A madcap 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 … 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 … “History is just one damned thing after another” – Arnold Toynbee
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A laugh-out-loud time travel with a delightfully original premise and wonderfully flawed characters. A little editing would have helped bridge some of the plot gaps, but overall, an intriguing, entertaining mystery.
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.
Beware! It’s a trap! If you read this book, you’ll run out and buy the rest of the series. I did. Absolutely un-put-downable. Fun. Fascinating take on historical events. Great characters. Rollicking action. I loved it!
The Chronicles of St. Mary’s is one of my favorite series. Jodi Taylor does an amazing job of creating unforgettable characters, unique situations, and hysterical dialogue. The books are witty, funny, and emotionally engaging at the same time. They literally make you laugh, cry, and shake your head in dismay.
I am a voracious reader who deeply enjoys good, quirky writing and finding books that are both well written and unique in their approach is a rare joy. ‘Just One Damned Thing After Another’ gets full marks on both counts. I am already into the second book in the series and am hoping they are all as fresh and original.
This series is fantastic! Time travel meets humor meets action/adventure. She can’t write these books fast enough. I don’t think this is the first in the series, but it was the only name I could remember off the top of my head. Best new series I’ve read in a LONG time!!! Enjoy.
OMG, this time travel blew me away! I think there were about ten different stories, with each one more hair-raising than the other. Taylor ravaged the world with her time-traveling historian heroine, Maxwell! Wonderful villains lurked around unexpected corners and just when I thought the woman was on top of the world, it all came crashing down in a fireball of sand, bruises, and possible missing limbs. Brava!!
Enjoyed this book!
Fun read. Had ups & downs, imperfect characters, good plot twists.
I thought this was a very cool book with interesting characters and a fascinating plot line. The heroine was written very well and should become a role model for many young girls.. After I finished it, I made sure there was a next book/installment to carry on the saga of St. Mary’s and give me more time with these great characters.
The premise (time-traveling historians) is absurd, but this is a fast-paced, funny, totally engaging read. The dialog alone is worth it, but the plot and characters are great. First in a good series. (I’ve read 3 so far.)
One of my favorite series. There’s nothing else out there quite like St. Mary’s. 🙂
This entire series is amazing! You’ll learn a lot about important events while having a great time with the St. Mary’s crew. But it’s not all fun and games. Some events brought me to tears. A must for Doctor Who fans.
Can bring you to tears and next paragraph to out loud laughs. Interesting history lessons. Because of eye problems, I use audio books. The narrator, Zara Ramm, is excellent. She brings St Mary’s alive. This is book 1 of 9. Highly recommend all books and all short storties written by Jodi Taylor.
Bought it on a whim based on the title, ended up with a rather unique story that was fun, engaging, and super enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone that likes a little (lot) of humor in their fantasy time travel stories!
Throughly fun read, with irreverent, predictably unpredictable characters. Loved history seen with new perspectives and jaundiced worldview.
The title comes from a quote by Alfred Toynbee: “Some historians hold that history … is just one damned thing after another.” The series takes place in England at St. Mary’s, part of Thirsk University, at an unspecified point in the future. Time travel is a reality, but only the historians at St. Mary’s get to go back in time, and strictly to observe. Dire consequences ensue when someone messes with history, however inadvertently.
The main character is Madeleine Maxwell, a historian and university professor who came from an abusive background. We know she had a terrible childhood, but fortunately, Taylor doesn’t go into detail, which was fine with me. Max is damaged, though, and her social skills aren’t always the best. She’s perfect for the eccentric crew at St. Mary’s. She joins the ranks of the time traveling historians in book one and finds more adventure than anyone could bargain for.
The story is intelligent, adventurous, often very funny, and a little romantic, though the body count is fairly high. Who would expect “historian” to be a dangerous job? But given the chance to go back in time, what else could be expected?
I adore this series. I’m pacing myself because I don’t want to get to the end.
Adventures throughout history. Drama back at home. Oh, that St. Mary’s was a real place and that I could work there!
I’ve read a few of these, including a recent run of short stories, and I’m constantly in awe of Taylor’s ability to switch time periods with authenticity and excitement. History, mystery, time travel, dinosaurs and conspiracy, lots of swearing and nasty dismemberments and a great deal of humour. The series just gets better.