Perilous Times
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Perilous Times
Buy Now for £16.99
-
Narrated by:
-
Damian Lynch
-
By:
-
Thomas D. Lee
About this listen
ONE OF THE TIMES' BEST AUDIOBOOKS FOR SUMMER 2023
IN PERILOUS TIMES LIKE THESE, THE REALM DOESN'T JUST NEED A HERO.
IT NEEDS A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR.
Sir Kay and his fellow knights awake from their mythical slumber whenever Britain has need of them; they fought at Agincourt and at the Somme. But in these perilous modern times, the realm is more divided than ever, a dragon has been seen for the first time in centuries, and Kay is not the only ancient and terrible thing to come crawling up out of the ground . . .
Perilous Times is a fiercely entertaining contemporary take on the myths of Camelot, which asks: what happens when the Knights of the Round Table return to fix the problems of the modern world?
This debut is perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Jodi Taylor and Ben Aaronovitch.
AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
©2023 Thomas D. Lee (P)2023 Hachette Audio UKListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
'This audacious, original debut is angry as well as entertaining, and an exciting new take on the Matter of Britain' Guardian
'Like Good Omens with Arthurian knights. I've never read a book that treads so happily the ground between making you think, and making you laugh out loud' Beth Underdown
'Lee's first novel has deservedly rocketed into the bestseller list thanks to grassroots enthusiasm. If you like Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, you'll enjoy Perilous Times, especially since Damian Lynch's engaged and spirited narration does it proud. Wryly witty, it's an utterly original take on Arthurian myth' The Times, audiobook review
The story is uplifting but also agonisingly sad. Thought provoking.
Please write more books.
Great characters, thought provoking plot
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Mostly likeable characters, however, I can’t sympathise with terrorists, environmental or otherwise. Kay and Lancelot are the most entertaining chapters
I read fantasy for escapism so this one isn’t for me, but the writing is incredible for a debut novel and the voice actor was brilliant.
Good writing - a bit preachy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So far, so good.
The reason for the knights return this time seems to be climate change-related which, despite how un-action filled it sounds, is actually done really well. My main issue with the book is that the characters seem to have 'suspend disbelief' as their default setting. A good 90% of the characters that encounter the knights/magic/dragons etc ... do so with a 'oh, that makes sense' mentality. When, in actual fact, it really doesn't. I'm sorry but, if I had experienced no magical occurrences in my day to day life and then, all of a sudden, someone claims to be millennia old and immortal to boot, I'd reply with something a little different to 'well, it's about time then. Here, why don't you take my horse?'. The whole dumbstruck acceptance of most of the characters in this world just made my own disbelief near-impossible to suspend.
I enjoyed the fractures within the knightly brotherhood and thought that brought an edge of realism to it (I mean, after a thousand years, it's nearly impossible not to fall out with even the best of friends), but neither that, nor the good pacing and enjoyable (for the most part) plot line was enough to drag this back up above the three star mark in my mind.
Without giving too much away, if you have your heart set on a faithful re-telling, then you will come away disappointed. This is most certainly not a retelling, nor does it claim to be. It's a re-imagining. The different twist on the characters is done fairly well, not necessarily to my tastes but it was done well enough that I enjoyed it and applaud the author for what he was going for.
Despite my average scoring of this, I think I'd go in for a 2nd novel based purely on the fact that the aspects that made this one score low would already be present in future works, so I could go into it without the 'but he's a magical being, why does that seem normal to you????' mindset.
Also, it has a wonderfully written squirrel character. Points for that.
Good, but not without its flaws
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Future and past collide when hippies, knights and dragons try to save the world. *Audiobook review
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.