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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I totally enjoyed the time travelers and the problems— it really was just 1 damn thing after another!
Enjoyed it so much I immediately bought the next one in the series, which I’m very much looking forward to reading.
Great read! Great series!!
This book starts with an entree sting character and premise. Then it twists through visits to historical events without getting bogged down in the event. Meanwhile, there is a sub plot or two just to stir the pot. A light fun read.
Well developed characters interesting plots
Great introduction to this author. I immediately bought the next two books and am on the third. Fun, easy read that I recommend especially to young adult readers.
Well-written and entertaining. Want more of the series.
Excellent
Fun, funny, and full of action. My main negative comment is that it’s hard to keep track of the time frame—at one point it apparently skips over four years, without any indication that this part of the story doesn’t follow immediately after what came before it. This may be intentional (this is a story about time travel, after all), but I found it disconcerting and strange. Otherwise, a really good book and well worth the time!
Highly recommend! The disaster magnets of St. Mary’s are the best!
Light on the ‘science’ of sci-fi, but is fun and engaging.
Entertaining premise on time travel- lots of eccentric characters and with a few bumps, the book held together fairly well.
Hold on to your pod, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Really enjoyed this Time Travel story with the heroes being historians of all things! Ms. Taylor tells a non-stop story with great British wit and with more than a touch of irreverence. Loved the protagonist, Madeline Maxwell (Mad Max?). She’d never fit in until after her studies when she was guided to St. Mary’s – not at all what it appeared to be. There she was sworn to secrecy and trained in ways she never dreamed possible. Through it all, she prevailed. As mentioned, the book covers a long period of time, and just when I was about to think “I’m ready for something…” I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence because the perfect plot twist occurs. Time and again that happened. Captain Farrell’s reveal was particularly interesting. It also made me wonder about their pledge not to mess with history in any way. But who can hold back love? Every character was likeable except for those who were meant to be hated, and I did hate them. We know about the bad future time travelers, but just how far they’ll go to achieve their nefarious deeds is always shocking and a huge surprise. Madeline’s personal nemesis doesn’t reveal herself until far into the book. And boy was there venom in that person. Max’s inner dialogue never stopped and it was so entertaining and as I mentioned before, witty. What a quick thinker. Us Christians got knocked around a bit, but we’re used to that. There was a breather a little past the middle (I thought the darkest moment came early, but there were many darkest moments. Some personal, some part of the adventure. As they say, twists and turns) where Max is in exile and I was amused how things got moved along. (emphasis on muse) Everyone needs a guardian angel, right? I spent the last part of the book breathless and running to keep up with nonstop action and peril. Couldn’t blink for fear of missing something. There were so many characters to remember and barely time to get attached to, and a storyline filled with tiny nods to the reader, that I fear I missed occasional subtleties. But I enjoyed this book! Now I need a rest. Whew. But what can you expect from a book called Just One Damn Thing After Another? The author totally delivered on her promise. Well done.
Grand romp with time travel, villains and bad puns. Didn’t put it down
THE CHRONICLES OF ST MARYS
by Jodi Taylor
I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy these books – and they’re not even historical novels or crime!
What they are, however, are explosive, hilarious, action-packed adventure stories and a damned good romp through history.
Led by Dr Madeleine (‘Max’) Maxwell, the crazy, tea-swilling historians at St Mary’s travel back in time in magical pods to record real historical events. Moving swiftly from the Cretaceous Period, through the fall of Troy to Jack the Ripper, Bonnie and Clyde – and everything else in between – their adventures are dirty, dangerous and damned good fun!
Meticulously researched, Jodi Taylor, doesn’t just bring history to life – she turns into into a carnival.
Each book is better than the last, which is an excellent thing as there are ten books in the series and over a dozen short stories. I sigh with pleasure each time I come across one in my TBR pile on my kindle and I usually polish it off within twenty-four hours, giggling all the way.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This one of my favorite series! Lots of laughs. Max is strong and hysterical! These characters are so great. They run on tea! There is also heartbreak. I can’t even explain how much I love this. I can listen over and over! Zara Ramm is a terrific narrator for the series.
Loved this book. Fun and interesting. A good twist on history. Have read the majority of the series as well as the short stories. Would recommend reading in order to include the short stories. Author has well developed characters that she builds on through each book. While the books are somewhat standalone the joy Ms. Taylor’s books come from reading the entire series.
I love this series!!
Outrageous, hilarious, crazy, historical madness. And that’s just the first half of the book. The madness keeps them sane. The rest keeps the reader on the edge of her seat.
A light, funny, but still interesting and to a surprising extent educational series built around the concept of industrial-level time travel. Abundant action and drama to keep it very entertaining while spinning multiple sequential stories per book. I’m on book seven now, and will be missing them when I’ve read the final one (if there ever is a final one, history covers a seriously long time!).