Perilous Times has everything. Dragons, witches, Knights, climate change, corruption, people rising from the dead, lots of peril, jokes, etc. It’s a good time Knights of the Roundtable style adventure with a powerful message.
Basically we’ve wrecked everything and the veil between worlds is breaking so everyone decides- hey, let’s callback that prophecy and bring old King Arthur back from Avalon to save us.
Which is the only thing that a returned from the dead to save the world Sir Kay and Lancelot can agree we SHOULDN’T do.
Oh and Merlin’s got some ideas of his own. Someone really should have taken The Last of Us away from that wizard.
So Kay, Lance and the other Knights have spent the last thousand years or so coming back when the realm is in peril thanks to a spell from Merlin. They help, they die, they sleep, they come back, rinse, repeat ad nauseam only this time it might be too late for anyone to help. Not to mention their personal issues might do them in before the world ends.
We also get the POV of Miriam, a young modern woman trying to fight the good fight and make a difference. While Miriam isn’t as much fun as the Knights or the famous cameos we get along the way I do like her and her point of view is important.
I like to what Thomas Lee does with the world-building, politics and magic. The fact that despite everything even with the best intentions will probably die out while arguing with each other (no matter how magical some of us might be) might be the most realistic thing in this book.
Humans and therefore humanity can just never get out of it’s own way.
I also like the use of the Welsh names for a lot of the details. You felt like there was history both in the realm and in between the characters. Nice touch to the little thread of Arthur not being who we all thought he was- the myth got in the way basically.
One animal related spoiler:
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The dog does die which I definitely wasn’t thrilled about but at least it happens fast, mostly off page and it’s given weight and revenge is sought. Also a deer is killed.
And a racist squirrel is hurled around but he’s fine in the end. So I could have done without those parts but I still found the book overwhelmingly enjoyable even with them so that’s saying something.
Recommend: Yes.
Especially if you are looking for a good adventure with some depth, something that tackles modern issues with a lot of imagination and are a fan of the Camelot and assorted retellings.
I vividly recall getting, reading, and rereading this story about King Arthur when I was a kid (I can’t recall the name though I can see the cover art clearly). It was written for a younger audience but it had all the “thy”s and “thou”s and “art”s so it was a bit of a slog to get through. But I loved it! When I was a kid I particularly loved knights and the like and King Arthur was a particular favorite of mine. So this sounds AMAZING. I may have to go to Barnes and Noble this afternoon to check it out. Even if I don’t pick it up today, I’m sure it’ll be part of my summer reading. Ahhhh, this sounds so fun! And I love the modern dimensions and morals to it all. Heck yes!
I had a friend growing up who was obsessed with the Camelot myths so I feel like I retained a great deal! But it is a very fun modern update 🙂