I can see this being a big hit for sci-fi romance fans or readers who like time travel in their plot. The writing is snappy albeit a little "manic pixie dream girl" fanfic vibes. It was interesting world building to know how expats would assimilate into the modern world and it may just be a me thing, but maybe I would have preferred if the book had focused on the group of expats instead of the caseworker assigned to monitor the male lead character Commander Gore (from the 1800s). I've watched a TV show with the same name as this book (this was like 7 years ago) and I missed the feeling of an ensemble cast that was present there.

Overall, it's a solid and medium-paced read for people who don't want anything too heavy, but still want the poignancy of a good slice of life.

Pleasantly surprised by this one! It was very funny and the twist was brilliant. Will certainly make a habit of rereading this one

i am baffled by the hype surrounding this book; not only has been blurbed by several 'big' authors, but it's apparently it's also slated for adaptation into a BBC drama. i have questions...

to use an overused term, this book is mid. inoffensive, if you will. it's doing nothing new, and it is written in the kind of witty British voice that seems derivative of authors like Diana Wynne Jones, possibly even Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. nor does it possess Zen Cho's delightful satire. the storytelling here feels lacklustre & vanilla.
.
Right from the outset, the book's attempts at self-awareness about the tropes of its genre ("anyone who has ever watched a film with time-travel, or read a book with time-travel […] will know that the moment you start to think about the physics of it, you are in a crock of shit. How does it work? How <i>can</i> it work?") backfire, as we are offered a generic explanation of time-travel along the lines of "[D]on't worry about it. All you need to know is that in your near future, the British government developed the means to travel through time".

what made absolutely 0 sense to me was not so much the time-travelling and the lack of explanation around it, but the identity of these 'expats' (would they really 'rescue' someone who was in the midst of a war? surely they would consider them unsuitable, or too much of a risk, given that they are bound to have some form of ptsd and might believe that they have been captured by the 'enemy), and their 'bridges'.
we're led to believe that their bridges undergo careful selection and multiple interviews, yet our protagonist seems entirely ill-suited for the task at hand. it would have been more logical for someone with an understanding of the expat's era to care for them. moreover, the notion that these time expats wouldn't be institutionalized but instead released to live with their bridges seems implausible.
and would they really place them in London? surely it would have made more sense to find safehouses in the countryside, as opposed to smackbam in the middle of modernity.
despite the considerable resources invested in extracting them, they're entrusted to a single individual who promptly forgets their surveillance duties, allowing them to wander the city alone?

it's nonsensical. while i'm willing to suspend disbelief regarding time travel, if i'm to buy into this 'ministry', it should feel less slapdash.

i skimmed ahead and saw how the romance subplot would unfold...if anything the romance made the story all the banal. why can't we have significant non-romantic relationships between male and female main characters? must it inevitably result in a romance, even here? the optics were dubious, akin to a therapist and their patient embarking on a romantic relationship.

given all the buzz around this novel, i recognise that i am an outlier and chances are that it will be a hit for most readers (i just happen not be one of them). i recommend giving this novel a shot and forming your own opinion. YMMV and all that jazz.

This is an amazing book and far too accomplished to be a debut and yet it is. This author is clearly destined for great things. One to watch.

This is not just another book about time travel! The Cambodian narrator is a disaffected and sardonic female civil servant working for a government which has found a time travelling portal and has ‘extracted’ five people from the past – at the point of their deaths – and brought them to the present. The narrator’s main involvement is with Commander Graham Gore who died on the ill-fated Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Her job is to act as a ‘bridge’, introducing him to life in the present and helping him to accustom himself to modern day living.

There’s a lot that happens, some of it funny and some more thoughtful and Gore emerges as an interesting character while it is fair to say that the narrator struggles both with her job and her life. The other extracted time travellers feature as well.

Of course, the time travelling machine has not simply arrived coincidentally and the government’s interest is hardly philanthropic so things get murky and also dangerous for the time travellers. And then, there’s an even more surprising ending even if it is a little chaotic.

It’s a good read. You’ll find out quite a lot about the Franklin expedition, reflect on the nature of time, and wonder, if you could go back, what would you change and what would then be the impact on the present. You’ll also find you can’t help liking Commander Gore!

Imagine 'White Teeth' crossed with 'The Rise and Fall of DODO.' This is wonderfully written and so thematically rich, full of subtle analogies to colonialism and the refugee experience. It's much slower-paced than I was expecting from the blurb (the action doesn't begin until 80% of the way through), but that slow build was exactly what the book required. This isn't your usual time-travel thriller: it's a nuanced examination of history and narrative-building, with sharp, witty prose and protagonists who surprise themselves as often as they delight the reader.

