Pagans (SF) - James Alistair Henry *****

There's a fascinating sub-genre of science fiction known as alternate history. The idea is that at some point in the past, history diverged from reality, resulting in a different present. Perhaps the most acclaimed of these books is Kingsley Amis's The Alteration, set in a modern England where there had not been a reformation - but James Alistair Henry arguably does even better by giving us a present where Britain is a third world country, still divided between Celts in the west and Saxons in the East. Neither the Normans nor Christianity have any significant impact.

In itself this is a clever idea, but what makes it absolutely excellent is mixing in a police procedural murder mystery, where the investigation is being undertaken by a Celtic DI, Drustan, who has to work in London alongside Aedith, a Saxon reeve of equivalent rank, who also happens to be daughter of the Earl of Mercia. While you could argue about a few historical aspects, it's effectively done and has a plot that drives along dramatically with a lot more than a few lives at stake. It was one of the most un-put-down-able books I've read in ages.

On top of the police procedural, cultural differences and politicking between the different regions there is also the complexity of a minority cult known as the Fishers who some think are criminals, others peacemakers who are trying to achieve a united island. It's one of their number, nailed to a tree, who is the murder victim that starts it all off. Although I loved the characteristics of the different cultures, they felt a touch stereotyped - all Saxons seemed to live on lumps of venison, for example, while the Celts all still wore torcs. It seemed that the whole country was preserved in cultural aspic. If you think of how much things have changed since, say, 1066 in clothing, hairstyles attitudes over the centuries, these seemed fixed here. Surely they would have changed more over time?

It was also hard to pin down exactly where the divergence from our history was supposed to have occurred. There was no Norman conquest, so that put it pre-1066, but the Christian bible appeared to be the same as is now, putting it after the Council of Rome in 382. However, this was a Britain without a history of Christianity, so this probably puts it before Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597. And what happened to the earlier Celtic Christianity - all forgotten? This is fun speculation if you are into history - but somewhat misses the point of the book, and risks breaking the butterfly on the wheel.

What really makes Pagans is the juxtaposition of the cultural and tribal aspects that hark back 1500 years with smartphones and drones. It's a similar appeal to urban fantasy, where it's the clash between ordinary modern life and magic that has such an impact. In fact I have seen this book described as urban fantasy - but apart from a couple of brief appearances of a mysterious person which may be fantasy element, there is nothing here that deviates from solid, science fiction, alternate history. The book's a delight: read it!

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here