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The Time Traveler's Passport #4
A Visit to the Husband Archive: The Time Traveler's Passport
A woman discovers her hidden potential in this dystopian short story about memory, identity, and imagination from Kaliane Bradley, the New York Times bestselling author of The Ministry of Time.
Nobody likes being on agricultural rotation, and with this heat wave, it’s almost more than Ester can take. She’s itching for something she can’t put words to—something she has no memory of wanting. But then, she can’t remember much beyond the past couple of years. She’s sent to the husband archive for a cure, but the man she checks out comes with stacks and stacks of paper he calls “books.” What they teach each other may prove hard to forget.
Kaliane Bradley’s A Visit to the Husband Archive is part of The Time Traveler’s Passport, an unforgettable collection of stories about memory, identity, and choice curated by New York Times bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Watch time fly as you read or listen to each short story in a single sitting.
Nobody likes being on agricultural rotation, and with this heat wave, it’s almost more than Ester can take. She’s itching for something she can’t put words to—something she has no memory of wanting. But then, she can’t remember much beyond the past couple of years. She’s sent to the husband archive for a cure, but the man she checks out comes with stacks and stacks of paper he calls “books.” What they teach each other may prove hard to forget.
Kaliane Bradley’s A Visit to the Husband Archive is part of The Time Traveler’s Passport, an unforgettable collection of stories about memory, identity, and choice curated by New York Times bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Watch time fly as you read or listen to each short story in a single sitting.
Audible Audio
First published November 3, 2025
218 people are currently reading
815 people want to read
About the author
Kaliane Bradley
6 books1,962 followersKaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor based in London. Her short fiction has appeared in Somesuch Stories, The Willowherb Review, Electric Literature, Catapult, and Extra Teeth, among others. She was the winner of the 2022 Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize and the 2022 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
November 10, 2025
☆☆☆☆
A Visit to the Husband Archive has such an interesting and unique plot idea, I was hooked right away. I really enjoyed the dystopian setting, which felt both imaginative and immersive. Some parts could’ve gone deeper, but overall it’s a smart, absorbing read that stands out for its creativity. I’ll definitely be watching for whatever Kaliane Bradley writes next.
A Visit to the Husband Archive has such an interesting and unique plot idea, I was hooked right away. I really enjoyed the dystopian setting, which felt both imaginative and immersive. Some parts could’ve gone deeper, but overall it’s a smart, absorbing read that stands out for its creativity. I’ll definitely be watching for whatever Kaliane Bradley writes next.
December 17, 2025
Turn up the weird, turn it all the way up! This was so delightfully messed up!
where are the poets? What is humanity, without poets?
A Poet is someone who makes words new
all 5.
where are the poets? What is humanity, without poets?
A Poet is someone who makes words new
all 5.
December 2, 2025
continued on with this amazon short story collection and this might have been the weirdest of the 3 i read 🤣 all that said, these are designed to be a fun quick binge in one sitting and that’s what it achieved.
my main takeaway: it was quick and interesting to consider this dystopian future and what if this actually happened. picking your husband out of an archive? kinda funny!
my main takeaway: it was quick and interesting to consider this dystopian future and what if this actually happened. picking your husband out of an archive? kinda funny!
November 21, 2025
The beginning of this short story was really intriguing, I really enjoyed slowly learning what’s going on in this futuristic, dystopian world. I thought the concept was original and really interesting, this was one of my favorite stories in this anthology.
This is the second book I've read from this author and I can say she does enjoy an age gap in her couples 🤭
I also really liked this narrator and I think they did a great job!
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley for providing an ALC
This is the second book I've read from this author and I can say she does enjoy an age gap in her couples 🤭
I also really liked this narrator and I think they did a great job!
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley for providing an ALC
November 16, 2025
They Came out of Space and Time
A review of the Amazon Original Stories Kindle eBook edition (November 3, 2025), released simultaneously with the Brilliance Publishing Inc. audiobook.
There were several elements here that made it a favourite of mine in The Time Traveler's Passport series. Without getting too spoilery those were: a dystopian story that has a twist, the time travel element not being what you'd expect, a musical reference and the subplot about the magic and power of books.
