4.5* The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is immersive and thoughtful but more importantly utterly bonkers and great fun.

A career civil servant is given the role of a lifetime. The opportunity to move from a post in the 'languages department' to a top secret department, on a large salary with her accommodation provided. The Ministry of Time has created time travel, but it doesn't know how well it will work or how it might impact on individuals and history. So it extracts a small group of people whose number is almost up and transports them to the present day just before they die in their time. Known as the expats, Commander Graham Gore, artic explorer who should have died in 1947, is joined by other expats from the WWI trenches, great battles and the plague. Supported to assimilate into modern life by their personal civil servants (known as bridges), a great experiment begins but living in close quarters for 12 months was always going to be fraught with emotion, friendship and potentially more.

The premise of The Ministry of Time is smart and it is incredibly well written. The characters are all well cast and written, with the language and culture of bygone ages often leading to thoughtful musings and/or humorous consequences. As the book develops the plot starts to zip along and it becomes an engrossing page turner.

I had heard great things about this book and it certainly didn't disappoint. I would thoroughly recommend it as an immersive, smart and witty thrill ride.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

I started reading this book… I went on a walk reading this book… I stayed up til midnight to finish this book. Utterly absorbing and fascinating, with such rich and wonderful characters.

I enjoyed this, but not as much as I expected or hoped. Maybe I took too long reading it, but even though it was interesting, fascinating at times seeing how the characters pulled out of their time into another adjusted, I got a bit bogged down in the narrative.

Cracking debut novel that melds time travel with government bureaucracy to thrillingly funny and thought-provoking effect. Love the conceit of plucking people from the past and pairing them with a “bridge” civil servant to help them acclimatise / observe them - seeing how to manage the impact of time travel rather than time travelling themselves. Complex enough to feel suitably ‘real’, but not so complex that any reasonably au fait reader of science fiction / viewer of doctor who would struggle.

As a bonus for me, I’ve not long read the terror, so was initially bemused to find a new fictional representation of Lt Gore from the doomed Franklin expedition to find the north west passage…

In short: this novel is a gem, and I absolutely adore it!!!
To elaborate: When I first heard about this book, I wasn't sure if it would be my cup of tea as it was marketed as sci-fi, a genre that typically isn't my favorite. However, upon discovering that the novel tells a story of a crew member from the Franklin's lost expedition of 1845, who time-jumps to our times, I knew I had to read it. I'm so glad I requested an ARC because the book turned out to be so much more than expected—I absolutely loved it.

"The Ministry of Time” is not an Outlander-style time travel novel, but rather a story showing the practicalities of adjusting time travelers to living in our times. It was done exceptionally well—I enjoyed following Commander Gore and his fellow time expats' struggles to adjust to living in the 21st century. The characters are very likable and realistically written, which is a huge advantage of the book, as the narrative is strongly based on characters and their behavior in everyday life situations.

The book is rather difficult to classify within genres, as it encompasses speculative elements, a romantic plotline, and even some spy thriller. The romance is an extremely slow-burn and doesn't fully develop until later in the story. However, I found it both utterly charming and bittersweetly heartbreaking. I loved the dynamic between the main character and Commander Gore. The portrayal of the relationship between a 21st-century woman and a man from the Victorian era was spot-on, and I loved it!

Speaking of this book, one should not fail to mention that apart from being a charming read with many amusing elements, it also deals with more serious topics. As the main character comes from a British-Cambodian family, themes of colonialism, racism, exoticism, and attitudes toward migrants in modern Western countries are present in the novel. This is an important aspect of the book, as it provides valuable social commentary, adding depth to the overall narrative.

At the end of the day, I'm thrilled that something that began as a fanfic idea of a romance between a modern woman and a Victorian Royal Navy officer turned into such a good, fast-paced, and enjoyable read. While I have some critiques about the editing style (for example, I was annoyed by the way the dialogues were written sometimes, as there was no narration with them and it didn't always indicate who was speaking), they don't diminish my overall rating.

