The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
danapr's review against another edition
4.0
To say that this is the most unusual King Arthur Legend book that I have ever read is an understatement but it is definitely the most entertaining. The premise of the book is that through Merlinās magic, some of the knights are resurrected throughout the years any time āthe realmā (Britain) is in peril. For instance, in the past, they have been called forth to fight in wars such as WWII. Once the danger is past, the knights die again and return to the earth under giant trees to sleep until the realm faces another peril. Now, at a time in the not so distant future, Kay and Lancelot are called up to face the threat of climate change although essentially on different sides of the conflict due to a sinister motive orchestrated by an immortal Christopher Marlowe. They awaken to a world that is more underwater and has less vegetation and very poor air quality, caused in part by the Saxon Oil Company. Kay is forced to work with some quirky and unusual groups and characters to try and save a world that has become completely unfamiliar to him and eventually, Lancelot joins his cause. Other Arthurian legends, Merlin, Morgan, Nimue and King Arthur himself become involved in various ways and we even see the awakening of dragons. I really enjoyed the creativity of this story and loved the quirky and likable characters. The battles and espionage were fast paced and entertaining with all the qualities of a good edge of your seat thriller. The good versus evil theme was well done and although the story was humorous and exaggerated, climate change was presented as a very real and pressing threat. I did think that the book was a little too long because of some of the side stories and backwards and forwards progression and I thought the Marlowe character was confusing and unnecessary. But overall, I was entertained and enjoyed the genre crossing aspects - fantasy, science fiction, contemporary issues and thriller all coming together nicely.
#NetGalley #RandomHousePublishing-BallantineBooks
#NetGalley #RandomHousePublishing-BallantineBooks
kathleenabby's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
1.0
This was looking like a solid 3 star book untill there was a weird redemption arc of a rasict. It left a bad taste in my mouth so it went from 3 to 1 stars.
Set in world where whenever Britain is in peril the Knights of the round resurrect to protect them the kingdom. They have been through all the wars but this time they awaken to Britain warmer than it ever been, parts of the country are now underwater, land has been sold off to other countries and poverty is worse than it's ever been. The challenges they face are different to anything they have ever faced.
Now I love Arthurian retellings and I was looking forward to a different spin on it, but honestly other than there names this doesn't feel Arthurian at all. But still it wasn't a bad book I just wanted more fantasy elements. But this is mainly about climate change, it's a good message but I don't think the author trusts the reader to understand because he has as much subtlety as a wrecking ball. Over explaining why climate is bad repetitively had me rolling my eyes after a while.
Part of the reason why this didn't work was how the characters spoke and acted. King Arthur and the knights were all smoking taking mushrooms, sniffing coke. King Arthur who hasn't awoken in centuries was using words like cap and calling people milksops. This is just not what I want in a retellings. For me they were characters that happened to have the same names.
The humour also didn't work for me, reviews are saying it's British humour so I must be a whole different kind of British because this weren't it. But I didn't completely hate it. It had a good message, lots of diverse representation with race and sexuality. Which only meant the weird redemption arc of a racist seemed so out of left field.
Basically Kay one of our main PoVs is black. At the start of the book he comes across a group of rascists attacking an immigrant family naturally he defends them he turns one into a squirrel. Great! Rasicm bad it feels right on par with the rest of the book. Only Kay comes across this squirrel later having a beer near burnt immigrants. The squirrel says to Kay 'if it weren't for immigrants Britain would be great but they didn't deserve to be burnt' (that's still racist) he then asks Kay to turn him back into a man. Kay is like yeah sure come with me. Then later turns him back, the rasict hasn't even said sorry or done one redeeming thing and Kay like go find your friends and have a nice goodbye hug (side eye) Kay also forgives him because he might of been nice as a child. What's that got to do with the price of eggs? It left a really sour taste in my mouth so 1 star.
Set in world where whenever Britain is in peril the Knights of the round resurrect to protect them the kingdom. They have been through all the wars but this time they awaken to Britain warmer than it ever been, parts of the country are now underwater, land has been sold off to other countries and poverty is worse than it's ever been. The challenges they face are different to anything they have ever faced.
Now I love Arthurian retellings and I was looking forward to a different spin on it, but honestly other than there names this doesn't feel Arthurian at all. But still it wasn't a bad book I just wanted more fantasy elements. But this is mainly about climate change, it's a good message but I don't think the author trusts the reader to understand because he has as much subtlety as a wrecking ball. Over explaining why climate is bad repetitively had me rolling my eyes after a while.
Part of the reason why this didn't work was how the characters spoke and acted. King Arthur and the knights were all smoking taking mushrooms, sniffing coke. King Arthur who hasn't awoken in centuries was using words like cap and calling people milksops. This is just not what I want in a retellings. For me they were characters that happened to have the same names.
