Novic
Eugen Bacon
Paperback/Ebook
ISBN: 978-1965740026
Meerkat Press, September 16 2025, 90 pgs

Novic is an immortal traveling priest, doomed to never die no matter how hard he tries. One of his journeys leads him to the murderous mercies of an odd woman named Brad. Another leads him to family and the chaotic, loving embrace of his sister and a pack of raucous niblings. Both journeys lead to life and death, albeit in very different ways. Both spur Novic to introspection and perhaps an internal transformation that influences other stories about the character.

Apparently, this novelette is a prequel to African-Australian writer Eugen Bacon’s debut novel, Claiming T-Mo, which I haven’t read yet. After finishing Novic, I just might have to. The writing here is so clever and pithy, full of beautiful phrases and surprising comparisons. I love to see fully sensory fantasy worlds, and this is a great example of that. Food is described in mouth-watering ways, even when it’s unfamiliar. The animals that accompany the story’s people are also very strongly realized, beginning with a gloriously stinky camel on the first page. The people themselves are also well-crafted. It would be easy for a character like Novic to be a stoic, boring warrior type, but he’s surrounded by women and children who simply refuse to let him be that way. His nonplussed interactions with sister Keela have genuine warmth. Oddly enough, his relationship with Brad, based entirely on her repeated attempts to kill him, also holds a lot of affection, in its way.

This all leads to Novic’s journeys being alternately horrifying and cozy. On the one hand, he courts death over and over in progressively more gruesome ways. On the other, he nurses his ill mother, cooks with his sister, and babysits her adorable brood. Somehow, the horror creeps into the cozy and the cozy creeps into the horror. Some of the grimmest moments in the death-seeking parts of Novic’s tale are darkly funny, while some of the softer moments in his family sojourn are sharp and cathartic. It’s an odd mix that creeps up on the reader gradually and leads to a purposeful ending that will be emotionally resonant for quite a few people.

The last two books I reviewed here both made me pause a few times and work through puzzlement, and Novic continues the trend. I’m sure that when I get around to reading Claiming T-Mo I’ll have quite a few a-ha! moments thanks to this book, but with no background knowledge of the character or his surroundings, I did find myself wanting a little bit more information. A few more breadcrumbs about Novic’s world, the religion his priesthood comes from, or the world outside of the two very specific situations Novic finds himself in would have been helpful. Still, there’s enough here to get an idea of the bigger picture, even without a lot of deep detail. Novic is a unique, oddly touching novelette that brings together themes of life and death using a character who doesn’t seem to fully engage with either. If you’re looking for a quick, absorbing read with a lot more depth than you’d expect, check it out.