I must also address the ridiculous allegations appearing on the Internet that the book is a plagiarism of a Spanish TV series. It is simply not true, and anyone who reads this book will easily recognize that. I encourage everyone to read this novel and provide an honest review because unfortunately, the book is bombarded with 1-star ratings by people who haven't even read it.

A time travel story with a twist - instead of just traveling back to study people in the past, the Ministry have brought the people back to the future. A fantastic read, with lots of twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged to the last page.

Engaging and witty read with a perfect genre mash-up.
It's a time travel story without a real time travel - characters only deal with the aftermath of bringing someone across time, but we never really go with them to another era. That's because the focus of this book is on showing the corporate side of supervising the adjustment to a foreign world, rather than typical time-jumping related action and themes (although the story definitely delivers on the classical twists in this department). Apart from being simply fun, it also draws deeper parallels between the time expats and real-life migrants in UK and social commentary is precisely what earns my books an extra star.
The romance starts happening only a halfway through the book and Gore is such a charming character, I really enjoyed it, even though I don't read love stories.
In the beginning had some difficulties with the plot structure. The blurb describes this book as part "work-place comedy" and it's on point here, as jumpy scenes really looked like shot changes from a tv show, ending abruptly and in random places. Also, there are many dialogues with no narration, which was an issue, as I often lost track of who was speaking.
But putting this aside, I adored the whole story.
Also, I would like to note that I'm aware of the "controversies" related to the Spanish TV show of the same name and for anyone who actually read this book, and is not simply jumping on the bandwagon of internet hate, it will be instantly obvious that these stories are entirely different and the whole drama is just typical, silly drama for twitter mob.

Loved this book! So many twists and turns, such great character development. I was totally invested by chapter two and couldn’t put it down!

This is an early contender for 2024 "Book of the Year'. I loved it. An easy handsell and a totally satisfying read.

Wow! I a fantastic take on the time travel genre- time travel is there but is it safe?
I loved the concept of removing people from history who were about to die anyway and seeing what bringing them to the future would do. The characters chosen were well varied and portrayed excellently through their interactions with each other and their bridges.
No aspect of the fallout was missing (for me anyway!) including whether the removal of the people from their own time might have triggered events that would not otherwise have happened.
The book has romance, humour, passion and gently touches on cultural shock and isolation that is echoed in real life immigration situations.
A great read!

I really enjoyed this book. I love anything with a time-travel theme, and this was such a clever idea that I was engrossed from the beginning. Great characters, and an appealing story. I will certainly be recommending this book.

This pulled me out of a reading slump. I adored the voice - and the characters. (Need more Margaret please!)

It’s a lovely slow burn but I stayed because I was connecting individually with both main characters too - and the cast of characters around them.

It’s always difficult to keep plot threads together when it comes to time travel but I think this does a great job of balancing it all and the characters are always what pull me in - if rendered well enough - as they are here.

Humorous, poignant, wise and original. I can’t wait to get a finished copy.

The Ministry of Time combines time travel, real-life historical references, romance, and humour with themes of race, gender and sexuality. I found the attempt to combine so many genres and themes to be a touch ambitious; for me, it resulted in a book with a confused identity.

I enjoyed the humorous interactions between the 'ex-pats' and 'bridges', and I found the interspersed historical accounts of Gore's time with the ill-fated Erebus expedition interesting and genuinely moving. However, I found the romance between Gore and his bridge to be rather jarring, and the sex scenes slightly ridiculous.

The sci-fi elements seemed underdeveloped and the storyline rushed - I never fully grasped why there were time travellers from the future and what was actually going on.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an e-ARC to read and review.

In a near future UK, the Ministry has discovered a time travel door. Five “expats” from different time periods are brought through and each is assigned a “bridge” to help them acclimatise to the modern day. We primarily follow the Expat 1847 and his Bridge. First for the things I liked: I laughed out loud at these people from last eras discovering the joys of Spotify and the tube . I loved Arthur and Maggie’s characters. If you’ve ever watched Ghosts the BBC tv show, then this feels quite similar to that. As for the cons: the actual time travel aspects felt a bit wishy washy for me. I didn’t really grasp the “hereness” and “thereness” concept and I think more development in this area would’ve improved my overall reading experience.
That being said, if you like Ghosts, Spy movies and Dr Who then you’ll probably want to check this out.

