Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Perilous Times

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee

3 reviews

jonnyeberle's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookforthought's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Whenever Britain is in peril, the Knights of Camelot will return to save it. In a not-so-distant future, forests have almost disappeared, the air is unbreathable, the waters are so polluted even minor deities struggle to survive while entire cities are flooded, contractors and businessmen run the country while Essex had to be sold to China, and a dragon is seen again for the first time in centuries... these are quite clearly perilous times indeed. But Kay, brother of King Arthur himself, is tired and can hardly keep up with all the changes and the wars he has already lived through. Besides, does the world really need knights anymore? Old legends and heroes are not always what they seem and, in this terrible context, the possibility of Arthur's return might be the worst thing yet to happen.

Perilous Times is an interesting mix of Arthurian queer retelling, contemporary fantasy and dystopia. The Britain it is set in appears to be very close to the end of times and was, frankly, quite terrifying. The climate crisis is a central element in this book and the depiction of one of the possible futures awaiting us is handled incredibly well, with vivid descriptions making it feel very real and imminent. This Britain is dark, desolate and poisoned, marred by an excess of individualism and frantic search for profit, with very few elements of humanity and compassion left in sight. It would be easy to despair and depict a bleak future, but the element of resistance is strong in this book, with pockets of hope and characters who just don't give up trying, even when there seems no point in it anymore.

Kay was an interesting main character, and he was quite easy to sympathise with most of the time. He has flaws and plenty of regrets and actively questions his place in the world and his role in history. When he meets Mariam, a young climate activist with a flair for action (and at times destruction), and her friends from FETA (the Feminist Environmentalist Transgressive Alliance, not the cheese), he figures he may just have found his place. That is, until Lancelot returns with plans to stop him. Several other characters from Arthurian legends make an appearance and most of them are not what we have been led to believe. The author's deep knowledge of the mythos and his interest in different interpretations of it shines through in the incredible detail involved. I have a fairly superficial knowledge of the legends, but still could very easily follow without ever feeling like I was being lectured.

Although it may seem that way from the publisher's blurb, this book is not all heavy action, sword fights between old knights and slaying dragons. Sure, there is a fair bit of that (and it is highly entertaining!), but there is also quite a lot of politics and people reflecting on the state of the world and a possible way forward when all hope for the future seems lost. There is also a pretty heavy-handed critique of neo-liberal capitalism and exploitative practices of accumulation and profit, as well as a wry portrait of the fragmentation and inaction of activism and the left. I personally really enjoyed these elements and appreciated the satire, which spared no one (including the "good guys") but it may not be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you're picking this up expecting something completely different.

The whole "hero" narrative is also thoroughly explored, and the very human tendency of absolving ourselves from all responsibilities by finding someone to fix all our problems for us is critiqued throughout. Although it is pretty clear that we're supposed to be rooting for certain characters (hint: not the world-destroying ones), no side is exempt from witty criticism for their actions, inactions and dubious choices, not thinking through the consequences.

Despite having appreciated the more political/satirical elements, as I said, this was also where at times I got a bit frustrated with this book. The message is pretty clear from the beginning, yet it is still not-so-subtly repeated multiple times throughout, making it feel a bit as if we were repeatedly bashed over the head with it to ensure the point comes across. This slowed down the narrative several times and felt very repetitive. The book is also very Britain-centric, not just in setting, but also in references and humour, so I'm sure I missed something there but, despite making me smile in a few places, I never had any laugh-out-loud moments. I also had a few issues with the characterisation of Mariam's friends: I loved seeing a tight-knit, diverse group of friends, but I would have liked for them to have a more central role and to be more fleshed out. As it was, the friends were largely interchangeable, and by the end of the book I still could not remember who was who.

Overall, this was a pleasant read that allowed plenty of space for reflection and more than a few interesting quotes, providing hope in dark times. An urgent reminder of the importance of taking responsibility and the power of community to effect change.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley as part of the blog tour organised by Compulsive Readers. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Content Warnings

kindra_demi's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

If there is one thing to be aware of with this book: be aware of the trigger warnings. Especially the suicide/suicide attempts and the alcoholism. They are very heavy and prominent points in the story. Others include: murder, attempted murder, bodily horror, drug addiction.

I was initially interested by the premise of this book: King Arthur inspired story in a near future England. The Knights of the Roundtable made a deal with Merlin in their first life that they may die but they will never pass over in the afterlife. They instead will return to their ancient oak to be resurrected when England is in peril. Now introducing Kay, a knight of the of the round table and King Arthur’s brother. Not much later, we meet Mariam, a member of an all women eco-activist group in England. She and her sisters are working for climate justice in a country dealing with the repercussions of corporate greed, climate change, and government sellout. Kay initially joins with Miriam in this mission. The third POV we eventually get is Lancelot, who offers the opportunity to see more of the workings of the corporate side of the world for the beginning.

While the story is set to follow the 3 individuals as Kay and Lancelot discover what they were raised for (and what the new world means) and Mariam as she and her sisters fight for their initiatives with their own new understanding of the world where men resurrect from the ground, the more interesting aspect in my opinion was actually the backstory of the characters. A big complaint of mine for the story is it felt like the foreshadowing was blatantly thrown into your face like a “hmmm that suspicious but I won’t look at it” *40 pages later* “ah yes that thing that was suspicious was bad”. So I became more interested in why certain dynamics were the way they were.

This book is not an easy read either. It covers a lot of contemporary issues that can weigh you down a lot as you are reading it. (And this is coming from someone who normally reads a lot of books that have contemporary issues/dark topics in it).

Overall, it was a decent book. The pacing felt right and the British humor is a good relief to some of the darkness. The foreshadowing and the overall heaviness is what brings down my rating though.

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