Such an original read! Figures from across history have been brought to the near future UK by the government. Helped to assimilate by a ‘bridge’ - a modern day civil servant - each character adapts to their new reality with differing results.

The writing was great and the development of the concept was really well worked and the near future felt incredibly and worryingly real.

The story offers commentary on the utter mess we are making of the planet and often what we think of as progress is the exact opposite especially when seen through the eyes of the historic characters. I also found it interesting how some of the historic characters viewed and dealt with not just modern technologies but also some of the near future (current) views especially on topics such as race and homosexuality

The love story, which everyone else seems to love didn’t quite work for me. Maybe because I knew a little about Graham Gore?

I did also find it a little slow in places but overall it was an imaginative and enjoyable read without blowing me away.

Thanks to Hodder and Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy

This time travel, with a hint of romance, book was a fun read from the very start. I found the back story to all of the people from the past and following them learning about the world now such an interesting idea. The writing was great and the characters interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC copy of this title.

The premise of there being a ministry to support refugees throughout time had me hooked from the off. It gave off Harry Potter and The Time Traveller’s Wife vibes. I’d be interested in a series off of the back of this as I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The characters and their relationships are layered and complicated. I absolutely adored Margaret and her character also reminded me of the play Top Girls by Carl Churchill.

The book explores really important themes in a smart way by placing characters of different attitudes and eras all together in a current context. Key to the narrative are attitudes to race, equality and diversity and many more.

It had a good pace to its plot with well placed humour and realism in a well developed story and ended in a hopeful way.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I had been so excited about this book for months, and the early praise did nothing to temper that excitement.

This could have been a completely different review if I had given up on it when I planned to. Let me explain.

It took me a long time to get into it, to get my head round the actual concept, but I never expected time travel to be instantly easy to understand. And if I'm honest - and I know this is going to make me sound somewhat unintelligent - there were so many words I didn't understand, fancy words where more everyday words would have fit. I had to have Google open next to me throughout so I could find out what they meant. This meant it was a slower read than I think the plot deserved. I'm not even sure why they were used; it reminded me of the episode of Friends when Joey writes a letter to the adoption agency but looks up every word in the thesaurus and changes it to sound more intelligent, but it just ends up jarring and makes no sense.

Our main story is between Gore and the woman known as 'bridge'. It flits between the present time, and his time back in the 1800s. This gave me an interesting perspective on the characters, and gives us a background as to why Gore (and the others) are the way they are. There are also intermittent sections written in the form of a diary or a report, like she was speaking directly to the reader, which initially was a bit random, but it did work overall.

I could have done with shorter chapters. That's not a negative on the book as I know lots of people like long chapters, but I don't particularly, and so if I could reformat it, I'd shorten them slightly, make them a bit snappier.

It is a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi, romance, historical, action, adventure, a bit political - it's got a bit of everything for every reader. It's got little twists and turns and surprises that I wasn't expecting which was a nice surprise.

If I'm being completely honest, I did consider DNF-ing it, which would have been a shame as I was so looking forward to it, but I just found it really difficult to get into. I normally give a book 20-25% of the way in, and then I know if I want to continue. And happily, by about 15-20% in, I was enjoying it, which is good, as I think it would have been a shame to stop earlier as it does get interesting.

It isn't the perfect book I was hoping for. But it was, overall, enjoyable, interesting, entertaining; and I'm very glad I carried on as it is a completely different book by the end in terms of how good I found it. Would I recommend it? I think in hindsight, yes I would. I would tell people to persevere with it if they thought it was too slow, because it does pick up. It is thought-provoking and asks a lot of questions; a good choice for a book club I think.

I loved this book. It's rare for me to be so engrossed with a book, and went in with a slightly different idea of the book.
But I'm unsure how to describe why.
The concepts, characters, idea, all of it. Loved it. Will be buying and adding to my paperback collection!

Sometimes a book comes along and utterly captivates your heart and mind. I never thought I’d fall in love with a dead Victorian naval commander whilst worrying about climate change, but here we are.

The novel launches us into the life of the nameless narrator who gains a top secret position within the Civil Service. Her interviewer casually drops in the key phrase “We have time-travel,” and we learn that she is to be a “bridge” for a Naval Officer from 1847, who has been extracted just before his death on an ill-fated mission to the Arctic. Enter Commander Graham Gore (sigh). He and four other historical figures have been moved through time to the modern day as an experiment in time-travel, with the role of the bridges being to help them adjust to modern life and to observe the effects time-travel has on the body and mind.

