Oh Dear

Plus side? The narrator did a good enough job with what she was given.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but at least a fun romp through various periods of history. I gave up on about chapter 7 (I think? The main character is about to go see some dinosaurs). I'm going to give my reasons why, so beware that there are spoilers ahead:
1) There's remarkably little time travel for a book about, y'know, secret time travelling historians. Her first trip was 14 days of nothing on a mountain that could have been literally any time, anywhere. A bunch of other trips were entirely glossed over, and the only one that was described in any detail was a World War, which is the most overdone time-travel scenario in the genre.
2) For a specialist in ancient/classical history, the main character hasn't used this specialty once, and is somehow the best suited character to lead a trip to the Jurassic era. The lack of any major detail just makes me feel like the author doesn't feel like researching anything.
3) Speaking of time: it's remarkably unclear how much time is passing. It's mentioned at one point that she's been in Saint Mary's for 4 years - I honestly thought she'd only just finished her training. The lack of development of any of that time is surreal...
4) But matching with everything else. The side-characters are mostly uninspiring. Protagonist who consistently talks about how average she is whilst everyone admires her incessantly? Check. Love interest with dark backstory? Check. Evil woman who competes for the affections of the love interest? Check (Bonus points for his entire family dying and the cartoonishly evil ex-wife, who abandoned him/their kids, only for him to discover the children aren't his as they're dying). Smattering of interchangeable bffs? Check. A few other men who range between smarmy and sexually threatening? Check.
5) The lack of characterisation from the protagonist, Max, is especially egregious. It's mentioned as the book goes on that people try to talk to her but she's always drunk/absent minded/away -- I genuinely can't remember her being described as getting that pissed (she seems to mostly fall asleep in the bath whilst researching), and frankly that sounds like an alcohol problem that you probably don't want for a time-travelling historical agent, y'know. That's representative as well: stuff is just randomly brought up that we've never actually encountered as readers/listeners that we're supposed to take as gospel truth...
I could go on. Suffice to say - if you value books that are well written, I'd steer clear.

75 people found this helpful

Disappointing

A great premise, utterly ruined by an immature writing style that favours pace over character development and in-world consistency.

It would have been better as a YA novel with the removal of the endless crass alcohol and sexual references. I'm no prude but this just seemed like a cynical attempt to make it an 'adult' story and was jarring alongside the fantastical historical elements that drew me to the book.

Early in the story it's established that 'History' (some nebulous entity with no attempt at an explanation) won't allow timelines and events to be disrupted... and from then on all the characters do is lay waste to this principle (guns in ancient Egypt anyone?) with weakly justified motives.

Chuck in some Dr Who-esque* 'timey-wimey' hand-waving with not even an attempt at justification, a central relationship that it's hard to care about because the characters are so one-dimensional, and a lot of supposedly witty dialogue which borders on the monotonous... and I won't be buying the numerous sequels!

I finished the book because I always do, but this one was not for me.


*At least Dr Who attempts some explanation, convoluted as it usually is, so that suspension of disbelief can be somewhat achieved.

38 people found this helpful

Fantastic and fasinating romp through time

Would you consider the audio edition of Just One Damned Thing After Another to be better than the print version?

A fantastic and engaging performance.

What other book might you compare Just One Damned Thing After Another to, and why?

I'm a great fan of time travel adventures such as Arthur C Clarke's Time Odessy and Doctor who. This book brought an unusual but somewhat comfortable and very British feel to time travel.

What does Zara Ramm bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I enjoyed the portrayal of the characters set out buy the tones and warmth of Zara Ramm's voice. The performance really brought the book to life.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A very British romp through time, with tea.

Any additional comments?

Extremely enjoyable - give it a try!

18 people found this helpful

New Author

Would you consider the audio edition of Just One Damned Thing After Another to be better than the print version?

I have never read any of these books before, I found them brilliant. I love the character and it is narrated so well.

Many thanks

What did you like best about this story?

The character of Max is great.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I think the charge of dinosaur alley was the best visually described scene

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

bringing history to life for all

13 people found this helpful

A good idea, ruined. Teen fiction written badly.

What disappointed you about Just One Damned Thing After Another?

Takes a great idea (time travel) and manages to do it very badly indeed. Sociopathic, self-centred, one-dimensional characters. No wit or humour. No plot development or cleverness. Ironically, a seeming contempt for the science and engineering elements of time-travel. Needs serious editing and some help from someone who knows funny.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jodi Taylor again?

Probably not.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Zara Ramm?

To inject some humour - Brian Blessed.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

This is my first and, hopefully my last, negative review! :-)

12 people found this helpful

fast paced... a bit bonkers..and a lot of fun!

