The Very First Damned Thing
An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
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The Very First Damned Thing
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Narrated by:
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Jodi Taylor
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By:
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Jodi Taylor
About this listen
Audible is delighted to bring you an exclusive, author-read production of The Very First Damned Thing. Hear it here first, months ahead of the EBook publication.
Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war.
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?
©2015 Jodi Taylor (P)2015 Audible Ltd.What listeners say about The Very First Damned Thing
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Kereopa
- 27-05-2019
👍
Thanks for your books. You’re a good writer. Especially love the free stuff! Keep it up.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thomas Blackman-Bishop
- 07-06-2019
An Exciting Begining
this free short story drew me into a whirlwind adventure I would not escape from for months.
Terrible and beautiful, I am glad I took the time to listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Karen Campbell
- 11-07-2021
Better read than listened to
Even though this is a prequel, it is better read after the first book. The story is not terribly engaging and if you did not know what was to come next, this book would not entice you to continue. If you have read the first book, then it is fun to see how all of the characters began.
Although it is written with Jodi Taylor's usual engaging mix of fun and pathos, her delivery as a narrator is very wooden and detracts from the story. I am sure I would have appreciated some moments of the plot much more had it been delivered with the enthusiasm the characters deserve.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maureen
- 24-01-2024
Great insight to the series. Poor narration.
Well written and provides extra backstory leading
into a wonderful series. However, most authors should not narrate their own books and unfortunately the same holds true here. It was difficult to stick it out to the end and I only managed it due to its relevance to the series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kaz
- 03-11-2017
Best to read this out of order
This book is marked as 0.5 in the series and indeed, in chronological order it does come first (yes, I do realise that for this series stating that there is a chronological order is almost contradictory). However, I only came across this book after reading the first two in the series and I believe that reading those two first gave me a lot more insight, and enjoyment, than I would have had if I had truly read this one first.
I love these books by Jodi Taylor, but I woods urge you to read this particular one out of its numbered sequence in order to get the most from the story. Having said that, this book gives you an understanding of the history of St Mary's and Dr Barstow's role in setting up the zany institution.
Finally, I have become accustomed to hearing the stories narrated by another narrator and was slightly less enthusiastic in hearing the author narrate her own book. Nothing wrong with her reading of course, it was simply different to the usual narrator.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 06-10-2022
Funny. Would have preferred a different narrator.
This was my first experience of this series and I don't think it is a good place to start. Apart from the opening narrative, which took time to grab me, but did eventually pull me in,, the rest of the book is bitty. I imagine if you already love these characters, all this would be completely forgivable.
The author is clear and adequate as a narrator, but an actor who performed the book, rather than just read it aloud, would have enhanced the humour that suffuses the book, with a few laugh out loud moments. I think if I read it to myself, or an actor had performed it, there would have been many more embarrassing snorting laughs.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Readalot
- 02-01-2023
Prequel
This prequel to the Chronicles of St Mary's explains some things about how and why Dr Bairstow set up St Mary's but leaves me in the dark about others. I've read quite a few of the series, including most of the short stories, and this one was a welcome addition. Read by the author, it sounds a bit different from Zara Ramm's rendition of the others, but it was fun. Time Travel (although they don't want you to call it that) is involved as a man travels back from the future to set up the organisation he manages in that future. Confused? So am I! Mind, a bit of confusion never hurt anyone in St Mary's.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kerin James
- 18-07-2023
A Rollicking Read
Loved this one. Pacy. Great premise. Fun. A heroine that is witty, sarcastic, smart and tough.
Having just discovered this series, now I’ll have to read them all! Magnificent narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patches
- 25-04-2021
Wonderful filler for this amazing series
So great to hear how it all started
To hear this in the authors own telling certainly enhanced the listening
We are used to hearing the tales in Max’s voice but this story is set pre Max’s arrival so the change in narrator was not of consequence
Thank you Jodie
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-06-2021
Wonderful story but recording could br better
Great pre-story but I don’t think it was a good choice for the author to narrate. Voices too similar & an actor would be a better choice as narrator.
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