Claiming T-Mo by Eugen Bacon (Meerkat Press, 2019) is a multi-generational tale of otherworldly beings, superpowers, and the complexity of families. With a sweeping scope across time and space, it features elements of fantasy and science fiction blended together in a way that makes both seem utterly plausible within the world Bacon has constructed.
The narrative flows through the generations, beginning with T-Mo’s mother, Silhouette, and his wife, Salem, who carry the bulk of the story. In the later chapters, additional characters pick up the threads of the story. And much of the story is these interwoven threads, all related to one another but telling the story from a variety of perspectives. In this way, they pull together a richly woven tapestry of the story, supplemented by the gorgeous and lush language.
The voices of each of the multitude of characters are distinct and evocative, painting an entire picture of each character within a few brief pages of their introduction. And while many of the events of the book are clearly from the realm of speculative fiction, the story is told in such a way that it all seems real.
It should be noted that there are characters who exhibit a variety of abusive behaviors in the course of this novel, which may make it difficult for some to read. Despite this, I found Claiming T-Mo to be a wonderfully well-written book that I enjoyed reading on the whole. If it sounds like your sort of book, it will be available from Meerkat Press on August 13, 2019, and can be pre-ordered now.
The publisher provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
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