
The Very First Damned Thing
An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
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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?
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Time travel is one of science fiction's most popular subgenres. Fans are drawn to its infinite possibilities, offering a glimpse into past cultures, societies, and pivotal events while exploring big what if? questions. What if you knew what would happen next in your life? What if you could go back and change history? What if you did change history? With this guide, you're sure to find an exciting audiobook to transport you to the perfect place in another time.
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By: Jodi Taylor
-
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- A Christmas Short-Story Collection
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Zara Ramm, Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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This festive collection takes you from Frogmorton Farm to the Time Police HQ in five short stories from across the worlds of Jodi Taylor - including the internationally bestselling Chronicles of St Mary's series. It wouldn't be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year without riotous misbehaviour, traditional illegal expeditions, and a story you just can't stop listening to.
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The Most Wonderful Collection of the Year
- By Dave on 12-02-23
By: Jodi Taylor
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The Nothing Girl
- The Frogmorton Farm Series, Book 1
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Getting a life isn't always easy. And hanging on to it is even harder.... Jodi Taylor brings all her comic writing skills to this heartwarming tale of self-discovery. Known as The Nothing Girl because of her severe stutter and chronically low self-confidence, Jenny Dove is only just prevented from ending it all by the sudden appearance of Thomas, a mystical golden horse only she can see. Under his guidance Jenny unexpectedly acquires a husband - the charming and chaotic Russell Checkland.
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So much better than I expected
- By MarilynArms on 07-25-15
By: Jodi Taylor
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The Stranger Times
- The Stranger Times, Book 1
- By: C. K. McDonnell
- Narrated by: Brendan McDonald
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), The Stranger Times is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor...well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.
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Animal abuse
- By Meep on 10-26-21
By: C. K. McDonnell
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The Shadow Queen
- By: C. J. Redwine
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and her father's life. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common - magic. She'll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.
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I wish a had read the book.
- By Jennifer on 08-20-16
By: C. J. Redwine
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Paranormal Real Estate
- Dirk Cooper, Book 1
- By: Matthew Howry
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The problems in Dirk Cooper's life were ghosts, money and the Mob. The solution was real estate. Join notable hobo Dirk Cooper as he lies, cheats and steals his way through life, desperate to recover the things he lost during the housing crash of 2008. When he is approached by a wealthy and powerful man with haunted houses to sell, Dirk thinks his troubles are over. Things are not as they seemed, however, and soon he is caught up in a web of dark magic and danger the likes of which he has never encountered before.
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really refreshing, can't wait for more
- By riley on 05-13-22
By: Matthew Howry
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3zekiel
- By: Peter Cawdron
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Deep within the Congo, a team of scientists prepares for the greatest event in the history of humanity, making first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species. Only the jungle is no place for doubts. Could first contact be our last?
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avoid this book
- By Ralf Månsson on 07-19-22
By: Peter Cawdron
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The Accidental Alchemist
- By: Gigi Pandian
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, herbalist and reformed alchemist Zoe Faust can't help but notice she's picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-half-foot gargoyle - not to mention a master of French cuisine - and he needs Zoe's expertise to decipher a centuries-old text. Zoe, who's trying to put her old life behind her, isn't so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past... until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.
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Brixton ruined this for me.
- By Meep on 02-05-17
By: Gigi Pandian
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The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (Dramatized Adaptation)
- By: Drew Hayes
- Narrated by: full cast, Christopher Walker, Nora Achrati, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
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Some people are born boring. Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night, Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world.
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No Kirby means No Fred
- By Rubin S. Bashir on 01-04-21
By: Drew Hayes
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Written in Dead Wax
- The Vinyl Detective, Book 1
- By: Andrew Cartmel
- Narrated by: Ben Allen
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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He is a record collector and a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the Vinyl Detective, and some people take this more literally than others. For example, the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording on behalf of an extremely wealthy yet shadowy client. And so begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the rarest jazz record of them all....
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Outstanding narration!
- By John S. on 01-31-17
By: Andrew Cartmel
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The Extinction Trials
- By: A.G. Riddle
- Narrated by: John Skelley
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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After a mysterious global event known only as “The Change”, six strangers wake up in an underground research facility where they learn that they’re part of the Extinction Trials - a scientific experiment to restart the human race. But the Extinction Trials harbors a very big secret. And so does the world outside.
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Not his best
- By Mark D on 11-06-21
By: A.G. Riddle
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The Devil and the Dark Water
- By: Stuart Turton
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?
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A decent yarn
- By Molly on 10-16-20
By: Stuart Turton
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His Dark Materials: Once upon a Time in the North
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: David Harewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe, Lee Scoresby—Texan aeronaut and future friend to Lyra Belacqua—is just 24 years old, and he's recently won his hot-air balloon in a poker game. He finds himself floating North to the windswept Arctic island of Novy Odense, where he and his hare daemon Hester are quickly tangled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis from the Dakota Country, a hired killer with at least twenty murders to his name.
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Great story
- By Wendy Strgar, sagebrushbooks on 10-04-24
By: Philip Pullman
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.
Not a great way to start this series...
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I love this series!
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Zzzzzzz
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Beginner
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If you could sum up The Very First Damned Thing in three words, what would they be?
Time travel politicsWhat was one of the most memorable moments of The Very First Damned Thing?
Newcomers wonder at traveling at the firstWhat about Jodi Taylor’s performance did you like?
Pronunciation and crisp tonesDid you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Maybe a smile or twoGreat intro to the series
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Once he is awarded the old campus of St Mary’s to house the organization, he has to manage to work around the Society for the Protection of Historical Buildings so that he can remodel the buildings for labs and travel base with all the necessary security and precautions. Since funds are scarce, the staff find an interesting source for furniture to help make the place a home.
I enjoyed the humor especially as Bairstow found just the right team and brought them together one by one. If you have read (or listened) to any of the series, you will get to find out how the Institute came to exist and how the staff came to join St Mary’s. If you have not yet experienced the fun of meeting the characters then this is a quick, enjoyable way to do it. I also enjoyed the bit of history that comes along with the story.
I recommend this as a quick, fun way to get a feel for the series. It is lovely that this is a free audiobook.
Audio Notes: I enjoyed the audio presentation by the author, Jodi Taylor. Her voice suited the tale and it was interesting to get her personal inflection on the characters as they were rounded together. Although I imagine the reading would be good too, I was glad to get to listen to this short beginning.
Quick Fun Listen - Introduces the Series Nicely!
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I am a huge fan of time travel and historical fiction (Outlander series; A Time Traveler’s Wife; Narnia) and historical fiction (anything by Ken Follett). This introduction sets a promising foundation for an intriguing series. I also love the British accents! I plan to begin book 1 right away.
Leaves you wanting more...
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Mixed feelings
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The next book, already purchased and downloaded, is creating apprehension due to a different narrator; We shall see. Off we go as the adventure continues. :-)
One of the FEW author read books that I enjoyed.
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Dreadfully Dull
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