Throughout, the narrator also reflects upon her own attempts at integrating into life in the Civil Service and in Britain in general. Being British-Cambodian, she feels on the periphery of things. She fails her Field Agent exams and doubts her own ability to do her job. Because of her self-deprecation, she is an extremely likeable and relatable character. Indeed this is true of all the characters, particularly the “expats,” who are so charming they practically leap off the page and demand to be hugged.

Peculiarities within the Ministry are hinted at, and we start to see the experiment unravel. What follows is a thrilling tale of espionage and high-octane pursuit.

Bradley’s debut is intensely thought-provoking – there are acute and sensitive observations on race, empire, colonialism, experiences within the civil service, generational trauma, climate change, resource crises, and on ethics and morality. Whilst this may sound like an over-reach of ideas, the reality is a tender-hearted, incredibly funny, and hugely compelling read. There is a decent amount of (well-written) spice, and an even greater amount of friendship and espionage action. This novel will leave you questioning many things, but particularly leave you desperate for a sequel, because I don’t think we can be without these lovely characters for too long.

Thank you so much to Hoddor Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

The book really isn't for me...way too little time-travel, way too much romance. It's well-written, and, as a romance book, I could go for it. However, not being into the genre, it's not for me. 5 stars because it's not the book, it's me.

I'm afraid I'm in the minority here, as I didn't much like this one.
I won't even get into the time travel aspect - certainly, it brings nothing much new to the table in respect of time/government plots - but it is fairly pedestrian and inoffensive. Unfortunately, this is because the plot is mostly a vehicle for the author's self-confessed interest in the real-life person, poor Commander Gore. And while we've all had youthful fantasies about famous figures (I had a huge teenage crush on Charles Lamb; don't ask), I question the propriety (oh how Gore would like that word!) of trying to weave that into a more serious book.
The author tries to explore a few larger topics than just time-travel romance (colonialism, sexuality, politics, climate change etc), through the medium of vaguely elevated fan-fiction. While this has its place, this is not it, particularly when the "relationship" between the narrator and her charge (indeed, he could be construed as a patient) crosses so many ethical boundaries that I felt hideously uncomfortable reading the "romantic" bits. Quite frankly, it was damn creepy, and if the sex roles were reversed, we'd be seeing this author and book cancelled all over the place.
Lacking originality, any kind of logic (on the romance, ethics or logistics) or good taste, this is occasionally funny (thanks to Margaret 1665), and the author at least bothered to include some suitably archaic language), but the TV show will probably be better.
My thanks to Netgalley for the DRC.

I'll be honest, I am not a reader of Romance, and I entirely missed that part in the description, so for me it was a total surprise. And I was genuinely amazed by how much I enjoyed it. I love a bit of speculative fiction, and the combination of time-travel and an arctic expedition was very refreshing. I found the expats delightful, particularly Maggie - she was an absolute rock star and I would have loved to see a spin-off of her solo adventures as a modern woman. The main storyline between our nameless-ish protagonish and Graham was very entertaining. Overall it's a hit!

The Ministry of Time has as it's central story a very novel concept. The taking of several 'expats' from different timelines in history where they had died and bringing them to the present time for repatriation into the 21st century. Here they are given a mentor or 'bridge ' to acclimatise them to everyday life. Being a sucker for any time travel/slip/jump story I jumped at the chance to read this book as I loved the idea. The story concentrates mainly on the relationship between expat Commander Graham Gore (a real person lost in an Arctic expedition in 1847-8) and his Bridge. As one would expect the novel touches on many issues whilst acclimatising the expats and this is done in a sensitive fashion. The characters are well written and easily visualised. The narrative is complicated, fascinating and imaginative. I really didn't know what was going to happen next right to the very last page. An excellent book I'm happy to recommend for all fans of time travel or simply a very good read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

In the not-so-distant future, an amiable civil servant accepts a secret post helping a displaced time expat settle into the present. He’s ‘1847’ - Commander Graham Gore from a doomed Arctic exhibition - and he’s really struggling with Spotify, and plumbing, and post-colonialism. There’s also a seventeenth-century lesbian who discovers Tinder, a melancholy gay WW1 soldier, and some tricky conversations about consent, but as they grow closer and romance blooms, the true nature of their task becomes harder to understand…

I had so much fun reading this, mostly because of the author’s prose. It is genuinely funny, especially considering it’s about the civil service and 19th-century naval standards. The writing is excellent. However, the author loves an analogy, fitting two or three into each paragraph. For me, some of these really worked: ‘Simellia proffered a look that was all eyebrow.’ Some really didn’t: ‘Quentin treated me with an impatient familiarity, as if we were both sticky and were leaving streaks on one another.’ What does that mean? I love an analogy, but so many back-to-back gave me whiplash, like I was laughing at a jumping cow before being jolted back into conversation with my most obscure aunt (for example - do you see what I mean?). This didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, but I can see it putting off lots of readers.

