Book Review: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

I love experiencing stories that keep me guessing as to their ultimate destination, and for most of the novel, The Ministry of Time had me doing just that as it hurtled toward a finale that I genuinely did not expect.

The book is primarily told from the perspective of an unnamed, female, British civil servant of mixed-Cambodian descent who is assigned to a top-secret government agency known as, you guessed it, The Ministry of Time. Put together as a response to the also top-secret discovery of time travel, the goal of the group is to collect “expats” from various points in history to study the effects of the new technology on human anatomy and the space-time continuum. If you’re worried that this means the book will get bogged down in science fiction minutiae, don’t be. The author isn’t worried about such things, aside from answering one of the bigger potential conundrums the situation brings up by explaining that the “expats” the agency collects are only people who were about to die anyway so that their absence would not be noticed in their original time, which is actually a pretty clever solution.

Our narrator (herein referred to as MC) is one of 5 agents who have been selected to serve as “bridges”, who function as guides and monitors to the 5 “expats” that have been successfully brought forward in time. Each duo is provided with a house to live in, where the “bridges” will monitor the progress of their subjects, try to keep them safe, and help them adjust to life in the modern world. MC has been tasked to keep watch over “1847” or Commander Graham Gore, who was one of the men who perished during Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to the Arctic. She is immediately drawn to him, and one senses the feeling may be mutual, but the clash between her modern sensibilities and his more reserved and formal demeanor lead to each sending the other mixed signals.

Everyone is required to report back to the Ministry on a regular basis for a host of updates and examinations, as well as social time amongst each other as a group. As things progress the “expats” are given greater freedoms and begin to venture further out into London and Great Britain. During these interactions, MC begins to notice little oddities that suggest the Ministry isn’t being entirely forthcoming. But when her coworkers start to hint that they are also harboring suspicions, she winds up writing them off as paranoid and continues to dutifully perform her job.

Or well, sort of dutifully anyway. While she technically continues to be present in Graham’s life, her growing obsession with him starts leading her to make questionable decisions. When a colleague is killed in front of her, she becomes even more unmoored from reality. The response may be understandable after such a traumatic event, but it’s hard to believe that she would be allowed to keep her position (though in fairness that is ultimately explained). While she struggles to regain some degree of professional composure, it becomes increasingly clear that the Ministry is lying and she, her coworkers, and the “expats” are all in terrible danger.

Plot-wise, not much of consequence happens for the first two thirds of the book, but the fish-out-of-water moments and burgeoning chemistry between MC and 1847 keep things interesting. Several of the side characters are a joy to spend time with, and Graham is written so charismatically that it’s almost impossible not to find yourself developing a crush on him as well. That said, the narrator is hit and miss. She’s certainly intelligent, has some interesting commentary on society, and can frequently be quite funny, but she also seems quite selfish and oddly conformist. I understand that the author is using the latter trait to demonstrate the dangers of blind obeisance to power, but it feels disconnected from other parts of MC’s personality and makes her somewhat hard to root for.

Bradley touches on several themes here, perhaps too many, but is primarily interested in the dynamics of power. Our MC is all too willing to let the Ministry exert power over her while in turn trying to use the power she has over Graham to shape him into who she wants him to be. Along with parallels between her actions and those of people throughout history who assuage their guilt by claiming they were “just following orders” the author offers up a lot to think about here, even if much of it feels a tad underexplored.

Engagingly written, with slowly doled out bits of mystery and romance, this is an easy recommendation. There may be a few unanswered questions at the end, but they were never really the point here. Fun, thought-provoking, slightly flawed, and hard to put down, The Ministry of Time won’t be most people’s favorite speculative fiction novel, but it satisfies on many levels. ★★★★