My Name is Markham

The Chronicles of St Mary's

By: Jodi Taylor

Narrated by: Piers Wehner

Length: 1 hr and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Best-selling author Jodi Taylor returns with a brand-new Chronicles of St Mary's short story.

Like a smaller and much scruffier Greta Garbo - finally - Markham speaks!

It's Christmas and time for the first (and almost certainly last) St Mary's Annual Children's Christmas Party - attendance compulsory, by order of Dr Bairstow. Discovered practising his illegal reindeer dance and poo-dropping routine, our hero, along with fellow disaster magnets Peterson and Maxwell, is dispatched to Anglo-Saxon England to discover the truth about Alfred and the cakes. In his own words, our hero reveals Major Guthrie's six-point guide to a successful assignment and the Security Section's true opinion of the History Department. And of historians in general. And of one historian in particular.

And, just to be clear, it is time travel, for God's sake. Forget all that pretentious 'investigating major historical events in contemporary time' rubbish. This is history without the capital H. Because this is the way the Security Section rolls!

©2016 Jodi Taylor (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Missing Zara Ramm

If you could sum up My Name is Markham in three words, what would they be?

Not. The. Best.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Markham, but really, he's the only character.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Not really - I am used to Markham being a bit more lively.

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

I did, but it's so short, it would be difficult not to.

Any additional comments?

Since I have all the other St Mary's books in audible format, it was a given I was going to purchase this one too, but I have to admit to being a bit disappointed in it. Frankly, if this was my first "experience" of St Mary's, I wouldn't be looking another one.
It's not that the book or narration is bad, per se, it's just that the others are so very, very good. I can understand the selection of Piers Wehner to narrate, after all, Markham is a man and it appears the intention is Markham speaks! in his own voice!, and Mr Wehner certainly has a very nice voice ... but Zara Ramm has already given Markham a *very* distinctive voice - amusing, interesting and not the slightest bit boring. The accent she has chosen for Markham is understandable and unmistakable. Even without Max saying so, you always know when he enters the conversation.
Mr Wehner gives him little emotion, except at the end when Markham is whining, (and for goodness sake, what was *that* all about? Markham does. not. whine.) and it gets a bit droning on to be honest.
I have just now finished listening, and sadly, I can't really review the plot of this short story, because I don't remember it. It was raining, Arthur didn't burn the cakes and something about a dog in heat. (?) I think. I'm knitting a mindless project while listening, so I'm certainly not distracted, but I found myself drifting off into my own thoughts.The other books have had me laughing out loud at Markham's antics and quips, I would so love to hear what Ms Ramm would do with this. I have a feeling it could be very funny indeed.
I rated it four stars overall, so as to not "downgrade" it, but really, three stars is more in line with my opinion. It's average.
Buy the book, it's supporting a good cause, and it's not a bad book as such, just not as good as the previous ones.(And if Audible or whoever decides these things released a Zara Ramm version, I'd buy it in a heartbeat)

Oh my

A jaunt into the past by the St. Mary's crew; a really nice close encounter with a major historic figure; chaos and calamity with a happy ending – it must be Christmas! Well, it was when it was released, and it was in the story, at least.

By now, the crew of St. Mary's are dear old friends, and it's tremendous to get inside Markham's head for this go-round. (If Ms. Taylor ever gets bored, she could start from the beginning of the story and flip POV's – [book:Just One Damned Thing After Another] through Dr Bairstow's eyes, for example… Oo. That would be fun.

And this is fun. More fun than should be lawful. Chaotic, hilarious, moving, exciting – my lord, I love these books.

I was a little sad going into this because it wasn't narrated by Ms. Taylor's usual St. Mary's narrator, Zara Ramm – but she's Max, so that would be silly, so they got Piers Wehner. And … Someone, please, I'm begging you, find him many, many more books to read to me. I was going to say "books like this", but nobody does it like Jodi Taylor, and Jodi Taylor mostly uses Max's point of view, so he won't have much work there – but this man needs more books that let him be funny. More books, period. He's terrific. He was thoroughly in character, giving a little laugh here and there, putting in exactly the right pauses and inflections. Whoever is doing the casting for Jodi Taylor's audiobooks must absolutely love her, because every single book has been nearly perfect at worst. Although I've got every one of Jodi Taylor's books, I've never read a word she's written, just because of this. And I've loved every word.

It is not 8.5, more like 5.5

What did you like about this audiobook?

It was fun to hear the St Mary's story from another point of view.

Do you have any additional comments?

I like the St. Mary's short stories. Even the long stories sometimes feel like a series of short stories strung together with minimal tie-ins. But this short story is labeled 8.5 so I assumed it would at least reference the events in And The Rest Is History. It doesn't. In fact, it could not have happened after ATRIS. It is amusing and very Markhamish, it is an interesting glimpse of Alfred the Great's life and times, but I hope someone will assign it in the correct order of the St. Mary's Chronicles.

Unrecognizable as Markham, IMHO

As someone who has listened to and loved all the books, this was a real disappointment. If the proceeds weren't going to a good cause, I would have returned it for a refund. The most significant issue was the narrator, who was unrecognizable as Markham. As other reviews have noted, Zara Ramm has already strongly established the energy and charm of Markham's character, as well as an unmistakable accent. This was A Big Mistake on the part of whoever made the casting decision.

Second is the issue of pricing for the short stories in this series (and for all Audible's shorts, actually). We pay the same one-credit price for a single story that runs about 90 minutes as we do for a full-length book that, in the case of the St Mary's series, runs about 9 hours. The cash price is also disproportionate.