I enjoyed this even though as the title suggested things just kept going wrong for the intended hard working people of St Mary's.
just downloaded book 2 and the free 2.5 one. action packed and interesting range of characters. something very different for me but I really enjoyed it...now...must get on with the next book!

12 people found this helpful

Odd mix, jumping around but will buy the next book

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

I liked the voice of the author showing as one liners which came through the story.

The sex scene was unexpected, I'm not a prude but the car was full of my family, and I'm a bloke.

Would you recommend Just One Damned Thing After Another to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, as a series of short stories.

What three words best describe Zara Ramm’s performance?

Need more words. Zara carried the voice of the author very well. I assumed she was the author.

Was Just One Damned Thing After Another worth the listening time?

Yes, if you have lots of 30 minute journeys in the car. this is not a long story, but lots of shorts.

11 people found this helpful

Good British Chaps win the day by muddling through

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was that St. Mary's, both the institution and the people who give their lives to it, are quintessentially English in the way that they muddle through from one crisis to the next. They break the rules when the rules are silly or even when they're just inconvenient. They are chaotic to the point of recklessness, irreverent and prone to inappropriate humour, they're driven by a passion to do the right thing, they stumble over the simple day-to-day aspects of life, they are emotionally inarticulate, deeply loyal, keep their heads in a crisis, move TOWARDS the gunfire and do what needs to be done to make a bad situation better and, no matter how battered or beaten they are, if someone asks how they're doing the answers is always "I'm perfectly fine. Apart from a few cuts, scratches, a broken arm and a mild concussion. Nothing to worry about."

Of course, the English aren't REALLY like this, but they'd like to be. They're probably the ONLY ONES who'd like to be. Which is where the charm and the emotional impact of this book lies. It gets inside this mindset and helps you fall in love with it. If you're NOT going to fall in love with it, you won't make it to the end of the book. If you do fall in love with it, then, like me, you'll be buying the second book in the series pronto.

I am, of course, aware that this is a most improper review. I should have started by saying how this is about plucky time travelling historians from a near-future England, who, working in secret, find out what really happened in key historical events by the simple expedient of turning up, taking notes and trying not to get killed. I should have described the struggle between the good guys from St. Mary's and the bad guys who started in St. Mary's but didn't stay because they were the wrong sort: serious, power-hungry, organized and with no sense of humour at all. I should have commented on how well Jodi Taylor writes the historical scenes set behind the lines in the Battle of the Somme and gives a remarkably effective pen sketch of what it was like to be an unarmed civilian on the receiving end of a cavalry charged by the 15th Hussars in the Peterloo Massacre in 1819.

Instead, I rushed on to the bits I found most important. Perhaps the spirit of St. Mary's is infectious. I hope so.

This is the book I was hoping for when I bought Connie Willis' "Blackout" and "All Clear" novels (which I didn't manage to finish - so disappointing after her wonderful "Doomsday Book").

Part of what makes the madcap Englishness of St Mary's so appealing is that it is seen through the eyes of Madeleine Maxwell, "Max", a brilliant and brave woman who also has "damaged misfit" written all the way through her like "Brighton" in a bar of rock. Max is insightful and brave and dedicated and also distracted, socially inept, emotionally withdrawn, constantly in trouble with authority and ceaselessly, ravenously curious.

She is a well drawn character who makes the whole novel credible. Her relationships, her actions in the face of disaster, her breakdowns and her triumphs humanize what could otherwise have felt like a description of a slightly smug boy's club.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to meet the English as they ought to be.

By the way, the attitude to History (which of course has a capital H) is also very British. The title of the book is actually the definition offered by the influential British historian, Arnold Toynbee: "It's just one damned thing after another."

133 people found this helpful

Time to collect the t

Any additional comments?

This reminded me of Angelmaker and The Girl With All The Gifts, which is definitely not a bad thing. Dystopia, alternative history, gobby protagonist. All good. It's a pacy gallop from mediaeval times to the First World War to the world of the T. rex and then off to Alexandria. It's definitely a "one more chapter before I go to sleep/work/clean up" story. Time travel which isn't time travel, historians armed with manure powered flamethrowers and characters drawn clearly, with humour and who have something of a history are fun. I think I'll be gathering more of this series soon.

10 people found this helpful

wonderful

a wonderful, quirky, typically English story. Lovely, likeable characters and a fun filled, action packed, if only it were true plot. Excellent pace keeps the listener interested from start to finish. Narrator was superb. I will definitely be reading more from this author

10 people found this helpful