The Ministry of Time
Fiction & Poetry, Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror , Science Fiction & Fantasy
Hardback Published on: 17/10/2024
£20.00
Bookseller Reviews
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A highly original debut with an unforgettable romance
The Ministry of Time is an incredibly assured and accomplished debut that will surely be one of the books of the year. Kaliane Bradley has crafted a fantas... READ MORE
Incredible!
I loved this book so, so much!
I absolutely raced through this - the plot is incredible and the characters are ridiculously charming (especially Command... READ MORE
I cannot wait to press this into everyone's hands
The British Government has access to time travel. They are testing it by kidnapping people from their moment of death in history and bringing them to the p... READ MORE
An outrageous but brilliant concept!
I'm so pleased to have been given the chance to read and review this debut novel by Kaliane Bradley, and I will definitely be recommending it!
The conce... READ MORE
Not the story you think it is (and that's good)
The Ministry of Time felt like it was going to be something I had already read. But it's not.
What starts off as a simple job to acclimatise Graham to the... READ MORE
I'm in love!
There are certain times in my life where an exceptional book comes along and completely blows me away and sets the standard for other books in such an impo... READ MORE
Wow!
Just wow!!
This has a bit of everything:
• Science fiction
• Romance
• History
• Thriller
• Humour
This is a debut novel from Kaliane Bradley an... READ MORE
Believe the hype - this is a firecracker debut!
Where to start with this book?
Assured, accomplished, achingly good; this is a thrilling and speedy read (you don't want to put it down) that stayed with ... READ MORE
So beautiful, a summer must-read!
I loved this book – I crashed through it in no time at all because I couldn’t stop reading it once I started.
Briefly, the British government have some ... READ MORE
believe the hype - a super debut!
I received a copy of this in the post a little while back, and started to see that other booksellers were reading and enjoying, so I dragged it to the top ... READ MORE
An instant new favourite
I had the BEST time reading this and it's the easiest five star rating I've given in a long time. I'm still fully trying to articulate my thoughts because ... READ MORE
A stunning and well balanced novel
Awww I loved this so much! A love story set in time travel novel that manages to not be science heavy or overly explicit. It hits the perfect balance of bl... READ MORE
Obsessively brilliant!
The Ministry of Time is a weirdly wonderful amalgamation of so many genres: science fiction, dystopia, thriller, historical, and not forgetting romance. Th... READ MORE
Interesting take on time travel
A few friends have read this and enjoyed it so I thought it was about time I joined in.
Right from the start this has an interesting take on the time tr... READ MORE
Dr Who for the Literati
A good, fun jaunt of a novel, like reading a particularly involved and well written Special episode of Dr Who. A great premise and thoroughly enjoyable cha... READ MORE
A lot of fun: it hits the right spots
Using an absolutely kaleidoscopic galaxy of the imagination, The Ministry of Time is so deeply satisfying, with at least as much unabashed charm as The Pri... READ MORE
Exciting debut
Very readable and smart novel which also packs an emotional punch. Great fun.
My book of 2024 so far!
On paper, The Ministry of Time is such a bizarre fusion of genres that really shouldn't work together, but they absolutely do. It's a weird fusion of SFF, ... READ MORE
The hype is justified!
Ministry of Time completely gripped me and I was devastated when it ended. The initial premise of people snatched from time and brought to live in the pres... READ MORE
Thoroughly enjoyable. The highest praise one can give a book.
I read this over the weekend in as close to one sitting as is possible these days. Well plotted and complete with a few good twists, I thought it was a fun... READ MORE
Astounding
Well, what an astounding debut, and one that I think will be one to look out for this year! Set in a London that feels both familiar, but also slightly dys... READ MORE
Unique, clever and challenging
A by-the-book millenial civil servant gets put in charge of stewarding a victorian polar explorer plucked from history into the twenty-first century. Time-... READ MORE
A joyful debut
Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley's debut novel, has received much hype and anticipation and it really delivers on that promise.
A melting pot of genres f... READ MORE
Everything a reader could want from a novel about time travel
Full of heart. Full of historical context. This is everything a reader could want from a time-travel narrative and more, and I think Commander Graham Gore’... READ MORE
A clever, fun read!
This book was such a fun read. Set a little in the future; time travel is now possible. The Ministry of Time has been founded to help integrate 'expats' fr... READ MORE
The best debut novel I have ever read
I devoured this in a buddy read with a friend and I am so glad I had someone to gush about this with while I was completely enraptured by this incredibly o... READ MORE
Something unique
Oh Commander Gore, you are gorgeous!
This has such a well-spun plot, featuring so many different genre elements with our narrator and Commander Gore at th... READ MORE
Great read!
Ignore the naysayers, if you take this for what it is, a lighthearted, time travel romance...it's rather charming and perfectly balanced for an easy, all i... READ MORE
All around brilliant!
This is one of my top novels of the year, I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through!