The odd title is in reference to an quirk in this future dystopian world where most of the populace have huge gaps in their memories. The people (they can be both female or male) stored at the so-called "husband archives" are immune to this health issue. The "husbands" are checked out from the archives as companions for the afflicted. The story tells of Ester who takes on a husband named John. No more synopsis or spoilers from me.
Soundtrack
This one actually did provide its own soundtrack as long as you could decipher what someone describes as “Taught. Me. A. Song. I. Re. Mmmmm. Mem. Ber. A. Lark. Sssss. A. Sending.” That was obviously a reference to the solo violin and orchestral work The Lark Ascending (1914) by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Watch a live performance of the piece by violinist Hilary Hahn on YouTube here or listen to Hilary Hahn's studio recording on Spotify here.
Trivia and Links
Author Kaliane Bradley is best known as a writer of fantasy and sci-fi with her first novel The Ministry of Time (2024) being her most popular work (per current GR ratings and reviews).
A Visit to the Husband Archive is the 4th of 6 stories in The Time Traveler's Passport anthology collection from Amazon Original Stories released on November 3, 2025. The promo for the collection reads:
You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).
A review of the Amazon Original Stories Kindle eBook edition (November 3, 2025), released simultaneously with the Brilliance Publishing Inc. audiobook.
John (she learned, over the next couple of days) had been archived because he remembered books; not just what they were, but what they were supposed to do. “Books,” John told her, a few days into his stay, “are a technology for importing, housing, and spreading ideas. Sometimes an idea takes a whole narrative and cast of characters to make itself understood. Sometimes it just needs one line, such as ‘Manuscripts don’t burn.’”
There were several elements here that made it a favourite of mine in The Time Traveler's Passport series. Without getting too spoilery those were: a dystopian story that has a twist, the time travel element not being what you'd expect, a musical reference and the subplot about the magic and power of books.
The odd title is in reference to an quirk in this future dystopian world where most of the populace have huge gaps in their memories. The people (they can be both female or male) stored at the so-called "husband archives" are immune to this health issue. The "husbands" are checked out from the archives as companions for the afflicted. The story tells of Ester who takes on a husband named John. No more synopsis or spoilers from me.
Soundtrack
This one actually did provide its own soundtrack as long as you could decipher what someone describes as “Taught. Me. A. Song. I. Re. Mmmmm. Mem. Ber. A. Lark. Sssss. A. Sending.” That was obviously a reference to the solo violin and orchestral work The Lark Ascending (1914) by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Watch a live performance of the piece by violinist Hilary Hahn on YouTube here or listen to Hilary Hahn's studio recording on Spotify here.
Trivia and Links
Author Kaliane Bradley is best known as a writer of fantasy and sci-fi with her first novel The Ministry of Time (2024) being her most popular work (per current GR ratings and reviews).
A Visit to the Husband Archive is the 4th of 6 stories in The Time Traveler's Passport anthology collection from Amazon Original Stories released on November 3, 2025. The promo for the collection reads:
Six short stories. Infinite possibilities.
Embark on a mind-bending journey through time with six of today’s most visionary authors. Brimming with humor and heartache, this collection of short stories maps the roads we took to get here and the paths that lie ahead. The present may be a gift, but the future and the past both come with a price. Curated by John Joseph Adams, New York Times bestselling anthologist.
You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).
November 3, 2025
Some stories are just meant to be longer to be appreciated.
↠ 2.5 stars
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
↠ 2.5 stars
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
December 2, 2025
"Because there’s something about time, possible time, that makes children conceivable. You need possible time to make babies and write novels and paint the Sistine fucking Chapel."
OMG this was jaw-dropping. Sexy, funny, intimate ... yet bat-shit crazy in the best way possible. Never read Bradley before; the best of the series so far. I will be time-stalking the author.
OMG this was jaw-dropping. Sexy, funny, intimate ... yet bat-shit crazy in the best way possible. Never read Bradley before; the best of the series so far. I will be time-stalking the author.
November 14, 2025
3.5 stars.
More timey wimey stuff and less mansplaining husband pls.
More timey wimey stuff and less mansplaining husband pls.
November 5, 2025
3.25✨️
4th short story from The Time Traveler's Passport
Another story that didn't benefit at all from the short format, some stories are just meant to be properly presented into a full-length novella, with in-depth characterization and a sickening amount of details.
Interesting way to present the time travel mechanism, really sets itself apart from the previous stories and takes a darker turn.
