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Jodi Taylor – Just One Damned Thing After Another | Review

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another

Author: Jodi Taylor

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 406

Rating: 5*/5

Jodi Taylor – Just One Damned Thing After Another

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book was a delight to read, something refreshing that I could really sink my teeth into. It’s one of those books where every time it feels like it’s drawing to a close, something exciting happens and shakes things up again. It works well and makes it hard to put the book down.

The author also has a cracking sense of humour, and the subtle little jokes that she uses – as well as the not-so-subtle ones – make it more fun than a regular novel, although she doesn’t skimp on plot and character development, either. I even liked the little bit of sex that was involved, because it was just the right amount – it didn’t feel gratuitous, it felt realistic, and it genuinely added to the story.

Ah, the story. It’s interesting because the world-building here is as good as anything else you’ll see on the market. It’s a bit like Harry Potter for history geeks, a little bit like Rick Riordan but for adults, and with less magic. If anything, it’s sci fi. It follows what happens to the residents of St. Mary’s, a faculty with the ability to travel back in time to observe it. Of course, the temptation there is to meddle, but it’s not that easy. History has teeth and it bites back. You can’t just go and change it because it won’t let you.

I’m not going to give you all of the details, but I will tell you that you get to see a whole bunch of different historical periods, including the time of the dinosaurs – where, incidentally, it all goes a bit pear-shaped. But on top of that, it’s also just a cracking story, a page-turner that drags you in and sets up the rest of the series. I don’t have any of the other books yet, but I shall certainly be looking out for them. It reminds me of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, except I only got as far as the first book for that one and I’d like to follow this one all of the way – and fast. I want to find out what happens to the St. Mary’s team next. Read it!

Jodi Taylor

Click here to buy Just One Damned Thing After Another.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Lost World | Review

Title: The Lost World

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 280

Rating: 10/10

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Lost World

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s depiction of an area of the South American rainforest that still harbours prehistoric life is legendary. The writer, best-known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, also dabbled in science fiction and medical writing, and although in his later life he wasted a large amount of time dabbling with the occult and the spiritual, that didn’t affect his prolific productivity.

The Lost World is similar in premise to the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, and I can’t help but wonder where to draw the line between imitation and plagiarism. Professor Challenger, an imposing old man based on the real-life figure of William Rutherford, discovers a lost world, which is populated by prehistoric life.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Professor is joined by journalist Ed Malone, fellow scientist Professor Summerlee and the adventurous Lord John Roxton. Together, the party travels to the place where Challenger found evidence of the lost world, and what they find there is astonishing.

Interestingly, Professor Challenger returned in a number of other Conan Doyles novels, including The Poison Belt and The Land of Mist, the latter of which is about the supernatural and comes about as a result of Conan Doyle’s spurious spiritual beliefs. He’s a good character – bull-headed, entertaining, intellectual and aggressive, all at the same time. You’ll like him.

In all seriousness, this book is phenomenal – as good as, or even better than, the Sherlock Holmes stories. I strongly recommend you buy a copy and check it out – just beware of the dinosaurs and don’t get caught by the missing links.