Who knew there could be laughs in a dystopian retelling with ancient magic? Loved the thought process of this one and glad I was able to view it!

For a book with characters pitting themselves against xenophobia, climate changes, and some hard-core trigger warnings, there was a fair amoung of Pratchett like humor that had me giggling. It’s truly hard to express how wild and great this story was, and I’m not typically a fan of Arthur legends (anymore). This however took me back to the days when I was just discovering the Arthur tropes outside of the classic and reminded me why these characters from Merlin to the Round Table are adored no matter what fashion and dragons they’re up against. Thank you Netgalley for the Arc

King Arthur is NOT the Hero of this Story - Marian Is
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
This story surprised me, which I guess says more about how little Arthurian fiction I have read then anything else. I was expecting King Arthur to be the hero of the story and Merlin to be the wise man, when in this story, Arthur is just every arrogant and self-centered boss who demands loyalty from those "under" him but who does not deserve it or offer it back to them and Merlin is a scientist who is more interested in pursuing knowledge than in how his actions affect other people.

Now, yes, both of those descriptions are not 100% true. There is more nuance to this story then that and neither of them come off as totally bad. Just not the heroes of the story.

Kay is the hero at first. As the tale progresses, Marian steps up. By the end, she's much more the central character than any of the Arthurian characters are. I mean, Herne, Nimue, Morganna, Lancelot, and others put in appearances, often playing strong roles that help move the narrative along. At times, it felt like maybe the author is trying just a bit too much to work everyone into the story or feels that his tool box must be emptied and everything used at least twice. Maybe this is just me not being familiar with Arthurian fiction.

At the core of it, this is about the climate crisis and is centered in the UK, so it involves politics that are not likely to be common knowledge among American readers, but don't really have to be deeply understood to enjoy the story.

I am avoiding spoilers here, as I really think you should read the book and decide for yourself. I think it was excellent for what it is and that is all I asked of it.

(I received this as a free ebook as an uncorrected proof through NetGalley. As it was marked as such, I am not going to comment on some obvious typos or incorrect word choices, as I do not know if they survived the editing process to make it into the published version.) This review is also listed on Amazon, but I can't get the link to copy.

An expert knowledge of Arthurian lit combines with deft satire that recalls Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. Such a fun world to spend time in!

A dystopian Arthurian retelling. Sir Kay and Sir Lancelot were two of the knights of the round table. For centuries they and their fellows have been in a cycle of death and rebirth everytime Briton was in peril. When Kay awakes this time, however, it seems to be end of days. Half the country is under water and everyone is fighting, out for themselves. Mariam, a member of a feminist eco-terrorist group (FETA), meets Kay as she prepares to blow up a fracking site. She doesn't trust Kay, but is interested in any help he can offer. Lancelot has also awakened and is quickly sent after Kay. There's some bad blood between them, and he's happy to hunt him down. Is there any hope for the future? With heroes like these, maybe so.

I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I haven't read too many Arthurian ones. This one was interesting, though I'm not a huge fan of climate change dystopias. I really did feel for Kay. The weight of centuries of fighting and dying sure would get you down. Despite all the setbacks, Mariam retained her hope. She learned that she had to stop waiting to be saved, and to get out there and do it herself. (It's hard to fully root for eco-terrorists though.) The fantasy elements just didn't have enough impact for my tastes. This world was very depressing to envision, though it did have a happy-ish ending. Not my favorite, though I don't regret reading it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a cute debut fantasy novel. I love how the author takes an old legend (King Arthur and the knights of the round table) and makes it refreshing and interesting.

This was, by far, the most imaginative novel I have read this year. This is speculative fiction at its very best. Perilous Times will keep you hooked from start to end.

The novel opens with a strange awakening. Kay, an Arthurian knight emerges from the earth, no longer a corpse, but alive and tasked with a mission to save Britain – only he has no clue what this means or what he has to do. Immediately, he becomes entangled with a young woman, Mariam, who is on her own mission: to rid the world of corrupt corporate leaders who are poisoning the world and leading its few remaining inhabitants closer to environmental ruin.

The novel is set in the near future, when our climate has been so altered that most of Britain is now underwater and our environment is a grey wreck. Small bands of people live in squatter-like conditions and even smaller bands of rebels have formed to bring order to the world.

Fracking and profit-greedy corporations run public operations. A magical cadre operates on the highest level of corruption and government, and they have a secret weapon: King Arthur and the immortal knights of his roundtable.

