3/5 stars

This one sounded really interesting, but it just really didn't hit all the bars for me. I had a really hard time staying interested. It was really weird and out there, but at the same time slow going and boring.

Cool concept, just didn't love it.

I never read fantasy but got talked into glancing at this novel…and a glance turned into a good week of reading about the surviving (reincarnated?) knights of the round table. It is definitely fantasy. The knights involved (Fay - Arthur’s big brother, Lancelot - a gay man who really likes drinking and does a lot of it, Morgan - who has come back as an elderly environmentalist and reverts back to Morganna, Merlin - who stays the same as always, and, of course, Arthur). It takes place in a modern world where mankind is close to destroying the earth and has the Brits going after the Saxons (an American group of mercenaries). There is warfare, spying, deaths followed by rebirths…anything a fan might hope for in a fantasy. It took me this long to read it because every so often I would catch myself Googling something or someone to learn more about it. This was really fun escapist reading! Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Perilous Times reached a solid middle ground for me, but I think it could've pushed for more.

The premise of Arthurian knights coming back to life to help whenever the realm is in peril, only to find that they were a bit out of their depth is a great start for the novel. I think the overarching theme that we don't need specific heroes to help us was apparent from page 1. The clash of internal dilemmas between Mariam, Lancelot, and Kay all showed the different sides of the coin on doing what's right. The humor placed into the dialogues added a brevity to everything and kept the story in a zone of adventure.

I think the relationships between the camps of past and present brought in a lot of context that was needed. The conversations between Kay and Nimue, Morgan and Lancelot, Nimue and Morgan, all helped to show who was working through their understanding of what went wrong with the world. Snapped in with Mariam, who was fed up with it all, created a bit of hilarity.

On the negatives, I think this didn't lean into the humor enough. The world is in dire peril! It's basically about to end! There was so much talk of death and destruction, Kay's dreams with the gods, and overall dark imagery that left me with a bit of a heavier feeling that the humor wasn't quite strong enough to pull me out. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue is quippy and made me chuckle, but not often enough. I needed more images of ridiculous things, like Barry the squirrel.

I also struggled a bit with the Arthurian legends aspect. Kay's internal dialogues tended to use the old Britonic names for everything Knights of the Round Table related, but then occasionally there was the more modern names slipped in. Caliburn used often, then randomly Excalibur. It made it harder to make sure you knew what they were talking about if you're not on top of King Arthur legends, and I was often second guessing myself. Especially when talking about cities and rivers. A consistency there would have helped.

Overall, Perilous Times was a fun read, and dug its heels into an actual issue in our world. Who would save us? Will it be ourselves?

Sir Kay, one of the immortal Knights of the Round Table, is called back from the dead to help Britain recover before they are destroyed by climate change. A little weird, but overall, a fun, interesting read. I especially enjoyed that the women in the story were very influential in solving the problems of the world! And King Arthur and Lancelot were depicted quite differently than usual lol! Thank you to the author and publisher, and NetGalley for this imaginative tale.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Random House for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book is a cute twist on Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

I just loved the cast of characters. I loved the women's roles in the book, but felt the knights overshadowed the women a bit to much.

The fantasy realm and magic were beautifully done. I loved the immortality and futuristic setting. Who doesn't like the idea of being immortal and processing magic, right?

Overall the story is fast moving, eventful, humorous in places and also exciting.

I would recommend.

What a wonderfully original premise! Perilous Times combines a dystopian future ravaged by climate change with Knights of the Roundtable--neither of these topics would normally be at the top of my list, but this book totally worked! Sir Kay is reborn (as an adult) over and over again, whenever Britain needs a little extra help. That's certainly the case now, as there's chaos everywhere, and the entire planet is at risk. He teams up with a young eco-warrior to try to save the day. The book is both charming and wise; it raises important issues in a clever and entertaining way and was so much fun to read. Thanks to NetGalley and PRH for the ARC!

I went in to this book not expecting much, I figured it would be another Arthurian retelling but about climate crisis. And, we really wasn't. The Arthurian parts were important, but this isn't a rehash of the legends themselves, instead this takes the knights of the round table and puts them in a position to help save the world. Their battle this time is against climate crisis, something that is a huge issue and in this near future setting, has started to really ravage society and push them steadily towards the point of no return. Mixed in are new characters and ideas, and when it really comes down to it, the ones really saving the day are the modern characters. I was more intrigued with the concept of Arthur's knights being resurrected each time the Realm was in danger, and how their immortality differed from that of some of the other characters, like how Marlowe made a deal with a demon. This set up was a really interesting way of bringing these characters into a modern story, and I really wanted more of it. when we finally do get more of an explanation from Merlin, I was disappointed in the truth behind it and felt that it lacked the interest it had at the beginning. This was a good read, but takes on a bit much, and the overall focus trends more towards climate issues than knights and dragons.

