Just One Damned Thing After Another

The Chronicles of St Mary's, Book 1

De: Jodi Taylor

Narrado por: Zara Ramm

'One of my favourite books of all time' CHARLAINE HARRIS

'Jodi Taylor is quite simply the Queen of Time. Her books are a swashbuckling joyride through History' C. K. MCDONNELL

--

They say that History is just one damned thing after another. Welcome to St Mary's Institute of Historical Research - where damned things happen every day.

When Dr Madeleine 'Max' Maxwell is recruited by St Mary's, she finds their methods to be somewhat unorthodox. They don't just study the past - they actually visit it, carefully observing historical events as they unfold in real time.

And not dying. This last part is important.

The whole of History now lies before Max and her new colleagues, but, as she will discover, time travel is never straightforward. Because History doesn't like to be messed with, and danger lurks in every century...

Fast-paced, witty and delightfully unconventional, Just One Damned Thing After Another is the first in Jodi Taylor's beloved and bestselling Chronicles of St Mary's series. For fans of Terry Pratchett, Doctor Who, Genevieve Cogman and Ghosts.

©2013 Jodi Taylor (P)2014 Audible Studios

Great, even amazing, plot let down by performance

Would you listen to Just One Damned Thing After Another again? Why?

I think I would simply because the plot is so incredibly engaging.

What did you like best about this story?

The dry humor in the writing but just the premise is brilliant!

Would you listen to another book narrated by Zara Ramm?

Only if I have to... but I'd rather not. Her voice is not versatile enough so at times I actually didn't know who was speaking. There were times a female character was speaking to a male character and I got lost because I thought it was a pause in the female speaking. But it was a dialogue and it was the man replying to a statement with a statement. This happened continually.

Zara Ramm nailed the dry humor of the book, but just not enough voice versatility. There are some books I listen to again and again because of the voice. Zara is not one of them.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It is too long for that, but I enjoyed and even looked forward to the 5 km walk home each day so I could listen to the adventure unfold.

Any additional comments?

I make it sound like the book is perfect with the only down fall in the performance. That is unfair. There are times where I feel like the book should end because it is at a natural place but it just keeps going with more twist and turns. I think the author put too much into this book. Were I editor, I would have recommended fleshing out some of the stories a bit more with more character development and then have it be more books. Either that or more cleanly block it out into sectioned parts.

But this is me just being a bit whingey. I had a great time with this book.

I want to work at St. Mary's

This is a fabulous romp through space and time. Fun, sneaky, very smart, I'm on the second book and panting for the third. Great Series!

It's okay, but rather rambling

These time travelers are historians, not interveners. Their job is to observe and record. Since they are supposedly secret, their information doesn't do many people any good. Lucy Maxwell is recruited and does well, but she gets blamed for accidents and deaths that don't appear to be her fault.

Then they find there is a rival group whose goals are gain not knowledge. More deaths, some shagging, and then finally some excitement. By the end of the book, they (meaning Lucy) have figured out a higher purpose and how to achieve it.

It's a pretty good start, but the subsequent volumes I read weren't very good.
It's not bad if you want to read about time travel and the scrapes they get into attempting to not affect history, just not great stuff.

What a marvelous way to spend time (ha)

The story(ies), characters, plot line(s), story arches -- it was all marvelous. These are not people nor stories that to assimilate all in one gulp, not even an eight hour gulp. For me, it is better that way. My busy fore-brain, generally bent on 'figuring it all out' gets to sit back and wait for everything to unfold. Bits and pieces of the characters pop up, then slide away. The same with bits and pieces of the story line. I get to wait to find out, just as the characters do. And it isn't ONE story line, but many, just as in real life, things don't stop while the characters work the one thing out.
I initially thought I'd have a hard time with the narrator. She is absolutely spot on and perfect with voices, cadence, tempo, all of it, but she breathes audibly and I thought "oh, no". What I found, though, and it is perhaps just me, is that it added to the verisimilitude of hearing the book. I was hearing from the protagonist, herself, and people breathe when they are talking to you. (Clumsily put, for which I apologize.)
All in all, I had a marvelous time with this book. I admit to having picked up the print version a couple of times, but for me, the narrator makes all the difference. I hope this lovely team goes on to write many more. If they do, I shall be purchasing them with a smile and a clearing up of my schedule for a couple of days to make time for more gulps.

The potential charm and wonder was wasted

What did you like best about Just One Damned Thing After Another? What did you like least?

Expectations raised in the earlier part of the book. The potential for the characters to experience the discovery of first hand observations of great historical events and locations. The book is severely depleted by the descriptions of armed conflict with marauders from the future.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was okay.