Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley- Book review

Here is my review of Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley- science fiction.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machine,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But he adjusts quickly; he is, after all, an explorer by trade. Soon, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a seriously uncomfortable housemate dynamic, evolves into something much more. Over the course of an unprecedented year, Gore and the bridge fall haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences they never could have imagined.
Supported by a chaotic and charming cast of characters—including a 17th-century cinephile who can’t get enough of Tinder, a painfully shy World War I captain, and a former spy with an ever-changing series of cosmetic surgery alterations and a belligerent attitude to HR—the bridge will be forced to confront the past that shaped her choices, and the choices that will shape the future.

Review

Here is my review of this science- fiction book- Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

I love time-travel fiction ,so I was looking forward to this one by Kaliane Bradley and while I did enjoy Ministry of Time , it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The book has a different take on time travel- what would happen if time travel was another department of  the British Civil service and the establishment. And yet, there are a lot of forms!

The first-person narrator is a civil servant who is of mixed Cambodian and British descent is recruited to be part of the Ministry of Time, a department to help a time traveller(  or kidnappee) assimilate into modern society. The narrator becomes the bridge to Graham Gore ( a real-life explorer) from 1845 and the gentle , development of the relationship between them and the other time travellers form the core of this lovely book.

The book also touches upon the difficulties of being  different and trying to fit in whether as a minority, gender, sexuality or because  you  happen to be from the past.

The book slowly builds to an action filled finale with some twists and reveals along the way- but these are gently threaded through the narrative.

Content Warning

References to racism, war crimes

Perfect for Fans

Who would like a different take on the time-travel trope.

Saving Time by Jodi Taylor – book review

I enjoyed diving back into the mad world of time travelling historians and time police with Saving Time by Jodi Taylor

Life is good for Team Weird, now heroes and fully fledged Time Police officers. Luke can’t wait to bear arms. Jane has a date. And Matthew still hasn’t had his hair cut.
But Time waits for no one and neither do criminal masterminds. A major threat to the Timeline is looming, one far deadlier than mere idiots who want to change history. And when a familiar face becomes a Very Important Lead, will conflicting family loyalties spell trouble for Team Weird?
One missing. One guilt-ridden. And one facing the end of their Time Police career before it’s even begun. Not so good then, after all. 

Source :My own

Series: Time Police Series

Review

I enjoyed diving back into the mad world of time travelling historians and time police in Saving Time by Jodi Taylor, the third book in the Time Police series.

Even though there are two books ahead in the series, you can just dive in with this book- in fact I haven’t read the second book but was able to keep track of the completed plots and relationships.

A Symphony of Echoes By Jodi Taylor – Book review

The chaotic romp through time continues with A Symphony Of Echoes, the second book in the St Mary Chronicles by Jodi Taylor.

In the second book in the Chronicles of St Mary’s series, Max and the team visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches.
But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St Mary’s – an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy History itself to do it.

Review

A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor continues Max’s story (click here for the review of One Damned Thing After another) and her time-travel adventures with St Mary’s along with the rest of her eccentric colleagues.

In the second book, Max heads to the future and has to face her nemesis(s), Isabella Barclay and Ronan again and ends up interim director but after she faces off with Jack the Ripper.

Max continues to be feisty, and funny (even when she has to lead) but vulnerable in this book particularly with her relationship with Leon Farell. I have to admit I wasn’t a big fan of Leon in this book and I did want to throw the book at the wall when reading about their relationship. I preferred Max’s more healthy relationships with her colleagues and friends which forms the heart of the book but her reaction to Leon’s boorish behaviour was hilariously unhinged.

As expected, there is plenty of tea, accidents and mishaps and of course a completely bonkers take on history- I loved the explanation of why Jack the Ripper disappeared from history. The team also head off to Tudor Scotland to stop Mary becoming the Queen of England and Scotland- a complicated scheme hatched by Ronan to save his love Anne.

 We do learn a little bit more about the past (or future) history of St Marys.

Content warning

References to rape, sexual assault, torture and violence (this is in a historical context and boy were they violent in the past!)

