Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another
Series: The Chronicles of St. Mary’s, #1
Author: Jodi Taylor
Publisher: Headline
Publication date: June 1, 2013
Length: 282 pages
Genre: Time travel
Source: Purchased
Rating:
They say that History is just one damned thing after another. Welcome to St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research – where damned things happen every day.
When Dr Madeleine ‘Max’ Maxwell is recruited by St Mary’s, she finds their methods to be somewhat unorthodox. They don’t just study the past – they actually visit it, carefully observing historical events as they unfold in real time.
And not dying. This last part is important.
The whole of History now lies before Max and her new colleagues, but, as she will discover, time travel is never straightforward. Because History doesn’t like to be messed with, and danger lurks in every century…
The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series has been on my to-read for years now. Back in January, I committed to finally starting it in 2026… and now I have, and I can’t believe I waited this long!
‘You’re feeling a bit under the weather,’ he said soothingly. ‘I know it’s natural for historians, but try not to dwell so much on the past.’
Book 1, Just One Damned Thing After Another, introduces us to the crazy world of St. Mary’s, a seemingly normal, possibly even boring, institute of historical research. But behind the front doors, something else entirely awaits. Max, a history professor in her late 20s, is recruited by St. Mary’s and learns what they’re really up to: Rather than relying on books and artifacts to understand the past, the St. Mary’s team uses time travel to visit and observe key moments and document their findings.
“… Although the phrase “time travel” is so sci-fi. We don’t do that. Here at St Mary’s we investigate major historical events in contemporary time.”
They can’t change anything while they’re there, but they’re able to report back with incredible new findings to pass along through the more official university channels. Their work is revolutionary, but government and university funders are breathing down their necks, and their continued existence is always a question mark.
Max is outspoken and fierce. After a rigorous training period — which includes everything from hand-to-hand combat to field medicine — she begins going on missions with other historians. And as she sees, these missions really are just one damned thing after another. Things go wrong often, and dramatically. Meanwhile, secrets about her colleagues at St. Mary’s change her understanding of certain situations, and betrayal from within threatens Max and everyone she cares about.
Some descriptions of this series describe it as madcap, hilarious, full of hijinks… and that may be true (and granted, I’ve only read the first book) — but I found that Just One Damned Thing After Another gets quite dark at time too. There are certainly plenty of humorous moments, and the dialogue truly makes me laugh at times. Still, there are some pretty awful things that happen to Max and others, including scenes of death and destruction, emotional collapse, and a couple of terrible moments between Max and people she trusts that are upsetting and heartbreaking.
On the whole, though, the book’s fast pace and sense of adventure keeps things moving and doesn’t force (or allow) readers to dwell for very long on the more painful moments. Meanwhile, there are ancient artifacts and extinct creatures to encounter! Even back at St. Mary’s, the inventors and scientists and researchers keep everyone on their toes (explosions, mainly unplanned, abound).
You can say this about historians, we may be the tea-drenched disaster-magnets of St Mary’s but bloody hell, can we think quickly when we have to.
My small quibble with Just One Damned Thing After Another is that there are just so many characters to keep track of! The book has a “Dramatis Thingummy” section at the beginning, listing and defining over 30 characters — which, yes, is helpful as a reference while reading, but feels really daunting as well. There are some people I never did manage to keep straight — we’ll see how many show up in the next books in the series.
Overall, I really enjoyed Just One Damned Thing After Another. The writing is upbeat and engaging, and even through the darker moments, there’s always another bright spot to look forward to. I came to love Max herself and her close colleagues and allies, thought the approach to time travel and the idea of historians as the ultimate explores were amazing, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for the St. Mary’s crew.
Will I continue this series? Absolutely. As of this moment, there are 14 novels in the series (and a long list of associated short stories), and apparently a 15th book scheduled for release in 2027. With so many books ahead of me, I’m going to try to pace myself — but I do hope to read at least one or two more by the end of this year.
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