https://killingmykindle.com/2018/03/19/episode-1-11-time-after-damned-time/ Wherein I Review: 35. Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett 36. The Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat #8) by Harry Harrison 37. Blood and Lemonade by Joe R. Lansdale 38. Just One Damned Thing After Another (St. Mary’s Chronicles #1) by Jodi Taylor Hap and Leonard do a very special clip show, still following the exploits of the inexplicable rat, I ponder what it’d be like if Johnny Appleseed or Paul Bunyan went serial killer, and I finally find time travel […]
This book left me debating whether to give the series a second chance
This is the third book in The Chronicles of Saint Mary’s. I have been listening to this book for a about a month, which is a long time in audiobooks. I started listening to the audiobook in February during a brainless task at work. That task stopped while I was mid-book and since then I would occasionally listen to it on my drive home, but not with any consistency. I think after three books, even if they are from the same series, I can conclude that I […]
Chaotic Dash Through Time to Save England’s History
This is the second book in The Chronicles of Saint Mary’s and like the first book; I listened to this one in audio form. I’m still not 100% sold on audio format, but I like the narrator for this series and I had a long, brainless task at work that needed to get done so an audio book was called for. So once again, I dived into the chaotic world of Saint Mary’s. I suppose the basic plot of A Symphony of Echoes is that […]
Beware the Thingummy
It worries me that I sense a pattern here, and it’s only book 2. Open with adventure, something bad happens, but not too bad. Second, bigger, adventure during which Max suffers a personal crisis, probably involving Leon. Third major adventure during which crisis one is either solved or rendered unimportant. End on quasi-hopeful/positive note with promise of more trouble next time. I don’t have a problem with the plot or the pacing in A Symphony of Echoes, but I worry that when a general pattern […]
There’s certainly a lot of damned things that happen
If there’s one thing that can be said about this book, it’s that it lives up to its title. The premise is fascinating: An institute of historical research called St Mary’s, associated with the (also fictional) University of Thirsk in northern England, is not the stuffy old institution it appears to be but actually conducts its historical research in the most contemporary way possible–they go back in time and observe the events firsthand. The main character, Dr Madeleine Maxwell, called Max, is recruited by St […]
Dr Who Meets The Rook with Game of Thrones-level Dysfunction
I picked up Just One Damned Thing After Another because I had been considering it and because I had a coupon for a local bookstore, and I don’t say no to those often. I usually don’t like first person narrative and I still don’t, but there was enough story and character here to over-ride that instinct. This story can’t quite decide if it wants to be action-adventure, character driven, sci-fi, or romance-drama. While it’s not a total success, overall the blend works pretty well. The problem […]