Sir Kay is gallant and bold… and a thousand years old. Mixing Arthurian legend with contemporary fantasy, this sharply witty and relevant debut novel will delight fans of Terry Pratchett and Ben Aaronovitch.
My thoughts
Many thanks to Tracy at Compulsive Readers and Orbit for my gorgeous gifted proof of The book – I utterly love the stunning cover design. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the novel but I went in with an open mind and was rewarded!
‘All right’ Says the Arthurian knight to Mariam, the feminist ecowarrier, ‘You in peril?’ Sir Kay knows the realm must be at risk, but what has woken him this time? Perilous times is an entertaining take on the myths of Camelot, that will certainly appeal to fans of Terry Practchett and Neil Gaiman
Sir Kay and his fellow knights awake from their mythical slumber when Britain has need of them – they’ve been present at some pretty major incidents, fighting at both Agincourt and the Somme. This time things might be a tad worse, as the knights arise to find a realm riven by Brexit divisions struggling to cope with climate catastrophe. The green and pleasant land and clean waters of Britain rapidly shading to a shitty brown.
‘Death feels like God snapping his fingers. It’s always the same. The old sorcery flies out of him like a raven bursting free of a pie, and the spell is broken. His bones remember their age and turn accordingly to dust.’
This engrossing and timely debut novel with a whole host of characters makes you laugh, and it makes you think. As they battle Saxons, a dragon, and occasionally each other, we learn more about whose interests they serve. As the realm becomes increasingly inperiled, is it time to wake King Arthur himself? This was an enjoyable, refreshing read and I loved the alternative take on the Arthurian legends.
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Description
They say ‘old soldiers never die’ – and in Sir Kay’s case, the ballad can be taken literally. For hundreds of years Kay and his fellow knights of the round table have been woken from their long slumber whenever Britain had need of them; they fought at Agincourt and at the Somme. But now a dragon has been seen for the first time in centuries, the realm is more divided than ever, and what’s worse, there are rumours of Arthur himself returning. Kay just wants to go back to sleep. And Kay is not the only ancient thing to come crawling up out of the ground; Lancelot is back as well, with orders to track down Kay and stop him from doing anything stupid. Mixing Arthurian legend with contemporary fantasy, this sharply witty and relevant debut novel will delight fans of Terry Pratchett and Ben Aaronovitch.
Author Biography
Thomas D. Lee is an author of fantastical and historical fiction. In 2019 he completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing. He has now embarked upon a PhD at the same institution, specialising in queer interpretations of the Arthurian mythos. He frequently considers emulating Merlin and becoming a hermit in the woods who speaks only in riddles.
Green Reads Books 
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