In James Alistair Henry’s debut novel, Britain is divided into ancient tribes; but this is also a Britain of office blocks, mobile phone apps, and vapes. In short, ‘Pagans’ is a high-concept alternate history thriller in which the Norman Conquest of 1066 didn’t happen and the “Old Gods” still hold sway. The world-building is exemplary (we gradually learn of warpaint being sold in supermarkets, and the social crisis that is “mead abuse”) but the author doesn’t stint on the plot as Captain Aedith Mercia (the daughter of a powerful Saxon leader) and DI Drustan (a heavily tattooed Celtic detective from the West country) are thrown together to investigate the brutal killing of a diplomat. The odd-couple team-up is a well-worn trope, but here Alistair Henry uses it to explore deep-seated prejudices which have obvious echoes today. The result is a genuinely gripping mystery that comes over like ‘The Bridge’ but set in a world of seaxes and runes. RM

Published by 

Moonflower Books