Member Reviews
This is my first review in net Galley. The book is bout time travel . There were several different people removed from time that were going to die so they were not to affect the future. From the beginning I was rivited. There were a few slow moments in the book, but overall it was a pleasant and engaging read. The plot twist was. A surprise to me, and that is nice as I am usually able to predict what is going to happen. I really enjoyed this book!
I loved the premise of this novel - how would people from the past including the civil war, first world war and search for the North West Passage cope if they were brought to live or in a nearish future dystopian Britain by a not particularly reliable future government? The novel is mostly narrated through the eyes of one of the handlers (civil servants) brought in to explain, monitor and report back on the integration of her charge "1847". Both of them are damaged by their very different life experiences and whose relationship is the most intriguing plot of the many running this novel. I was less engaged ( and convinced) by the parallel thriller element and the final reveal but would definitely recommend this novel and I can't wait to see what the author writes next.
Thank you Netgalley and The publisher for this eARC!
DNF@20
I was super excited about this book! It had an intriguing and unique premise that I was ready to dive into. But I just don’t think it was quite for me. The writing wasn’t my favorite and it just felt a little clunky and slow. I would definitely want to try and read it again when it comes out. But for right now I think I’m gonna put it down!
DNF at 54%
The premise of this book sounded amazing and I was very excited to read it but I quickly realized it isn’t for me. The writing style is very strange. It’s a mix of classic literature and modern syntax with a lot of millennial type humor that was so difficult to get though. The characterizations and the plot didn’t progress they just happened. Like we only got a day of something and then the next chapter is just “it’s now the next month.” And even then nothing happened. It is mostly interactions between the two main characters or between them and the other time travelers. And it’s so incredibly boring. To me. I truly had no idea what was going on most of the time.
I was hoping for this to be more spy heavy but we only got some foreshadowing at 30% and 40% and between that nothing happened. I can tell from other reviews things pick up at the end of the book but that’s not what I like. Just so difficult to get though because of the writing style and because not enough plot progression was happening. I would be interested in reading another book with this premise but I did not enjoy this particular book. If you enjoy wacky stories that have unique characters just vibing for at least 50% of the book you may like this.
While an interesting read there are much better time travel books out there. This one took a while to get into and a while to finish. But because it’s time to travel I had to finish. The subplots didn’t quite mesh with the main plot in a cohesive fashion.
While I thought the premise was interesting, I felt the narration was confusing and kept me from being fully invested. Unfortunately the formatting was distracting and prevented me from understanding the story more fully. I had to DNF at 20% because I was confused and realized I still didn’t know the main characters name. The cover however is stunning and I hope the book gets a better edit before release.
Overall, I enjoyed the book; but it took a bit to get invested. The time travel concept was unique or at least I haven't read about pulling people from the past into our current time line. The concept of a Ministry for Time was protrayed in a way that was believable. People from different walks of life working in the Ministry being tasked with helping those time travelers to adjust to life in modern day. Beyond the initial time travel concept, the ending of the story was also very good. I like it when authors make me stop and think about what I just read and how it can change my life.
The downside to this book, is that it jumped back and forth in perspectives confusing me at times. We would be in the story and then the main character would start talking directly to the readers. I think more needs to be done to show when a perspective change occurs. I was reading an ebook, so maybe the change will be more noticeable in the paperback. Finally, I felt like the open door romance took away from the story. It felt like it was just checking a box for what is needed in today's novels. Spicy romance check. I think the romance should have been portrayed in a more subtle way, more in line with the personalities of the characters.
First off, this book impressed itself onto me on so many levels, and its ending left me at once hopeful and bereft, in a state of acute nostalgia. This review will not do the book justice, so you’d better read it yourself.
In the near future, time travel is discovered in the UK. Governing bodies are still working out the kinks around use and management, which leads to the creation of a new ministry, the Ministry of Time.
Our narrator (never formally named, but for the sake of ease, I will refer to as “Cat”) interviews with Vice Secretary of Expatriation, Adela, who briefs Cat on the work. The Ministry pulls people who would have died of specific, known causes in their time to the future, saving them from their fate and providing much-needed fodder for time-travel study effects on the human body, specifically to prove or disprove scientific theories. The Ministry’s reasons that the expatriated person, or “expat”, would’ve died anyway, so the harm is deemed net-zero. Once a year is up, and the expat has not only survived but thrived, the expat can expect to join society without further assistance from the Bridge, or handler, the person whose job it is to help the expat assimilate and report findings and concerns back to the Ministry. It’s all terribly exciting, and Cat takes the job.
