know what can happen during a trip back in time. After a while, it’s clear that Murphy’s Law generally applies to all missions at St. Mary’s.
The plot is very entertaining and filled with boisterous, comedic hijinks (and perfect if you like British humor). I for one love the fact that the historians prefer to call it “investigating major historical events in contemporary time” instead of using the term “time travel” because the latter is just “so sci-fi”. Due to the methods used to prepare new recruits, the beginning of the book also has a distinct “training school” vibe, though I have to say this is one of only a handful of stories I’ve encountered where a section like this feels just as good as or even better than the actual time traveling. When it comes to the evaluations at St. Mary’s, cheating is not only excused but sometimes even encouraged, a system that favors the historians who can “think outside the box”, allowing genuinely interesting characters like Max to shine.
Like many time travel books though, this one had its ups and downs. My main criticism is that, for a novel featuring time traveling academics who label themselves historians (and who also work at an institute for historical research), there was in fact disappointingly little history involved. I don’t consider myself to be a huge history buff or anything, but for me one of the biggest perks of reading time travel stories is being able to absorb interesting historical details and facts behind past events, people, and places. I thought this would be a book like that, but it turned out not to be the case. While the publisher blurb says “From eleventh-century London to World War I, from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria”, the truth is, the most exciting time period Max gets to visit will probably appeal more to dinosaur enthusiasts or paleontologists rather than history fans.
Still, if character-driven stories are your cup of tea, then you’ll find plenty to like. Max is hilarious, and I love her spirited and crafty nature. Working with a bunch of time traveling historians is pretty much as fun and crazy as you’d expect, and even the missions that end in complete disasters seem to have a humorous side. There’s also a strong romantic component, and I loved the irresistible attraction that sizzled between Max and Chief Farrell.
That said, not everything is light and fluffy either; every now and then a grim pall will settle over some of the plot’s events. There’s violence, there’s death, and there’s lots and lots of dismemberment. It can be jarring sometimes, especially when there’s a tendency for all this gruesomeness to come on suddenly. Same goes for the sex, and the random emotional displays that seem to drop in and explode out of nowhere. I certainly don’t mind the darkness and brutal themes, but as with all good things, timing is everything. Maybe this book just needed some extra editing, or maybe it was just a consequence of the author’s personal unique style. Whatever it was, I found it somewhat distracting.
So, here’s the deal. If you’re into history, and was hoping to get lots of it out of this book, then be prepare to dial back on your expectations. This book is also not heavy on the “science fiction” side of time travel. Doing it is as simple and straightforward as getting into a pod, setting the dial, and hitting the jump button. To be fair, the science and tech of it is not the point of this series, so Taylor probably did the right thing in glossing over the process. There are some general attempts to explain how the timeline is preserved and why the historians can’t mess with certain things, but my point is, if you want detailed explanations, quantum theory and the whole nine yards in your time travel fiction, then this book isn’t going to be for you.
This book IS for you though, if you enjoy 1) fun, adventurous stories about time travel, 2) books that make you laugh, especially when there’s just a touch of darkness in its sense of humor, 3) strong, memorable characters with quirky personalities, and 4) simply relaxing and having a good time with a light, entertaining book. I can see now why this series is such a hit, and knowing more about what to expect in future books, I’m definitely interested in continuing with Max’s fantastic exploits through time!
What a fun little time travel book! As someone who frequently goes trawling through Audible’s site looking for sci-fi and fantasy releases, I often see the audiobooks in this series pop up in my recommendations and I’ve always been curious about them. Now the first book is finally being released in the US in print (seven volumes are already available in the UK, where the series has become quite a sensation) and when the publisher Night Shade Books offered me a review copy, I absolutely couldn’t resist.
Just One Damned Thing After Another is a novel that wastes no time getting to the good stuff. The story stars our plucky narrator Madeleine “Max” Maxwell, a historian who gets recruited by a group of time travelers working undercover behind the façade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. After the most hilariously bizarre interview process, Max join up with them and the adventures—and the disasters—immediately begin. There’s a rigorous training program required for all newbies where they learn all the dos and don’ts of time travel, and they also have to pass a series of tests, including a physical component because you never know what can happen during a trip back in time. After a while, it’s clear that Murphy’s Law generally applies to all missions at St. Mary’s.
The plot is very entertaining and filled with boisterous, comedic hijinks (and perfect if you like British humor). I for one love the fact that the historians prefer to call it “investigating major historical events in contemporary time” instead of using the term “time travel” because the latter is just “so sci-fi”. Due to the methods used to prepare new recruits, the beginning of the book also has a distinct “training school” vibe, though I have to say this is one of only a handful of stories I’ve encountered where a section like this feels just as good as or even better than the actual time traveling. When it comes to the evaluations at St. Mary’s, cheating is not only excused but sometimes even encouraged, a system that favors the historians who can “think outside the box”, allowing genuinely interesting characters like Max to shine.
Like many time travel books though, this one had its ups and downs. My main criticism is that, for a novel featuring time traveling academics who label themselves historians (and who also work at an institute for historical research), there was in fact disappointingly little history involved. I don’t consider myself to be a huge history buff or anything, but for me one of the biggest perks of reading time travel stories is being able to absorb interesting historical details and facts behind past events, people, and places. I thought this would be a book like that, but it turned out not to be the case. While the publisher blurb says “From eleventh-century London to World War I, from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria”, the truth is, the most exciting time period Max gets to visit will probably appeal more to dinosaur enthusiasts or paleontologists rather than history fans.
Still, if character-driven stories are your cup of tea, then you’ll find plenty to like. Max is hilarious, and I love her spirited and crafty nature. Working with a bunch of time traveling historians is pretty much as fun and crazy as you’d expect, and even the missions that end in complete disasters seem to have a humorous side. There’s also a strong romantic component, and I loved the irresistible attraction that sizzled between Max and Chief Farrell.
That said, not everything is light and fluffy either; every now and then a grim pall will settle over some of the plot’s events. There’s violence, there’s death, and there’s lots and lots of dismemberment. It can be jarring sometimes, especially when there’s a tendency for all this gruesomeness to come on suddenly. Same goes for the sex, and the random emotional displays that seem to drop in and explode out of nowhere. I certainly don’t mind the darkness and brutal themes, but as with all good things, timing is everything. Maybe this book just needed some extra editing, or maybe it was just a consequence of the author’s personal unique style. Whatever it was, I found it somewhat distracting.