I also did like how it ended on a hopeful note, addressing the fact that even if we lose our memories, who we are inside never changes. I just really wish it would've been longer and digged deeper into the world.
4th short story from The Time Traveler's Passport
Another story that didn't benefit at all from the short format, some stories are just meant to be properly presented into a full-length novella, with in-depth characterization and a sickening amount of details.
Interesting way to present the time travel mechanism, really sets itself apart from the previous stories and takes a darker turn.
I also did like how it ended on a hopeful note, addressing the fact that even if we lose our memories, who we are inside never changes. I just really wish it would've been longer and digged deeper into the world.
December 2, 2025
A clever idea, but difficult to execute
The fourth story in Amazon's Time Traveler's Passport series, Kaliane Bradley's A Visit to the Husband Archive, currently has a 3.19-star average rating on Goodreads. That's not a good number.
In my opinion Bradley deserves credit for attempting something innovative and difficult. It is not surprising that the attempt didn't come off. Although the overall feeling of the story is very different, the plot is surprisingly similar to Michael Ende's famous Momo, in which society is taken over by Men in Grey, who steal time from humans. In A Visit to the Husband Archive Earth has been occupied by aliens who are also time-thieves, and they have stolen humans' abilities to remember or even think coherently. (Confusingly, the visit to the husband archive that supplies the title is of little importance to the story.)
Bradley's problem is that the main point of view character is one of these damaged humans. As a consequence of what the time-thieves have done to her mind she is incapable of telling a story coherently. Momo got around this problem by telling the story from the point of view of the eponymous Momo, a hero resistant to the time-thieves. The husbands of A Visit to the Husband Archive are men and women who are somewhat resistant to the time-thieves, but it is not one of them telling the story.
The upshot is a disheartening and difficult-to-read story that I cannot at all recommend.
Blog review.
The fourth story in Amazon's Time Traveler's Passport series, Kaliane Bradley's A Visit to the Husband Archive, currently has a 3.19-star average rating on Goodreads. That's not a good number.
In my opinion Bradley deserves credit for attempting something innovative and difficult. It is not surprising that the attempt didn't come off. Although the overall feeling of the story is very different, the plot is surprisingly similar to Michael Ende's famous Momo, in which society is taken over by Men in Grey, who steal time from humans. In A Visit to the Husband Archive Earth has been occupied by aliens who are also time-thieves, and they have stolen humans' abilities to remember or even think coherently. (Confusingly, the visit to the husband archive that supplies the title is of little importance to the story.)
Bradley's problem is that the main point of view character is one of these damaged humans. As a consequence of what the time-thieves have done to her mind she is incapable of telling a story coherently. Momo got around this problem by telling the story from the point of view of the eponymous Momo, a hero resistant to the time-thieves. The husbands of A Visit to the Husband Archive are men and women who are somewhat resistant to the time-thieves, but it is not one of them telling the story.
The upshot is a disheartening and difficult-to-read story that I cannot at all recommend.
Blog review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2025
In all the weird books I've read this year, I think I liked this one the most. This book deals with a true dystopian landscape, where a young woman who works a physically demanding job is given a companion who attempts to teach her about books. Hard to read, emotionally chilling, raises great questions, and has a profound ending that I'm still thinking about. The prose is erratic, the plot is hand-wavey, and the....intercourse is weird, but then again, that's what makes up most of my favorite literary fiction.
Published as a part of The Time Traveler's Passport series, I recommend picking it up if you like speculative literary fiction.
The Time Traveler's Passport series
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years: ★★★★
Making Space: ★★
For a Limited Time Only: ★★★
A Visit to the Husband Archive: ★★★★★
All Manner of Thing Shall Be: ★★★★
Cronus: ★★★★★
Published as a part of The Time Traveler's Passport series, I recommend picking it up if you like speculative literary fiction.
The Time Traveler's Passport series
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years: ★★★★
Making Space: ★★
For a Limited Time Only: ★★★
A Visit to the Husband Archive: ★★★★★
All Manner of Thing Shall Be: ★★★★
Cronus: ★★★★★
November 4, 2025
Short story, fantastic read! I love a story that leaves me guessing, no idea where it’s going as the history and plot unfolds. This was my favorite so far of the Time Travelers Passport collection, and it’s the one I wish most would be turned into a full novel!
