Perilous Times

IN PERILOUS TIMES LIKE THESE, THE REALM DOESN'T JUST NEED A HERO. IT NEEDS A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR. Sir Kay and his fellow knights awake from their mythical slumber whenever Britain has need of them; they fought at Agincourt and at the Somme. But in these perilous modern times, the realm is more divided than ever, a dragon has been seen for the first time in centuries, and Kay is not the only ancient and terrible thing to come crawling up out of the ground . . . Perilous Times is a fiercely entertaining contemporary take on the myths of Camelot, which asks: what happens when the Knights of the Round Table return to fix the problems of the modern world? This debut is perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Jodi Taylor or Ben Aaronovitch. AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE FANTASY HIVE 'DEBUT OF THE YEAR' AWARD ** 'If you like . . . Terry Pratchett, you'll enjoy Perilous Times . . . wryly witty, it's an utterly original take on Arthurian myth' The Times 'This audacious, original debut is angry as well as entertaining, and an exciting new take on the Matter of Britain' Guardian 'Funny, weird, wise, lovely, and full of mad sh*t. You've never read anything like it before, and you should bang that order button now' Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle 'Lee has brought Arthur's legends into these modern, perilous, times' Fantasy Hive 'Like Good Omens with Arthurian knights. I've never read a book that treads so happily the ground between making you think, and making you laugh out loud' Beth Underdown 'I HOWLED my way through this book! Smart, funny, refreshing fantasy. . . Anyone who liked Rivers of London will love this' Natasha Pulley 'Forget the once-and-future-king; this is a once-and-future classic' Jackson Ford 'Lee has a maestro's eye for satire' Richard Swan 'A brilliant collision of ancient mysticism with modern madness' Robert Jackson Bennett 'Relentlessly entertaining, deadpan hilarious and full of heart. Give it five pages and you'll be hooked' Scott Hawkins 'Maintains a steady faith in humanity's ability to bring itself back from the brink' Publishers Weekly 'Perilous Times has knights, mad science, corporate villainy . . . and dragons ready to burn it all down... delightful' Kevin Hearne 'An awesomely accomplished debut' Daily Mail *A No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller as published by the Sunday Times in the 4th June 2023 issue.

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.