Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee is a novel that takes the well loved Arthurian legends and applies their themes to modern concerns.

Between a feminist slant and climate change focus this is a book for readers who like their fiction to reflect the society around them a bit more directly than most fantasy.

Pacing is slower so I do recommend this as a book to read when the reader really has time to sit down with it,

Didn’t know what to expect starting this book, but I liked it! It’s an entertaining read. I was doubting the mix between Arthurian retelling and climate change, but the writing was very fluid. The world building didn’t feel forced at all, it just meshed all together. I loved the humor and banter of characters.

A modern telling of King Arthur and the knights of the round table

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sir Kay and the other Knights of the Round Table have all been sleeping for the last fifteen hundred years or so, waking only when Britain is in peril and they are magically summoned to assist in protecting the realm. Kay wakes this time to find himself in a strange future — the whole earth is dying as humans continue to poison it with the waste of industry, and every faction is warring against each other to further their own radical beliefs. It's hot, swampy, and instantly dangerous, as Kay helps a young woman running from the mess she just made in the name of her all-female eco-warrior extremist group. As he spends time with her though, Kay starts to see that Mariam may have the right idea about how to help the realm. As they quest onward to Manchester, they'll come across a sort-of evil Lancelot, Christopher Marlowe (still alive, yes), a gigantic dragon, a maybe-evil sorceress, a racist squirrel, and a hippie selling magic mushrooms who looks a lot like Merlin. They're all racing to find Excalibur, whether to wake King Arthur with it or to keep him slumbering in Avalon. Arthur could be the force that turns the tide once and for all — but which way will he turn it?

This story pleasantly surprised me! It's lengthy, but the pages flew as I was sucked into the story and the characters. It is a fantastic combo of dystopian future, zombie Camelot, and Arthurian lore that I found fully irresistible. I can't believe that this is a debut novel, either! There are plenty of funny moments, as well as some sobering truths about the state of the world and the potential future we may encounter. I absolutely loved the author's rendering/reimagining of all the Camelot characters, as he took liberties with them that made them really unique and memorable for me.

I rarely say this, but I wish this book had been longer or had been extended into a duology/trilogy, because I feel like there is so much more that could have gone on with this narrative! The ending felt a bit rushed for me, but maybe that's just from my desire to live a little bit longer with these characters.

I definitely recommend this one if you're at all into Arthurian legend, because it's such a fun and distinctive take on the traditional stories and characters we're familiar with. I love the combination with dystopian sci-fi as well! Thank you to Thomas D. Lee, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

Overall good book, highly political, showing the problems of today in a dystopian near future mixed with some Arthurian fantasy elements. Although advertised as a fantasy book it’s focusing more on real life social inequality, environmental change, immigration and other political topics, sometimes subtle between the lines, sometimes straight on. Lee shows that the human race hasn’t changed in millennia, divide and conquer works still fine and the single person can despair and getting lost being confronted with the size and complexity of modern world problems, but despite this more earnest tone there are funny bits sprinkled throughout the book. My only critique is that the message of the book is contradictory in some cases and some of the side characters lack personality/ feel a bit stereotype.

I started really getting into the story line and then it took a turn and lost me. I enjoy a good King Arthur story but they lost me. I did not finish it.

Knights, King Arthur, global warming, magic, greed, Merlin and the many branches of the tree of life. You're in for a ride as the knights crawl back to life from under their tree of life to battle once again when the earth is peril. Never boring.

This is a feminist, subversive, yet very fun romp of a climate change fight with magic, Arthurian knights, dragons, and a redeemed racist talking squirrel. I really liked the take on how waiting for a hero helps absolve us of responsibility and agency. Women don’t need to wait for a bloke to save the day! They can grab the magic staff for themselves and create change!
Look, some smaller minded people are going to find this book preachy with its (very accurate) takes on climate change, capitalism, xenophobia, and rich men making things worse. But I loved it. Mariam was a great heroine. And I loved the look at Arthur as actually kind of terrible.
I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I dove into this book solely on colorful vivid pictures of the snake cover that I saw online. A book as gorgeous as this one was intriguing to me, even though I doubted mixing Arthurian legends, dystopian futures, and humor would work. But I was wrong.