The book starts as a fish out of water workplace comedy but becomes a sci-fi, dystopian time travelling tale, much like you’d expect. I thought it worked really well and was impressed by how one crucial historical anecdote changes someone’s entire trajectory. The author touched on lots of complex ideas - environmental collapse, mass migration, the refugee experience, social displacement, bureaucracy, etc. At times, that was a lot to juggle, and I got a bit lost in trying to track each thread - especially since the narrator’s ethical journey is so central to understanding the end. For this kind of trajectory, I wanted it spelled out a little more.

But time travelling! Hot 19th-century sailors! Jokes about the civil service! So much fun. I cannot fault how much fun I had.

This was not the romantic time travel comedy that I expected, but it was a romance that I enjoyed and it did make me chuckle, albeit gently. There was also a lot less time travel than I'd hoped for, but the whole thing is so much more. It really is a complete mix of genres, but most amazingly, it's a debut novel.
This is very much a love story between two people who should never have met, both of whom feel separate and different. One because they have been taken out of time, and have had to learn a whole new world. The other due to cultural, and familial reasons. The romance was a slow burn, as our main characters slowly get to know each other.
The characters are brilliantly realised, especially Margaret, who was just wonderful!
A definite recommend.

I have nothing but praise for this stunning debut novel! The Ministry of Time handles many complex themes with such confidence and tenderness, and I can really see this novel ending up as my favourite read of the year. This book is a game changer, and I can see this book becoming essential reading in speculative fiction, especially for fans of Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven or Martin MacInnes’ In Ascension.

The Ministry of Time takes several subgenres that are tricky to get right, and somehow blends them together whilst nailing every single one. Time travel in particular is fiendishly hard to master without the plot becoming either a confusing mess or riddled with plot holes. The time travel elements to this book were more complex than they appeared at first glance, but were so well written and paced that Kaliane Bradley honestly made them look easy! Romance by contrast is a genre I don’t read as much of, but its inclusion here felt very natural. It’s not immediately obvious from the get-go where the romance will appear in the book, but it also doesn’t feel forced upon the characters; instead it feels like a scenario that would happen naturally within the plot. The way the expats start off as ‘Subject 1847’, and slowly become ‘Commander Gore’ and finally ‘Graham’ over the course of the book was a lovely touch.

The time-travelling expats are naturally the stars of the show in the book, and their reintegration into society is used as a fantastic way of comparing the modern era with the world they stepped out of. I half-expected a good chunk of this reintegration to be focused on newer attitudes towards race and gender, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the book a lot more nuanced than that. One expat for example adjusts to these new attitudes with ease, but simply cannot fathom why smoking is now frowned upon in society! The commentary from the expats on how their world has morphed into modern society, and the feelings of survivor guilt for those they left behind is incredibly well explored and was a joy to read. The subtle blend of language from their times blended into their modern dialogue was also really well done, and really helped to create some unique characters amongst the group.

The afterword is well worth reading in full in the Ministry of Time, as the research the author has done to create some of the characters is fantastic! While most of the expats are purely fictional, Commander Graham Gore is based on a real naval officer, and many events of the Erebus expedition are incorporated into the book. The afterword shows how Bradley pieced together a rounded character from what little information was available, and even provides the only existing photo of the real Commander Gore! This novel is an incredible statement of intent for a debut novel, and I strongly recommend giving the Ministry of Time a go if you like a bit of SciFi, romance, spy thriller or anything in between.

This was such a fun time travel book - "expats" from history are brought to the present where they have "bridges" who help them to assimilate to modern day life and monitor how time travel affects them. There's a huge cast of characters between the expats and all those working with them and Margaret is a particular favourite side character of mine (who knew a girl who should have died from the plague could be such a relatable character?)

Initially it took me a bit of time to get into the book but once it grabbed my attention I raced through it - the plot was well paced and builds really well from the introduction of the expats, their acclimatisation to the modern day and all that fun to the climax in the last section of the novel!

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it, it's such a fun read and I'm looking forward to seeing what Kaliane Bradley writes next.