Perilous Times

Starred review from April 1, 2023

DEBUT In this reimagining of King Arthur and his round table, the knights made bargains with old wizards and even older gods in order to return whenever Britain was in peril. When Kay and Lancelot rise in this near-future dystopia, Britain and the world are on the brink of extinction as global warming turns apocalyptic. The lowlands are flooded, dragons have risen, and someone is playing with magic. The fun part of this debut novel is following along as Kay and Lancelot roll with the punches. But the beating, breaking heart of the story rests with Mariam and her Feminist Environmentalist Transgressive Alliance, who are determined to keep on trying to save the world, no matter who or what stands in their way, which puts them in opposition to Arthur, Morgan le Fay, and all the demons who are just itching to return from the void. The conflict gives the story a breakneck pace and a compelling urgency that pulls readers along on a wild, glorious, and epic ride. VERDICT Highly recommended for lovers of Arthurian reinterpretations and climate-disaster thrillers.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 6, 2023
Debut novelist Lee takes a side-eyed look at both chivalric legends and contemporary eco-warriors in this hopeful eco-fantasy that asks whether Excalibur might be able to slay climate change. After blowing up a fracking facility and accidentally unleashing a dragon, young activist Mariam escapes the chaos with the aid of a recently resurrected Sir Kay, knight of the Round Table and foster brother of King Arthur. Given repeated lives by Merlin, Kay is used to being revived for military missions but he’s less prepared to handle the more abstract foe that is the collapse of Britain’s ecology. He knows, however, that the resurrected Arthur’s plan to “make Britain great again” is not the right tactic. Instead, Excalibur needs a new and better wielder. Lee does not skimp on the bleakness of the environmental crisis nor on naming its villains, but he maintains a steady faith in humanity’s ability to bring itself back from the brink; swords can do more than cleave if they become rallying symbols for folks who do not recognize their own heroism. Readers with a love of Arthurian romance and ecological optimism will appreciate Mariam and Kay’s struggles and triumphs. Agent: Sam Morgan, Lotts Agency.

May 1, 2023
Full of dark humor and insights into the ills of the twenty-first century, Lee's latest hits close to home by asking readers to reflect on how King Arthur would save modern-day England if it were plagued by rampant racism and political infighting as well as the devastating effects of climate change. When Kay, a longdead Knight of the Round Table, reincarnates unexpectedly, he knows that he must vanquish a dragon terrorizing the countryside. His quest to find it leads Kay to a resourceful social activist named Mariam and a reanimated Lancelot, who has a mission of his own. The three story lines intermingle, weaving in old magic, ferocious knights, a certain lady of the lake, plus other fan favorites like Merlin, Morgana, and King Arthur himself, brought back to save the world. The gravitas of the classic Arthurian Legend is thankfully absent in Lee's narrative, offering a fresh, irreverent perspective on the well-known myth and allowing readers to form their own opinions on the efficacy of a long-dead king and his sword combating what ails our modern age.

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