But… this all it seems? This is a world stripped of romance and chivalry, and the knights of this mythic time are no less human than those they are tasked to save.

I will leave my description there. If this has not intrigued you yet, well… Hmph.

The ending will also put you in a spiral.

Lee also delivers the story with tremendous skill, the right dollop of humor, and the perfect dry drip of British snark. This novel is a joy to read on multiple levels.

Overall this was a pretty unique Arthurian retelling and I enjoyed it. I do think there was quite a bit of little stuff that wasn't necessary and could have made the book shorter. I felt the book was pretty slow and was trudging through the first bit. It was a little too political for me. I loved the premise of the knights coming back to help with climate change but there was just a few bits where it felt like just political rhetoric. The racist squirrel kinda wasn't my jam either. Like I wasn't too into the redemption arc of a white racist all because he got turned into a squirrel and saw his men kill people even though he definitely saw them killing before and was about to kill a family right before he got turned to a squirrel. Also there is a dog that died for absolutely no reason so if you don't like that there's that too.
I'd like to share the few notes I took while reading this book
-Dando didn't need to die stop bringing it up
-Girthed (this one was because there was too much talk about girthing their swords when we could have just said sheathed)
-Nazi squirrel
-Are we really sympathetic to a racist squirrel??


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

What happens when Sir Kay of the Round Table is resurrected for the umpteenth time amongst what appears to be the end of the world? An uproarious, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, touching, wild ride of a novel. Take everything you thought you knew about King Arthur and his knights and throw it out the window lest this unraveling tarnish your impression forever. But in the best way.

Kay, like the rest of the Round Table, is reborn as an immortal defender of the earth whenever the world is in danger. And corrupt governments valuing pollution over human life most definitely qualifies as danger. Part fantasy reimagining, part commentary on the state of our world as it stands in reality, this book is a brilliantly amusing and engaging look at what really matters and how far humanity will go to protect it – with dragons and radioactive swamps thrown in for good measure.

Narrated by a rotating crew of immortals, and one specific, very-aware young mortal woman, this tale is unlike any I’ve ever read. Apocalyptic urban fantasy with medieval legends making you question everything you’ve ever thought about them on every page, this book will either really resonate with fans of the stories of King Arthur or wholly alienate them. After a slower start that masterfully sets up the chessboard for the game to come, this fable ROLLED.

I loved it. And I can’t wait to see what this author has in store next.

Content warning: blood, gore, violence, death, animal death, attempted suicide, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia.

This was a unique Arthurian tale that took me for a fun journey. I've never read a book like it. I really enjoyed how the last quarter of the book wrapped everything up.

I had no idea what to expect from this book other than a one sentence blurb, but it was an intriguing sentence. It turns out that the book was a lot of fun, mostly. I very much liked the writing itself. It's rare to find a book that flows so easily from the page to your head; it's a very enjoyable read. The story begins quickly and the two main characters, Kay and Miriam are likeable and very distinct from each other. I liked following them on their journey, and it went in very unexpected directions. I wasn't as fond of the final third of the book, though that's a subjective opinion and I can easily imagine other people enjoying that. One thing to be aware of with Perilous Times is that if you're anti-woke and/or a climate change denier you'll find a lot here to dislike. None of that bothered me at all, and it made it a more interesting read. If the author writes another book I'd certainly give it a read.

Dear Perilous Times,
I went into you with low expectations. You have been at the bottom of my Netgalley list for quite a while. But I think you were just waiting for the right time to sweep me away! I love Arthurian lore as a whole, and you brought it all into a new, unique light. I loved the dystopian world and the hints of ancient magic that were sprinkled throughout your story. The fact that the Knights of the Round Table were enchanted warriors to be brought back when the world is in peril was so fascinating to me. You were a compelling marriage of old magic and new peril with interesting deep characters and some great action as well. Highly recommend!!

This book was well-crafted and enjoyable to read, but it lacked some of the elements that typically make fantasy books appealing to me.

This was a refreshing take on dystopian environmentalism! Add magic. Add King Arthur. It's a truly unique story the likes of which I have never seen before. I think this is a must read for everyone this year.

I had a hard time initially getting into this book because I think I was distracted by reading too many books at once, and not through any fault of the story or the writing. Once I made a commitment to this book, it was actually quite good, with a unique premise and themes of feminism, environmentalism, capitalism, and murky scientific ethics.

