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High John the Conqueror
When children start going missing in a rural town, the investigation takes twists and turns into the strange world of privilege and the realm of the occult.
"I always wanted to be a writer, but I became a policeman instead."
WESSEX, 2016. Teenagers are vanishing off the council estates of a small provincial city. A crop of herbs that are said to posses magical powers which only grow once every fifty years are found in the woods. A supernatural creature believed to be the guardian of the herbs is seen in nightmares. Rumours of orgiastic rituals on the estates of the rich and powerful excite the curious. And the Queen of England decides to celebrate her 90th birthday with a visit to the city’s famous cathedral spire.
Into this madness, two ambitious detectives, one with doomed literary ambitions, seek to solve the mystery, their only lead that “posh people are taking our children”.
Blending mysticism, class war, societal malfeasance and transcendence, High John The Conqueror identifies the point in our recent history when the ghosts of our past become the political monsters of the present.
"I always wanted to be a writer, but I became a policeman instead."
WESSEX, 2016. Teenagers are vanishing off the council estates of a small provincial city. A crop of herbs that are said to posses magical powers which only grow once every fifty years are found in the woods. A supernatural creature believed to be the guardian of the herbs is seen in nightmares. Rumours of orgiastic rituals on the estates of the rich and powerful excite the curious. And the Queen of England decides to celebrate her 90th birthday with a visit to the city’s famous cathedral spire.
Into this madness, two ambitious detectives, one with doomed literary ambitions, seek to solve the mystery, their only lead that “posh people are taking our children”.
Blending mysticism, class war, societal malfeasance and transcendence, High John The Conqueror identifies the point in our recent history when the ghosts of our past become the political monsters of the present.
342 pages, Paperback
Published November 8, 2022
15 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Tariq Goddard
15 books14 followersTariq Goddard was born in London in 1975. He read Philosophy at King’s College London. His first three novels were shortlisted for various awards including Whitbread (Costa) First Novel Award, Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. His fourth and fifth books won the Independent Publishers Gold medal for Horror Writing and Silver medal for Literary Fiction respectively. He lives on a farm in Wiltshire with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 22, 2022
In my view High John the Conqueror is a satire. It pokes fun both at the police procedural novel and at the real police. Expect the usual corruption both at police level but also at high levels; people that could be classed as white trash(excuse my political incorrectness), drugs and layers upon layers of conspiracy. All crowned by a little twist that I won't reveal.
But what shines here is the actual writing. Some of the monologues cracked me up and the dialogues are just bonkers!! Just for the exquisiteness of the writing I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by Goddard!
*Book from NetGalley with many thank to the publisher!
But what shines here is the actual writing. Some of the monologues cracked me up and the dialogues are just bonkers!! Just for the exquisiteness of the writing I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by Goddard!
*Book from NetGalley with many thank to the publisher!
November 4, 2022
Àfter reading the blurb I really thought that I was in for a good read, I was so WRONG!!!!! This read was like walking through very thick treacle and I nearly gave up at 50%, but I perservered as I thought I owed it to the author. The storyline was so complicated and soon became very confusing. It did not get any better. I really hope that other readers will enjoy it more just not for me. The only thing I got out of this book was a headache.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.
January 29, 2024
I love the idea of fusing a detective story with folk horror and largely enjoyed this book. Some sections, such as the descriptions of the housing estates, were very compelling, and I thought the dialogue captured the social milieu quite well.
The central mystery was oddly underdeveloped, however, as were the police procedural aspects generally (the investigators often seem to just know things). Finally, I’m not sure why the detectives share names with members of Throbbing Gristle and Coil.
The central mystery was oddly underdeveloped, however, as were the police procedural aspects generally (the investigators often seem to just know things). Finally, I’m not sure why the detectives share names with members of Throbbing Gristle and Coil.
February 29, 2024
I don’t know who I would recommend this book to at all but I know that person wouldn’t have otherwise been me.
There’s a lot going on with this book: mystery, folk horror, urban wyrd (which is apparently an English subgenere), as well as running commentaries on police brutality and gentrification. I’m not sure it all works — and at times it is a bit wobbly — but I enjoyed reading it.