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee. This is some creative writing! When the realm is in peril…arise from beneath his tree Sir Kay from the Knights of the Round Table. Who has been saving the realm for a 1000 or so years. Mariam an eco terrorist who is trying to save Britain from flooding from climate change, air pollution from companies. This was a different take on King Arthur and his Knights. The author kept me interested. And was curious to where the story was going to go. Sometimes a bit too much on the climate change. I did like the characters. I would recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

The story was super unique magical adventure. It has a world disaster, dragons, witches and knights, magic mushrooms and Merlin. The story off the world coming to an end due to climate change is so relatable and the different factions fighting and no one listening. It hits a little too close to home in this day an age. I loved the King Arthur knights rising to save the world. Mariam was an amazing feminist that just needed a little help in believing in herself. The story was well thought out and really different. I recommend for anyone that likes a good save the world adventure, friendship, coming of age and learning to stand up for yourself feel good story with dragons and time traveling nights, this is the story for you.

TW/CW: Death, violence, fantasy violence, language, thoughts of suicide, war, body horror, incest

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from Ballantine Books and NetGalley and am voluntarily writing an honest review.

Perilous Times is the story of near-future England, and its struggle with a climate situation that has spiraled entirely out of control. Sensing the peril in the land, two Knights of the Round Table (yes, from Arthurian legend) awake with the goal of saving their land – or at least helping those who are already trying to make a difference.

This is a good book. While that paragraph above seems to make this a weighty book, it really isn’t. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and is fun to read. The story was really unique, and I really enjoyed Lee’s treatment of some of the characters. The whole thing with them being bound to the trees was also very interesting. The writing was good (for the most part) and while the book was very long, I didn’t really get bored.

There were two little issues I had with this book, however. Once was that the author seemed to over-rely on sentence fragments. In my mind, once in a while there’s no problem with using fragments in order to convey a certain feeling. But using it continuously and multiple times a page just seemed a little too much. There’s nothing wrong with complete sentences, either. And second…I know I call this a lot, but I don’t see why every book has to be 500+ pages anymore. This book moved less slowly than many I’ve read, but it was still more bloated than it needed to be at almost 600 pages.

Over all, though, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to fans of fantasy and disaster books/movies.

This book is SO MUCH FUN! What a unique twist on a tale we all know. The characters of what can be conceived as a boring old fairy tale/adventure tale were given new life, especially Lancelot, in this insanely fun and zany retelling of the Knights of the Round Table. I found myself laughing out loud so much that my husband is so excited to read it when it is released in May.

This was just not a tale that held my attention, I’m afraid; a bit too all-over-the-place with characters that weren’t relatable.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC opportunity.

This book was very unique and clever. I liked the drive to protect the earth and fix the pollution. It motivates me to do what I can to protect the earth. I liked that there was feminism in the book but it wasn’t too in your face. I’m a fan of all things Pendragon, but wasn’t thrilled with the portrayal of Arthur. Overall I felt like there wasn’t a character that I really loved. They were all kind of meh. Didn’t love the book, didn’t hate it.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing this advance copy of Thomas D. Lee's 'Perilous Times.'

If you're not a progressive/liberal with an acceptance that different people live different lives than you do, or do not accept that we - humans - are creating a climatic future that will result in chaos and suffering, and don't believe that power and greed are among the roots of all of our problems then avoid this book. Luckily, I accept and believe all of the above so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The premise is that King Arthur's knights of the round table return when his kingdom is in peril which they've had to do numerous times over the centuries. In this telling, the peril is a combination of climate change and its impact and the ambitions of the rich and powerful which would wreak even more havoc on the nation (and planet).

There are several main characters, mostly plucked from the Arthurian legends, but with some great additions including a very strong 'modern' female lead. Plus Barry. I won't spoil it but, Barry.

What I really enjoyed was the way the author combined some really fine humour with the seriousness of the planet's potential fate and that, in the end, there's optimism - it is a tale of fantasy, after all.

