Lj Book Bingo Reading Game - J is for Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

[byslantedlight]

The temperature gauge on the outside wall of my office shed says its 16C - 16C! My gmail screen, which is supposed to reflect the weather where I am, says it's snowing... *headdesk*

Anyway! I have finally finished this book, and can take it back to the library - and glad I am too that I didn't succumb to its lure and buy it. It's Book One of the Chronicles of St Mary's, and in theory it's right up my alley - a woman is recruited to St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, and finds out that her job is going to involve travelling through time. Doctor Who with extra history, right? Sadly no - with less character development, less thought and care for the world, less... mostly less. It's described in various reviews as a "roller-coaster" and "rollicking good fun" and things like that, which I'm now taking to mean that the author was hoping for movie deal. And that's probably not fair, because it was apparently self-published to start with, and then a publisher picked it up, and it's apparently "an internationally bestselling series".

The main character, Max, reads to me very much as a Mary Sue - even her mistakes and flaws turn out to have brilliant consequences and only serve to show how actually perfect she is. Everyone falls in love with her and wants her (of course she knows exactly how to fight them off). She's wise-cracking and wise and physically fit and beautiful of course, and she has all the depth of toast. I couldn't keep track of half the other characters either, who often seem to have been brought in so that they could do something evil and then be killed, or to create a bit of an emotional connection and then be killed.

Actually I couldn't even work out the setting for ages - it's apparently the UK but the NHS is long gone. There was eventually some other clue that it was set in the future, and the world is somewhat dystopian (apparently the US has cut itself off from the rest of the world entirely - which you'd never guess from all the Americanisms, mind you (okay, future world, yes, language has changed, but...), all of which would be hugely interesting as part of the world building, but we have to work out from two random bits of information instead and are not allowed to be interested in it...

They're historians who time-travel! This should be brilliant! There are various plotlines that have excellent scope, and I gather there's something about history not letting itself be screwed around with, but I can't wade through any more MarySue-ness or shallow reflection to find out, I'm afraid. I'm just not convinced any of them are going to be developed. I'm being mega-negative about this book I know, but I think that's because I was so disappointed! It just doesn't seem to say anything from its excellent premise, it just shoots from one bit of action that shows how brilliant the heroine is to another...

But it fills in my "J". *g*

Comments

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

Yes! I agree with you in every way, and cannot for the life of me understand the love for this series.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's odd isn't it - it's just sort of...lots of stuff in a row, done by an annoying person... I spotted on goodreads that I wasn't the only person to think MarySue too, but so many people seem to have thought it was good... I suppose in the way that sometimes you just feel like junk food that you know is no good, but is a reasonably tasty way to fill your mouth on its way to your stomach... Only no, that doesn't work either, because I didn't find it at all tasty...

[keli]

all the depth of toast.
HAHAHA *snorts*

Oh I hate Mary Sues. I can understand why this one didn't go over well. But you're right, you covered j! Good job!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

The one thing I really wasn't expecting it to be was a MarySue!!

But yeay, thank you! *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess it was worth something. *g* But what a disappointment! I've learned so check the reviews carefully. Often, the "three stars" or less tell you more about the book, and give a good indication if I'm going to like it or not.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - it was worth a "J"! *g* I do tend to check reviews if I'm going to buy a book, but they're generally very mixed, and I've really liked books that other people have given one or two stars, and hated books that they've given five stars (and lots of people gave this one three or four), so it can be hard to tell unless you find people you know have the same tastes as you... This one was actually from the library, so I just picked it up, but I do remember deciding not to buy it ages ago because the reviews sounded a bit dodgy...

My next book is along the same lines, review-wise in fact, so I'll let you know how it goes! *g*

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I have friends who rave about this series, which is why I tried the first one. And like you, borrowed it from the library. Only, unlike you, I gave up and took it back before I finished it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's funny, isn't it - but I guess half the point of life is that we all like different books! It took me ages to realise that some people really liked stories that were "told" rather than "shown" (not that this one was), and I guess this must be a similar thing...

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I have friends who have avidly read every single one of the St Mary's series — I read a couple of them but, like you, they really didn't do much for me — I felt reading any more would have been a chore not a pleasure. I'm actually glad to see that you feel like you do about them! I hadn't even realised they were meant to be in the future rather that more or less when they were written.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It took me quite a while to realise they were written in the future - but then it took me ages to work out who half the characters were too. I just... I just want to give it a proper edit for readability! It's funny, isn't it - and then other people clearly don't notice/mind...

[helenraven.livejournal.com]

A friend gave me the first two in the series about a month ago, so obviously I had to read them.

I quite liked Max's gung ho attitude and the handling of the action scenes in the first book — it was all quite refreshingly brisk — but then we had the miscarriage, with her not realising she was pregnant even though three months had elapsed, and not stopping to register the missed periods even after she'd been told she'd miscarried, and then two men in the space of two pages reacting to the news of her miscarriage by calling her a whore — and her patching things up with her lover after that without apparently feeling any need to have a chat with him about what had been going on with him when he'd had that extraordinary reaction and... Wow, but this seems to be fanfic written by someone who is pre-adolescent.

I then did read the second book, and it had all the same problems, but with the stupid starting so early I couldn't even enjoy any early action sequences. I'm now trying to figure out how to find enough positive to say to show the friend that I really did read them, thank you, but to ensure she won't surprise me with any more in the series.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

so obviously I had to read them
Oh no...!

It really did seem like not-great fanfic - well, I still swear Mary-Sue fanfic... Oh, and the men constantly calling Max names like that really bugged me, to the point where I wondered if the author was actually a woman in the first place. I mean - do we have to perpetuate that kind of crap rather than nudging it out of the way to suggest a better world..?

I'm definitely glad I didn't try the second one if the stupid started even sooner.... It's so disappointing though, they could have been great.

(Also, now that I'm finally replying to these comments in my late-as-usual way, I'm reminded that I also meant to email about those old Write-Time booklets for Felicity M. Parkinson - she mentioned them again the other day, as she's still quite keen to see them... *g*)