There was something about Tariq Goddard’s storytelling that made me really connect with this despite having little resonance with the plot or characters. I realize the dialogue and characterization are a bit esoteric for my tastes but I was hooked on how exactly he used dialogue and characterization to paint a bizarre and interesting picture of urban-ish rural England.
There’s a bit of a Wicker Man aspect too. I definitely thought of Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home, which I read last year. But more than anything, the cultish aspect felt like the most solid part: a commentary on Brexit and English society.
I don’t share the morbid fascination others do with Jeffrey Epstein but what I appreciated about the Netflix doc was the focus on how the girls in his Florida orbit were from the wrong side of the West Palm tracks. There wasn’t a sordid global cabal behind this, just a rich man preying on poor girls. Tale as old as time. This book hits that mark exactly: how easy young people are exploited and used for the whims of others. For a book that had some supernatural overtones, the culture commentary was stronger than I could’ve expected.
I can’t recommend this to most of y’all but this guy just hit with me. I’m definitely going to have to reread it to see what I missed.
BTW, I got this as a gift from my Cannonballer from two years ago. It was on my list mostly because it’s not in any Stateside bookstores. So thank you once more to that awesome person!
There’s a lot going on with this book: mystery, folk horror, urban wyrd (which is apparently an English subgenere), as well as running commentaries on police brutality and gentrification. I’m not sure it all works — and at times it is a bit wobbly — but I enjoyed reading it.
There was something about Tariq Goddard’s storytelling that made me really connect with this despite having little resonance with the plot or characters. I realize the dialogue and characterization are a bit esoteric for my tastes but I was hooked on how exactly he used dialogue and characterization to paint a bizarre and interesting picture of urban-ish rural England.
There’s a bit of a Wicker Man aspect too. I definitely thought of Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home, which I read last year. But more than anything, the cultish aspect felt like the most solid part: a commentary on Brexit and English society.
I don’t share the morbid fascination others do with Jeffrey Epstein but what I appreciated about the Netflix doc was the focus on how the girls in his Florida orbit were from the wrong side of the West Palm tracks. There wasn’t a sordid global cabal behind this, just a rich man preying on poor girls. Tale as old as time. This book hits that mark exactly: how easy young people are exploited and used for the whims of others. For a book that had some supernatural overtones, the culture commentary was stronger than I could’ve expected.
I can’t recommend this to most of y’all but this guy just hit with me. I’m definitely going to have to reread it to see what I missed.
BTW, I got this as a gift from my Cannonballer from two years ago. It was on my list mostly because it’s not in any Stateside bookstores. So thank you once more to that awesome person!
November 22, 2022
Where to start with this tedious nonsense? Well, I suppose a summary of the plot might be a good place. In a rundown housing estate in a ‘typical’ small town in southern England young people are going missing and the local police decide it’s time to investigate. This provides an opportunity, not only to introduce the main protagonist, Detective Chief Inspector Terry Balance, but a whole series of cliched, stereotypical yet increasingly bizarre characters. Balance’s investigating technique appears to be to let them run off their mouths and pontificate on Life, the Universe and Everything, during which he offers a few of his own philosophical titbits, in the hope that something vaguely relevant to the case is revealed. It doesn’t help that the characters are also parroting the author’s obvious political beliefs during their endless diatribes.
Somewhat ironically the words the hapless Balance uses to describe his case, about a third of the way through, could be used equally appropriately to describe this so-called novel: ‘a powerful assemblage of invention, dug out of a box of dead ends, encompassing everything’, apart from an interesting, engaging, well-written story. The last seven words are mine! The most apt way to describe this polemic thinly disguised as drivel is a kind of police procedural cum half-baked ‘state of the nation’ novel written by a hung-over pound-shop Jed Mercurio.
Having said all of that, there is one aspect of this lamentable effort that does deserve praise and suggests the author might have some facility with words: he describes what it is like to fall, and the state of being, in love, remarkably accurately, for which he deservedly earns a bonus star.
