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.

The Ministry of Time was a wonderful read. It focussed less on the culture shock aspects of people in different time periods co-existing than I expected, instead revealing a tense spy-thriller-esque plot with a sprinkling of romance. This is balanced alongside the ability to still impart some emotional lessons - my copy is littered with highlighted passages, and some parts near the end made me shed a subtle tear on public transport. The thoughts on colonialism and its long-reaching impact were also interesting - I appreciated the attempts to reckon with this, rather than just focussing on the more jovial idiosyncrasies of people out of time. The supporting characters really make this book - although the main plot is strong, they add real heart and humour. I especially adored Arthur and, of course, Margaret - I would read a companion book entirely about Margaret, set in any time period. I'm hugely excited for whatever Kaliane Bradley writes next.

The Ministry of Time is an incredible debut that I'm glad I read, especially since it's out of my comfort zone. This novel is a mashup of so many genres- time travel sci-fi, romcom, office hijinks, and spy mystery.

It's hard to sum up the engaging plot that Kaliane Bradley has created but I'll give it a try. Basically, a handful of "expats" have been saved from their original timeline and brought to live in modern day London. Each time traveler has an assigned "bridge"- a civil servant who must live with them and help them acclimate to the modern era. The focus on is on one particular bridge and her expat, Commander Gore, a Navy man from the 1800s. As their relationship grows from something strictly professional into something more, significant secrets and dangers come to light.

This book had me laughing out loud and pining, sighing in agreement about how our pasts impact our present and future, and nodding in awe at the statements Bradley is able to make about systemic issues that permeate our culture now despite the passage of hundreds of years (and sometimes more). I don't say this often or lightly, I think this book has something to offer almost any reader and I strongly encourage you to give it a read.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is a riveting and
thought-provoking novel that seamlessly combines
elements of time travel, romance, and suspense. Set in
the UK, the story follows an unnamed protagonist who
works as a "bridge" for time travelers rescued from the
past by the government's time machine. As the narrative
unfolds, readers are drawn into a slowly unfolding
romance, a thrilling plot, and an exploration of complex
themes such as racism, sexuality, and mental health.
Bradley's writing is beautifully elegant and evocative,
creating a vivid and immersive reading experience. The
book adeptly tackles a range of societal issues through
the lens of science fiction, providing both entertainment
and stimulating discussions. The characters are well-
developed and their relationships bloom under the
author's captivating writing style. While the pace may start
slowly, the story gradually builds momentum with
unexpected twists, leaving readers guessing and craving
more.
The Ministry of Time is an enthralling and enjoyable read
that successfully blends genres to create a unique and
engaging narrative. With its intriguing premise, well-
crafted characters, and elegant prose, this novel is sure to
captivate fans of time travel fiction and romantic
suspense. Kaliane Bradley's debut novel is a promising
start to what will surely be a successful writing career, and
readers are eagerly awaiting future works from this
talented author.

Many thanks to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of The Ministry of Time in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an interesting read. It took me a while to get into the story, though the setup of the world and relationships between "expats" and their "bridges" immediately captured my attention. Like many reviewers have mentioned, the reimagining of Graham Gore as a character in this novel seems to prove the character's concerns about his life being used as a two dimension product for someone else's purposes...

The first 150-200 pages of this were difficult to get through. The frequent chapter breaks, overindulgent descriptions, and repetitive plot felt somewhat pointless. Unfortunately, it wasn't until over halfway through the novel that I realized what exactly was going on. This could be due to my lack of attention on the story, but nevertheless, it couldn't keep my interest enough for me to draw conclusions as to the plot's conclusion earlier than I did.

The slow burn romance is well written. The conflict is well executed. Dealing with time travel is often tricky, and Bradley did a great job choosing what to specify and what to leave to the "hereness" and "thereness" of existing.

Throughout the novel, many analogies/metaphors fell flat... I particularly recall one about leaving marks on someone when sticky that was frankly egregious.

While I did enjoy reading this and getting to know the characters, I don't think it quite deserves a 4 or 5 star rating. However, I would recommend it to a friend if they were interested.

I loved the premise behind this book but it fell a little short of my expectations. I love a great time travel novel so when I saw the synopsis of this book I thought it looked like a book I would enjoy. The ending was good and I loved the twist at the end that I did not see coming. However much of the book felt a little too wordy and it did take me awhile to get through the first part. The idea of bringing people to the future who were already destined to die in the past is a great concept. The main character in this novel is a bridge between Commander Gore from the 1840s and the present. She must figure out how to do her job and help Graham navigate the current century but things are not as simple as she thinks. Another great element to this novel is that Commander Gore is a real person from the past and I did learn about his doomed expedition. Overall, there were some great elements to this book but it just needed a faster pace for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

Very clever story based on the ability to do a little time traveling, bringing some people from different times into present day England. They have to be monitored by the Ministry of Time. Interesting relationships develop between the mentors for each person brought forward, and some adapt better than others. One of them was a polar researcher in the 1800s whose ship was iced in for two years, and had all of the crew disappear or die. So we get a view of those times as well as current and futures. Interesting characters and imaginative plot make for an excellent read.

I'm always up for a good time travel story. This one has a bonus: it belongs to that body of work that I predict will come to be known as Pandemic Literature. Author Kaliane Bradley became fascinated with polar expeditions and in particular with one of the explorers, Graham Gore. She joined an online community of similarly-interested folks (as one does) and soon she was off to the races. Bradley wrote a story for her online mates about having a polar explorer for a housemate and things spiraled from there.

Her main character works for The Ministry of Time and never has a name. Several historical figures are brought through a time portal and she is the "bridge" for Graham Gore. Her responsibilities are to help him to adapt to his updated surroundings. All of this is top secret, of course.

Naturally, things go biologically awry with some while some wonder why their lives have been interfered with. And then things go really wrong.

If you like time travel that is more character-driven, The Ministry of Time is for you. Some time travel concentrates more on how the actual portal or device works and how to fix it when it malfunctions. I like both and I suspect many time travel-obsessed readers do as well.

I'm hoping that Bradley writes a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader's copy.