• The Very First Damned Thing

  • An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
  • By: Jodi Taylor
  • Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
  • Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (4,294 ratings)

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The Very First Damned Thing  By  cover art

The Very First Damned Thing

By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
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Publisher's summary

Audible is delighted to bring you an exclusive, author-read production of The Very First Damned Thing. Hear it here first, months ahead of the EBook publication.

Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war.

Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning.

How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come? How can he overcome the massed ranks of the Society for the Protection of Historical Buildings? How do stolen furniture, a practical demonstration at the Stirrup Charge at Waterloo, students’ alcohol-ridden urine, a widowed urban guerrilla, a young man wearing exciting knitwear and four naked security guards all combine to become the St Mary’s of the future?

©2015 Jodi Taylor (P)2015 Audible Ltd.

Featured Article: The 10 Best Time Travel Book Series for Today


Time travel books are so entertaining because they meld exciting historical settings with big what if? questions. What if you knew what would happen next in your timeline? What if you could change history? What if you did change history? We’ve compiled an exciting list of the best time travel book series that are out now, all varying in tone and subgenre. We hope you’re ready to get lost in time!

What listeners say about The Very First Damned Thing

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wait for it on Kindle. Not the best on audio

This is a delightful short story "prequel" to the St. Mary's series. Any fan of the series should enjoy this short foray into St. Mary's past. Do NOT start the series with this title, however, as it will likely make no sense and not be very interesting. It really is meant for those who are already familiar with the series. That said, I would recommend waiting for the release of the kindle edition of the story rather than listening to the free audio on Audible. I'm very thankful to Ms. Taylor for offering this for free and I feel very bad saying it because I love her as an author, but reading the story herself did not do it any justice. She has a very pleasant voice but she does not do anything to distinguish between characters nor does she put much (if any) emotion into her voice. It makes for a rather dull reading and often a rather confusing one, as it is sometimes difficult to distinguish who is saying what. 4 stars for the story, but only 2 for the audio.

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57 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WHY do you let authors read their work?

WHY, oh why do you let authors read their work? I completely LOVE Jodi Taylor s writing. She is clever, smart, funny, fun, detailed, creative, brilliant, original, etc, as a writer, but simply should not read her own book.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the story. The narration was ehh...

Maybe I got spoiled with Zara Ramm's narration, as I read the entire main series before starting on the short stories. I know, I should have checked the reading order first, but didn't. Zara Ramm is a great narrator. In books 1-6, she did an excellent job with the different voices, the emotion, the sarcasm. While I love Jodi Taylor and she has a fan for life, it was difficult to listen to M.s Taylor after the exceptional job that Zara Ramm did in her narration of the other books. If I had listened to this one first, maybe my expectations would not have been so high, but... Jodi is articulate, clear and easy to listen to, but all of the voices and accents are the same, so they are very hard to differentiate. Other than that, I enjoyed hearing how Dr. Bairstow recruited all of his people and established St. Mary's.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

story shows promise, narration not so much.

I enjoyed the storyline love the humor but the narration put me into a stupor, not in a good way.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

5 stars, Love it!

Not easy for me to admit that I love St. Mary's books, guilty pleasure, please don't tell my tobacco chewing friends at work. But I do, and if you are new to this series please start with one narrated by Zara Ramm (most of them are) She is exceptional and her voice must be Max's. That's how I did it, now I'm hooked, and I can see how if this is your introduction to St. Mary's you might be a little put off. But for me already being part of the St. Mary's team, I wanted this back story, and I'm glad it was produced. Now I'm off to the bar at St. Mary's to visit the gang.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully phrased and clearly stated

A treat for the ears to listen to, and a story of romance and daring. I think I have just gotten hooked on another series.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a great way to start this series...

I think this is a prequel that would have had more impact if I had read it after the first few books in the series. I picked this up for free on Audible and, while it was well-written, I was mostly confused by what was happening.

I listened to this on audiobook and the author reads it. Taylor did a good job reading it and I would recommend if you enjoy audiobooks.

This book follows a character named Dr Bairstow as he gathers funding and people for his time-traveling historical society that is being house in St. Mary's.

A lot of characters are introduced rapidly. The book is broken into very short vignettes that show how each of these characters comes to join Dr. Bairstow's group. Unfortunately, I haven't read any other books in the series and don't have any reference for all these characters, so this didn't have a lot of impact for me and was mostly just confusing.

Overall this was okay but a bit hard to follow and choppy for me. I might have to come back and reread this after I read some of the series itself. I guess I would recommend this to fans of the series who want some more background. However, it doesn’t seem to be a good starting point if you are just starting to read the series.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Too short . Loved it.

Highly recommend Jodi Taylor's The Chronicles of St. Mary's series- which are cleverly written & ,highly entertaining
All Jodi's novels are marvelous, and very addictive.
In her time travel series you will find humor , adventure, history, romance , & lovable characters .
Her Frogmorton Farm series is just as entertaining and fun . Once you start , you can't get enough.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous storyline

What did you love best about The Very First Damned Thing?

Everything, the story is like a roller coaster, it's exciting, dramatic, funny. I can't wait until the next episode.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Malcolm, he is so funny and he is always getting into trouble.

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

She brings her story to life, more authors should narrate their stories.

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

Yes. I almost did.

Any additional comments?

Love this fun series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

Maybe its good for the readers of the series. As it was free, I thought it would be a good introduction to the books. The humor is fine; witty brit humor, actually. But the story is boring. At least, not engaging. I didn’t feel compelled at all to keep reading. Maybe some other time.

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2 people found this helpful