This one was a lot of fun to read. I just loved my time reading this one and would recommend it if you are looking for an alternative Arthurian tale. Highly recommend if you are looking for a fun read.

Brilliant!

I have long been a fan of anything to do with Arthurian legend and this is a book that brings Arthurian legend to life--literally--and puts it squarely in our reality.

The story is a dual POV between Miriam–a climate activist who is part of a feminist eco-terror group–and Kay–yes, that Kay–Arthur's foster brother, knight of the Round Table. Kay has risen from his grave to once again save Britain in perilous times, something he has now done countless times, often accompanied by the other famous names from Arthurian legend. This time he thinks he's on his own and in a world that is unfamiliar, almost unrecognizable. He and Miriam cross paths and form an unlikely partnership.

The world has changed and in many ways Kay has as well.

The story blasts into action from the first page and keeps going until the last. Familiar names from history and legend populate the pages: Christopher Marlowe, Lancelot, Morgan, Merlin, Arthur himself.

And dragons. Can't forget the dragons.

The premise of this book, framing the return of the heroes as the world gasps in the agony of climate change gone wild, is simply brilliant. It feels real and immediate, the future mapped out in a way that feels terrifyingly familiar and possible.

The characters are rich and detailed, their POVs distinct and engaging. The writing was excellent, the blending of legend and history, reality and the magical world exquisitely done. I could not put it down.

Highly recommended.

my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC!

“An immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet—saving the politically polarized, rapidly warming world from itself—in this slyly funny contemporary take on Arthurian legend.”

This book is a bit out of my usual wheelhouse, but I found myself enjoying this interpretation of Authurian myths. Lots of adventure and humor were mixed throughout, which I liked. Great job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this E-ARC.

Let me just say I love Arthurian legends, ever since I was a kid I have eaten up stories about Avalon, The Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, etc. So when I got my hands on a queer modern take on Arthur and his knights, I was already jumping in.

This story is a split narrative tale with our main narrator being Kay or Kay the Cupbearer, Arthur's adoptive brother. Kay is resurrected from under his ancient oak because Britain is in peril. This is far from the first time he has risen from his oaky grave, but this time the world is even more different. The air is thick and it's hotter than it's ever been. It's at this point Kay finds his way to our other main protagonist, Miriam who is in the midst of blowing up an oil rig. Miriam is part of FETA, a feminist eco-terrorist group working to help stop climate change.

Honestly, from here the story is a wild ride introducing familiar faces like Christopher Marlowe and of course Merlin. The real premise of the story is that anyone can be a hero. While there are plenty of what I would consider cheesy moral of the story parts, I did really enjoy this book, because fuck the patriarchy and down with crusty white men who rule the world. I also liked that this takes a very head on approach to Arthurian legend because honestly it's daft to think that all people in the middle ages are white and straight. I would definitely recommend this book and I can't wait to see what this author does next.

"An immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet—saving the politically polarized, rapidly warming world from itself—in this slyly funny contemporary take on Arthurian legend."

It had dystopian vibes, familiar legends, climate change, and magic. I like Arthurian legends weaved into the story with its other components.

Thanks to NetGalley, author, and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

I really liked this one! I was originally planning to pick up A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, but it didn't actually download to my Kindle, so I picked up this one instead. Huge genre shift. But I think that actually worked in this one's favor. Because this world was so much fun!

I can't even explain why I loved this interpretation of the Arthurian myths so much, but I did. For some reason, I loved the way Arthur, Lance, and Kay were written. Especially Kay! I do wish we'd gotten a bit more of their backstories though. Kay mentions Malaya and its impact on him several times, but we never get to know exactly what happened in Malaya. Just a small complaint though.

I really loved the environmental focus in this one. It was terrifying, because really, this future isn't that far off, but terrifying in a good way. If you remove reality, it was just entertaining. Obviously, our knights are used to just bludgeoning people to death to solve problems, so watching them try to deal with pollution was hysterical. (view spoiler)

This entire book was a great mix of sardonic humor and adventure, and I loved every bit of it. I can't wait to see what Thomas D. Lee writes next!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was an at times funny twist on King Arthur's court. It fell a little flat for me but was overall enjoyable.

