C F Barrington
Writer
Books
Books
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 finall 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.
Current publication:
WHEN WE WERE KILLERS - Head of Zeus - 6th March 2025
Five friends. One deadly obsession.
The salt-scented quadrangles of St Andrews University greet misfit first-year student Finn Nethercott with indifference. It is a place where privilege counts, and those from the right backgrounds can get away with murder.
Finn is quickly seduced into a new circle of friends - four history scholars obsessed with the deepest roots of ancient Scotland - who sweep him away on wild adventures to forgotten castles and faerie lochs.
But he soon discovers the darker sides of his new friends: deadly rivalries, midnight rituals, and a desperate search for a long-lost hallucinogen. And as Finn sinks into a world where he can't always trust what he's seen each night, the group will learn just how deadly obsession can be.
A shocking fever-dream of a thriller perfect for fans M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains, Ashley Winstead's In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Ellie Keel's The Four.
Praise:
“I was blown away by this visceral roar of a novel: erudite, pacy and deeply moving. Think The Secret History on acid. Beautifully written and impossible to put down.” - JS Monroe.
Previous publications:
Book 4 of The Pantheon Series: THE BONE FIELDS - Aries/Head of Zeus - 1st September 2022
Squid Game meets The Hunger Games in the final gripping instalment of a fast-paced, action-packed Scottish thriller series where recruits compete in a fight to the death in the streets of Edinburgh.
New enemies to kill.
For decades, the Pantheon Games was the world's most elite underground event, where modern-day recruits battled to the death with ancient weapons. But it has been left in turmoil by the Grand Battle of its Twentieth Season.
New alliances to build.
In Edinburgh, as the Titans descend upon the Valhalla Tunnels, recruit Tyler Maitland's search for his sister rages on, while his friends are left to fend for themselves. With enemies on the run, heroes in hiding, and an organisation in chaos, the future of this secret world has never been more threatened.
A new future to forge.
But a three-way battle soon delivers previously unmatched teams to the fields of eastern Europe, where a hidden force will blow the truth of the Games wide open, once and for all...
The final Season starts now.
Praise for the Pantheon series:
'The Wolf Mile is a thrilling ride and a heck of a debut. C.F. Barrington knocks it out of the park' Matthew Harffy
'Blurs the boundary between fantasy and real life with authoritative panache. The moment you ask yourself if it could just be true, the story has you' Anthony Riches
'Gripping and original – a terrific read!' Joe Heap
'So gripping that I sometimes find myself holding my breath while I'm reading!' Ruth Hogan
'A brilliant eccentric concept which hits you like a fever dream' Giles Kristian
Fiction
| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
2021 Aries/Head of Zeus | A forbidden contest. An international game. Bankrolled by the world's wealthy elite and followed by thousands online, two teams of warriors vie for dominance ... and the streets of Edinburgh run with blood. Into this secret struggle steps Tyler Maitland, seeking his lost sister, and Lana Cameron, grieving her dead child. When they are accosted by figures in black hoodies and each handed a silver amulet, they recognise the Triple Horn of Odin – the talisman of the Valhalla Horde. They are being recruited into the great game known as The Pantheon. And one day they will change everything. Now they must risk their lives and join the ranks of seven ancient warrior teams which inhabit this illicit world. Their journey will be more wondrous and horrifying than anything they could have dreamed, taking each of them to the depths of their souls ... and testing them to breaking point as they search for loved ones and for the meaning in their lives. Let the Season begin. |
The Blood Isles 2022 Aries/Head of Zeus | The second in a dystopian thriller series, where modern-day recruits compete in an ancient fight to the death in the streets of Edinburgh. The Pantheon 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. Last season's new recruits Tyler and Lana have lived to fight another day, but now they face a series of even more lethal clashes before the Grand Battle that will bring the Season to a close. It's survival of the fittest in the most brutal fashion imaginable. As they race toward the bloody end, Lana must finally face the demons of her past, and Tyler will have to fight with the mother of all targets on his back... |
The Hastening Storm 2022 Aries/Head of Zeus | he third gripping instalment in a dystopian thriller series where modern-day recruits compete in an ancient fight to the death in the streets of Edinburgh. Live by the rules. Die by the rules. Or break the rules and take your chances in the chaos that follows... After the shocking climax of the Grand Battle, Tyler must now earn the right to fight for his former adversary. With the blood of both the Titans and Horde on his hands, he will have to find a way to forge a new brotherhood amongst his enemies. New identities, new brothers, a new cause... but the same blood will flow on the streets while those at the top enjoy the show and count the money rolling in. This season won't be like the others. Tyler must accept a new mission, one that hasn't been attempted in twenty years of the Pantheon games: Tyler will kill the king. His life, and the search for his sister, depends on it. This action-packed thriller is perfect for fans of Battle Royale and The Running Man. |