Time travel romance is my new favourite genre and I’m gonna str... READ MORE
A beautiful thriller of a book !
This book branches so many genres in the best possible way! From subtle sci fi to spy thriller, with a slow burn romance. The sarcastic style humour was *c... READ MORE
Bold, inventive and cinematic. I predict huge things for this book.
I so enjoyed this one. It's literary fiction, which reads like romantic comedy blended with light science fiction or distiopia. Perfect for fans of The Tim... READ MORE
Complicated...
Thank you to the Publisher for an advance copy of this novel.
I have complicated thoughts about this novel which I found compelling in most aspects and ... READ MORE
Past choices and imagined futures
I tend not to choose sci-fi books as a rule and I never willingly read about time travel, but I’m so glad that I went against my instincts this time, as I ... READ MORE
Beautiful.
'I let her leave without saying goodbye and sat in the pool of silence that followed the crash of the front door slamming shut. This was one of my first le... READ MORE
Stunning
What a brilliant book! Time travel done very well. It's got something for everyone and it's ever so clever. Although I feel quite horrified about our near ... READ MORE
An incredible debut!
The hype is totally worth it with this one! I cannot get over how brilliant Bradley’s mind is to come up with such a clever and unique story, and yet make ... READ MORE
Simply Masterful
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 re... READ MORE
A Love Story
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... READ MORE
Clever, speculative fiction debut
It’s quite difficult to categorise Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel. It’s literary, speculative fiction mixed with romance and humour. We have a number of cha... READ MORE
A new concept in time travel
This is time travel book of an unusual nature. People are brought from the past and looked after by a "bridge". they are observed and monitored as part of ... READ MORE
Mind-bending twist of alternative history of people who would have otherwise perished
A delightful and strange ominous and mind-bending journey of "the past meets future / a finger meets a trigger / the beginning meets the end."
Kaliane ... READ MORE
Synopsis
In the near future, a disaffected civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test the limits of time-travel.
Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, assisting and monitoring the expat known as '1847' - Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to the Arctic, so he's a little disoriented to find himself alive and surrounded by outlandish concepts such as 'washing machine', 'Spotify' and 'the collapse of the British Empire'. With an appetite for discovery and a seven-a-day cigarette habit, he soon adjusts; and during a long, sultry summer he and his bridge move from awkwardness to genuine friendship, to something more.
But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. Can love triumph over the structures and histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy history when history is living in your house?
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN: 9781399743600
- Number of pages: 400
- Weight: 620g
- Dimensions: 236 x 158 x 40 mm
Customer Reviews
View allSimply brilliant..
We all dream or think of time travel but what would it really be like to be transported either to the past or the future?
‘The Ministry of Time’ perfect... READ MORE
Tedious and pretentious prose
I knew after a few pages that the prose of this book would drive me up the wall. I soldiered on for 50 pages and gave up. The constant use of pretentious o... READ MORE
Great idea badly done
Didn't think it was possible to make a story involving time travel dreary ,I was wrong . This manages it .
Characters are flat and dull , the plot ( what ... READ MORE
Clever funny sexy
The Ministry of Time - Kaliana Bradley
Take a disparate group of people from the past with nothing in common and whisk them forward to the future. Throw... READ MORE
Disappointing
History records that in 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin led a British expedition to find the Northwest Passage through Canada. It turned out to be one of t... READ MORE
Awkward
Awkward piece of writing, lacking any original sense of imagination. What exactly is speculative fiction here; what is it at all? A sci-fi fairy tail. It’s... READ MORE
An interesting idea but the second half lets it down
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 clea... READ MORE
The Hype is Real
The Ministry Of Time by Kailane Bradley:
This book had been tipped for success for some time, it’s was in all the ‘best books of 2024’ lists, the intern... READ MORE
Spanish TV Show?
This debut is far from the high-concept, brain-curdlingly complex feat of literary SF you might be fearing. It is a simple love story, predicated on a hast... READ MORE
A great debut novel
'The Ministry of Time' by Kaliane Bradley is a unique novel that takes you on a journey through time.
A civil servant is given an upgraded job in a top ... READ MORE
A Mesmerizing Fusion of Genres
Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel, “The Ministry of Time,” is a literary marvel that defies categorization. With a masterful blend of time travel, romance, esp... READ MORE
Thriller, love story, time travel humor
Thanks go to the publisher for the advanced reading copy of this book. This is a great first novel by the Author Kaliane Bradley. I went to it expecting a ... READ MORE
A time-travel romance, speculative spy thriller and workplace comedy all rolled into one that didn't disappoint.
4.25*
I was so intrigued when I saw the concept of this debut novel from Kaliane Bradley - A time-travel romance, speculative spy thriller and workplac... READ MORE
Unique, superb
The Ministry Of Time is going to be huge and perhaps it may need yet more publicity but its too good of a story to leave alone.
The main narrator has no n... READ MORE
Funny twist on time travel books
When I read the blurb for The Ministry of Time I was immediately curious and it become one of my most anticipated releases of the year.