So, here’s the deal. If you’re into history, and was hoping to get lots of it out of this book, then be prepare to dial back on your expectations. This book is also not heavy on the “science fiction” side of time travel. Doing it is as simple and straightforward as getting into a pod, setting the dial, and hitting the jump button. To be fair, the science and tech of it is not the point of this series, so Taylor probably did the right thing in glossing over the process. There are some general attempts to explain how the timeline is preserved and why the historians can’t mess with certain things, but my point is, if you want detailed explanations, quantum theory and the whole nine yards in your time travel fiction, then this book isn’t going to be for you.
This book IS for you though, if you enjoy 1) fun, adventurous stories about time travel, 2) books that make you laugh, especially when there’s just a touch of darkness in its sense of humor, 3) strong, memorable characters with quirky personalities, and 4) simply relaxing and having a good time with a light, entertaining book. I can see now why this series is such a hit, and knowing more about what to expect in future books, I’m definitely interested in continuing with Max’s fantastic exploits through time!
October 15, 2018
This book annoyed me. A lot. In fact, it was probably the most aggravating and poorly constructed book I'd read since the last time I read a Morgan Rice book. There's a lot to say about the things that I disliked, but to summarize: it was a comedic book I didn't find funny, a workplace dramedy where I didn't find the characters interesting, sympathetic or believable, a book about history with very little actual history, and a book about technological time travel that couldn't keep its rules, procedures or level of scientific realism consistent.
To expand:
Tone Policing
I didn't find the vast majority of the jokes, quips, zaniness etc. in this book at all funny, and often any comedic tone was undercut by jarring moments of violence, quite gratuitously nasty (I thought) sexual violence, and/or non-comedic (melo)drama. It's possible to successfully mix some degree of serious drama or darkness with zany comedy (cf. Deadpool, Yahtzee Croshaw's books, a lot of 2000AD comics, Transmetropolitan, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, some of Neal Stephenson's body of work), but it usually requires a lot more finesse than is displayed here, and/or a spikier brand of comedy like "gallows humour".
Where I think the clashing tones cause the biggest problems is in the book's attempts to portray a "wacky" organization/institution where people face deadly danger from strange quirks in the way things are run and/or reckless behaviour, but laugh and joke about it and make no effort to mitigate this danger or rein in dangerous behaviour. This kind of tone is familiar from things like the Harry Potter books, where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is run in a comically hazardous fashion that would make the adminstration of a real-life school throw up their hands in terror - teachers and students using humiliating or hazardous spells and potions on each other, randomly moving staircases, dangerous creatures left roaming or lurking around, teachers behaving abusively towards students, etc. In Harry Potter, this is consistent with the overall portrayal of the "wizarding world" - the wizards as a whole are culturally tolerant of incredibly poor safety and omnipresent hazards, in part because they can fix many of the consequences more easily than "Muggles". Moreover, the "comical" dangers are relatively sharply separated from the serious, deadly dangers posed by the villains or other important plot elements - people being murdered by Death Eaters, killed by werewolves etc. is never joked about as mere comic relief/background noise. In Just One Damned Thing After Another, the characters have supposedly grown up in real-life modern society where basic safety is a thing, and don't have literally magical healthcare. Yet they still act incredibly nonchalant about the resident "mad scientist" character doing idiotic things with toxic chemicals (including dangerous liquids leaking into the floor below or gas releases necessitating evacuating the building), and, much more damningly, about the possibility of dying on their time-travel missions. Then, when someone actually does die on a mission (which happens pretty regularly), the tone will suddenly flip into melodramatic mourning. This simply didn't feel consistent to me: if the characters are so emotionally devastated every time someone dies (rather than reacting with darkly comedic nonchalance, gallows humour or grim resignation), why don't they take better care of themselves and each other, and why do they go back to cracking jokes about what comical klutzes/disaster magnets they are soon afterwards? (This goes hand in hand with the poor characterization, which made the various character deaths less than emotionally impactful to me - see below.)
Even when it wasn't clashing with the attempts at serious emotional moments, the kooky, irreverent tone of a lot of the humour grated on me because it felt smug and too-cool-for-school or downright mean-spirited, in addition to not being funny. Outside of the melodramatic bits, the protagonist's constant quipping, snarking and judgemental asides didn't amuse me - I simply felt like she didn't care much about anything (including things she supposedly *did* care about) and was actually quite an unpleasant and/or unbalanced person.
History Is Bunk
Despite being a novel supposedly about history nerds so keen to witness history in the flesh that they'd risk life and limb in often highly reckless ways to do so, not a lot of time was spent actually discussing history, exploring it or interacting with historical environments, rather than on workplace drama or procedural detail in the present day, or romantic shenanigans, or action sequences. Huge chunks of time where characters are actually visiting history are just skipped over (more on this later). In a particularly egregious example, I think more time was spent showing the protagonist presenting holo-movies of dinosaurs to two different groups of people than on showing her actually observing and reacting to dinosaurs. (The protagonist, incidentally, is supposedly an expert on and huge enthusiast about ancient Mediterranean/Middle Eastern history, yet she gets sent to study dinosaurs.)
Timey Wimey Ball
The book seemingly tried to take a soft-sci-fi tone and not get bogged down in fictional scientific/technological detail, but I thought it over-reached in presenting the "rules" of the setting and procedures characters use to work within them, while not being sufficiently consistent or well-thought-out in doing so. The result is that the "rules" feel inconsistent, characters come across as foolish for not thinking about or noticing obvious things that conflict with the "rules" as they understand them (either because the "rules" they were presented with were not wholly true or because of possible writing inconsistencies), and the procedures taken to avoid time paradoxes etc. feel wholly inadequate. This is an area where I can go on for a very long time about specific examples, so I've moved the majority of such examples to the end of the review. This, however was the most egregious one:
Ironically for a book about time travel, I also thought the pacing and sense of passage of time was extremely poor. At one point the protagonist announced she'd known Strong And Silent Love Interest Guy for four years, and I was so bemused I had to search back through the book to verify that no, I hadn't missed anything, there really was no clear indication that so much time had passed since the opening chapter.
