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The Ministry of Time

Kaliane Bradley

Start date: August 1, 2025

Finish date: August 31, 2025

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Ministry of Time

The Ministry of Time (8/25): Finished Reading **Spoilers OK**
By Kathi , Moderator & Book Lover · 6 posts · 29 views

last updated Sep 09, 2025 11:32AM

The Ministry of Time (8/25): Roll Call **NO Spoilers**
By Kathi , Moderator & Book Lover · 7 posts · 20 views

last updated Aug 13, 2025 08:08AM

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What Members Thought

Jun 25, 2024 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2024-shelf

This one reads like a cold-war spy/romance where you bring defectors in, maybe romance them up a bit, then watch it all unravel as your agency makes things hairy -- but it is actually a time-travel novel that takes its sweet time enjoying a true man of English culture trying to come to terms with our modern age.

What did I like best?

Not the spy stuff. It was okay but it was rather sad and depressing. I DID like the fish out of water aspects, however, and even rather like the romance.

All in all ...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2024 Cheryl marked it as x-not-for-me

Read Linda's review and others. Not SF, too much romance, p'raps stretched too thin in order to have a wider appeal. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2025 Tomislav rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

The Ministry of Time is Kaliane Bradley’s first and only novel, at this time. She does not seem to be coming out of the science fiction community, but this work has been nominated for Hugo, Clarke, and Locus Awards. I had not read it until my wife, only a very occasional reader of SF, recommended it. It falls into both science fiction and romance categories. Time travel which was originally in the province of science fiction has been subsumed into mainstream writing, but there it is more here th The Ministry of Time is Kaliane Bradley’s first and only novel, at this time. She does not seem to be coming out of the science fiction community, but this work has been nominated for Hugo, Clarke, and Locus Awards. I had not read it until my wife, only a very occasional reader of SF, recommended it. It falls into both science fiction and romance categories. Time travel which was originally in the province of science fiction has been subsumed into mainstream writing, but there it is more here than a mechanism to enable the romance.

In a plot concept similar to John Varley’s 1983 SF-award-winning novel MILLENIUM, individuals who are about to die and will not be missed are kidnapped by time agents. In the case of Millenium, they are brought forward into the future in order to repopulate a new uncontaminated world. In the case of The Ministry of Time, they are brought from the past into the present for a secret (UK) government project. The purpose of that project is not scientific exploration, which is what the main character was told when she hired on as a contemporary “bridge” to an “expat” out of history. But rather it is part of a conflict with marooned agents from the future who are attempting to modify the future. Their machine has been seized by opportunists in a government agency, which Bradley parallels to the UK attitudes towards resources during colonialism. “I found it; now its’s mine.” Varley’s theory of time is that changes to history must be avoided, and his plot develops around the unintentional introduction of a paradox. However, in Bradley’s theory of time, changes to history are a goal, and where that leaves individuals from a changed time stream are not really explored.

The best part of the novel for me was the contrasting cultures between 19th century England and 21st century England. The unnamed protagonist is a young Cambodian-British woman, as is Kaliane Bradley herself. She is assigned to be bridge to Commander Graham Gore, an expat captured before the death of all crewmembers of Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage in Arctic Canada. His attitudes are rooted not just in his era, but in his chosen lifestyle as a nautical officer. At the same time, the unnamed protagonist while growing up in the UK, lives in the shadow of her parents’ experience in the Pol Pot era of Cambodia. She characterizes stories of Cambodia as ones of uncertainty and “almost made it.”

“The most difficult stories about the Khmer Rouge are the ones over which hover almost and maybe. She almost made it, but dysentery took her at the end. He is maybe buried in the mass grave at Choeung Ek, so we will pay our respects there. He almost walked all the way to Thailand, but the cadres found him in the forest. She maybe saw her infant son one last time before he was taken.”

