Simon & Schuster We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. A delightful mix of historical fact and science fiction, Kaliane Bradley's debut novel "The Ministry of Time" (Simon & Schuster) mixes historical fact and science fiction in the story of a secret British agency that plucks doomed people from the past. Read an excerpt below.
"The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley $19 at Amazon Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. Try Audible for free The interviewer said my name, which made my thoughts clip. I don't say my name, not even in my head.
She'd said it correctly, which people generally don't. "I'm Adela," she said. She had an eye patch and blond hair the same color and texture as hay.
"I'm the Vice Secretary." "Of ..
.?" "Have a seat." This was my sixth round of interviews.
The job I was interviewing for was an internal posting. It had been marked SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED because it was gauche to use the TOP SECRET stamps on paperwork with salary bands. I'd never been cleared to this security level, hence why no one would tell me what the job was.
As it paid almost triple my current salary, I was happy to taste ignorance. I'd had to produce squeaky-clean grades in first aid, Safeguarding Vulnerable People, and the Home Office's Life in the UK test to get this far. I knew that I would be working closely with refugees of high-interest status and particular needs, but I didn't know from whence they wer.