November 15, 2025
huh! i was underwhelmed by this one, just wasn’t my thing
November 4, 2025
If you liked 'The Ministry of Time,' you'll probably like this.
If, like me, you could not stand 'The Ministry of Time,' Kaliane Bradley's severely lacking worldbuilding skills, her penchant to tell rather than show while also bizarrely leaving the most important questions unanswered and refusing to give context to anything, and her love of poorly executed colonizer narratives, this will probably, at best, annoy you. It was an interesting concept, and it really could have been good, but it wasn't. At least it was only 30 pages (and the audiobook only an hour). Still, I could have avoided it altogether. But that's on me.
If, like me, you could not stand 'The Ministry of Time,' Kaliane Bradley's severely lacking worldbuilding skills, her penchant to tell rather than show while also bizarrely leaving the most important questions unanswered and refusing to give context to anything, and her love of poorly executed colonizer narratives, this will probably, at best, annoy you. It was an interesting concept, and it really could have been good, but it wasn't. At least it was only 30 pages (and the audiobook only an hour). Still, I could have avoided it altogether. But that's on me.
November 17, 2025
This suffered severely by being a short story
October 17, 2025
That's how I imagine the future with genAI
Seriously, the "where are the poets?" line is how I feel every time I see an AI generated book cover. It's not the way it happens in this story actually but that's what it felt like.
Seriously, the "where are the poets?" line is how I feel every time I see an AI generated book cover. It's not the way it happens in this story actually but that's what it felt like.
November 9, 2025
rounding down on this one
interesting concept but the giant overarching story was not explained so I was left with 1/2 of a story.
interesting concept but the giant overarching story was not explained so I was left with 1/2 of a story.
October 26, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
Am I just tired or did this book make zero sense? Women have been taken over by aliens and their memories wiped; a small portion of surviving men are immune to the memory wiping and become husbands to the women; the husbands attempt to teach the women about the aliens; the women continue to forget, die, and then the husbands get new wives. I just didn’t understand the point of the story.
Mirai did a nice job on the audiobook narration. It definitely sounded a bit robotic, but since that’s what the women essentially were, it was fitting.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for the audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Am I just tired or did this book make zero sense? Women have been taken over by aliens and their memories wiped; a small portion of surviving men are immune to the memory wiping and become husbands to the women; the husbands attempt to teach the women about the aliens; the women continue to forget, die, and then the husbands get new wives. I just didn’t understand the point of the story.
Mirai did a nice job on the audiobook narration. It definitely sounded a bit robotic, but since that’s what the women essentially were, it was fitting.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for the audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review!
November 20, 2025
2,5⭐️
Aprobado justito.
Me gusta el mundo y el enfoque que se le da al tiempo, me parece de lo más original; sin embargo, mi problema ha sido con los personajes y la organización de la sociedad.
Por una parte, me sorprende quiénes forman parte de las granjas de maridos, me resultan los que más fácil podrían rebelarae/escaparse, no sé, en mi mente no tiene sentido esta estructura organizativa.
Por otra, no he empatizado con ninguno de los protagonistas, y aunque he llegado a entenderle a él, que la trate así a pesar de saber lo que sabe y lo que le ha pasado... no sé, no logro entenderlo.
Ha estado entretenido y el final me ha resultado satisfactorio, pero en líneas generales me han fallado muchas cosas.
Aprobado justito.
Me gusta el mundo y el enfoque que se le da al tiempo, me parece de lo más original; sin embargo, mi problema ha sido con los personajes y la organización de la sociedad.
Por una parte, me sorprende quiénes forman parte de las granjas de maridos, me resultan los que más fácil podrían rebelarae/escaparse, no sé, en mi mente no tiene sentido esta estructura organizativa.
Por otra, no he empatizado con ninguno de los protagonistas, y aunque he llegado a entenderle a él, que la trate así a pesar de saber lo que sabe y lo que le ha pasado... no sé, no logro entenderlo.
Ha estado entretenido y el final me ha resultado satisfactorio, pero en líneas generales me han fallado muchas cosas.
December 23, 2025
so ambitious in its scope, and with a lot of ideas that are only hinted at in the narrative. kind of reminds me of "last murder at the end of the world".
