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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I made it almost 4 months since finishing The Good, the Bad, and the History before I caved and went back to the beginning. I can believe it's been 4 years since I first fell into the world of St. Mary's. Starting again was something special... like finding the familiar indented spot on your favorite couch. I grabbed the book from my shelf on a whim, got stuck in, and 24 hours later was done.
I raised the rating to 5 stars because, though it still has a few flaws, I love it so so much. The humor. The chaos. The wickedly fast pace. And I think I had more grace this time for some of my original complaints, due partly to getting comfortable with Taylor's writing style over the years and also due to the fact that I know where this all goes. Small clunky moments with the plot and with a few characters aren't a huge deal to me now that I know she will get it right later.
I'm a die hard fan of these audiobooks and would strongly recommend them, but I actually enjoyed reading a paperback this time around. I hope it will get more and more worn and weathered in the years to come. But don't worry, I still hear Zara Ramm as Max in my head.
So maybe it's a sentimental rating, but screw it, it's one of my favorite series of all time. I know there will be low points (if fact one might be coming next...), so I don't think all of them will make it out with better ratings. But this is about as perfect of a start as you can get.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was a light, enjoyable, and funny read until the “mind blowing sex” scene on the hood of a car. 🙄 I was willing to look past the fake English accent and mispronounced dinosaur names. Can’t finish this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Violence
I think I've found a new addiction.. This just has it all. Great writing, strong female protagonist, surprising plot twists, great use of time travel and all coated in a gooey layer of fun. Well, that and tea;
Good thing there's many many more of these...
Good thing there's many many more of these...
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Wow, this was great. If you like Connie Willis' time travel books, especially To Say Nothing of the Dog, you will love this. First in a series. A historian the dream job she didn't know existed, the tiny and ever underfunded and undermanned St Mary's Institute of Historical Research uses time travel to verify historic events. They mustn't ever ever EVER try to change anything because History fights back. Death and casualties are common (thus the undermanned problem). And it really is just one damned thing after another no matter how easy and innocuous a plan appears. Fun and hilarious. I highly recommend and fully intend to read the rest of the series.
I really wanted to like this book and the time traveling department. I initially picked it up because it kep being recommended on a meme about running the clothing department for the time travelling agency. Sadly, that part was not present in this book. I appreciate the necessary prep work, but got annoyed at the MC and the general plot. For what it is worth, they somehow all felt British though.
I wanted to like this book. I really did, and I do - sort of. It was an interesting concept - time travel for observation and information. The deal-breaker was the main character - Max. She was just a little too lucky and a little too perfect at everything. She always came up with the perfect solution. Very annoying.
This is a frolicking, completely non-serious, adventure. If you like the shoe "The Librarians" or possibly even Daniel O'Malley's "The Rook," you will most likely also enjoy this "woman becomes agent in Secret Society, deals with external and internal issues, discovers her own competence, and also encounters fun, fantastical stuff" book.
Max, whose specialty is the ancient world, takes a mysterious job with St Mary's (affiliated with Thirsk University) after a college mentor makes an introduction.
The interview is very mysterious, and involves copious amounts of non-disclosure agreement signing as well as progressively more eccentric and crazy personnel.
It culminates in a job offer with time-traveling historical society. But there is evil afoot, as well as some good, old fashioned bureaucratic infighting, not to mention a handsome techie guy.
Thus the adventure begins. Some editing and polishing could have smoothed over some of the awkward plot jumps, and maybe cut back some of the overgrown, rampant, educational bureaucracy jokes, as well as made some of the multitude of red-shirt subcast that often gets offed a little more stand out.
(and romantic interest at one point has a complete brain-function failure that somehow resolves itself instantly near the end of the book)
But the time travel for history and fun aspect is super-fun. Fine for some light reading entertainment. Don't go in with huge expectations of scientific time travel treatment or character development.
Max, whose specialty is the ancient world, takes a mysterious job with St Mary's (affiliated with Thirsk University) after a college mentor makes an introduction.
The interview is very mysterious, and involves copious amounts of non-disclosure agreement signing as well as progressively more eccentric and crazy personnel.
It culminates in a job offer with time-traveling historical society. But there is evil afoot, as well as some good, old fashioned bureaucratic infighting, not to mention a handsome techie guy.
Thus the adventure begins. Some editing and polishing could have smoothed over some of the awkward plot jumps, and maybe cut back some of the overgrown, rampant, educational bureaucracy jokes, as well as made some of the multitude of red-shirt subcast that often gets offed a little more stand out.
(and romantic interest at one point has a complete brain-function failure that somehow resolves itself instantly near the end of the book)
But the time travel for history and fun aspect is super-fun. Fine for some light reading entertainment. Don't go in with huge expectations of scientific time travel treatment or character development.
The Time Travelling Adventures of Mary Sue (Trying - and Mostly Failing - to be Funny)
Connie Willis executed this premise so much better.
Connie Willis executed this premise so much better.