The Wolf Mile (The Pantheon Book 1) by C.F. Barrington

 

The Wolf Mile (The Pantheon Book 1) by C.F. Barrington.

Published in e-book 6th May 2021 and paperback 5th August 2021 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

An action-packed adventure thriller, where modern-day recruits compete in an ancient, deadly game in the streets of Edinburgh.

Welcome to the Pantheon Games. Let the streets of Edinburgh run with blood...

The Games are the biggest underground event in the world, followed by millions online. New recruits must leave behind their twenty-first century lives and vie for dominance in a gruelling battle to the death armed only with ancient weapons – and their wits.

Tyler Maitland and Lana Cameron have their own reasons for signing up. Now they must risk their lives and join the ranks of seven ancient warrior teams that inhabit this illicit world. Their journey will be more extraordinary and horrifying than anything they could have dreamed, testing them to breaking point.

Let the Season begin.

***********************

Welcome to Edinburgh, a city very like the one that many of us are familiar with, and yet there is something not quite as we know it about what happens on these streets - for every year blood is spilt on these cobblestones as part of the biggest underground games of them all, the Pantheon Games.

No one knows exactly who devised the Games, and the shadowy figures at the helm prefer to stay hidden behind the anonymity that enormous wealth and political heft can buy, gambling their fortunes on the results of the battles they control each season from on high. The Games have become an urban legend and the silent obsession of millions who dream of becoming part of the warring factions that fight for dominance  - even if this means it costs them their lives.

For reasons unclear, Edinburgh is now home to two of the seven secretive factions that take part in the Games - the Horde, that follow Viking traditions, and inhabit the ancient tunnels below the city;  and their sworn enemies the Titan's, who have ties to the history of Alexander of Macedon and are guardians of the city's rooftops.

The story is primarily told through the eyes of Tyler, an ex-addict, and Lana, a woman struggling with the legacy of abuse and loss, both of whom are among those offered the chance to find redemption by  becoming part of the new cohort of recruits for the Horde. We are at their sides as they undergo the arduous training they must endure if they want to be accepted into the Horde as warriors, and accrue the rewards that come hand in hand with the danger they will have to face during the Games - and it's no walk in the park. This is the kind of training that will take them to breaking point, but they both have their own reasons for pushing themselves to succeed - Lana to recapture the spirit of her youth, and Tyler to find his missing sister...

I absolutely love the concept of this novel, the first part of a debut trilogy from C.F. Barrington, and the way it twists contemporary and historical themes together into a cracking adventure story like nothing I have read before. Described as 'Fight Club, with swords' I could not resist delving into the world of the illicit Pantheon Games and it was quite a ride! 

There is something so compelling about the way the Game takes place in the shadows, and while everyone knows on some level that it is happening, only those sworn to secrecy are aware of the whole truth. During the day, these secret combatants seem to be ordinary folk, but at night they fully immerse themselves into the traditions and duties required of them as warriors. Of course, something that is based on the premise of secrecy and lies is also open to corruption and backstabbing - not just in the form of the authorities that seem to condemn its illegal activities with one hand, while accepting very bloody hush money with the other - but also from within, and the notion of games within games muddies the waters beautifully as events play out.

The whole story is fast paced, on the edge of your seat stuff, with a big dollop of gritty, emotional impact from the individual stories of the central characters, and Barrington uses the location of Edinburgh very cleverly throughout - if you know Edinburgh at all, you will find this very enjoyable. Fear of spoilers prevents me from getting into the real nitty gritty of the adventure, but be assured that this is a cracking tale, that kept me hooked from the first page to the last - and promises great things for the next instalment. I can't wait...

The Wolf Mile is available to buy now in e-book format and will be released in paperback on 5th August.

Thank you to C.F. Barrington for sending me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

About the author:

C.F. Barrington spent twenty years intending to write a novel, but found life kept getting in the way. Instead, his career has been in major gift fundraising, leading teams in organisations as varied as the RSPB, Oxford University and the National Trust. In 2015, when his role as Head of Communications at Edinburgh Zoo meant a third year of fielding endless media enquires about the possible birth of a baby panda, he finally retreated to a quiet desk and got down to writing. Raised in Hertfordshire and educated at Oxford, he now divides his time between Fife and the Lake District.