November 8, 2025
this might be my least favorite so far, because it felt like too much all at the same time in such a short amount of pages, but i really like the final message of the book
October 21, 2025
Recommend-O-Meter: Interesting enough
I found this particular story rather intriguing both in its setting and in terms of its application of time travel. In this world, certain humans are archived, which is to say that what we consider as “normal” people have been stored and get checked out like books in a library. The rest of the population, including our protagonist Ester, are strange, to say the least. They don’t act the way we do, and have large gaps in memory.
Now as for the time travel bit, it’s not exactly written in the way one would expect the concept of time travel to be done. And I know that’s super vague of me to say, but it’s frankly so hard to say more without spoiling further. Just know that it’s all very fascinating and also incredibly confusing because of its uniqueness. I wish the story were longer so it could’ve been explained further.
Audio Assessment: Great portrayal of differences in emotion and voices! Even more choked-up dialogue was easily comprehensible.
[I received an ALC of this book from the publisher on NetGalley. This does not in any way affect the contents of my review.]
I found this particular story rather intriguing both in its setting and in terms of its application of time travel. In this world, certain humans are archived, which is to say that what we consider as “normal” people have been stored and get checked out like books in a library. The rest of the population, including our protagonist Ester, are strange, to say the least. They don’t act the way we do, and have large gaps in memory.
Now as for the time travel bit, it’s not exactly written in the way one would expect the concept of time travel to be done. And I know that’s super vague of me to say, but it’s frankly so hard to say more without spoiling further. Just know that it’s all very fascinating and also incredibly confusing because of its uniqueness. I wish the story were longer so it could’ve been explained further.
Audio Assessment: Great portrayal of differences in emotion and voices! Even more choked-up dialogue was easily comprehensible.
[I received an ALC of this book from the publisher on NetGalley. This does not in any way affect the contents of my review.]
December 14, 2025
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Mirai.
A dystopian tale with a confusing start that unfolds in an interesting way that needed more pages to fully flesh out in my opinion.
The Time Traveler's Passport Collection (Amazon Originals)
Making Space by R.F. Kuang - 2
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi - 4
Cronus by P. Djèlí Clark - 3
For a Limited Time Only by Peng Shepherd - 3
A Visit to the Husband Archive by Kaliane Bradley - 2
All Manner of Thing Shall Be by Olivie Blake
A dystopian tale with a confusing start that unfolds in an interesting way that needed more pages to fully flesh out in my opinion.
The Time Traveler's Passport Collection (Amazon Originals)
Making Space by R.F. Kuang - 2
3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi - 4
Cronus by P. Djèlí Clark - 3
For a Limited Time Only by Peng Shepherd - 3
A Visit to the Husband Archive by Kaliane Bradley - 2
All Manner of Thing Shall Be by Olivie Blake
December 18, 2025
Hmmm... I'm really enjoying the different stories and their unique perspectives on the concept of time travel. But I think this story suffered from it's length. It was interesting, and it seemed like there was a lot more to learn, but we didn't get the rest. Without more, it was unsatisfying.
December 7, 2025
2.5 stars.
This really needs to be longer.
This really needs to be longer.
December 10, 2025
The most intriguing book in the series so far
November 10, 2025
Not sure what to say about this one. It actually starts fairly intriguing, and with potential, but just couldn’t get there. Perhaps in a full length story we could’ve explored the story deeper, take the time it make more sense of it? As a short story though, especially this short, it just didn’t work. It was confusing to start, but in a way where you wanted to know more - how did we get here? What roles do these characters play and how did they get here? But the more I read, the more confused I got. It was like the author started to explain, but just kept adding in more and more random thoughts to try and make it make sense, but it only resulted in even more confusion, and an abrupt end. And as part of a series involving time travel, it felt very unrelated and out of place, again with an only a small bit about time travel, seemingly just thrown in to make it fit the series? Or, perhaps I missed something and it just wasn’t for me? I don’t know, but unfortunately I can’t recommend this one…
November 20, 2025
2.5. A fun concept but something about Bradley’s writing really grates on me.
November 28, 2025
This just made me feel uncomfortable for some reason.. no.. just no.
November 5, 2025
Thank you Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for the ARC!
This collection just keeps getting better with each story. This is such a fascinating take on not just time travel but time itself. I would love a full length novel of this story.
This collection just keeps getting better with each story. This is such a fascinating take on not just time travel but time itself. I would love a full length novel of this story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews