A review by ninjamuse
Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You know how sometimes you read a blurb and think, "This was written for me, I'm going to love it", and then you start reading and think, "This was totally written for me, I'm going to love it", and then you get to the end and think, "Yes, loved it!"

Perilous Times isn't a perfect book but it is a blast of a debut. It's full of off-kilter Arthuriana, humour that goes from light to dark at the drop of a hat, "sure, why not" moments, and political commentary that's both funny and way too real. The main characters were either intensely lovable or relatable or the sort of folks you love to hate, and sure, I saw some of the twists coming, but not all of them, and the ride, you guys, the ride that is this book…

Please add this to your TBRs if you enjoy any of the following:
  • blowing up fracking facilities and accidentally releasing dragons
  • protagonists who want so badly to make the world better but everything's so broken, how do you even do that?
  • protagonists who've been around long enough everything is an "oh no, not this again"
  • antagonists who are certain they're the good guys
  • antagonists who know they're the bad guys and don't care
  • "Can we trust this weirdo?" "I used to kill Nazis." "Great, you're in."
  • man-out-of-time moments
  • English folklore turned on its head and occasionally used to stab you
  • a funny near-future that takes climate change seriously
  • skewering the worst parts of political movements
  • the Kingdom of Wales
  • grab-bag world-building that shouldn't work but does
  • niche historical references
  • diverse protagonists who just are
  • Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch, and/or T.H. White

Like I said, though, it's not perfect. Specifically, it does the thing where characters don't "get" stuff when they maybe should so that the author can really drive the themes home. But, like, that was really the only failing for me? And it gave me resurrected Arthurian knights and a recurring dragon and wacky magic and Faustian bargains and so many more tropes that are my catnip that I'm still giving this an 8/10. (Or, well, a 7.9 if I'm going to be more honest.)

It's out May 23. Watch for it!
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