The Fantasy Player

This is a story about the future of football. A new star emerges in a game that attracts, and demands, ever greater extremes of wealth, fame, and physical prowess. Ardro Holst, in his pursuit of glory, has to work out what is real and what is false, in sport, in life, and in love, in a new world in which the virtual has become almost indistinguishable from the real. He finds himself apparently abandoned by the people who have admired him, supported him, controlled him, and exploited him. Can Ardro rediscover who, and what, he is and work out who he can depend on in his darkest hour? This is a story about the future of football - and the future of love...

Gareth Cadwallader's first novel is Watkins & Co (Wet Zebra, 2016). His play, Cleopatra, has been performed at The King's Head and Hope theatres in Islington. Madame Manet and Blood-Crossed have been performed at the Tabard in Chiswick. He has written a collection of short stories, States of Man (WriteSideLeft, 2019).When off the field of combat, he works with entrepreneurs in London helping them grow their businesses.