Perilous Times
Ratings10
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings10
Average rating3.6
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. Being reborn as an immortal defender of the realm gets awfully damn tiring over the years—or at least that's what Sir Kay's thinking as he claws his way up from beneath the earth, yet again. Kay fought at Hastings, and at Waterloo, and in both World Wars. After a thousand years, he thought he was used to dealing with a crisis. But now he finds himself in a strange new world where oceans have risen, armies have been privatized, and half of Britain’s been sold to the Chinese. The dragon that's running amok, that he can handle. The rest? He's not so sure. Mariam's devoted her life to fighting what's wrong with her country. But she's just one ordinary person, up against a hopelessly broken system. So when she meets Kay, a figure straight out of legend, she dares to hope that the world's finally found the savior it needs. As the two quest through this strange land swarming with gangs, mercenaries, and talking squirrels, they realize that other ancient evils are afoot. Lancelot is back too--at the beck and call of immortal beings with a sinister agenda. And if their plans can’t be stopped, a dragon will be the least of the planet’s worries. In perilous times like these, the realm doesn't just need a knight. It needs a true leader. Luckily, Excalibur lies within reach--and Kay's starting to suspect that the hero fit to carry it is close at hand.
Reviews with the most likes.
Future dystopian Arthurian fantasy appears to be a thing at the moment as this is the second I have read this month (after Salt in the Wounds)! Not that I am complaining as this strangely seems to be an excellent combination. Perilous Times adds climate disaster and satire to the mix, with an almost Pythonesque absurdist take in places. Often I find these more politically focused ones can get a bit preachy but this one tempers it with just enough humour and is frankly brilliant.
In this universe, Arthurs famous Knights of the Round table have been put into magical slumber to awaken whenever there is a dire threat to England. What could be a more dire threat than uncontrolled climate change? The focus is on two of the knights, Kay and Lancelot. Those familiar with the myth should be familiar with these two knights at least and the story certainly follows in their established roles. Add into this mix feminist eco-terrorists and a fascist squirrel and you certainly get an interesting mix of characters! Oh, and Arthur is a bit of a knob.
There is a serious message behind everything here, but it is so well livened with the humour and action. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
This was a fun read.
It had a dash of humor that made this story for me. I loved seeing the knight blunder around the world, not understanding that the times lave changed and Le can't wave a sword to solve problems. The other knights of the round table while horrible characters were interesting. And Merlin! I love the way the author portrayed him.
The other characters were good people with large hearts and while I don't usually like characters life that it worked here.
A entertaining story. I had so much fun reading.
2.25 Stars.
King Arthur and his knights in the modern era? Sounds intrigueing....too bad we never really got to see it. Too much time spent lecturing on climate change, most of the knights don't even appear, and Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin are unrecognizable (Arthur as a Trump wannabe? Make Britain Great Again? Seriously?) Would be nice if heroes could just be heroes—they don't have to be perfect, but there is no need to make them complete jerks, for lack of a better word, either. Main protaginist is just an eco terrorist and has no real redeemin qualities other than she likes trees.
This was almost a DNF for me....and I cannot remember the last book I DNF. 2.25 Stars for the snappy dialogue and potential the premise had...too bad the lecturing, politics, and bad charcterizations of a classic King and his Knights got in the way.
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