The worst part of the novel for me were the sex scenes. Understand, I do not have any objection to sex scenes, per se, of many varieties. My problem was that up till that point, I was successfully identifying with the narrator. But the descriptions are very specific to female anatomy and desires, and Bradley lost me there. It wouldn’t have been a big change to take a more omniscient rather than participatory perspective. I’m not sure what it says about the state of the science fiction genre, that I can be an irrelevant part of the target audience, but there it is.

It will be interesting to see if Kaliane Bradley returns to speculative fiction in another novel, but this one was worth reading. ...more

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May 03, 2025 Lindsey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2025, alternate-history

This was an interesting premise that ended up falling flat for me. Experienced sci-fi time travel readers will be unsurprised by the stereotypical twist revealed towards the end of the novel. It started with some interesting commentary on immigration but that got lost in the noise of the novel's events as it progressed. I enjoyed the "small choices make a difference" theme but am not quite sure why this one was so hyped. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2025 Tash rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2025, sci-fi, swordandlaserbc

After seeing the reviews and reading the blurb, I really wanted to love The Ministry of Time, as it seemed like a novel that I would really enjoy, as it apparently combined history, time travel and romance into one novel. I thought we would get to explore some complex topics, such as colonialism and morally grey ethics, such as taking people outisde of their time period. Unfortunately, this was not what I encountered when reading this novel and it left me a little disappointed.

The Ministry of Ti After seeing the reviews and reading the blurb, I really wanted to love The Ministry of Time, as it seemed like a novel that I would really enjoy, as it apparently combined history, time travel and romance into one novel. I thought we would get to explore some complex topics, such as colonialism and morally grey ethics, such as taking people outisde of their time period. Unfortunately, this was not what I encountered when reading this novel and it left me a little disappointed.

The Ministry of Time follows an unnamed woman who has recently started a new job as a 'bridge' within a government department conducting an experiment focussed on time travel. The main character is tasked with helping Commander Graham Gore, a member of the failed Franklin expedition, adjust to modern life, whilst reporting back to the department. Along the way, the narrator struggles to reconcile her feelings for Gore with the actions she undertakes for the governement. As the novel progresses, she discovers that she may not been told the complete truth of what is going on and she must decide between her career, her morals and her heart.

On paper, that sounds like a great novel but in practice it devolved into a frustrating experience. Firstly, the novel couldn't work out whether it wanted to be a time-travelling themed sci-fi story, an espionage themed thriller or a romantic tale about two people with opposing world views. The Ministry of Time tries to be all three of these and then struggles to give each plot thread the attention it deserves. Instead of getting a fully fleshed out plot, satisfying character development or interesting romantic relationship, ithe book rushes through each of these threads, becoming tropey in places. I feel like if the book had been fleshed out by another 100 to 200 pages, it might have been a more satisfying read.

My other issue was the main female character. I did not like her. In fact, I loathed her. She was a hypocrite, self centered and very stupid, something that was pointed out by multiple characters in the book. I also had an issue with her relationship with Gore. For most of the novel, it did not feel like her feelings would be reciprocated and in fact, I thought Gore had more chemistry with another character, Arthur, than he did with the narrator. In addition the power dynamic with her being in charge and Gore having basically been kidnapped, made me feel like their relationship was not romantic at all but actually quite toxic. I just did not feel any sort of connection with the main character nor did I feel any symapthy for her.

That being said, I loved a number of the other characters, in particular the ones that were brought to the present: Graham Gore, Arthur and Maggie. I found all three very endearing and I wished that we spent more time with them, experiencing their journey navigating modern society. I feel like a story told through their perspective would have been a more eengaging and entertaining experience.

Overall, The Ministry of Time had an interesting premise which it did not quite deliver. The supporting characters were more interesting than the main character, the romantic subplot was unnecessary and the opportunity to explore the ethics of tearing people away from their time periods was missed. The Ministry of Time was an OK read that had promise but at times was frustrating. ...more

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