The Battersea Barricades (The Chronicles of St Mary’s #9.5)

OK, shoot me, only 4 stars, but I thought this over for a long time; honestly, it could have been 3. I’ve read every St. Mary’s book several times each, and this one twice. Yes, I know it’s only a short story. Yes, there is some meat and content on these bones. But, the Battersea Barricades have always been at the heart of the St. Mary’s origin story, and this gives it short shrift, told somewhat indirectly and lacking in the usual intensity and sense of being-there. The death of one character’s spouse, revealed many books ago, seems passed over here. There’s no “Merry Christmas, Ian” moment, no burning the cakes humor, nor any this-is-how-we-accidentally-saved parliamentary democracy cleverness. A story and sentiment, yes, but very thin.
***Spoiler Alert***
The aviation event at the end was strange; why not have the original pilot be tracked down and show up to relate her side of the story?

So many times, short stories for a series are lacking in depth… Wanting to tell a tale, but having to keep details to a minimum to avoid crossing into the novella realm. Not so with Jodi Taylor’s shorts! And as expected, Battersea Barricades gives just the right amount of detail. It was a story that didn’t *need* to be told, but one I’m glad was told anyway! It really fills out the characters, and answers a few questions (while also lighting the curiosity match even more!) Jodi, I hope that someday (soon!) you’ll give us a good long novel depicting the history that’s only hinted at throughout the St. Mary’s series! Why is the United States closed off? What’s the political climate in the rest of the world? How did we get there? And is there enough tea and chocolate for everyone?

Finally, some “history” of the world of St. Mary’s!

Taylor’s authorial voice makes pages and pages of expository narrative delightful rather than boring. Even more fascinating, this time she’s not talking about something “real” — this time the historical events are all from her imagination. I loved every intricate detail of it. The more specific meat of the story is told as a story to the main character, but the storytelling is just as riveting as if the main character was there, or I was viewing the events through the teller’s eyes/memories.

In bits, the tale was incredibly appropriate to current day issues. And while I still wish to learn more about the bigger picture of the world that this series inhabits, I’m not sure I’ll complain if it’s doled out in delightful stories like this one.

3.5/5

Right, we need to engage young people. How best to achieve this? I know never mind Edward II and his red-hot poker. Never mind the Curse of Tutankhamun. Never mind the Princes in the Tower. Or the Vikings. Or Attila the Hun. They wont be interested in any of that. Well give them the Agricultural Revolution and animal husbandry. And the Chartists. And the Spinning Jenny. And the Poor Laws. And Sunday Schools. That should keep them happy and absorbed and lay the foundations for a lifetimes interest in History.

This was a very interesting and touching novella, and learning about the Battersea Barricades, finally, as it has been alluded to in several of the St Mary’s books, was nice. This story certainly adds a lot of character development and depth to Mack, Enderby, and Shaw. I enjoyed the story, but it is not one of my favorite St. Mary’s shorts in that there are a lot of bits that drag on. However, if you love this series, then this novella certainly adds to the overall story of Max.

I love this series. Like LOVE this series – Ive read the books more than once and even bought the audiobooks. But this story was kind of boring. It is a story of three veterans reminiscing about a battle that wasnt that exciting. And even though I really like the three storytellers, it was a story that meant more to them – because they lived through it – than me.

It reminded me of when you meet your partners old school friends and they tell a story that, to them, is so funny they fall over each other telling it. And youre like: so, basically, one of you ate the sandwich? I dont get it.

Not only were there no other hijinks: crazy markham, exploding R&D experiments, historical research in contemporary time (not time travel), this story lacked the trademark laugh-out-loud-snorting humor. There were some kind of funny bits…but they felt forced.

And the ending…was, well, lets just say: I dont get it.

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