The two main characters, Kay and Mariam, cover most of the viewpoint chapters, and both are interesting. Kay is out of place, but is very self-aware of this, since he has woken up in different times every time England is in “peril”. Mariam takes all of the bizarre events in and accepts them pretty quickly (although it is hard to deny a dragon). They play off each other well and I was worried when they were separated at one point. But in the end, some secrets are revealed and this stand-alone novel wraps up with a satisfactory conclusion.

One other theme that I enjoyed that was woven into this book was that of what defines a hero. Kay is the “hero” from legend, but has tired of that role, while the true hero in the tale doesn’t see themself as doing anything beyond what any reasonable person should be doing.

Perilous times ended up being a rather okay story. While I did like following these characters as they were well written, I found that some, especially the side characters could have been more influential.

The writing was good and I wanted to keep reading but overall the story was a little predictable and I was getting bored by the end.

A fun time that I'm glad I got the chance to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I loved these characters!! I am such a sucker for a good flushed out character and I adored the way that Lancelot, Merlin, Arthur were re-imagined by the author. Retellings of characters and old stories are my kryptonite.

There is so much in this book that to try to sum it up would be doing it a serious disservice. I went into this with very little idea what to expect, and was blown away by how much I loved it. Arthurian knights of old, dropped into what feels like a not so distant (and horrible) future.

There was humor, for sure, which I expected from the blurb, but I was surprised by how DEEP this got at several points. There are a lot of poignant moments, and nothing quite gets wrapped up with a neat little bow, but it’s better for it.

Just a solid, fun read that doesn’t shy away from Issues.

"The Arthur he can see drifting closer now isn't the baby Arthur, or the boy Arthur, or the young king Arthur. It's Arthur the lord of war, as he was in his final years".

Arthurian legend meets the likes of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett? Hell yeah sign me up, is what I initially thought. But this book took me a month to finish. I kept putting off reading it, trying to find anything else to do. I don't think it should have. Knights of Camelot returning from the dead to save a Britain in Peril? It has to be hard to not absolutely knock it out of the park. I found that Part 1 of this book just fell flat on its face. The pacing was slow and just unenjoyable, even with Lancelot and Kay roaming the pages. The message the author is trying to get across is absolutely important/ Climate change is going to destroy our planet and there's no doubt its human greed that is the root of all evil. It could have just been said in less than 300 pages.

**Spoilers***

Part 1 was a longwinded intro to what I believe is that actual meat of the book. Part 2 picks up the slack and drags Part 1 from the depths of hell. This is where I found a quote that I thought was actually badass. Kay, someone who knows the real Arthur better than anyone else, knows exactly what is crossing the veil. Sure at the end of the story all our Arthurian legend characters end up on the right side of the conflict, but at least the story was more gripping. Our legendary characters all fall into their most known tropes, and I'm ok with that. Merlin the coot, Morgan ever the strategist, Lancelot's impulsiveness, and Arthur stubborn but eventually heeding advice. There was scene in the book where Kay calls Arthur out and tells him of his own legends. How "King Arthur" is perceived. That he is whole-heartedly letting his people of Britain down by letting the Saxons manipulate him. A nice little scholarly passage that eats at the notion of how the future will perceive the past and present. Will time remember the good of the earth, or the loud few that only show the worst of humanity. Will it remember Arthur as the talented young King or the lord of war, as he was in his final years.

I did enjoy the second half of the book. I also quite enjoyed Barry the squirrel. I do believe its underlying message important. It presented itself like a filler episode of Doctor Who. A little absurd, a bit intriguing. Always great to have a new adventure with the Doctor, but you're wanting to get back to the main storyline.

If you enjoyed this book, you may enjoy Once & Future by Kieron Gillen (Yes, its a Comic).

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I really liked this retelling of the Arthurian Legend.
It’s a modern story that combines fantasy and sci-fi for an apocalyptic story featuring the heroes of the Arthurian Legend. It’s very heavy on the environment and the impact humans have had on it…hence the apocalyptic setting.
It is a bit cliche in some regards, but I enjoyed the overall message of the book.
I also liked the representation offered in the book which features a BIPOC FMC and MMC, along with LGBTQIA+ representation.
I also really liked the author’s writing and humor, it reminded me of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s style of storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the copy of this eARC.