The Content Of Their Character
The protagonist, Max, came across to me as something of a "Mary Sue" character in the Bella-Swan-from-Twilight mould - she puts herself down but people constantly tell her how wonderful she is and let her take charge of things, she makes grandstanding speeches that amaze everyone, she's shilled as terribly intelligent but frequently fails to make obvious deductions or ask obvious questions, she has a "mysterious" implied abusive background which is never expounded on or made relevant, etc. The villains are moustache-twirling puppy-kicking cliches and/or hysterically love/sex-crazed. Most of the minor characters felt like ciphers to me, such that when the author injured or killed them for drama it fell flat (and the protagonist's supposed grief at the deaths of these people who I didn't see any indication she particularly cared about felt overplayed and melodramatic).
The book, in fact, shot itself in the foot from the very start by dumping a bunch of information about characters' personalities and relationships in the "Dramatis Thingummy" at the beginning, which is such a breathtaking violation of "show don't tell" that I don't think I've ever seen it in a published book before. This trend continued in the main body of the book, with a lot of supposed character development happening off-screen, via vague description, and/or during the poorly signposted timeskips. I got the distinct impression that the author wanted to give the impression of a tight-knit organization/institution where there was a general sense of camaraderie, shared experience etc., but couldn't be bothered putting the work in to actually develop that. The result was not dissimilar to those films where studios are trying desperately to create a "shared universe" without doing the legwork of developing individual characters before building them into a team. This was a bit disconcerting, as if I'd missed a previous book or something (more on this below), and with the book clearly being Part 1, I simply got the impression that the author was insisting that I believe in these people's supposed camaraderie without any evidence. (Many of the significant character interactions we actually see are negative, such as bar fights, inter-departmental rivalry, personality clashes and poorly concealed villains being unpleasant, which further undermined the supposed "happy family" atmosphere.)
This Is Exactly Like Something Out Of A Bad Fanfic
I was halfway through writing this review when I realized an awesome interpretation of this book that brings together a lot of the issues I had with it. It felt like a bad work of fanfiction in general in the sense of being poorly written, overly "jokey", skipping over important elements while wasting time on pointless blathering, and more. However, more significantly, I belatedly realized that the book as a whole felt like reading a bad fanfic based on a hypothetical TV or book series from an alternate timeline, where the aforementioned camaraderie existed and the rules of time travel were much better explained and codified, with the fanfic author feeling no need to establish these things properly.
Timey Wimey Ball II: Electric Boogaloo
This is the holding area for all my nitpicking. Feel free to ignore.
To expand:
Tone Policing
I didn't find the vast majority of the jokes, quips, zaniness etc. in this book at all funny, and often any comedic tone was undercut by jarring moments of violence, quite gratuitously nasty (I thought) sexual violence, and/or non-comedic (melo)drama. It's possible to successfully mix some degree of serious drama or darkness with zany comedy (cf. Deadpool, Yahtzee Croshaw's books, a lot of 2000AD comics, Transmetropolitan, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, some of Neal Stephenson's body of work), but it usually requires a lot more finesse than is displayed here, and/or a spikier brand of comedy like "gallows humour".
Where I think the clashing tones cause the biggest problems is in the book's attempts to portray a "wacky" organization/institution where people face deadly danger from strange quirks in the way things are run and/or reckless behaviour, but laugh and joke about it and make no effort to mitigate this danger or rein in dangerous behaviour. This kind of tone is familiar from things like the Harry Potter books, where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is run in a comically hazardous fashion that would make the adminstration of a real-life school throw up their hands in terror - teachers and students using humiliating or hazardous spells and potions on each other, randomly moving staircases, dangerous creatures left roaming or lurking around, teachers behaving abusively towards students, etc. In Harry Potter, this is consistent with the overall portrayal of the "wizarding world" - the wizards as a whole are culturally tolerant of incredibly poor safety and omnipresent hazards, in part because they can fix many of the consequences more easily than "Muggles". Moreover, the "comical" dangers are relatively sharply separated from the serious, deadly dangers posed by the villains or other important plot elements - people being murdered by Death Eaters, killed by werewolves etc. is never joked about as mere comic relief/background noise. In Just One Damned Thing After Another, the characters have supposedly grown up in real-life modern society where basic safety is a thing, and don't have literally magical healthcare. Yet they still act incredibly nonchalant about the resident "mad scientist" character doing idiotic things with toxic chemicals (including dangerous liquids leaking into the floor below or gas releases necessitating evacuating the building), and, much more damningly, about the possibility of dying on their time-travel missions. Then, when someone actually does die on a mission (which happens pretty regularly), the tone will suddenly flip into melodramatic mourning. This simply didn't feel consistent to me: if the characters are so emotionally devastated every time someone dies (rather than reacting with darkly comedic nonchalance, gallows humour or grim resignation), why don't they take better care of themselves and each other, and why do they go back to cracking jokes about what comical klutzes/disaster magnets they are soon afterwards? (This goes hand in hand with the poor characterization, which made the various character deaths less than emotionally impactful to me - see below.)
Even when it wasn't clashing with the attempts at serious emotional moments, the kooky, irreverent tone of a lot of the humour grated on me because it felt smug and too-cool-for-school or downright mean-spirited, in addition to not being funny. Outside of the melodramatic bits, the protagonist's constant quipping, snarking and judgemental asides didn't amuse me - I simply felt like she didn't care much about anything (including things she supposedly *did* care about) and was actually quite an unpleasant and/or unbalanced person.
History Is Bunk
Despite being a novel supposedly about history nerds so keen to witness history in the flesh that they'd risk life and limb in often highly reckless ways to do so, not a lot of time was spent actually discussing history, exploring it or interacting with historical environments, rather than on workplace drama or procedural detail in the present day, or romantic shenanigans, or action sequences. Huge chunks of time where characters are actually visiting history are just skipped over (more on this later). In a particularly egregious example, I think more time was spent showing the protagonist presenting holo-movies of dinosaurs to two different groups of people than on showing her actually observing and reacting to dinosaurs. (The protagonist, incidentally, is supposedly an expert on and huge enthusiast about ancient Mediterranean/Middle Eastern history, yet she gets sent to study dinosaurs.)