Kay, a knight from King Arthur’s court, takes on an existential crisis and global warming in this future-era fantasy by Thomas D. Lee. Surprisingly funny in places and almost poignant in others, this dystopian fantasy tries to tackle a lot of issues — a burning world, capitalism, gender politics, homophobia, racism and Fascism – addressing some more successfully than others.

Kay, who rises from the dead whenever the world is in crisis to save Britain, is starting to wonder what the point of his immortality is if the world never gets better. His enemy Lancelot would just like to drink and do whatever task he must do to get back to sleep. And Mariam, a young eco-terrrorist who befriends Kay, would like to save what’s left of the world with or without the help of weird ancient knights.

The characters – familiar and new – are mostly likable in their own way. The plot, though busy, is an interesting take on the newly popular global warming dystopian scene. Dragons and oil men and mythical swords, oh my. Perilous Times is sometimes fun, sometimes depressingly close to our current reality. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur, climate change, magic, fairies, what's not to love about this book?
Plenty, as it turns out.

The premise is delightfully unusual and compelling; an ancient knight from the days of King Arthur, comes back to life whenever the British Empire needs saving. He returns this time due to the devastating effects of climate change on the earth. What could have been a thoroughly entertaining read was bogged down repeatedly by a constant barrage of lectures on the the why's and wherefores of air and water pollution. The cast of characters were diverse and could have been so interesting, if more time had been spent on fleshing them out instead of rehashing the evil of big oil, the dearth of birds in the forests, poor people forced to live in giant tent cities.

I struggled to finish this, there was so much repetition and reminiscing about the old days, and what action there was, was apathetic at best. Tons of potential, just not much follow through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for an eARC of Perilous Times!

Arthurian legend and lore, fantasy + dystopia, and economic crises?! This is one genre mash up you won't want to miss!

I am a fan of Arthurian legend and that is what lured me to request this book. And while it is steeped in the mythology and involves his take on the characters from the legend I’m not entirely sure what to think of this book. This story went down a very, very strange path in my opinion. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing I was just not expecting it to be this strange. From character personalities to the weirdness of this post apocalyptic Britain full of feuding political groups. I will say it had a lot of fun moments and it touches on his take on climate crisis and is LGBTQ friendly. It is full of adventure and magic. It’s a good story, just be prepared for it to be a little strange. Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

An inventive and action-packed take on King Arthur and company, set in the modern day where the adverse effects of climate change are escalating and threatening everyone’s wellbeing. The premise is wonderful. I would recommend this to anyone interested in King Arthur lore and/or fantasy - there are lots of characters to keep track of (some more compelling than others), sprinklings of magic, humor, and plenty of excitement.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This was such a fun take on King Arthur. I was surprised to be chosen for an early copy but this was definitely in my wheelhouse.

I didn’t really know what to expect bc this story has been told and retold so many times. I can honestly say this was a pretty fresh take on it.

If you like fantasy and the legend of King Arthur then this is THE book for you.

I really loved the premise of this book and the recreation of some of my favorite characters from King Arthur. The way the characters were created and described was excellent and I felt that the author did an amazing job with them. I did enjoy the story, but it didn't completely pull me in the way I thought it would. The action scenes were there, but I didn't entirely feel invested in what was happening throughout. The first chapter really grabbed my attention and I loved the way the characters come back to life again and again to fulfill their missions. I think the main miss for me is that myself as a reader didn't really feel drawn into the plot of the story, which I know is a personal preference and doesn't reflect on the writing as the writing was excellent. I think the mix of history and modern world is usually not as interesting to me as when something is set in a historical world. I don't really enjoy the mixing, and a lot of the books I read tend to stray from the modern world. I do think this is a great book for fans of King Arthur and Timeline by Michael Crichton.

“Perilous Times” by Thomas Lee was a book that I absolutely wanted to love but it fell flat for me. I found the writing style to be a bit repetitive and at times I struggled with the prose. Overall though I did enjoy the characters and was happy how the story tied up some ends but left it open to a sequel and further development down the road.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was fabulous! A high-stakes reimagining and subversion of Arthurian legend, where we get to adventure with heroes old and new. Thanks to a spell cast by Merlin, Sirs Kay and Lancelot come back to life whenever the realm of Britain is in peril. This time, they wake in a near-future (very near) of climate crisis, famine, and plague caused by human destruction and greed. Kay allies with Mariam, a member of a feminist climate activist organization (called FETA, which made me chuckle every time) who has inadvertently made a terrible mistake. Together with various figures from Arthurian legend, they have no choice but to fight back against the people who killed the planet in the first place.