This book is five out of five stars for me on enjoyment alone! Comparable to Neil Gaimen’s “American Gods” and “Good Omens”, this story takes myths and legends, interweaving both into future times. Sir Kay wakes up in the future and runs into Mariam. Both have been busy saving the world, but both have been living in different centuries. To see centuries collide, and these two characters try to get along was priceless. It’s full of things I love the most in life - deadpan humor, villany, wit, adventure and sarcasm.

The Lady of the Lake and Merlin, two of my favorite characters in Arthurian legends were written into this story too. Seeing this all in a new light was very entertaining for me. It held my attention and kept me laughing the whole way. I would buy this book, and include it in all libraries. Many will enjoy it!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books via NetGalley for this arc. I voluntarily read it and all opinions are my own.

Perilous Times is a King Arthur retelling where Merlin enchanted the knights to rise when England is in peril. Indeed, they were summoned for many of the major conflicts in British history. At the start of this book, Sir Kay awakens to find England plagued by the impacts of global climate change, corporate greed, some of their land being sold off to China, and the army has been privatized. He stumbles upon a climate change activist named Miriam, and the two team up to help save England. (It's way more complicated than that. Politics come into play. Alliances are questioned. But you'll have to read the book to get all the layers. ;))

While I should have loved this book based on the description, in reality, it fell a bit flat for me for two reasons. 1. I love out of time books because I love the see the main protagonist acclimate and survive in a time period that's not their own. In Perilous Times, we didn't get much of that since they'd experienced the world at different points in time since their deaths. We got the barest touches, hints to changes in the past, but not the full experience that I was expecting when I read the blurb. 2. I thought the climate change warnings were too preachy. We desperately need to make dramatic changes to curb climate change, a lot of which is tied into corporate greed (see above), however people who deny it or succumbing to corporate greed are likely not to respond if they feel they're being preached at. (I realize this is totally subjective, but I'm sharing it in case others feel the same way.)

Pros:
-Clever premise
-Mentions all the big Arthur players, Arthurian lovers will enjoy seeing their names
-The dialogue was well done
-The author did a great job at world-building
-Dragon

Cons:
-A bit too slow paced
-Lacked some interactions I was hoping for
-Felt preachy at times

Overall, I think Perilous Times is a well-written book with an interesting premise, but it just wasn't for me. In fact, I DNF'd the book about halfway through. However, I'm not docking this to my DNF ratings because I can objectively see that it is a good book and my reasons for not liking it are extremely personal. If you like the Arthurian legend and are okay with a bit of preachiness, this book might be for you!

Disclosure: The publisher provided me with an arc. (Thank you!) All views expressed are my own.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

I've felt largely burned-out on Arthurian rewrites since I was a teenager, lo those many years ago. And yet, something about the concept of this one hooked me: Arthur's knights reawakening in response to the climate emergency. Even better, the book absolutely lived up to the high concept. It's dark and gritty and laced with dead-pan humor, fantastical and wry all at once.

The two principal characters are Sir Kay and Miriam. Kay was more accepted with his black skin back in the 6th century than he has in his recent returns, clawing from the dank earth beneath his assigned tree, ready to fight on Britain's behalf both at home and abroad. This time, he awakens as a nearby structure is being attacked by Mariam, an eco-terrorist. Their hesitant alliance occurs as other immortal figures are also in motion--Lancelot, Marlowe, Nimue, and others.

This book delivered constant surprises. The near-future setting of heat, mass flooding, and devastation feels disturbingly plausible. Kay is such an incredible character, a man who has suffered much across many lives and still mourns for his wife after over a thousand years of separation. Lancelot--I won't give anything away, but wow is his character arc incredible. Even though the central concept is about the Knights of the Round Table, it really centers on Mariam, which is only right. I felt leery about her at first, but through Lee's immersive writing, I came to know and understand her.