Timey Wimey Ball
The book seemingly tried to take a soft-sci-fi tone and not get bogged down in fictional scientific/technological detail, but I thought it over-reached in presenting the "rules" of the setting and procedures characters use to work within them, while not being sufficiently consistent or well-thought-out in doing so. The result is that the "rules" feel inconsistent, characters come across as foolish for not thinking about or noticing obvious things that conflict with the "rules" as they understand them (either because the "rules" they were presented with were not wholly true or because of possible writing inconsistencies), and the procedures taken to avoid time paradoxes etc. feel wholly inadequate. This is an area where I can go on for a very long time about specific examples, so I've moved the majority of such examples to the end of the review. This, however was the most egregious one:
Ironically for a book about time travel, I also thought the pacing and sense of passage of time was extremely poor. At one point the protagonist announced she'd known Strong And Silent Love Interest Guy for four years, and I was so bemused I had to search back through the book to verify that no, I hadn't missed anything, there really was no clear indication that so much time had passed since the opening chapter.
The Content Of Their Character
The protagonist, Max, came across to me as something of a "Mary Sue" character in the Bella-Swan-from-Twilight mould - she puts herself down but people constantly tell her how wonderful she is and let her take charge of things, she makes grandstanding speeches that amaze everyone, she's shilled as terribly intelligent but frequently fails to make obvious deductions or ask obvious questions, she has a "mysterious" implied abusive background which is never expounded on or made relevant, etc. The villains are moustache-twirling puppy-kicking cliches and/or hysterically love/sex-crazed. Most of the minor characters felt like ciphers to me, such that when the author injured or killed them for drama it fell flat (and the protagonist's supposed grief at the deaths of these people who I didn't see any indication she particularly cared about felt overplayed and melodramatic).
The book, in fact, shot itself in the foot from the very start by dumping a bunch of information about characters' personalities and relationships in the "Dramatis Thingummy" at the beginning, which is such a breathtaking violation of "show don't tell" that I don't think I've ever seen it in a published book before. This trend continued in the main body of the book, with a lot of supposed character development happening off-screen, via vague description, and/or during the poorly signposted timeskips. I got the distinct impression that the author wanted to give the impression of a tight-knit organization/institution where there was a general sense of camaraderie, shared experience etc., but couldn't be bothered putting the work in to actually develop that. The result was not dissimilar to those films where studios are trying desperately to create a "shared universe" without doing the legwork of developing individual characters before building them into a team. This was a bit disconcerting, as if I'd missed a previous book or something (more on this below), and with the book clearly being Part 1, I simply got the impression that the author was insisting that I believe in these people's supposed camaraderie without any evidence. (Many of the significant character interactions we actually see are negative, such as bar fights, inter-departmental rivalry, personality clashes and poorly concealed villains being unpleasant, which further undermined the supposed "happy family" atmosphere.)
This Is Exactly Like Something Out Of A Bad Fanfic
I was halfway through writing this review when I realized an awesome interpretation of this book that brings together a lot of the issues I had with it. It felt like a bad work of fanfiction in general in the sense of being poorly written, overly "jokey", skipping over important elements while wasting time on pointless blathering, and more. However, more significantly, I belatedly realized that the book as a whole felt like reading a bad fanfic based on a hypothetical TV or book series from an alternate timeline, where the aforementioned camaraderie existed and the rules of time travel were much better explained and codified, with the fanfic author feeling no need to establish these things properly.
Timey Wimey Ball II: Electric Boogaloo
This is the holding area for all my nitpicking. Feel free to ignore.
October 17, 2024
Attempted Series Read, starting September 2024
A decision that was certainly driven by the past two months, in that I decided to read what I want for the rest of the year. And after John Wyndham and Greek detectives, this was next.
And now I’ve finished it and I’m on to episode two, as this was such fun. See below for my thoughts, but I can safely say, I concur with my younger self !!
Ad Hoc Read February 2022 Im still deciding whether this should be 4 or 5 stars, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was one of those reads where you think "oh goody I can read some more of book X later". So that makes me think it should be five stars. We shall see by the end of this review.
So this book has a number of strong characters but centres mainly on the historian Madelaine Maxwell. She is offered the chance of a job by one of her ex teachers at an offshoot to the University of Thirsk and goes along to see what comes of it out of interest and respect for her old teacher. Little does she know what wonders and adventures the job will bring her.
After a long and rigorous training period she gets to work first hand with the other historian's of St Marys investigating major incidences in history.
But all is not quite as simple as it seems as Madelain "Max" Maxwell soon realise. All sorts of problems and issues arise that she has to overcome supported by the genuine friends she has at the Institute.
A thoroughly enjoyable, well written and at times quite gritty and adult book (which I didn't expect).
So I think i am going to up this to 5 stars as it gave me a really good feeling.
A decision that was certainly driven by the past two months, in that I decided to read what I want for the rest of the year. And after John Wyndham and Greek detectives, this was next.
And now I’ve finished it and I’m on to episode two, as this was such fun. See below for my thoughts, but I can safely say, I concur with my younger self !!
Ad Hoc Read February 2022 Im still deciding whether this should be 4 or 5 stars, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was one of those reads where you think "oh goody I can read some more of book X later". So that makes me think it should be five stars. We shall see by the end of this review.
So this book has a number of strong characters but centres mainly on the historian Madelaine Maxwell. She is offered the chance of a job by one of her ex teachers at an offshoot to the University of Thirsk and goes along to see what comes of it out of interest and respect for her old teacher. Little does she know what wonders and adventures the job will bring her.
After a long and rigorous training period she gets to work first hand with the other historian's of St Marys investigating major incidences in history.
But all is not quite as simple as it seems as Madelain "Max" Maxwell soon realise. All sorts of problems and issues arise that she has to overcome supported by the genuine friends she has at the Institute.
A thoroughly enjoyable, well written and at times quite gritty and adult book (which I didn't expect).
So I think i am going to up this to 5 stars as it gave me a really good feeling.
April 25, 2024
With all these "totally necessary" GR bookpage "improvements" I now cannot choose different editions of the same book & write separate reviews, so I have to make do with what we have. :(
Anyway, I stand by my original review and rating for the book itself.
As for the dramatised version with full cast: while the plot was still a complete mess and the characters bland, the production itself was done quite well, so this version I am rating 3 stars.
