Book completed

[eve_prime]

The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley. It is London in the very near future, and our main character, whose mother survived the Cambodian genocide, takes a new job as a “bridge” for someone who has been brought forward in time. Yes, there’s a time machine, and five people from Britain’s past who were considered dead by their contemporaries get a chance to live again. Our main character is a thoughtful young woman who is very attracted to her “ex-pat” and helps him adjust to modern Britain as it faces climate challenges… and then the book turns into a thriller, with exciting twists and turns. Wow. Without spoiling too much, since this information is present from the start of the book, I can say that if you’ve had a lifelong crush on Graham Gore, a handsome and likeable member of a failed Arctic expedition who had apparently also been on the Beagle with Darwin, then this is the book for you! (I don’t personally know the names of people who died exploring the Arctic, but apparently some people do.) This book was definitely a pleasure to read.

Comments

[claidheamhmor]

Mmm, sounds like an interesting one

[eve_prime]

Her first book, too! I found it quite interesting.

[auros]

There was a Spanish TV show under that same title (well, "El Ministerio del Tiempo") and with a similar premise -- the Ministry recruits agents out of history at a point where history already records an obscure death. It was pretty good, but frustratingly got cancelled on a cliffhanger.

[eve_prime]

Ah, so neither an original title nor premise - although the story looks to be quite different. I see there were 42 episodes. Having something cancelled on a cliffhanger is so frustrating!

D'oh, you had actually linked me to the Wikipedia article I just found.

[auros]

Yeah the Spanish show is kind of an action comedy, and a bit of a trifle. The book sounds better. Though I sort of wonder whether the author was aware of the show.

[eve_prime]

I wonder about that too. In the author Q&A, she explains that she wrote it to entertain a group of her friends who are all seriously interested in the history of British Arctic explorations and didn't think to publish it until they were enthusiastic. I don't know anything at all about the potential availability of Spanish television to British viewers, but the Internet tells me that Britain does have Netflix...