Kay, an immortal knight of the Round Table has risen again to save Britain from peril,
never knowing what changes have occurred since the last time. He joins forces with Miriam, a climate change activist. As they deal with different factions, old friends and foes of Kay's come into play.
Different points of view presented, an interesting twist on the Arthurian legend.
 #PerilousTimes #NetGalley

For whatever reason this one just simply didn't find an audience with me, I couldn't really find one reason why I didn't like it other than I typically read two to three books at once and this one was the lesser of the group I was reading so it really didn't shine as brightly as the others and fell away to the DNF pile.

Perilous Times is an intriguing story that combines historical characters, mythology and sorcery with the modern day issues of climate change, xenophobia and greed. Pairing Knights of the Round Table with regular people trying to make a difference is an unique and creative approach - especially when magic is introduced - to telling a cautionary tale about problems we're facing today.

If you're looking for a book that takes mid-evil knights, dragons, sorcerers, and gods and puts them in contact with today's society to combat climate change, racism, sexism and corporate greed, then this is right in your wheelhouse. It's a genre-busting novel that is entertaining for the right audience.

Strong points for originality! Mixing Arthurian legendary characters cleverly reimagined, dragons and a dystopian climate disaster plotline with dry humor and witty banter. The characters were well-developed, the writing was smooth, and the pace was moderate. I particularly loved the dragons, and Barry, as a squirrel. Overall, an enjoyable read and distinctly different from anything else I've read.

If you enjoy the stories of King Arthur and his knights, this will be an enjoyable read for you. An interesting twist that includes magic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this book was really good! It was a little slow but I quickly found my rhythm. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy high fantasy.

This book has such a unique premise and it absolutely delivered on it.

Back in the time of King Arthur, Merlin enchanted the Knights of the Round Table such that they would sleep, waiting beneath their designated tree, until times when the country was in peril. When the country was in peril they'd rise and help in its defense until the peril has passed, at which point they return to sleep beneath their trees to wait until the next time the need arises.

This time, Kay is awakened because global warming and international politics have left large sections of Great Britain underwater, the army has been outsourced to American mercenaries, a large percentage of the population is living in refugee camps, and Essex has essentially been sold to China. In the past, Kay has always recognized the world he woke up in, but now he's at a loss. It looks wrong, it smells wrong, and nothing about the present day realities seem to make sense.

This book does a wonderful job of balancing the weight of a terrifying, dystopian future with humor around humankind and how we behave. The banter was on point throughout. I loved how the story reimagines a lot of the widely known mythology around King Arthur and the familiar characters of Merlin, the knights, and more. This was such a great book and it was easy and quick to read - don't be intimidated by the length, it isn't a slow, weighty tome.

How can Kay help Mariam, a young eco-terrorist, save Britain? Will Arthur be reawakened? Is Lancelot helping them or working against them? And why have dragons returned to the land?

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I love retellings of the Arthurian legend and this one was done differently than any I had read before. This was really funny and such a unique take. The multiple POV’s were all strong and I looked forward to reading each one. I would say Perilous Times could get away with being a bit shorter but overall, this was a great read.

"Hate is the path of least resistance."

Easy to read with characters it's hard not to love. Imagine a powerful magic, given to a select few from of the knights from Arthur's round table (and to Arthur). The knights are to rise and protect Britain whenever it's in peril.

That has been Kel's life for. . .what feels like 1,000 years. He's seen all different ways people can fight and hurt each other. He wakes up every time, under a tree, stumbles on his sword and shield and gets ready to fight where he is needed. He's gotten good at rolling with the punches and learning the new time era he's been thrown in to. His old grudges and angers for the other knights are still there but the protection of Britain always comes first.

But this time, he awakens to a Britain he doesn't recognize. It's baren and smells bad. He's near some kind of tower that is doing something to land, something that seems to be making it bad. In walks Mariam. She's been surviving in this world of rising temperatures and a whole world full of people that don't seem to understand that we need to do something now to turn this all around.

I loved these characters. I loved the re-imagining of Lancelot, Merlin, Arthur and others. I loved the easy banter and funny moments the characters had. It held my attention and kept me driven to flip the pages. I did expect to feel so immersed in the story, especially a story I thought might be silly. I was completely thrown when the story was so well written and lovely to read. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes an adventure of a story but also loves character driven stories with interesting storylines. Unique and fascinating, I loved this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.