Jamaican novelist Marlon James on his new fantasy ‘Black Leopard, Red Wolf’

Four years after winning the Man Booker Prize, the Jamaican novelist Marlon James has returned with what he says is an “African Game of Thrones”.

The first part of the Dark Star fantasy trilogy is called Black Leopard, Red Wolf – a 620-page epic, filled with magical characters and African mythology.

Jon Snow caught up with the writer and began by asking him whether this turn to fantasy was a form of escapism from big issues.