All in all it did not change my attitude to St Mary's much. I still don't care about any of the characters (well, for those few that are allowed to stay alive, anyway) and I will not go on with the series. :)
‐--‐---------
Original Review on the regular audiobook
Very disappointed. This has been a truly underwhelming experience.
I wanted to like this book so much as so many of my trusted GR Friends enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get into it.
The story started intriguingly enough, I really liked the set-up, but it soon turned into boredom and confusion. I felt detached and irritated.
The narration was utterly bland. The narrator, Zara Ram might as well have read out the weather forecast, the writing on a cereal box about ingredients and nutrition info or told us that "when in doubt, consult your apothecary": there was no change, no emotions were conveyed. She had the same tone of voice, whether it was funny banter or the tragic death of a historian.
Trouble is, she had not much to work with in the first place. Jodi Taylor did not bother about anything like characterisation, structure or plot. I mean, there were people and they had names and sometimes I was told that the guy was a technician and he was big, but.... there was another guy who had a name, a job title, who was also big, I think?
And there were historians with names, but no real personality traits, so I couldn't tell one from the other. Most of them were killed off at the beginning, but it didn't help me remember much about the few others who were left alive.
Also, it seems the MC had a hard childhood, but it's just thrown in as some pretense for a backstory. And she had a crush on a guy called "Chief" and so did he on her, but once again, it was just a guess as neither the text, nor the narrator's tone of voice helps you much with this realisation. It is always told, never shown.
Not much of a platform to connect with anyone, really.
Finishing it was a real chore, so I think this has been all the St. Mary's experience I am willing to take.
Anyway, I stand by my original review and rating for the book itself.
As for the dramatised version with full cast: while the plot was still a complete mess and the characters bland, the production itself was done quite well, so this version I am rating 3 stars.
All in all it did not change my attitude to St Mary's much. I still don't care about any of the characters (well, for those few that are allowed to stay alive, anyway) and I will not go on with the series. :)
‐--‐---------
Original Review on the regular audiobook
Very disappointed. This has been a truly underwhelming experience.
I wanted to like this book so much as so many of my trusted GR Friends enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get into it.
The story started intriguingly enough, I really liked the set-up, but it soon turned into boredom and confusion. I felt detached and irritated.
The narration was utterly bland. The narrator, Zara Ram might as well have read out the weather forecast, the writing on a cereal box about ingredients and nutrition info or told us that "when in doubt, consult your apothecary": there was no change, no emotions were conveyed. She had the same tone of voice, whether it was funny banter or the tragic death of a historian.
Trouble is, she had not much to work with in the first place. Jodi Taylor did not bother about anything like characterisation, structure or plot. I mean, there were people and they had names and sometimes I was told that the guy was a technician and he was big, but.... there was another guy who had a name, a job title, who was also big, I think?
And there were historians with names, but no real personality traits, so I couldn't tell one from the other. Most of them were killed off at the beginning, but it didn't help me remember much about the few others who were left alive.
Also, it seems the MC had a hard childhood, but it's just thrown in as some pretense for a backstory. And she had a crush on a guy called "Chief" and so did he on her, but once again, it was just a guess as neither the text, nor the narrator's tone of voice helps you much with this realisation. It is always told, never shown.
Not much of a platform to connect with anyone, really.
Finishing it was a real chore, so I think this has been all the St. Mary's experience I am willing to take.
August 18, 2013
Well where to begin ? The book really grabbed my interest at first, and I thought the premise of the story was good.
However, some of the actions of the principal characters did not appear to be inkeeping with their previous behaviour - making them unbelievable.
Also from the description of the book I expected there to be a lot of detailed, historical content and there just wasn't - not enough to satisfy any history buffs anyway and that disappointed me.
Also annoying were the quips made by Max, the main protagonist and some of the other characters which peppered the pages quite frequently but were not funny just very predictable.
I still think, however that the plot itself was a good one, but the execution of it could of been so much better. I find it hard to think of a group of people that this book would appeal to and it seems the author does too - her writing consists of a little bit of a lot of genres, in fact even the cover and title give no clues and seem inappropriate themselves now that Iv finished the book.
However, some of the actions of the principal characters did not appear to be inkeeping with their previous behaviour - making them unbelievable.
Also from the description of the book I expected there to be a lot of detailed, historical content and there just wasn't - not enough to satisfy any history buffs anyway and that disappointed me.
Also annoying were the quips made by Max, the main protagonist and some of the other characters which peppered the pages quite frequently but were not funny just very predictable.
I still think, however that the plot itself was a good one, but the execution of it could of been so much better. I find it hard to think of a group of people that this book would appeal to and it seems the author does too - her writing consists of a little bit of a lot of genres, in fact even the cover and title give no clues and seem inappropriate themselves now that Iv finished the book.
July 22, 2017
Absolutely brilliant! This book was far more than I expected. I expected a fun romp. It was. It was fast- paced and funny and action packed. But it also had a clever plot, great characters and provided an original and unique look at time travel. Strongly recommended.
May 3, 2019
More fun than Mr. Hand’s class in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Have you ever looked something up on Wikipedia, some historical event or biography, and then THREE HOURS LATER, you blinked and realized you’d been surfing the web for just one damned thing after another?
History has always fascinated me and writer Jodi Taylor knows the subject grabs a lot of people. Add to that attraction an urban fantasy like setting, mix in some actual fantasy, cool as the other side of the pillow time travel and you’ve got this TASTY series.
Paying tribute to such time travel masters as Poul Anderson and Robert Silverberg (particularly Silverberg) Taylor sets up her story in the (near?) future where some bad stuff has gone down and our protagonist – spunky redhead Dr. Madeleine Maxwell – gets an invite to an odd historical research organization. You know where this is going, but it’s fun and Taylor’s writing is ebbing with charm and humor.
Max is a very likable roguish heroine and Taylor also fills up the cast with many titillating characters and even a few villainous baddies to round things out. The time travel jumps are fun, and Taylor uses these to build a more complicated plot with twists, turns, ins, outs and what have yous.
Good fun and I had already picked up the second in the series before I even finished this one.
Have you ever looked something up on Wikipedia, some historical event or biography, and then THREE HOURS LATER, you blinked and realized you’d been surfing the web for just one damned thing after another?