Five travelers successfully arrive through the time door and undergo psychological evaluation and introductory repatriation (“ground-zero orientation”) to the modern world before they are released to their Bridges. Cat meets her charge, Commander Graham Gore, who was taken from the doomed arctic Franklin Expedition in 1847. We know that Cat has undergone rigorous training to be a Bridge; she’s also had access to all known historical data around Commander Gore. We also see that below the surface, Cat has a crush on her charge.
Cat’s narrative of their year is a memoir. The reader is exposed to the hilarious juxtaposition of time travelers reacting to and interacting with the modern era. Hero worship turns into a historical-fiction-loving girl’s hot fantasy when our man’s man decides it’s time to don motorcycle leathers: we who sit in the bleachers react the same way Cat does, blushing with desire, sighing and fanning our faces.
The reader is also exposed to extraordinary ethical challenges. While Cat is obsessing over Commander Gore, shit is going down. The time travel bit is used as a means to underline, to reopen commentary on imperialism, racism past and present, and human bonds. Noteworthy example #1: Our narrator refers to the acquisition of the time travel device as par for the course for a society built on Empire: finders, keepers. Noteworthy example #2: expats are lab rats, so what makes this project different from MK-Ultra? Noteworthy example #3: Expat Arthur struggles with understanding gender roles – even as modern society claims gender equality, why aren’t there more male caregivers? Last one: because it’s a first-person narrative, the reader gets a lot of reflection on what it means to be a marginalized person condoning experimentation on marginalized people “for the sake of humanity”. Simellia, one of the few Black people on staff, and a psychotherapist to boot, has a hard time in this role–what seems to be devolving into an accessory to a crime against humanity.
In other words, it’s complex. Ultimately, the novel’s quiet strength is that it’s a lesson in love. By reflecting on her part in the story, Cat learns to value forgiveness and embrace hope.
One of the reasons I love this book so much is because Bradley practices an economy of language I don’t encounter enough in modern writing. It’s graceful, tactful, and rich. I underlined extensively. My sincere thanks.
Thank you, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley, for granting me a copy of this book for review. Any opinions are my own; I’m not receiving any kind of douceur for my write-up.
I really enjoyed this book and the time travel story it laid out. The narrator gets a position with Britain's Ministry of Time and is involved with a project of bringing a group of people from different earlier time periods to the present time. She acts as a 'bridge' to one—Graham Gore—an arctic explorer. There are some twists and turns here and it ends up a part love story, part spy thriller that was very enjoyable!
There's a lot of historical details and humor in this book, like (imho) the best time travel novels. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. A solid 4.25 stars!
I loved this one! It reminded me of Connie Willis (which is the highest praise). I always enjoy SF books with an unrelated obsession at the core, in this case, The Franklin Expedition. If you like Connie Willis, This Is How You Lose the Time War, or the movie Kate and Leopold, then you should read this book.
Ministry of Time
I think the time travel aspect and the idea of an expatriation department was interesting. The humor was good and thought was given to the fantasy elements.
I didn't appreciate the author's note in the beginning, stating how they saw a daguerreotype of Graham Gore and basically developed a crush. This detail interfered with how I perceived the main character and her attraction to a dead guy who had no idea how to be in the present century. Given the narrator's job of being a "bridge" to help Gore navigate the 21st century, it felt on the creepier side of inappropriate.
This was also badly formatted for e-reader, so it was hard to fully enjoy the prosy writing.
Brilliant writing and concept. The two narrators have distinctive, believable voices. I was not expecting a romance, or I might not have chosen this title. I think it's going to be very commercially appealing to those who are looking for a "time-crossed lovers" sort of theme. In that, the book succeeds.
I found the middle bogged down with a lot of day-to-day living, showing how the various characters from different times interacted with each other. There's an underlying plot, but in parts, it lost the driving tension that was there at the beginning. It all comes together again at the end, though.
I had some serious issues with a few of the similies and metaphors. I won't give examples, since this was a "not to be quoted" advance copy. I know writers are always striving for a fresh voice, but some of the ones in this book took me completely away from the story.
Overall, though, terrific writing and quite entertaining.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for this honest review.
An unexpectedly enticing literary science fiction. The author presents a very thoughtful perspective on the consequences of time travel in a realistic manner. There is humor with the various time travelers from the past dealing with modern life. There is also danger and adventure as well as a surprisingly sweet romance. Highly recommended for literary fiction fans and fans of the time travel genre.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I intended to give this book four stars throughout most of my reading journey, but as with many time-travel stories, logic issues and plot holes unraveled it a bit for me. We are supposed to believe that our unnamed narrator did not recognize her future self? Even if she did get extensive plastic surgery, could she not recognize her own voice? Teeth? Hands? Being that she was also biracial, a minority in her workplace, you would think it would have been more obvious to her.