No negaré que leí este libro impulsada por la polémica que se desató en redes cuando se anunció tanto su publicación como su adaptación televisiva. Lo cierto es que a pesar de lo desafortunado del nombre, el libro no se parece a la serie española homónima por lo que al menos parte de esas críticas eran infundadas. Nada de viajar al pasado para ir cambiando cosas y mantener la línea temporal, toda la novela se narra en el mismo futuro cercano asediado por el cambio climático y los refugiados. Otro cantar es que ojalá se pareciera, porque la obra de Kaliane Bradley es muy mejorable en diversos aspectos.


La idea de la que parte la novela es que tras “descubrir” (en una forma muy en línea con la tendencia británica a quedarse con lo que se encuentra) una máquina para viajar en el tiempo, el gobierno británico decide extraer a cuatro personajes del pasado cuando están a punto de morir y traerlos al presente para ver si sobreviven, si influyen en el continuo espacio-temporal y en general, para experimentar con ellos. Estos cuatro personajes tendrán asignado un enlace, un bridge encargado de ir enseñándoles el mundo actual y algo de historia, pero de una manera sosegada y medida para no provocar crisis.

Aunque los viajeros en el tiempo como digo son cuatro, el libro está muy centrado en solo uno de ellos, un explorador del ártico llamada Graham Gore, del que se nota a la legua que la propia Kaliane Bradley está enamorada. Todo el libro gira alrededor de la relación de Gore con su bridge y aunque en principio podríamos pensar en la novela como una comedia romántica con los típicos malentendidos de una pareja que se atrae pero que no se conoce, la autora no deja de lado las conspiraciones y las luchas de poder.

Por desgracia, el conjunto no acaba de cuajar. La trama amorosa es tan previsible que clama al cielo y en cuanto a los viajes en el tiempo, brillan por su ausencia. Hay una parte dedicada al espionaje y al robo de secretos, pero no os engaño si os digo que se basa más en la inocencia y en la inutilidad de los funcionarios asignados al departamento correspondiente que a la perseverancia y la astucia de los saboteadores.

No negaré que el choque cultural entre los cuatro expatriados (por no decirle extiempados), sobre todo al principio del libro, tiene cierta gracia, como por ejemplo la difícil asimilación de la caída del Imperio Británico, la liberación de la mujer y muchas otras temáticas, pero este recurso del chiste facilón se desgasta con demasiada rapidez como para aguantar toda la novela.

A expensas de conocer cómo será la adaptación, he de decir que la novela basa más su fama en la polémica creada que en sus virtudes intrínsecas, pues no deja de ser una más del montón.

This book is based on a clever idea and the first half is very entertainng. The second half felt a bit like wading through fog as I was never entirely clear why the people had been brough forward from the past to the present. Having been a long time fan of the tale of Erebus and Terror's fated voyage I liked the characterisation of Gore very much. He was the highlight of the book for me. A clever idea that didn't quite hit the spot. For me at least. Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an e-ARC to read and review.

Loved this novel! Starting from a quiet point with a government employee promoted to a new role won a special project, this thriller /sci fi/romance careens on at speed. A handful of soon to die people are extracted from the past and brought to live in the present, and each is assigned a handler, or bridge, to help them in their temporal refuge. A love story and call to action, completely contemporary and over far too soon. No spoilers!

The Ministry of Time is a funny, thoughtful and thought provoking novel by Kaliane Bradley. The themes of refugees, time travel, race, global warming are given a new twist and shaken with a little 1984 Orwellian magic to make a gripping, strange, put it down and you’ll start missing it like the emptiness of a once full house novel. Government secrecy and hidden agendas interweave with a story of two characters with seemingly nothing in common forging a friendship. There is hinted at corruption with as much about what isn’t revealed as is revealed in this unique book

LOVED this fantastic debut! ]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Slow to start, the first half of the book plodded along. The second half picked up but I've not had chance to finish yet.