History has always fascinated me and writer Jodi Taylor knows the subject grabs a lot of people. Add to that attraction an urban fantasy like setting, mix in some actual fantasy, cool as the other side of the pillow time travel and you’ve got this TASTY series.
Paying tribute to such time travel masters as Poul Anderson and Robert Silverberg (particularly Silverberg) Taylor sets up her story in the (near?) future where some bad stuff has gone down and our protagonist – spunky redhead Dr. Madeleine Maxwell – gets an invite to an odd historical research organization. You know where this is going, but it’s fun and Taylor’s writing is ebbing with charm and humor.
Max is a very likable roguish heroine and Taylor also fills up the cast with many titillating characters and even a few villainous baddies to round things out. The time travel jumps are fun, and Taylor uses these to build a more complicated plot with twists, turns, ins, outs and what have yous.
Good fun and I had already picked up the second in the series before I even finished this one.
June 14, 2017
The title of this book feels very apt as this really is a roller coaster of a ride – not only through history, but through a whole host of different plot twists and turns. Our heroine is Madeleine Maxwell (Max), who is saved from an unhappy childhood through encouragement to get out of her bad situation through education. When she is invited to an interview at St Mary’s she finds that it is a research institution like no other. Indeed, the historians at St Mary’s can return to any historical event and witness it. This is observation and documentation only – history will not permit anything, or anyone, to change events and will not hesitate to eliminate any historians who try to do so.
The plot is very involved, but concerns Max being trained in time travel, with various different outcomes. There are madcap adventures in various times and locations, a love story, obviously some baddies and an awful lot of adventures and missions. Although this is obviously a flight of fantasy – time travel, non-stop excitement and danger – there is also enough realism to make you care about the characters. Max faces real issues, for example, with colleagues; including the kind of unpleasant sexist behaviour that makes you squirm as a reader. Still, in some ways, this is essential. Too much derring do and you might forget you are reading about characters who can get hurt, or killed, or wounded.
I enjoyed this, but it was more than a little busy and I felt the author could have slowed the pace down and invested me more in the plot and characters. Still, the idea of historians careering around the past is an intriguing one and I may well read the next in the series; once I have calmed down a little after this non-stop thrill ride…
The plot is very involved, but concerns Max being trained in time travel, with various different outcomes. There are madcap adventures in various times and locations, a love story, obviously some baddies and an awful lot of adventures and missions. Although this is obviously a flight of fantasy – time travel, non-stop excitement and danger – there is also enough realism to make you care about the characters. Max faces real issues, for example, with colleagues; including the kind of unpleasant sexist behaviour that makes you squirm as a reader. Still, in some ways, this is essential. Too much derring do and you might forget you are reading about characters who can get hurt, or killed, or wounded.
I enjoyed this, but it was more than a little busy and I felt the author could have slowed the pace down and invested me more in the plot and characters. Still, the idea of historians careering around the past is an intriguing one and I may well read the next in the series; once I have calmed down a little after this non-stop thrill ride…
January 15, 2017
A fun and funny frolic. Very amusing prose and fast-paced action. There is no attempt to explain the mechanics of time travel and very little effort to make sense of what it is being used for and why. You have to be in the right mood to accept that; easier done in the first half, which is quite light, but gets harder in the second half, when unexpectedly darker events take place. A couple incidents and and inconsistencies had me on the verge of lowering the rating (I'd give it 3.5 or so if there were half stars) but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'll probably read the second book at some point when I need another light read of this sort, but I don't feel in any rush to get back to the characters.
September 3, 2016
I did it! I completed this book! Yippy. Do I recommend it? No, sorry.
The time travel paradox logic fails miserably. I found myself arguing with the characters (author) about the characters current actions vs their previous statements.
The characters were all over the place. Their motivations were disconnected to their character build up.
The Romance/sex scenes was out of the blue. Awkwardly placed. They did not read like any experience that I would like to have.
So truthfully, this was not a book or a series that I would recommend. The story needs more development and a lot of 'weeding out' to resolve the plot conflicts. Of course, these are just my views.
The time travel paradox logic fails miserably. I found myself arguing with the characters (author) about the characters current actions vs their previous statements.
The characters were all over the place. Their motivations were disconnected to their character build up.
The Romance/sex scenes was out of the blue. Awkwardly placed. They did not read like any experience that I would like to have.
So truthfully, this was not a book or a series that I would recommend. The story needs more development and a lot of 'weeding out' to resolve the plot conflicts. Of course, these are just my views.
March 11, 2018
"Discover History - The New Sex!"
Nerd-alert
History & Time Travelstill screaming incoherently with excitement
I died and went to heaven!
I finished the book last night and went to sleep with this book on my mind. woke up, with the its characters on my mind again, re-read my most fave parts all over again. I am literally mentally kicking myself for sitting on this series for so many years and not reading it sooner.
It was bloody brilliant. The whole premise, the characters, the adventure, the bad guys and the romance (yes! there are a of lot feels floating about, in this one).
I'l give it more than 5 stars. It's a full 10 on 10 for me
P.S: I forgot. There were dinosaurs. They were, alive!!@@!!!
Nerd-alert
History & Time Travel
I died and went to heaven!
I finished the book last night and went to sleep with this book on my mind. woke up, with the its characters on my mind again, re-read my most fave parts all over again. I am literally mentally kicking myself for sitting on this series for so many years and not reading it sooner.
It was bloody brilliant. The whole premise, the characters, the adventure, the bad guys and the romance (yes! there are a of lot feels floating about, in this one).
I'l give it more than 5 stars. It's a full 10 on 10 for me
P.S: I forgot. There were dinosaurs. They were, alive!!@@!!!
January 29, 2018
I suck at time travel books and by that I mean I usually just can’t let go enough of the ‘
hey I’ll just go back and warn myself and then everything will really work out just fine.
’ It seems like a video game with a million lives until you get to the end. So in general I stay away from them because as soon as someone says paradox I’m out.
But all and all I enjoyed the way this book went much more than some of the other time travel books I’ve read.
So Max is this disaster of a historian (the historian part is fine it is just the woman that is a walking talking disaster but in a fun way) that finds out she could actually join an organization that travels through time observing various historical events. She is in, with no large attachments in her life it was a relatively easy thing to drop everything and go to how to be a time traveler school at Saint Mary’s Institute of Historical Research.