Setting logic aside, this was a mostly fun and occasionally humorous romp. Bradley does a good job of alternating between present day vernacular and nineteenth century-sounding prose. You'd never think the alternate chapters taking place during Commander Gore's ultimately fatal Arctic expedition were written by the same person as the modern day millennial fiction. She clearly took care in researching the real history behind all of the expats' previous lives.
I got a little lost amidst the plot machinations at times, but this was still worth the read.
Maybe like a 3.5 for me. This is a fine book, just not a match for me. All of the right ingredients were in the mix, but I just didn't like dish they made as a whole.
Let's start with the strengths. The premise rocks. Graham Gore is a fascinating characters (and sexy!) and the experience of all of the travelers in the modern world was very cool. I think had this just been a book about those elements alone, I would have been all in.
The problem for me involved the spy parts and the time travel parts (which mostly get thrown in there at the end.) Again, a book just about THOSE parts might have been good. (I love a good mystery with time travel), but we spend so much time exploring these juicy relationships that all of these other elements are pushed to the back burner and end up feeling underdeveloped. (The final 1/4 of the book feels like an entirely different style of book. A GOOD ONE, don't get me wrong, but still a tonal shift.)
I guess my issues here were mainly editorial in nature. I didn't dig how the book was BUILT, but I still appreciated the various storylines and characters. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. It’s hard to describe how amazing this book is. I’ll read just about anything relating to time travel, but this story satisfies on so many levels. It has mystery, romance, espionage, humor and history. I honestly only put it down once and that was because it was Thanksgiving and I was in charge of the Mac and Cheese. So, so good. Can’t wait to see what else Kaliane Bradley writes in the future. I’m a fan.
If I loved this book less, I might be able to talk about it more.
It's like Kaliane Bradley peered into my soul and gave me (personally) the reverse-Outlander about polar explorers that I've always dreamed of but feared I'd never get. Graham Gore wasn't my bae (Goodsir is _right there_) but I am fully planning on giving The Terror a rewatch to see if the book changed my mind.
I am absolutely purchasing myself a hopefully signed copy because I'm going to want to reread this one a few times.
The Ministry of Time is absolutely riveting. It takes you through the loved experience of a daughter of an immigrant who becomes a “bridge” to a man pulled out of time based off of Graham Gore (and several others). I was not prepared for the twists and turns and jaw dropping moments throughout this book. It was so beautifully written and I enjoyed it so much. My only complaints is that I do hope that it’s formatted when published to have some clarity between the flashbacks, POV changes, and anecdotes so from one paragraph to the next the reader might not feel as discombobulated as I felt for the first half of the book.
I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. The premise of this book of ex-pats from various periods in time is so exciting. What happens when you pull people out of points in history where they are going to die and try to acclimate them to current society? I had a hard time putting this book down. It's somehwere between historical fiction and science fiction. I did look up Graham Gore to find out more about him and I think it's great that the author used a real person.
Thank you to Avid Reader Press, the author Kaliane Bradley, and Netgalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be released for public availability on May 7, 2024.
Our unnamed narrator has signed up as for a new government job with the Ministry of Time. As a handler, she has been entrusted with watching and resettling Commander Graham Gore, who has been “saved” from a perilous 1847 Arctic expedition and brought to the present with a time machine. As she gets to know the fascinating and old-fashioned Graham, our narrator not only starts to fall for her charge but also grows as a person.
The author got the right balance of capturing bureaucratic detail and not making it excessively dry. Unlike other books I’ve read with time travel as a central plot point or device, this books feels authentic because it focuses on the practical social effects, universal themes of human nature, and relationships. The very close first person perspective reads like a memoir and lends the story a serious story that has moments of levity. Although there’s a lot of telling from the narrator that glosses over some details and liberally jumps days and weeks (as a memoir or recounting of a tale does), it allows the plot to move along at a fairly efficient pace and only zoom in on particular moments that are relevant to character(s) or plot advancement.
The narrator is mixed race and has much inward reflection regarding her identity, colonialism, and racial themes. I would recommend this book to any reader interested in those themes, explored within the telling of a clever, creative fictional tale. The Ministry of Time’s tone and plot elements are reminiscent of Mick Herron’s Slough House series (i.e. dreariness, criticism of bureaucracy, and intrigue) mixed with the time-travel romance of the TV series Timeless.