Perfect for Fans

Who loves Time travel books

Series: Book two in the St Marys Chronicles

Source: My Own

One Damned Thing after another by Jodi Taylor

I’m finally reading the St Mary Chronicles in order. Read my review of One Damned Thing after Another by Jodi Taylor which introduces the chaotic, tea drinking time travellers.

Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document – to try and find the answers to many of History’s unanswered questions…and not to die in the process. But one wrong move and History will fight back – to the death. And, as they soon discover – it’s not just History they’re fighting.
Follow the catastrophe curve from 11th-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake.

Review

I love time-travel stories and the St Mary Chronicles is one of my favourites. I have dipped in and out of the series ,reading the books in random order ( which works fine for this series) but decided to finally read them in order.

Lost in Time by A G Riddle – book review

I found another time travel book! Here is my review of Lost in Time by A G Riddle.

When his daughter is falsely accused of murder, a scientist must travel 200 million years into the past to save her. But there are secrets waiting there. And more than her life is at stake.

From the worldwide bestselling author of Departure and Winter World comes a standalone novel with a twist you’ll never see coming.

Control the Past.
Save the Future.

Review

Source: NetGalley,Head of Zeus and Ad Astra books

Publication date: 1^st September 22

I love time-travel fiction, so I was so excited when I found Lost In Time. I haven’t read any of A G Riddle’s books before but after reading this book I will definitely be exploring his backlist.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

The book has an interesting use for time- travel technology- it is used to send criminals to the past to be eaten by dinosaurs although the official line seems to be for people to live in exile.

Sam finds himself accused of the murder of his lover as is his 19- year-old daughter Adeline but finds himself confessing to the crime to protect her. As a result, he is sent to the dinosaur age which is ironic as he was one of the scientists who developed the tech and made millions from this.

His daughter Adeline is determined to find the evidence that proves his innocence and bring him back home. But she needs the help of his fellow scientists and financial backer but why do all of them seem to be hiding secrets.

Adeline is a realistic and believable 19-year-old and the book is mainly from her point of view. The world-building is futuristic and believable. There is enough explanation of the science to understand time travel but not too much to be boring.

I can;treally say more about the story as that would heading into spoiler terrority.

I’m not sure if there is a sequel to the book as I thought there were plot strands that weren’t resolved which left me a little frustrated. I didn’t quite understand the plot but that could be just me being dense and this did not stop me from enjoying this mind-boggling story.

Perfect for fans of

St Mary Chronicles, Island of Time ( review here)

Nexus Point by K. Pimpinella – Blog Tour/Book review

I’m so pleased to be part of the Escapist Tours Blog Tour of Nexus Point by K Pimpinella- a fast- paced time-travel science-fiction thriller I couldn’t put down. Click link below to be in with a chance of winning a copy of the book (open internationally)

Winner of a 2021 Canada Book Award
Quarter Finalists in SPSFC
Editor’s Pick, BookLife/Publisher’s Weekly

The year is 2198. Earth has unified under one government, Utopia. War has ravaged the planet, forcing many citizens to immigrate to space stations and colonies. As human life expands into space, the Nexus Point and its abandoned station are discovered along with their time-travel capabilities. Time travel becomes the new luxury vacation, but some citizens go rogue and as history starts to change, the Time Rangers are born; a specialized unit tasked with chasing down the Time Runners. Following family tradition, Kai Sawyer, joins the Rangers. His first mission as a commander; travel to1634 France and defeat a Time Runner trying to jump start the progression of medicine. As Sawyer struggles to save his team and the future of Utopia; he learns of a more sinister plot that might include his father, the Rear Admiral of the Time Rangers. Should the Runners succeed, they will rewrite the future of all mankind.

Review

I enjoyed Nexus Point by K Pimpinella-a fast-paced time-travelling thriller.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

This sci-fi thriller ticks all the boxes for me- great story, interesting characters,  intriguing world-building, science and history as well as plenty of action.

Kai Sawyer is a spawn- the genetically created and enhanced son of a respected Solider of the Time Ranges. The Time Rangers are the official body hunting down rogue time-travellers and keeping history right.

I admit to not warming up to Kai until the end of the book but this could be partly due to his genetic make-up and his harsh upbringing at the hands of his father but he comes into his own at the end Lately, I seem to find the secondary characters in books more interesting and this is no different in Time Nexus.  While Kai’s father seemed to be a two-dimensional bad father on the surface, there does seem to be more lurking under the surface. Hawk- Kai’s best friend, Perry- the specialist and Santiago the resentful second in command are interesting in their own right and I would have loved to read more chapters with them in.

