Now this was fun!
Imagine that the Norman Conquest never happened in 1066. Great Britain continued to be an island divided by all the historic tribes you may have learnt about in your history lessons, dominated by the Saxons in the east and the Celts in the west, Scotland has gone its own way with a Nordic allicance. This is the case in this debut novel from seasoned screenwriter (Green Wing, Smack the Pony) James Alistair Henry. He says in the press release that for all we talk about a North-South divide, there is definitely still an East-West one in Britain too – and that inspired this book.
So there is no royal family, just an uneasy alliance between the Saxon tribes who take it in turn to lead the High Table. Sounds like the EU, doesn’t it? However, as you can see from the map to your left, much of mainland Europe is part of the Islamic Caliphate of Southern Europe. Periodically, there are attempts to unify the tribes to form a ‘United Kingdom’, and the latest Unification Summit is to be held in London in a week or so’s time, and it’s the build-up to this event that ultimately drives the plot of the novel.
A short prologue details how a couple of tourists from Lagos, Pan-Africa, on vacation in England’s wilder regions (for this read Epping Forest) come upon a dead man nailed to a tree, covered in tattoos, silver torc around his neck, arms outstretched and feet together. (Uh-oh – looks like a crucifixion! But Christianity isn’t a thing in this version of history… or is it?)
The novel proper begins with us meeting Aedith, a Saxon princess who happens to be a police captain no less, on her way to meet her father Earl Lod, leader of the Mercians, at a pre-summit event. Also there is Deedra Kesair, the elegantly tattooed media influencer, tribal leader and old school pal.
The crooked canines Aedith remembered from school were long gone, straightened by Moorish dentistry, but somehow this made her look more, rather than less, feral.
Lod is bemoaning his lack of intelligence on the other delegates, and the fact that the negotiator from the Celtic Nations is missing. Aedith is able to tell him that ‘he’s just turned up. Dead. Nailed to a tree in Epping Forest.’
Next we meet Drustan, whom we soon discover is a Detective Inspector with the Dumnonian (Cornwall) Tribal Police Agency, on his way into London, and then making his way to Epping Forest, where he surprises Aedith, Sergeant Agapos and their team. He explains he’s been sent to help, by the Tribal Elders who are concerned about a political aspect to the killing, in an advisory capacity. He’s able to help instantly as it turns out – identifying one of the deceased’s tattoos as Fomóir – a banned Tribal paramilitary organisation.
The events I’ve described all take place within the first thirty pages – and from thereon in, now we’ve met Aedith and Drustan properly, it doesn’t let up for a minute, especially once another seemingly unrelated corpse is found displayed similarly. There’s a serial killer on the loose it seems, can Aedith and her team with Drustan’s help solve the crimes before the Special Branch thugs get involved? Is there a paramilitary plot? Are Deedra’s tribe, the Kesair, involved? Is the High King safe? Aedith quickly grows to appreciate Drustan’s knowledge and way of doing things, and vice versa. The pair have chemistry, but will it develop into something else – that seems a distinct possibility for the future?
I loved all the tribal imagery that suffuses this novel. Although we are in the 21st century, the dark ages have become part of the present by the differences between tribes. All are tattooed with symbols and swirls illustrating key events in their lives in their tribes’ manner, and the Saxons wear their hair in braids. The Saxons love naming things – Aedith’s gun is called ‘Lungpiercer’ and her car ‘Roadfucker’! All the pagan gods are there, Woden being the leader of the Saxon pantheon.
A glossary at the end of the book explains some of the ancient terms still in use in this England, like that for the Saxon weapon of choice…
Seax: Traditional Saxon weapon, single-bladed long knife/short sword. Traditionally of great cultural importance to Saxons, give to children on significant birthdays, etc., although becoming less popular in modern times after the releae of a government public-information film, ‘Edmaer Stubhands’, which focused on the dangers of leaving swords around unattended young children.
This may be a gripping and pacy police procedural thriller with some gory bits, but the story is told with plenty of dark humour, and I was absolutely enthralled by the world that the author has created. It feels so exciting and dangerous, yet doesn’t lack for social comment too, as you can see the political (and religious) inequality between the tribal states; how the Saxons treat immigrant Celts for instance, yet revere Moorish coffee! The global dominance of the Pan-African states replaces the North Americas in this timeline, as a report from the Lagos Economist says:
Various superpowers have stakes in the vast natural resources of the plains, prairies and mineral wealth of the North Americas, but a series of treaties with the indigenous First Nation people there have kept a fragile balance with no one faction being allowed to take overall control.
It’s absolutely fascinating to think about!
I can see this making a wonderfully entertaining and slightly dark TV series, it was easy to visualise as I read. It’d certainly keep make-up artists in a job creating and applying all those temporary tattoos. Heck, at one stage I was wishing I had some tattoos, but thankfully that desire faded, a Celtic torc though… (I can claim some Celtic ancestry). Anyway, if you like spec fiction and alt history and a rollicking good crime novel, this is the book for you. And Henry has left open a distinct possbility for a sequel. Loved it.
Source: Review copy – thank you! Moonflower books hardback, 27 Feb 2025, 321 pages. BUY at Blackwell’s via my affiliate link (free UK P&P)