Max is funny and I love the humor in the book. It seems it is more dangerous than anyone might think to be a historian for St Mary’s and there were a few deaths to prove that history takes no prisoners. Since you are jumping all over time there is never quite a feeling of linearity to the story. But if you are a history buff then jumping around to various events in history is probably a lot of fun.
This was a super solid 4-4.5 star read for me even with a plot hole or two due to my mind over thinking a few things and then some emotional buggery was added in. It was totally out of left field and didn’t really make a ton of sense other than people after very stressed situations might blow up unpredictably but I didn’t really think it added a ton to the story. Due to that and the thrown in Muse of History at the end we end up at a 3 star rating.
Still it was a lot of fun for the most part and Max can be a hoot in her narrative. I do love how she is able to make fun of herself it makes her all the more likeable. The downplayed romance was just enough for me and added a lot to my enjoyment of the story. Historian’s in love I don’t think there is anything more awkward. Plus there is an entire section with Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs I tell you.
While I’m still leery since this is a time travel book and the word paradox will eventually be thrown around I enjoyed it enough to see what other shenanigans Max, the Chief and Peterson can get into.
But all and all I enjoyed the way this book went much more than some of the other time travel books I’ve read.
So Max is this disaster of a historian (the historian part is fine it is just the woman that is a walking talking disaster but in a fun way) that finds out she could actually join an organization that travels through time observing various historical events. She is in, with no large attachments in her life it was a relatively easy thing to drop everything and go to how to be a time traveler school at Saint Mary’s Institute of Historical Research.
Max is funny and I love the humor in the book. It seems it is more dangerous than anyone might think to be a historian for St Mary’s and there were a few deaths to prove that history takes no prisoners. Since you are jumping all over time there is never quite a feeling of linearity to the story. But if you are a history buff then jumping around to various events in history is probably a lot of fun.
This was a super solid 4-4.5 star read for me even with a plot hole or two due to my mind over thinking a few things and then some emotional buggery was added in. It was totally out of left field and didn’t really make a ton of sense other than people after very stressed situations might blow up unpredictably but I didn’t really think it added a ton to the story. Due to that and the thrown in Muse of History at the end we end up at a 3 star rating.
Still it was a lot of fun for the most part and Max can be a hoot in her narrative. I do love how she is able to make fun of herself it makes her all the more likeable. The downplayed romance was just enough for me and added a lot to my enjoyment of the story. Historian’s in love I don’t think there is anything more awkward. Plus there is an entire section with Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs I tell you.
“The screaming redoubled. You put dinosaurs and people together, you always get screaming.”
While I’m still leery since this is a time travel book and the word paradox will eventually be thrown around I enjoyed it enough to see what other shenanigans Max, the Chief and Peterson can get into.
July 5, 2016
I'd give this one an easy 4* rating as I don't think I've ever read a book where quite so much happens in such a short space of time, but yet it's also truly amusing and works. I honestly think that this story is wacky, odd, funny and bizarre, and pretty much everything I hoped it would be and more!
We follow a young lady, Miss Maxwell (a.k.a. Max) who is just graduating and applies for a job at a The University of Thirsk as a historian. Little does Max realise quite what she's walked into. She ends up working at St. Mary's, the local time travel branch, and she realises that there's a lot more action and field-work involved in being a historian than she ever anticipated.
What I loved about this book is that it's so truly British the whole way through, both from setting to phrasing and humour. I really appreciated the crazy fun that these people ended up having, and seeing the various comments about Tea and life-threatening situations alongside one another made me chuckle a lot.
This is, as I said, a seriously chock-full book with a lot of action happening. We follow Max through various missions and as she settles in, and we actually end the book a fair few years after the start, so packing all of that in is a feat. I do think Taylor manages everything very well, creating a light-hearted but highly amusing first book. I for one cannot wait to see more adventures in the future becuase it's just plain enjoyable.
I will note that I listened to this on audio and the narrater did a fabulous job which always makes me enjoy books. I will be picking up the next few on audio too I imagine! 4*s overall - definitely recommended :)
We follow a young lady, Miss Maxwell (a.k.a. Max) who is just graduating and applies for a job at a The University of Thirsk as a historian. Little does Max realise quite what she's walked into. She ends up working at St. Mary's, the local time travel branch, and she realises that there's a lot more action and field-work involved in being a historian than she ever anticipated.
What I loved about this book is that it's so truly British the whole way through, both from setting to phrasing and humour. I really appreciated the crazy fun that these people ended up having, and seeing the various comments about Tea and life-threatening situations alongside one another made me chuckle a lot.
This is, as I said, a seriously chock-full book with a lot of action happening. We follow Max through various missions and as she settles in, and we actually end the book a fair few years after the start, so packing all of that in is a feat. I do think Taylor manages everything very well, creating a light-hearted but highly amusing first book. I for one cannot wait to see more adventures in the future becuase it's just plain enjoyable.
I will note that I listened to this on audio and the narrater did a fabulous job which always makes me enjoy books. I will be picking up the next few on audio too I imagine! 4*s overall - definitely recommended :)
August 30, 2020
Oh man. That was a loooong, hard read for such a small book. The story had so much potential, and that's why I forced myself to finish it. But I have to say, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. The two stars I gave are only for 1) the idea behind it all, which is really cool, and 2) the humour which is dry and british and one of the few good things. Before I begin my spoiler-y analysation of the book, I just want to say one thing for people who consider reading it: Just One Damned Thing After Another contains attempted sexual assault and miscarriage. ...I would have wanted to know before reading it, so I'm leaving this warning here because I know some people don't deal well with those thematics.
A brief, non-spoiler-y summery about what I hated in this book:
- the protagonist
- the character descriptions
- the time paradox
- the forced love triangle in the beginning
- the depiction of sex in the book
- the way the author tried cramming SO much into this tiny book instead of just exploring some of the cool storylines more in depth.
- the absolute lack of diversity in the book
On to the spoilers:
All in all, this book borders on one star for me, to be honest. I was very disappointed.
A brief, non-spoiler-y summery about what I hated in this book:
- the protagonist
- the character descriptions
- the time paradox
- the forced love triangle in the beginning
- the depiction of sex in the book
- the way the author tried cramming SO much into this tiny book instead of just exploring some of the cool storylines more in depth.