There is plenty of action in various periods, and the world-building in both the present and past is well described.

I liked the idea of time travel initially being used for a corporate profit before being policed by the time rangers and hopefully this will be expnaded on in book two.

This is the first book in the Time Rangers series and I would definitely read book two after that epilogue.

Content warning

References to child abuse, drug use,torture

Perfect for fans of

Time travel fiction

GIVEAWAY ( CLOSING DATE 17/8/22)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK ( OPEN INTERNATIONALLY)

Author Site: www.kpimpinella.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/k_pimpinella
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.pimpinella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimeRangersBookSeries
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21135489.K_Pimpinella

About the Author

Author Bio & Information:

Long Bio:

An author and lover of all things science fiction, K.Pimpinella grew up with the greats like Star Wars, Star Trek and the original Battlestar Galactica, and still enjoys them today. The theme of teamwork  which dominated Stargate, the camaraderie of the character dynamics of the video game Mass Effect, and the time-travel ideals of the TV show Timeless, were the foundations of her world-building and characters of the Time Ranger series, of which, Nexus Point is the first novel.

She now lives in Uxbridge, ON. In her spare time she enjoys ice hockey, snowboarding, western horseback riding and spending time with her husband and two dogs, Dallas and Tonka.

A Catalogue of Catastrophe by Jodie Taylor- Blog Tour/Book review

I loved this fun romp through time in A catalogue of Catastrophe by Jodie Taylor.

Genre: Science-fiction, time travel

Series: Chronicles of St Mary ( Book 13)

Source:  Thank you for my copy NetGalley and publishers Headline for a free and unbiased opinion

Publication Date: April 2022

When all is lost. When everything is ending. When there’s no hope. When you can’t win. That’s when you attack.
Punching well above their weight, Max and Markham set out to bring down a sinister organisation whose roots might be firmly embedded in the future but whose focus is the past.
Max’s focus is staying alive long enough to reunite with Leon and Matthew – alternately helped and hindered by St Mary’s. Who aren’t always the blessing they like to think they are.
And that’s not all. Are the effects of constantly leaping around the timeline beginning to make themselves felt? Is Max going mad? Or are the ghosts of the past finally catching up with her

Review

I seem to be in a bit of a time-travel phase at the moment but who doesn’t enjoy a bit of time-travel bedlam and there is a lot of fun-filled chaos in A Catalogue of Catastrophe.

This is the 13th book in the Chronicles of StMary but what I particularly enjoy about this series is that you can jump in randomly at any book and quickly pick up on what is happening. I haven’t read all the books in this series but have read a couple of books out of synch.

Master of The Ravels by Nicole Galland- Book review

The March of the sequels hosted by Sue’s Musing continues with The Master of The Ravels by Nicole Galland featuring official and rogue time travel agencies, good and bad witches and a whole lot of Shakespeare.

image of Master of the Ravels

Genre: Time Travel,science fiction

Series: Sequel to the Rise and Fall of DODO

Source: My own

This sequel picks up where the original left off, as Tristan Lyons, Mel Stokes, and their fellow outcasts from the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.) fight to stop the powerful witch Gráinne from using time travel to reverse the evolution of all modern technology. 

Chief amongst Gráinne’s plots: to encrypt cataclysmic spells into Shakespeare’s “cursed” play, Macbeth. When her fellow rogue agents fall victim to Gráinne’s schemes, Melisande Stokes is forced to send Tristan’s sister Robin back in time to 1606.While Robin poses as an apprentice in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Mel travels to the ancient Roman Empire and, with the help of double-agent Chira in Renaissance Florence, untangles the knotted threads of history while the diabolical Gráinne jumps from timeline to timeline, always staying frustratingly one stop ahead—or is it behind?

Review

I loved The Rise and Fall of DODO and was so excited to come across the sequel in my local bookshop. The book continues to be told via a mix of memos. journal entries, letters etc that continue to work well. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the first book, there is a handy summary at the start, in fact not reading the book first might not be such a bad thing but more on that later.