I don't if a series is possible out of the main character pool but I would love to revisit with them again in the future. I think, if he was inclined to, the author could take us back to the knights' adventures in some of the previous times of peril referenced in this book - I'd certainly welcome that.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Arthuriana AND the climate crisis AND feuding political groups in a Britain set 20 or so years in the future? I went in not know what to expect. Dystopia meets King Arthur and so much going on in the world plus magic, I was all in. I could not put it down until I finished. I really enjoyed this retelling and I thought the characters and the book was well developed and I enjoyed every second of it.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley. Mild spoilers below.

In the near future, amidst climate change and political havoc, Sir Kay of the Round Table returns from the dead and crawls out from beneath a tree beside a fracking plant. In this world, the knights of the Round Table return from the dead when England is most in need, resulting in immortal knights that have fought at Waterloo, in all of the World Wars, and are awakened now when climate change threatens the world, and pollution summons dragons.

I love the premise of this book so much, and generally found it incredibly fun. I think this will also be a very fun audiobook. The antics of the knights have a tendency to overshadow the stories of the activists like Miriam, but I also find that they can be a welcome respite from the general feeling of climate doom. I think some of the dialogue could stand to have been edited down in many places, and there is a tendency to meander, but overall, a good time!

In times of peril immortal Knights of the Round Table return from their rest to help manage the threats in Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee.
Sir Kay makes his way from beneath the earth yet again to serve Britain against whatever peril now faces it, but Kay finds the resurrections to be increasingly tiring; having fought in many battles and wars throughout the past thousand or so years he’s returned to strange new worlds with new technologies time after time but this is yet another version of the world, strange in novel ways with the rising water levels, privatized armies, and magical oddities running amok where they ought not to be. Mariam has devoted her life to endeavors aiming to better her country and the lives of those who reside there and her latest effort to disrupt a fracking rig has gone slightly awry, leading to the fiery explosion of the rig and the release of a dragon, neither of which is ideal. Paths intersecting, Kay joins Mariam on her mission as part of the feminist ecoterrorist group she’s a part of while he figures out what his broader objective should be and why strange things seem to be happening now that haven’t in the past when he resurrects. As the two go on a quest through the land it is soon apparent that something grander is at play as Kay and Mariam learn of ancient powers pulling the strings to suit their agenda regardless of the impact it will have for ordinary people and the pair devise plans to try to thwart the worst from arising.
With an exciting concept that mingles historic Arthurian legend with contemporary-to-mildly futuristic events and concerns with writing that incorporates clever humor, a magical story unfolds with characters questing throughout the land in an effort to save it from dystopian ruin as a result of the actions of corrupt powers and corporate entities whose attitudes have greatly impacted the planet’s climate while also facing existential matters of a more personal nature. The narrative is composed primarily of close third person perspectives of Kay and Mariam, with occasional moments coming from Lancelot and Marlowe, which while helpful in filling out the story to address the motivations behind actions and behaviors were so infrequent that they resulted in a slightly off-kilter feeling; the brief exploration of the backstories of the knights was quite interesting and it would be intriguing to have more on that aspect of the story instead and exploration of the characters’ backstories could have helped to flesh out the logic behind the baddies’ choices beyond selfish greed. The way that characters were presented, especially the historic figures, drove home the ideas of being able to achieve great change when working as a united front and that people, and history, tends to be multifaceted and judging it on one aspect or with a rosy, nostalgic lens has its dangers.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been loving fantasy lately, so I thought that I'd love this. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I didn't enjoy the dystopia vibes and the political talk non-stop.

However, that's exactly what the book says it is, so I'm not faulting the book for any of that. It just wasn't my vibe. The writing and concept were great!

Thank you so much for a chance to read this!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Thomas D. Lee for the opportunity to review this ARC of Perilous Times.

I love a good apocalyptic dystopian novel, and fantasy is my preferred genre for pleasure reads - so it was a lovely surprise to discover that Perilous Times was both in a way completely unexpected; imagine the cycle of Desolations from Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, but set on our world perhaps 20 years into the future.

This was a fun, thought-provoking, and well written adventure.

Set a few decades in the future, Britain is in peril, there are climate wars, and the world is on the verge of collapse. Centuries before this, we discover the knights of the round table have made an agreement with Merlin in exchange for immortality to be resurrected to help save Britain from destruction. This was a fantasy tale with fun historical characters mixed in, and I adored it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.