Chronicles of St Marys Books In Order

Publication Order of Chronicles Of St. Mary's Books

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series are about a group of historical researchers at St. Mary’s. While they do use time travel as part of their job, their research focuses not on time travel rather they look into major current historical events. In other words, they must explain, report and observe the many different things that have happened throughout the course of history. All without dying. And history is not exactly keen to just let things be changed; it will protect itself against people coming along and trying to change it. There are bad people in the books that steal time machines to try and do just that. The only oversight the group has, comes from the university that funds them; providing them with a lot of freedom to do mostly whatever they want. They are led by a woman named Max, who narrates the stories. She is feisty and smart, perfect and yet flawed. Other characters in the series include, the Boss, the gang in R&D, professors Dr. Dowson and Rapson, Leon (who is the love interest for Max) and Mrs. Mack.

“Just One Damned Thing After Another”, the first book in the “Chronicles of St. Mary’s” by Jodi Taylor, was released in September 2013, The group of people who are employed at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research is bouncing around, through different historical events looking into the reasons why certain things have happened. From London in the eleventh century, to World War One, to the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. Wherever they go, chaos is bound to be right behind them. If they are involved, something is bound to catch on fire.

Fans of the book have praised the book for their inability to put the book and stop reading it, readers liked the lead character, Max, for being fully fleshed out and she has a distinctive, engaging, and the way the author combines many different genres in the book; these include: mystery, comedy, science fiction, tragedy, fantasy, and romance (even some erotica, for those who are into that). Readers felt like reading this book, they had read an entire series as opposed to a single novel. Some people did not like the plot holes that were found in the book, all were time travel related. Multiple reviewers stated that the book is nothing but plagiarism, with the original book, they believe, being written by Connie Willis, and they find her series to be more immersive. Reviewers have also criticized the book for featuring proofreading errors, and needing better editing.

“A Symphony of Echoes”, the second book in the “Chronicles of St. Mary’s” series by Jodi Taylor, was released at the end of 2013, two months after the first book came out. The research team is back. In this book, they are looking into who Jack the Ripper is by travelling to London in the Victorian era, and they see Archbishop Thomas A. Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. They also find out something about dodos when they eat cucumber sandwiches. They also have to battle someone who is willing to bring an end to History if it means they can destroy St. Mary’s.

Fans of this book, liked that it featured characters whose stories continued and were made into more than just cardboard cutouts. Almost all of the people who read these books, believes that Jodi Taylor can write and use language well. She can also be laugh out loud funny at times as well, and she writes fast paced stories, but does slow down once she gets to the historical events. The books are light reading, but also feature some serious moments. Some readers found Max’s behavior surprising in the way that she acts; this time she has hardened up and is no longer unsure of how to act in a given situation, and she has a hard time trusting people. Readers who did not like the book found that Taylor relies too heavily on the idea that if the Institute is involved, something, somewhere has to blow up.

These two books are only the beginning, a taste of what future books will have in store. There are other events to be seen, other obstacles for the research team to overcome. For example, the death of Richard III, Calpurnia’s real thoughts on Cleopatra, and readers will also read about the destruction and later rebuilding of the home of the St Mary’s research facility that Max and her group work at. Max never gets a moment of rest with Leon. There’s always something to see, something to fight off extinction from.

Fans of the series cannot bear to take their time and read a new book in the series when it comes out, and they are left wondering what will happen next, and waiting for the next installment in the series. They devour any new story within hours of release, whether it be a short story or novel.

As of yet, no word of an adaptation to either make the series of novels into a TV series of some kind or a movie or series of movies has been made. Although, a lot of people believe that it is inevitable for this series to be turned into either a TV show or movie.

Jodi Taylor is the author of this popular series, and she originally self published “Just One Damned Thing After Another” and it sold 60,000 on Amazon. She has written over five novels in the series, as well as more than two short stories in the series, she has also written another series called “Regency”, as well as a standalone contemporary romance novel, with an accompanying short story that follows it . Her inspiration for the series comes from her intense love of history; she wanted to write a novel about time travel, but was not sure how to make it a reality and would make things tough for people trying to put the series into one category by placing a lot of different genre elements into the series. She believes that copies of novels from the series can be placed in each category and it would accurate.

6 Responses to “Chronicles of St Marys”

1. jgfox: 8 years ago

   As a reader of SF and Fantasy since the 1950s, I am very familiar with the Great writers of the genre. Since I “read’ her series by listening on Audible, I have to say, I couldn’t stop listening to them. She belongs in the Pantheon of the Great Science Fiction writers. I also have some knowledge of history and I find her plots to be historically realistic. (I can’t say “accurate” since it IS a science fiction story.)

   Her sense of humor in some scenes is “laugh out loud” … equal to the great skits of Monty Python. Humor is needed to balance the realistic death and danger that is inherent in exploring the past. When St. Mary’s travelers get involved with the fall of Troy, Madeline Maxwell (main character) gets entangled in the battle. She and has to face whether she will be, killed or raped and killed or just raped and sold as a slave. And that is just one of the many problems facing her time traveling crew.

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2. Meran Ni Cuill: 8 years ago

   Honestly, comparing Jodi Taylor’s writing to Connie Willis is unfair.. To Ms Willis. I’ve never cared for Willis’s writing yet have grown to fan girl status with Ms Taylor’s writing and characterization!

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   • Gillian Weathers: 7 years ago

     I think the comparison is apt because of their ability to write such diverse books. The Nothing Girl, A Bachelor’s Establishment and an upcoming book may take a new turn. In the same way, Connie Willis stretches from Blackout/All Clear to Crosstalk and some amazing short stories. I love her work and Jodi Taylor’s as well so that makes the comparison reasonable to me.

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     • Meran Ni Cuill: 7 years ago

       I don’t really care for Willis’s books. Have tried too.

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       • Gillian Weathers: 7 years ago

         I understand completely. I just gaze open mouthed at people who can eat boiled okra. But I also know people who don’t understand that my espresso is a life changing experience that makes it worth it to open your eyes no matter how awful you feel. If we were all the same we would be boring. How do you feel about Anne McCaffrey? Jacqueline Winspear? Terry Pratchett? Ellis Peters? Joan Hess? I am so old that most of my favorites are not writing books anymore.

         Tell me you hate romances. Actually the problem with romances is that there are no men in them. If you look closely, the men in romances turn out to be women in secret. They talk and act like the friends you most love. No man wants to know how you feel, what you imagine he meant when he said something two days ago or the living room decor you are beginning to imagine. Men in romance novels do. lol

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         • Meran Ni Cuill: 7 years ago

           Yes, I do “hate” romances (it’s not ~quite at that level)

           Loved McCaffrrey, when I was younger and the books came out (I’m old as dirt); love Pratchett; and Ellis Peters; don’t know Winspear or Joan Hess? Why? Those I know don’t write like Willis, are quite different, actually.

           I also like okra in soup 😊

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