Certain Dark Things

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This said, where the main clans in Vampire: The Masquerade are fairly basic pop-culture vampire archetypes combined with a couple really unfortunate racial stereotypes, Moreno-Garcia does a far better job of making her clans unique. As you watched Rodrigo try to manage the junk-food-addicted Necro vampire Nick Godoy while they pursue Atl—while Ana pursues them all—what distinctions are drawn between male and female characters in the novel? I’m not someone who’s ever needed much motivation to pick up a vampire story after all, and after learning that one of the main characters is a descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, I was even more intrigued. Everytime Atl mentioned a different kind of vampire, or a new power, or the history of her people I perked right up. Once again, the author has proved how adept she is at writing multiple genres and delivering unique stories that satisfy the reader.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore. This is my fifth book from the author and it’s been interesting to see the range she has when it comes to setting, tone, plot and characters. Warning: I don't know why people on Goodreads insist on classifying this as YA, but it's an adult novel.In Mexico City, which is supposed to be vampire-free as opposed to the rest of the country and maybe even the world, she meets Domingo, a teenage boy who lives on the streets and makes a little money collecting garbage and doing odd jobs here or there. The story primarily follows Atl, a Tlāhuihpochtli vampire on the run in Mexico City, and Domingo, a human who’s just trying to get by on his own. Silvia Moreno-Garcia brings lots of new ideas to the table while still hitting on all the beats that make vampire stories so popular. She manages to blend together multiple genres to make a dark and sometimes gruesome novel, that any horror fans will be sure to love.

Atl’s and Domingo’s backstories were trickled out to the reader, although I wish she had gone a little deeper into the characterizations. The next story was of a pop star, the singing sensation of the month, and then there was another ad, this one for a shoulder-bag computer. A lush and haunting supernatural noir, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things is visceral, beautiful, and teeming with originality and complexities. Silvia Moreno-Garcia carves out the heart of Mexico City, and then eats it, in this riveting noir-punk reinvention of vampire lore.That book is a very 90’s take on vampires, between the grungy, dirty aesthetic to the more experimental writing but wher the book was equal parts the story, the set up of the supernatural/vampires and the relationships between the characters. Atl is a vampire on the run when she meets Domingo, a young man who lives in a subway tunnel under the city. If you’re not a big fan of all things spooky- but you enjoy fantasy and perhaps paranormal romances, then I have a treat for you today.

Certain Dark Things is an homage to noir fiction, a genre of literature that takes its name from the film style and tends to feature dark and gritty depictions of crime, corruption, and violence. Please note, we're talking the dangerous, brutal kind of vampires, not the sparkling, romantic ones.Overall I’d say this is a middle of the pack book of Moreno-Garcia’s, where I’d love the see more of this world, if not necessarily with the same characters. Also, a sidenote: It wasn’t until I was several chapters into the book that I remembered I played a Mexican vigilante detective vampire in the last Vampire: The Masquerade game I played in, so, like, bonus I guess? Certain Dark Things was originally published in 2016, but after going out of print for a while it was re-released by Nightfire last year.