Not Zara Ramm ? - you must be kidding !

You shouldn't be allowed to replace a Zara Ramm version with one read by someone else.
This should be a capital offence.
Off with your heads !

Loved his point of view!

I am a HUGE FAN of the Chronicles of Saint Mary's...binge listening to each one repeatedly. I loved hearing an adventure from Markum's point of view! Jodi never fails to disappoint. I did miss Zara Ramm but a gentleman's voice for this particular story was a perfect choice. enjoy!!

Chuckle, Chortle and Laugh so hard I think I pee'd

Would you consider the audio edition of My Name is Markham to be better than the print version?

Yes! This narration was EXCELLENT

What did you like best about this story?

The revelation that Markham himself does not always know "Where that came from."

What does Piers Wehner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices that he uses for the other characters reveals how Markham hears them. It's a good perspective to have on hand.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Goodness yes! I laughed out loud sitting alone in my office. If they didn't already know that I'm mad today would have confirmed ot.

Any additional comments?

I just love this series. The Christmas specials are like a gift from Jodi Taylor to all of us and we do appreciate them. This years support for the wounded warriors(or similar I believe?) just made it even better.

ZARA!!

What did you love best about My Name is Markham?

getting to know markham even better!

What other book might you compare My Name is Markham to and why?

the whole series...jodi is brilliant!!

What three words best describe Piers Wehner’s voice?

1. he's
2. not
3. Zara
I am sure that Piers is AWESOME!, but....

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

LOVE the book, miss Zara! ...

Any additional comments?

I will pay for this book again if you could have Zara read it!!!

overpriced

The story was ok, not great like the rest of the series. It was just so short, I felt this should have been a $1 story, or even a promotional freebie.

laughed til I cried.

that was incredibly funny, silly and wacky. Dr. Who meets the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.

Christmas isn't Christmas without St Mary's

Where does My Name is Markham rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My Name is Markham is the seasonal short story release from Jodi Taylor and part of her very successful St Mary's series of books.

In a slight twist, the story is told from Markham's perspective rather from that of Max and as a result we are now treated to a new reader, Piers Wehner, instead of Zarah Ramm who reads the other books in the series.

As with previous narrations of the series it is beautifully done. Having had a number of audio books ruined for me by flat story telling its is refreshing to have readers who can tell the story with interest and character.

As for the tale itself it is, I think, its the best of the Christmas Stories that Jodi has written to date. Full of humour, panto reindeer and the answer to who burned King Alfred's whilst allowing the reader a glimpse into what it would have been like to live in times past.

All the gang are included, and I will never be able to look at a plastic pouch of olives in the same way again.

Disappointing

Always enjoy listening to The Chronicles of St Mary's but I realise now that's because Zara Ramm does such an excellent narration. I found Piers Werner's performance extremely annoying with an accent that seemed to wobble between Estuary English and American drawl.
The story itself is a very short one but interesting. I think I would like to find out more about King Alfred after listening to this so that's a good outcome. Will wait to read the story now though, not too sure I could listen to Mr Wehner again. Loved the fact that Help for Heroes benefit from the sale of this story, well done Ms Taylor.

The St. Mary's Spark

Whilst the narrator is great & I do understand this is inside the head of Markham so will sound greater to him than the idiot pyromaniac we all love begrudgingly; I just felt it lacked that spark no pun intended that the previous audiobooks read by Zara Ramm have.

Certain voices unlock an author in a way that enhances the stories far more - like Fry & Harry Potter; For me this just wasn't quite there as a St. Mary's story

As Zara Ramm's voices fit the Characters so perfectly, it was just very odd and distracting to hear them not sound as they normally do and I think it may have been a better idea if it could have been possible to have had Markham's parts read by this Narrator and the remainder by Ramm

Sublime

A little odd not to hear Zara's voice, but Piers has the same sense of timing and 'gets' the jokes just as well. And Jodi can't do anything wrong in my eyes... Her writing is just sublime and I adore the St Mary's series. May it continue forever!

Excellent

Another fun tale, but this time narrated by Markham! Very well portrayed by Piers Weiner. A delight to listen to, and proceeds being donated to charity! Thanks, I loved it.

A different point of view

Ending 2016 in true St. Mary's fashion - in chaos. Ms Taylor does it again.
I really enjoyed the point of view of Markham; it ended up being just as funny as the others. Markham' haphazard attempts at being a responsible manner of St. Mary's will truly make you smile one last time this year.
Employment law, Geneva convention... none of those would be able to rescue him from the egg sandwiches this time.
One last note, the proceeds of this short story go to Help for Heroes, so buy this for others or encourage them to buy it.

Bloody historians.

A fun look at St. Mary's from the security department view (bloody historians). Pierce Wehner has obviously listened to Zara Ramm's narrations. His delivery and timing is spot on. Story is OK. Nothing spectacular, but good fun.

Lovely story

Any additional comments?

Great story in keeping with the style of Jodi Taylor and St Mary's. Funny and informative all at the same time. Fabulous!

More From Markham Please

This was a great little treat not just from St Mary's but from Markham, the man himself. I really hope we can be treated to more of this and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Something not quite right!

I understand why Piers Werner has been chosen for the narration (as it's from Markham's viewpoint) but my what a difference it has made to the story.

Usually read by our wonderful Zara Ramm which makes the books for me.

I enjoyed the book who wouldn't when it's one of Jodi's but I did not enjoy the narration. Sorry Piers it's nothing against you just prefer Zara.