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adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really good fun read. I loved the characters and the relationships. I loved the ambition. I can't say that the time travel timelines or the aims of the ministry made sense at any point. The foreshadowing of what happened between the protagonist and one of the other bridges just didn't make any sense when it happened, and although it explained later the earlier part just looked like a clunky set up for what eventually happened. All that said, I really enjoyed it. The personal stuff interweaving what happened to Graham on the mission with the modern day was really effective. Messages about climate change were powerful. And I found the thread about empire and racism really interesting even if it was a bit confusing as it related to the plot. The relationship between the narrator and Graham and the other time traveller was adorable.
I think a lot of people didn't like the ending but I found it satisfying.
I think a lot of people didn't like the ending but I found it satisfying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Murder
Minor: Racism, Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun premise, interesting story and a unique voice. Sometimes the plot was a little muddled but definitely worth reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Cannibalism, Murder
Minor: Racism
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had complicated feelings about this book. The first 2/3 of the book felt like a total slog, and I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters during that time. But it picked up in the final third and managed to tie together all of the pieces that it had spent the first part setting up, even if the ending was a bit confusing.
I also found the sexualization of and obsession with a real person from history (especially one who seemed like just a normal guy, rather than a public figure) to be a bit icky, along with the power imbalance in the relationship in the book. However, I think the book actually grapples with this in some ways.
For a while, I couldn't decide if I liked this book or not, but ultimately it's a fun time travel romance that also explores identity and somehow makes all of that work together. I do feel like it could be polished a little bit more though.
I also found the sexualization of and obsession with a real person from history (especially one who seemed like just a normal guy, rather than a public figure) to be a bit icky, along with the power imbalance in the relationship in the book. However, I think the book actually grapples with this in some ways.
For a while, I couldn't decide if I liked this book or not, but ultimately it's a fun time travel romance that also explores identity and somehow makes all of that work together. I do feel like it could be polished a little bit more though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Cannibalism, War
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Murder, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Racial slurs, Slavery
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The time travel gets a bit wonky at the end. I really enjoyed the first half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, War
Minor: Torture, Vomit
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the best books I’ve read in a while. I learned so many new words, the concept was completely original, the characters were so memorable I felt I knew them by the end, and the plot was well-written and well designed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Deportation
Cannot recommend it enough!
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Grief, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely loved this. It felt fun, sad, complicated, devastating and even a little bit hopeful. A great read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, War
medium-paced
A novel weak in science fiction and flawed in romance, which depends on unrewarding tropes and fails to fully develop an intriguing concept.
In an interview, Kaliane Bradley says that an obsession with the historical Graham Gore is the Franklin expedition inspired her debut novel, The Ministry of Time. This starting point helps to make sense of a somewhat thin time travel mechanism and the lack of concrete detail around the ministry that utilizes it to experiment with bringing people from previous centuries into present-day London. The book is framed as a romance, which goes from slow burn (ie. Victorian) to all-at-once in a single scene. Where it was loose and unconvincing up to that point, the protagonists’ development stagnates there.
Bradley uses obvious foreshadowing, with phrases like, “I didn’t know it would be the last time” and “it ended up like this because of my stupidity” (paraphrasing). This doesn’t contribute much to the plot, but does make the narrator annoying. Since Graham Gore is mainly shown from her perspective, as a handsome, charming gentleman, he reads as false and boring.
In contrast, his “expat” friends, Maggie and Arthur, are more dynamic; however, the way queerness is treated through these two characters felt off. I’m not sure whether the author is queer, but their sexuality came across as an experimental quirk to prove a point (of 21st century progress, of Gore’s winning personality) rather than a realistic unfolding identity.
Some of the expats’ learning and emotions around coming to the 21st century interested me—Arthur and Graham’s music performance, a game of finding things from their times, etc. There are hints of good fiction here, but they don’t make up a solid core.
Some of the expats’ learning and emotions around coming to the 21st century interested me—Arthur and Graham’s music performance, a game of finding things from their times, etc. There are hints of good fiction here, but they don’t make up a solid core.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Murder
Minor: Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Vomit, War
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia
Minor: Cannibalism