The humour also didn't work for me, reviews are saying it's British humour so I must be a whole different kind of British because this weren't it. But I didn't completely hate it. It had a good message, lots of diverse representation with race and sexuality. Which only meant the weird redemption arc of a racist seemed so out of left field.
Basically Kay one of our main PoVs is black. At the start of the book he comes across a group of rascists attacking an immigrant family naturally he defends them he turns one into a squirrel. Great! Rasicm bad it feels right on par with the rest of the book. Only Kay comes across this squirrel later having a beer near burnt immigrants. The squirrel says to Kay 'if it weren't for immigrants Britain would be great but they didn't deserve to be burnt' (that's still racist) he then asks Kay to turn him back into a man. Kay is like yeah sure come with me. Then later turns him back, the rasict hasn't even said sorry or done one redeeming thing and Kay like go find your friends and have a nice goodbye hug (side eye) Kay also forgives him because he might of been nice as a child. What's that got to do with the price of eggs? It left a really sour taste in my mouth so 1 star.
smilesgiggle's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed this new perspective on King Arthur and his knights. The dark humor - Lancelot and Kay told to deal with their issues. The strong female characters. Morgan's purpose to aid women and the Earth. I loved these characters - entertaining, funny and real.
Merlin gives the knights magic stones - allowing for a sacred tree to grow upon their burial sight. When Britain is in " peril" the knights return to aid Britain.
The world is the death throes - consumed by reckless energy consumption, poor leadership, etc. Will it recover ? Or continue to be destroyed?
Merlin gives the knights magic stones - allowing for a sacred tree to grow upon their burial sight. When Britain is in " peril" the knights return to aid Britain.
The world is the death throes - consumed by reckless energy consumption, poor leadership, etc. Will it recover ? Or continue to be destroyed?
cyireadbooks's review against another edition
1.0
Too bad Perilous Times couldn't be more about resurrected dragons wreaking havoc upon earth. Thus requiring the help of the knights to rescue the world. Instead I found it politically slanted toward climate activists. Though I liken them more to eco-terrorists. Especially when explosives destroy a fracking site, sending it up in flames and emitting more carbon emissions than if left alone.
Needless to say, I didn't like or enjoy the narrative. However, I did like the snarky humor. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to sway me to continue reading -- especially since the activists (terrorists) were hell-bent on destroying just about everything that stood in the way of their agenda.
Though I normally read to at least 33% or more, I just couldn't continue much further than 25%. Sadly a one star DNF.
I received a digital ARC from Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Needless to say, I didn't like or enjoy the narrative. However, I did like the snarky humor. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to sway me to continue reading -- especially since the activists (terrorists) were hell-bent on destroying just about everything that stood in the way of their agenda.
Though I normally read to at least 33% or more, I just couldn't continue much further than 25%. Sadly a one star DNF.
I received a digital ARC from Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
evergreenreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
libraryofalibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
thereadingmum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Sometimes referencing other authors or books helps entice readers who love those other authors or books. More often though, it either doesn't help or puts a reader off because it's not at all like what it's been likened to. And why should it? Each author should have their own voice and not mimic someone else.
Perilous Times is labelled on the cover as "imagine Good Omens with Arthurian knights" and "perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Jodi Taylor and Ben Aaronovitch". Being a fan of those authors, I picked this up without hesitation. About 50 pages in, I was feeling a bit disappointed. It's not half as funny as Pratchett or Aaronovitch. Nor is it as witty or as wildly imaginative as Gaiman.Ā
However, I ended up loving it nonetheless. It is a tad depressing and I felt some of the malais the MC, Mariam, felt with everything that is happening in the world and how dire the environmental situation is. We're honestly not that far off what is depicted in the book, which scares the !#&^ out of me.Ā
But there is a lot of hope in here as well just as there is in real life. It doesn't take a hero to do something heroic. We need to stop waiting for someone else to do something, anything regardless of how small or impossible. I love this book for that message.
Perilous Times is labelled on the cover as "imagine Good Omens with Arthurian knights" and "perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Jodi Taylor and Ben Aaronovitch". Being a fan of those authors, I picked this up without hesitation. About 50 pages in, I was feeling a bit disappointed. It's not half as funny as Pratchett or Aaronovitch. Nor is it as witty or as wildly imaginative as Gaiman.Ā
However, I ended up loving it nonetheless. It is a tad depressing and I felt some of the malais the MC, Mariam, felt with everything that is happening in the world and how dire the environmental situation is. We're honestly not that far off what is depicted in the book, which scares the !#&^ out of me.Ā
But there is a lot of hope in here as well just as there is in real life. It doesn't take a hero to do something heroic. We need to stop waiting for someone else to do something, anything regardless of how small or impossible. I love this book for that message.
woekoe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
slstrong's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5