Somewhat ironically the words the hapless Balance uses to describe his case, about a third of the way through, could be used equally appropriately to describe this so-called novel: ‘a powerful assemblage of invention, dug out of a box of dead ends, encompassing everything’, apart from an interesting, engaging, well-written story. The last seven words are mine! The most apt way to describe this polemic thinly disguised as drivel is a kind of police procedural cum half-baked ‘state of the nation’ novel written by a hung-over pound-shop Jed Mercurio.
Having said all of that, there is one aspect of this lamentable effort that does deserve praise and suggests the author might have some facility with words: he describes what it is like to fall, and the state of being, in love, remarkably accurately, for which he deservedly earns a bonus star.
November 5, 2022
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tariq Goddard for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for High John the Conqueror coming out November 8, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.
It’s 2016 in Wessex and teens are disappearing from the council estates of a small provincial city. It’s said there’s herbs that contain magical powers. It only grows once every fifty years. A creature guards the herbs and can only be seen in nightmares. There are rumors of rituals performed by the rich and powerful. Even the Queen of England decides to celebrate her birthday in this town.
Two detectives spiral down the rabbit hole into the madness of the town, seeking to solve the mystery of the vanishing teens.
This definitely wasn’t what I was thinking it was based on the title and description. I was thinking it would be more historical based and scarier with the disappearing teens. I enjoyed the dialogue, but I have to admit I was lost for most of the description. I didn’t really know what was going on. It just seemed like the story was a little disjointed. I’m a mood reader, so I probably wasn’t in the right mood to read it. Overall, I didn’t really enjoy it and it wasn’t a book for me. I would check out other books by this author though.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
It’s 2016 in Wessex and teens are disappearing from the council estates of a small provincial city. It’s said there’s herbs that contain magical powers. It only grows once every fifty years. A creature guards the herbs and can only be seen in nightmares. There are rumors of rituals performed by the rich and powerful. Even the Queen of England decides to celebrate her birthday in this town.
Two detectives spiral down the rabbit hole into the madness of the town, seeking to solve the mystery of the vanishing teens.
This definitely wasn’t what I was thinking it was based on the title and description. I was thinking it would be more historical based and scarier with the disappearing teens. I enjoyed the dialogue, but I have to admit I was lost for most of the description. I didn’t really know what was going on. It just seemed like the story was a little disjointed. I’m a mood reader, so I probably wasn’t in the right mood to read it. Overall, I didn’t really enjoy it and it wasn’t a book for me. I would check out other books by this author though.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 18, 2024
I loved so much in this that I really want to give it a higher rating. That's one of the reasons I think the idea of rating by stars is flawed. But I had a few pretty big problems so I went for a three star.
This is an immensely entertaining book, beautifully written, but it feels like the overall story hasn't been properly thought out. The main character-Terry Balance- brilliant name- keeps making assumptions that, although they turn out to be right, defy logic. He works on a series of improbable hunches. It makes the whole thing feel a bit like Goddard didn't really know what was going on and he was making it up as he was going along.
But the drug at the centre of the narrative is brilliant, the prog rock band that is connected with everything is amazing, and the musings on the modern world that the characters share with each other make it feel almost like an up to date social commentary.
But it also feels like the characters get from a to b too easily.
As I say, I really enjoyed it and loved reading it on the bus to work. I just wish it had been a bit more logical.
This is an immensely entertaining book, beautifully written, but it feels like the overall story hasn't been properly thought out. The main character-Terry Balance- brilliant name- keeps making assumptions that, although they turn out to be right, defy logic. He works on a series of improbable hunches. It makes the whole thing feel a bit like Goddard didn't really know what was going on and he was making it up as he was going along.
But the drug at the centre of the narrative is brilliant, the prog rock band that is connected with everything is amazing, and the musings on the modern world that the characters share with each other make it feel almost like an up to date social commentary.
But it also feels like the characters get from a to b too easily.
As I say, I really enjoyed it and loved reading it on the bus to work. I just wish it had been a bit more logical.
