Book Review: Pagans by James Alistair Henry
About the book
Two Cops. One Killer. Hundreds of Gods.
21st Century London. The Norman conquest never happened. The ancient tribes of Britain remain undefeated.
But murders still have to be solved. The small, mostly unimportant, island of Britain is inhabited by an uneasy alliance of tribes - the dominant Saxon East, the beleaguered Celtic West, and an independent Nordic Scotland - and tensions are increasing by the second. Supermarket warpaint sales are at an all - time high, mead abuse shortens the lives of thousands, and social media is abuzz with conspiracy theories suggesting the High Table's putting GPS trackers in the honeycakes.
Amid this febrile atmosphere, the capital is set to play host to the Unification Summit, which aims to join together the various tribes into one 'united kingdom'. But when a Celtic diplomat is found brutally murdered, his body nailed to an ancient oak, the fragile peace is threatened. Captain Aedith Mercia, daughter of a powerful Saxon leader, must join forces with Celtic Tribal Detective Inspector Drustan to solve the murder - and stop political unrest spilling onto the streets.
But is this an isolated incident? Or are Aedith and Drustan facing a serial killer with a decades-old grudge? To find out, they must delve into their own murky pasts and tackle forces that go deeper than they ever could have imagined.
Set in a world that's far from our own and yet captivatingly familiar, Pagans is "The Bridge" meets "Vikings", exploring contemporary themes of religious conflict, nationalism, prejudice... and the delicate internal politics of the office coffee round.
Gripping and darkly funny, Pagans keeps you guessing until the very end.
Why we love it
I’ve always had a fondness for sci-fi and fantasy novels that are centred on alternative versions of history and that exactly what Pagans by James Alistair Henry is.
The twist in this particular timeline dates back to medieval times asking the question: what if the Norman Conquest never happened? What if Britain remained a disparate mix of tribes and clans, Saxons, Celts and Norse factions, right through to the modern day?
What would be the impact not just on the development of British Isles but on the entire world?
It’s a fascinating premise, shifting the entire balance of power of the world, with a global super-power in the form of the resource-rich Pan-African Unified States as well as a Mughal Empire in India and European Islamic Caliphate.
But other than setting the scene, the story doesn’t delve too much into the global political situation and is instead a modern-day detective thriller with pagan gods and social media co-existing side by side, where you can stock up on warpaint at a local supermarket and every household has a shrine dedicated to their god of choice.
At the centre of the story we’ve got Detective Captain Aedith Mercia, a Saxon police officer based out of Woden’s Cross Police Station in London, and Detective Inspector Drustan of the Drumnonian Tribal Police Agency, a mysterious Celt from the West who doesn’t exactly trust the Saxon police force he’s forced to work with.
Thrown together to investigate the murder of a Tribal diplomat in the run-up to a crucial Unification Summit, the pair soon find themselves entangled in a web of conspiracy that blends ancient religious and cultural practices with modern-day politics. Fast-paced and gripping, with two lead characters you’re instantly curious to know more about, it’s the sort of book you’re immediately drawn into.
What really makes the book work though is its fantastic world-building. From the first page, it’s immediately apparent that every detail - from fashion, food and drink to cultural differences, justice systems and institutional racism - has been carefully considered and thought about. And yet there is still very much a distinct sense of dry humour running throughout the story, a subtle hint of satire that’s directed at the current world we’re living in.
Part detective story, part satire and part speculative fantasy, this is a strikingly original read - one that brings to mind Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials books, while still feeling entirely its own thing. Highly recommended!
