The main character, a shy historian, was quite likable. Her behavior was interesting to observe (her actions and emotions being in danger), also she was funny, even racy sometimes, though bossy and quite slow-witted sometimes. There is just enough adult themes to temper the humour, and although it does require a bit of a stretched belief model, I do recommend it.

a b c Scott, Catherine (24 April 2014). "Getaway to the sun brings new chapter for first time novelist". The Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 4 August 2017. And there were historians with names, but no real personality traits, so I couldn't tell one from the other. Most of them were killed off at the beginning, but it didn't help me remember much about the few others who were left alive. The mission seems to be a success, but lots of things go wrong from the get go. Max, the appointed mission leader, gets distracted and tries to take even more scrolls with her once the need to retreat to the pod is voiced by another member of staff. Ronan's thugs show up at the library, too, and start shooting at them. Upon their jump to their secondary camp somewhere in the desert, they find out they've managed to rescue some fifteen thousand scrolls, but are ambushed again by Ronan in the night. As I said: endearing. Not all the characters (there are quite a lot) are equally memorable but that didn't concern me. With such a cast it was bound to happen. Also because some are MCs, some have supporting roles and some are "just" in the same picture. In contrast to a previous reviewer, I enjoyed this book much more than Connie Willis' two World War II time travel books, which I found very unsatisfying and frustrating. Jodi Tayor's character, Max, has actual relationships with other characters and all these characters are more developed. I found Max's adventures in time travel into the past much more engaging. The Willis books, while expertly researched, were pure drudgery for me.

ˌone (damned/damn) thing after aˈnother

With her then-husband, Taylor moved to Yorkshire. [6] She worked for North Yorkshire County Council for almost 20 years, [6] in positions including library facilities manager. [7] Just One Damned Thing After Another". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. 15 February 2016 . Retrieved 5 August 2017.

Just One Damned Thing After Another". USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 21 January 2016 . Retrieved 5 August 2017. Just One Damned Thing After Another was a wild roller coaster ride! It’s a time travel tale, but doesn’t care to get hung up on the theory or mechanics of it. The plot careens wildly around from place to place and event to event, and I just raced around with it. Mostly it’s about the adventures ― explosions! dinosaurs! conspiracies! ― but there’s occasionally some deeper introspection, though Jodi Taylor never lets it get in the way of the story. At least, this is what Max, Madeleine Maxwell, the young historian from the St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, would like us to believe:) I kind of agree with her - history is almost as good as very good sex, but only if you can relate to it. And in this book, the researchers at St. Mary's are doing more than relating to history - they are reliving it!!! Time travel pods are the means of transport to any desirable point in time and many rules need to be followed if one is to travel in that manner. No traveler should ever try to involve themselves in the historical time they are visiting and no emotional attachments are advisable, since after all, they are from the future and the history is in its proper timeline... This super secret Time project is very secret, and very underfunded. So, not all of the involved parties have honorable intentions as far as the Institute and its survival are concerned. Because if we have learned one thing from historical data, greed and power have always been stronger in the human character then the desire for uncovering the truth and living in near obscurity, while trying to do your best for humanity... *deep sigh* ... Alas... The narration was utterly bland. The narrator, Zara Ram might as well have read out the weather forecast, the writing on a cereal box about ingredients and nutrition info or told us that "when in doubt, consult your apothecary": there was no change, no emotions were conveyed. She had the same tone of voice, whether it was funny banter or the tragic death of a historian.

one thing after another

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!

Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And they aren’t your harmless eccentrics either; a more accurate description, as they ricochet around history, might be unintentional disaster-magnets. The premise: fascinating. Especially the part about history fighting to preserve itself, like a living entity. While Toynbee, quoting Hubbard, said that “History is just one damned thing after another”, there’s a not dissimilar quote from Oscar Wilde that also sums up this book. Wilde said that, “”Life is one fool thing after another where as love is two fool things after each other.” The following are the earliest occurrences of this phrase that I have found, up to July 1909—cf. note: If you're a fan of works from authors such as Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman then this should appeal. Although not quite the same in the sense that you don't have the fantasy animals or people, this is based on time-travel for its fantasy, it is still well written.So instead of The Invisible Library, this series’ godparents are probably Connie Willis’ time travel stories, especially Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog (both awesome) and Kage Baker’s fantastic series about The Company, beginning with In the Garden of Iden and Sky Coyote. Max, Doctor B. and Chief Farrell are three of the good and hilariously funny guys in the crew! Most of the story is told from her, Max's point of view and we get to follow her training, her friendships, her frenemies, and her propensity for disaster which obviously follows her around as a faithful puppy. I liked that the way the author let us acquaint ourselves with the main players was through their actions and banter, rather than being spoon fed descriptions and assurances about their characters. The writing stile was a bit different, but very pleasant overall and had a wonderful undertone of humor, without making the seriousness of curtain parts of the story fall flat. There were moments I was surprised by the starkness and bleakness of the mood, since I had expected just a humorous and fantastical tale of not much debt or substance. Here is for low expectations being topped!:):):) The earliest occurrence that I have found of — is just one damn thing after another used as an independent phrase is from an article about the U.S. Congress Conference committee on the tariff bill, published in the New-York Tribune ( New York City, N.Y.) of Thursday 29 th July 1909: As already mentioned, coal companies used the phrase life is just one darn thing after another in advertisements published in May 1909. Writing as Isabella Barclay (if you have read the Chronicles of St. Mary’s you will get the joke on this name) Standalone Books

Taylor, April (2 September 2014). "Interview with comedy/history writer Jodi Taylor". Luke Ballard, Detective, Apothecary and Elemancer keeping the Tudors safe at Hampton Court Palace . Retrieved 4 August 2017. Long Story Short (July 2019) – The second collection of short stories ( Christmas Past; The Battersea Barricades; The Steam-Pump Jump; And Now For Something Completely Different; When Did You Last See Your Father?; Desiccated Water; Markham and the Anal Probing; Little Donkey) Light, fun and adventurous time travel romp. Just don't think too hard about it and you'll have a great time. :)

Bob has a motto on his wall which says ‘Life is just one damned thing after another!'” said Jimmie. But I refused to smile. I was too distinctly annoyed. 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. In 1909 a character in a novel by Lilian Bell saw the following words as a motto on a wall as noted previously: Later that year, advertising slogans for coal companies became “ life is just one darn thing after another: just now it’s coal”—as, for example, in an advertisement for Churchill & Unglish’s Good Coal, published in the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) of Thursday 25 th November 1909. 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.