January 15, 2023
2.5 stars
This book was an odd one. The author has ideas, lots of them, and they’re certainly unique and interesting. But the writing is mostly bad, with some well written passages and some funny lines and turns of phrase. He manages to make very boring parts last an eternity and skip so quickly over the rest. Character development was very odd; it felt like we’d skipping a whole chunk and suddenly the author was talking about people and their relationships like we knew them well. Terry’s relationship with Eileen was honestly ridiculous, and made me feel like the author had no real idea how people aside from teenage boys experience attraction or love, like he was relying on what he’d heard more than what he knew. I appreciated the out-there story and ideas, but overall this was not really a good book.
This book was an odd one. The author has ideas, lots of them, and they’re certainly unique and interesting. But the writing is mostly bad, with some well written passages and some funny lines and turns of phrase. He manages to make very boring parts last an eternity and skip so quickly over the rest. Character development was very odd; it felt like we’d skipping a whole chunk and suddenly the author was talking about people and their relationships like we knew them well. Terry’s relationship with Eileen was honestly ridiculous, and made me feel like the author had no real idea how people aside from teenage boys experience attraction or love, like he was relying on what he’d heard more than what he knew. I appreciated the out-there story and ideas, but overall this was not really a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2022
This had a lot of promise, but unfortunately I found it very difficult to get through. It's not badly written, and it has enjoyably colourful characterisations and settings, but the style is somewhat all over the place, the plotting uneven, and those colourful characters are bafflingly inconsistent, at times seeming to act at random. I suspect this novel is trying to be too many things at once, and my expectations were consequently too high. I did want a bit of fun, which I got, but I could have done with it being several hundred pages shorter if I was to keep my sense of humour throughout.
I also think that a different reader would enjoy this a lot more than I did!
My thanks to Repeater Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
I also think that a different reader would enjoy this a lot more than I did!
My thanks to Repeater Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
dnfs
November 22, 2022Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for a review!
I DNF'd this book at about 40%. I was already not really getting along great with this story, but the questionable way sex workers were discussed and the use of a racial slur for Roma people to describe a character just put a bad taste in my mouth.
The characters are all annoying, which is a shame. This book reminds me of the movie Hot Fuzz crossed with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot plus a bit of magic. It tries to tackle class divides that plague cities like London. The premise of this story is interesting.
However, it just didn't work for me, and again, the casual racism in 2022 is a no-go for me.
I DNF'd this book at about 40%. I was already not really getting along great with this story, but the questionable way sex workers were discussed and the use of a racial slur for Roma people to describe a character just put a bad taste in my mouth.
The characters are all annoying, which is a shame. This book reminds me of the movie Hot Fuzz crossed with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot plus a bit of magic. It tries to tackle class divides that plague cities like London. The premise of this story is interesting.
However, it just didn't work for me, and again, the casual racism in 2022 is a no-go for me.
July 12, 2023
3.5 / 5
Okay, so this one is. . . tricky. I liked it, but also was kind of let down, but also kind of not?
See- has me in such a muddle.
Like, I'm not sure I'll ever re-read this, but I also don't want to get rid of my copy. I just love the look of the book, and the premise was so interesting. One of those books where I'm highly unlikely to re-read, but I'd also hate to get a sudden hankering and then not have it because I re-homed my copy.
My biggest problem, I suppose, is how often I was pulled out of everything because the narrative or a character's dialog got too long-winded or the philosophical musings started to feel very much in the way of me burrowing deep into the story. I wanted to be wowed by this one, but it just got in its own way too often.
Okay, so this one is. . . tricky. I liked it, but also was kind of let down, but also kind of not?
See- has me in such a muddle.
Like, I'm not sure I'll ever re-read this, but I also don't want to get rid of my copy. I just love the look of the book, and the premise was so interesting. One of those books where I'm highly unlikely to re-read, but I'd also hate to get a sudden hankering and then not have it because I re-homed my copy.