As bleak as it was, this book was tremendously fun to read. I loved the way legends were integrated into a modern context, especially around climate change: fracking releases dragons? Brilliant. This is also a highly inclusive reimagining, starring many main characters of color and across all the spectra of gender and sexuality. Each narrator had a very unique narrative voice and a different point of view, which really allows the reader to be fully immersed in the world and examine complex issues from multiple sides (although the book absolutely takes a side). The story also asks a lot of great questions that are interesting both when examining myth and present day: what makes a good leader? Who should be held responsible when all of humanity is at fault? Who should be allowed to have power? What are the effects of that power on the person wielding it? What does it mean to be immortal, remembered? Who gets to be in charge of the narrative?

My only real gripes were that I wanted a lot more from some characters (Morgan and Nimue) and less from others (Marlowe and Merlin). I was not wild about Merlin’s characterization at all, which was like a strange blend of Sheldon Cooper and a more ancient version of Sheldon Cooper. There was also not a ton of individuality given to the other members of FETA, or much of a look at Mariam’s relationship with them, which made it hard to be invested in some of the final plot points.

I highly recommend this tale if you’re looking for some hope in a dark world, some green shoots among blackened branches.

Dnf- the idea was there and I'm sure it will be a successful book. It just didn't capture me and hold me hostage like I had hoped

Very cool premise! King Arthur, magic, humor, and a twist that is pretty unique. I enjoyed this story and it's interesting plot.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee is a unique and modernized take on Arthurian Legend. I was so excited to get to read this book early as I love a good retelling and revisualization of King Arthur. What I loved most about this concept was how the author took real-world issues and weaved fantasy, folklore and legend into a beautiful story of uniting a divided world to give hope and purpose into saving the realm from the destruction of climate change.
Kay only wakes from his slumber when the realm is in peril. That was the agreement him and the other knights made all those years ago after Arthur fell at Camlann and the realm was saved from Mordred and his Otherworldly monsters. When he wakes up from under his ancient oak, it is to find that there is now a bog surrounding his hill where he was buried. A bog that wasn’t there the last time he crawled out from the earth. Across the bog is a hideous building with the name “Saxon” upon the fences surrounding the structure. Only knowing Saxons to be his enemy from the past, he squelches his way across the slick bog, entering the compound to be met with an explosion and a young woman running for her life dodging bullets and flames. Kay thinks to himself that this young woman is in peril. Someone he can help.
Mariam believes in saving her home from the rising waters and barren lands. From the pollution of the air and waters. She doesn’t remember the last time she heard bird song or when the isle hasn’t been so sweltering hot. She is a part of FETA, an all-female collective, to combat climate change and the corporations who are at fault for causing their world to slowly die. She is frustrated with her sisters in their impassive ways for their movement and takes it upon herself to make a bold move. Only, she didn’t mean for the fracking site to blow up or for an oil fire to spread across the land, causing more harm to the environment in its wake. And she most certainly didn’t intend for a dragon to be unleashed across the land with her explosion. When a man covered in dirt, dressed in chain mail and carrying a wooden shield saves her from the Saxon soldiers at the fracking site, her world is turned upside down in more ways than she could ever imagine.
Kay joins Mariam and her band of all female eco-warriors in their fight against big oil corporations, to help heal the world from the steadily warming climate and to stop the veil between worlds from being reopened and allowing nightmarish monsters from taking over the land.

Perilous Times is an Arthurian retelling with a twist. In this story we are in a world faced with devastation from climate change wreaking havoc on our setting. The main characters are resurrected from the grave to fight this battle with the feud between political factions and the damage being done to the Earth. I was not sure what to expect going into this book, but I found myself enjoying the story. The story does have multiple points of view including those of Sir Kay, Lancelot, and Miriam as they embark on their journey to change the future of their realm. I do, however, feel like some parts dragged on and could have possibly been shorter. This tends to happen in a lot of longer books that I read, so I don't count that against the story as a whole. Overall, an interesting take on an old tale that I had fun reading!