I was not disap... READ MORE
Pure fun, ingenious
What an original, fun novel! The Ministry of Time captures the very best bits of history, sci-fi, thriller and even (dare I say?), romance genres. An ingen... READ MORE
Not just another book about time travel!
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 h... READ MORE
started strong but failed to keep me engaged
An interesting title and potential for an entertaining story line. Historical characters are transported to the present where they are allocated a speciall... READ MORE
charming, clever and captivating
really enjoyed this thought-provoking book, it’s clever, funny, and, for a time travel novel, remarkably coherent. Bradley’s book really defies categorisat... READ MORE
Enjoyable read
I enjoyed this and read the book quickly for me.
Lots of great reviews which I don’t disagree with. It felt like it should be building to a fabulous end/c... READ MORE
Great Debut!
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy, this is a great debut which I think many will be reading and recommending this year.
It will steal... READ MORE
A gem of a novel, I adored it
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 ... READ MORE
It's a hit!
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 am... READ MORE
Exceptional
In February of this year I read an excellent book, and confidently I said it would probably be the best book I read all year. Quite fittingly, for this boo... READ MORE
Time travel as a metaphor for otherness? I'm not sure. Intriguing
Three and a half stars.
So difficult to review this because there was so much to like and so much I didn't really understand.
Our protagonist, whose ... READ MORE
A wonderfully clever, original and genre defying novel
I really enjoyed this thought-provoking book, it’s clever, funny, and, for a time travel novel, remarkably coherent. Bradley’s book really defies categoris... READ MORE
clever, funny and thought provoking
I really enjoyed this thought-provoking book, it’s clever, funny, and, for a time travel novel, remarkably coherent. Bradley’s book really defies categoris... READ MORE
How would you help a time traveler adapt to your time?
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 Litera... READ MORE
Thought provoking, laugh inducing
A captivating story that deals not just with time travel but questions relevant modern day issues. I read it all in one go!
A remarkable unlikely romance
This fantasy novel sits in an alternate UK where, rather than pay billions of pounds to send a few immigrants to Rwanda, the government has a time scoop an... READ MORE
Pitch Perfect
Thank you to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for a free ebook copy of this novel in exchange for a review.
I adore time travel narratives. I hav... READ MORE
Brilliant!
I love the idea of bringing people from the past and seeing how difficult it may be to adjust in the 21st century. I loved the emotional tension through th... READ MORE
High concept
An experiment in time travel has led to a disparate group of expats who have been transported to the present by a mysterious Ministry. Each is assigned a ... READ MORE
Enjoyable
The Ministry of Time is a blended genre story - Sci Fi, romance, history, comedy- about an agent assigned to look after Graham Cole, an real life commander... READ MORE
Exceptional
Beautifully crafted, time travel may not be a new genre but this one is far from pulp SiFi. Approaches time travel from a different view point very much 2... READ MORE
Loved it!
A civil servant gets the job of a lifetime- she has been chosen to be a bridge for a time traveller! In the not too distant future, time travel is in its ... READ MORE
A wonderful surprise.
This novel takes things we think we know, like time travel fantasies and puts the humanity in them. The way the describes the overwhelming nature of the fu... READ MORE
Adventure and mystery
Ministry of Time by Bradley is an enthralling adventure that masterfully intertwines historical intrigue and thrilling action. Bradley's meticulous attenti... READ MORE
Enjoyable.
The whole idea of the story is interesting.I found the whole thing to be very entertaing and enjoyable.
Good ideas lacking execution
There were some great ideas in this book & interesting characters that could actually have been fleshed out better. But while the story eventually did grip... READ MORE
A promising and original debut!
I really liked the overall concept for the book and wouldn't be surprised if it gets turned into a film or TV series. The narrative switches between the no... READ MORE
Sparkling
Not only a fascinating premis but brilliantly written. A joy to read.
A Mesmerizing Fusion of Genres
Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel, “The Ministry of Time,” is a literary marvel that defies categorization. With a masterful blend of time travel, romance, esp... READ MORE
Wonderfully unique
Thank you to the author, publishers Sceptre and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
In... READ MORE
Compelling and engaging cross-genre story.
This was a compelling and engaging cross-genre combination of time-travel, mystery/thriller, historical fiction, and romance. It had a lot to pack in, and... READ MORE
Utterly Bonkers and Fun
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 g... READ MORE
Sci Fi Thriller
A civil servant who has struggled and failed to pass the exams for field agent, is offered a mysterious new job at an improbably high salary It transpires ... READ MORE
This book stick in my mind for a long time
Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time is emphatically not one of those Time Traveller’s Guide to XXX Britain books. It’s a dark novel and one that will st... READ MORE
My favourite book of the year (so far!)
It's been 3 months since I finished reading The Ministry of Time, and I can't stop thinking about it! It's my favourite book I've read so far this year, an... READ MORE
Great debut that's a lot of fun