My biggest problem, I suppose, is how often I was pulled out of everything because the narrative or a character's dialog got too long-winded or the philosophical musings started to feel very much in the way of me burrowing deep into the story. I wanted to be wowed by this one, but it just got in its own way too often.
September 27, 2022
I loved this book, but not as much as I loved Homage to a Firing Squad.
I almost gave it five stars but I felt it just fell short.
This can probably be classed as a crime book.
The phrase 'What's Occurring' regularly spoken by Nessa Jenkins in Gavin and Stacey is a more appropriate description of it than a who-dunnit.
Witty, quite unusual and spell-binding.
I will continue to look out for Tariq's books as they are well-thought out and well-written, and enjoyable.
Thanks to the author and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.
I almost gave it five stars but I felt it just fell short.
This can probably be classed as a crime book.
The phrase 'What's Occurring' regularly spoken by Nessa Jenkins in Gavin and Stacey is a more appropriate description of it than a who-dunnit.
Witty, quite unusual and spell-binding.
I will continue to look out for Tariq's books as they are well-thought out and well-written, and enjoyable.
Thanks to the author and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.
February 5, 2024
overwritten and overwrought
Somewhere in here is a tight police procedural about the occult and while it’s tough for a book under 400 pages to feel flabby, this one does. The first person narrator keeps saying he wanted to be a writer, but became a policeman and I’m thankful he chose the latter (although for a character everyone keeps saying is brilliant detective he never does anything especially clever). The prose is overwritten and overwrought, and whoever gave the blurb comparing this to aspects of M.R. James clearly had taken too much High John the conqueror.
Somewhere in here is a tight police procedural about the occult and while it’s tough for a book under 400 pages to feel flabby, this one does. The first person narrator keeps saying he wanted to be a writer, but became a policeman and I’m thankful he chose the latter (although for a character everyone keeps saying is brilliant detective he never does anything especially clever). The prose is overwritten and overwrought, and whoever gave the blurb comparing this to aspects of M.R. James clearly had taken too much High John the conqueror.
December 11, 2022
I’ll echo some of the other reviews. The book isn’t written without skill—some components really work. But as a whole I just can’t connect with it. I’m sure there’s another reader out there who is going to love this book. Me? Mostly just feeling confused and skipping ahead until I see something that I recognize as a plot event.
November 9, 2022
There's potential, there's humour I found hard to follow the plot and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
February 28, 2023
This was my first title by this writer. I don’t usually read fantastical stories, but this book reminded me why I should do so more. I found myself confused, but interested in the confusion, hoping that by the end of the book it would all come together in a way that wouldn’t make me regret not abandoning it. And I have to say, I was glad to have stuck it out. It’s an odd tale, with great writing - Goddard is a writer whose originality inspires. There are a lot of interesting conversations/observations about class and wealth; but the racist comments were odd altho I suspect the point was to reflect the culture of the force? I enjoyed the fantastical aspect more than I had anticipated.
May 13, 2024
With some editing and rewrites, little more time spent on plot and less on exposition, there’s probably a decent book in here. Shame no one thought to do it.
August 13, 2025
(26/07/2025) I've borrowed this from the library and already 68 pages in.
I have a feeling that this is going to be a confusing story to follow (and at the moment I can only read in short bursts) so we'll see how I get on!
(29/07/2025) I am about 100 pages in and it is a very confusing story! I'm not entirely sure what's going on! I hate giving up on a book so I will plod on but I might regret it!
(13/08/2025) OK I've managed to finish it, but I'm the sort that always likes to finish what I've started! I can only say this was a very confusing story! I didn't like it at all and the ending didn't explain anything either.
I have a feeling that this is going to be a confusing story to follow (and at the moment I can only read in short bursts) so we'll see how I get on!
(29/07/2025) I am about 100 pages in and it is a very confusing story! I'm not entirely sure what's going on! I hate giving up on a book so I will plod on but I might regret it!
(13/08/2025) OK I've managed to finish it, but I'm the sort that always likes to finish what I've started! I can only say this was a very confusing story! I didn't like it at all and the ending didn't explain anything either.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews