Audiobook Novella Review – The Very First Damned Thing (Chronicles of St. Mary’s, Book 0.5) by Jodi Taylor (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 74 pages
Publisher: Accent Press
Release Date: December 25, 2015
ASIN: B01ENZOAJY
Stand Alone or Series: 0.5 book in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary’s, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come? How can he overcome the massed ranks of the Society for the Protection of Historical Buildings? How do stolen furniture, a practical demonstration at the Stirrup Charge at Waterloo, students’ alcohol-ridden urine, a widowed urban guerrilla, a young man wearing exciting knitwear, and four naked security guards all combine to become the St Mary’s of the future?”

I think this is a prequel that would have had more impact if I had read it after the first few books in the series. I picked this up for free on Audible and, while it was well-written, I was mostly confused by what was happening.

I listened to this on audiobook and the author reads it. Taylor did a good job reading it and I would recommend if you enjoy audiobooks.

This book follows a character named Dr Bairstow as he gathers funding and people for his time-traveling historical society that is being house in St. Mary’s.

A lot of characters are introduced rapidly. The book is broken into very short vignettes that show how each of these characters comes to join Dr. Bairstow’s group. Unfortunately, I haven’t read any other books in the series and don’t have any reference for all these characters, so this didn’t have a lot of impact for me and was mostly just confusing.

Overall this was okay but a bit hard to follow and choppy for me. I might have to come back and reread this after I read some of the series itself. I guess I would recommend this to fans of the series who want some more background. However, it doesn’t seem to be a good starting point if you are just starting to read the series.