- the absolute lack of diversity in the book
On to the spoilers:
All in all, this book borders on one star for me, to be honest. I was very disappointed.
January 7, 2017
First person narrative. We get to know the setting together with the main protagonist, Max. A lot of names and character descriptions are dumped on the reader in the first chapter. By page eight I was hopelessly confused about who was who and looked how.
A quarter into the book our main character had learned her new job (cheating and avoiding jobs you don't like are apparently acceptable behavior) and was on her first real assignment. I was mildly bored. The story unfolded through the eyes of Max, but unfortunately we didn't get to experience anything directly. Being told "We did this and then we did that..." does not captivate me.
And then we somehow jumped a few years and things were mentioned that meant nothing to me. As I had been skimming quite a bit due to the aforementioned boredom, I thought at first that it was me. But the story continued in that vein, even when I didn't skim. The plot had more holes than a Swiss cheese!
I did continue and finish the book, but I rolled my eyes a lot, skimmed a bit more and, granted, also laughed out loud a few time. Nice snark, some funny one-liners, some good ideas and even some good fight and action scenes. But the book felt very uneven to me. Mostly very lighthearted reading with some jokes, then all of a sudden serious tones crept up and then it was back to being silly. Not smooth.
I also didn't like Max particularly much.
It took me to chapter 8 to feel better about this book and to (mostly) stop skimming. Very rough read for me. Unfinished, maybe? And in need of some serious editing? The story was allover the place in some chapters.
Ending every single chapter with an ominous and foreboding sentence of bad things to come... that got old fast. I've met that particular gimmick in other books and did not like it there either. As a tool to create tension and suspense it is pretty lame.
Minimal world building and character development. Plenty of amusing one-liners, though. Normally I would give a book that annoyed me this much only two stars. But there were some entertaining bits as well and the general storyline with the setting of St. Mary's has a lot of potential. So I guess three stars it is. I might even pick up book two at some point, if I happen to come by it cheaply.
A quarter into the book our main character had learned her new job (cheating and avoiding jobs you don't like are apparently acceptable behavior) and was on her first real assignment. I was mildly bored. The story unfolded through the eyes of Max, but unfortunately we didn't get to experience anything directly. Being told "We did this and then we did that..." does not captivate me.
And then we somehow jumped a few years and things were mentioned that meant nothing to me. As I had been skimming quite a bit due to the aforementioned boredom, I thought at first that it was me. But the story continued in that vein, even when I didn't skim. The plot had more holes than a Swiss cheese!
I did continue and finish the book, but I rolled my eyes a lot, skimmed a bit more and, granted, also laughed out loud a few time. Nice snark, some funny one-liners, some good ideas and even some good fight and action scenes. But the book felt very uneven to me. Mostly very lighthearted reading with some jokes, then all of a sudden serious tones crept up and then it was back to being silly. Not smooth.
I also didn't like Max particularly much.
It took me to chapter 8 to feel better about this book and to (mostly) stop skimming. Very rough read for me. Unfinished, maybe? And in need of some serious editing? The story was allover the place in some chapters.
Ending every single chapter with an ominous and foreboding sentence of bad things to come... that got old fast. I've met that particular gimmick in other books and did not like it there either. As a tool to create tension and suspense it is pretty lame.
Minimal world building and character development. Plenty of amusing one-liners, though. Normally I would give a book that annoyed me this much only two stars. But there were some entertaining bits as well and the general storyline with the setting of St. Mary's has a lot of potential. So I guess three stars it is. I might even pick up book two at some point, if I happen to come by it cheaply.
October 6, 2020
This book, in Italian, has a title that intrigued me (The brotherhood of curious historians) but, as often happens, I realized that the original title is much more beautiful (Just one damned thing after another). The plot is immediately very engaging and then develops even better, with twists that are a bit sci-fi, a bit humorous and even a bit dramatic, but always with a very (but very) disenchanted background. We feel that the author does not take Humanity very seriously and that she has no hope that it can do great things. Taylor treats with extreme naturalness, as if for all of us it was a well-established and normal thing, the fact that an Institute of Historical Research, the St. Mary, has found a way to travel in time (even if these historians define their activities such as "studying the major historical events in the era in which they occurred”). These historians have obviously admirable purposes (even if we later discover that other time travelers will have very different purposes) and the story occasionally puts us in front of some philosophical dilemma, on what it would be right or wrong to do if you really could travel in time. Despite having these reflections in the background, the plot unfolds on the somewhat rambling story of Madeleine Maxwell, the historian who is the protagonist of the story. She is a woman full of life, a little messy, very aggressive, but with healthy principles of loyalty, very uninhibited, but only with whoever she wants. In short, a nice temper. The other protagonists, all very eccentric and a bit unlikely, a bit Tom Cruise, a bit Indiana Jones, a bit Sean Connery, are the director Bairstow, the boss Leon Farrell, Markham, Murdoch, Mrs De Winter and many more, who always save themselves at the last minute and also face a gang of dangerous terrorists of history, but all without ever neglecting tea time (otherwise what a kind of English they would be?).
It is a brilliant and very surreal book, like those by Arto Paasilinna (which I really like); the plot is original and the characters are a bit crazy and funny. Reading it, I think everyone wants to imagine being able to see with their own eyes what really happened during the fire in Rome, or during the French Revolution, or the construction of the pyramids and thousands other events. During the development of the plot we will experience some leaps into the past and get to know a little better some of these historical fools, loving some and hating some other.
The book can be read very well and a good memory of it remains, although perhaps the final part, the one on the library of Alexandria could have developed a little better: a fire in an ancient library is a scene that an author should never miss the opportunity to describe: Umberto Eco showed something about it when he wrote The Name of the Rose.
It is a brilliant and very surreal book, like those by Arto Paasilinna (which I really like); the plot is original and the characters are a bit crazy and funny. Reading it, I think everyone wants to imagine being able to see with their own eyes what really happened during the fire in Rome, or during the French Revolution, or the construction of the pyramids and thousands other events. During the development of the plot we will experience some leaps into the past and get to know a little better some of these historical fools, loving some and hating some other.
The book can be read very well and a good memory of it remains, although perhaps the final part, the one on the library of Alexandria could have developed a little better: a fire in an ancient library is a scene that an author should never miss the opportunity to describe: Umberto Eco showed something about it when he wrote The Name of the Rose.
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