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dan's Reviews > Certain Dark Things
Certain Dark Things
by
by
� 4.75
Synopsis:
Set in Mexico City, in an alternative present, Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting young man tries to survive the heavily policed streets when Atl collides into his life. The Aztec descendant vampire is smart, beautiful and dangerous so, of course, Domingo is enamored. But Atl needs to escape the city, for she is being hunted by a rival vampire gang and her plan doesn't include a slow human but his personality ends up charming her, even as the pile of corpses behind her keep rising.
Review:
It's hard to make vampire book appealing - this is me saying when I literally lived the hype of Twilight and of the vampire books of the 2000s/early 2010s.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia manages to give a well saturated genre and mythical creature a breath of freshness, blending the old genre with a slightly diverse, reshaped cast of characters and storyline. Its action-packed pace is an addicting read with intriguing plotlines and nuanced and, somewhat, unexpected characters, particularly the protagonists.
Unlike most of her books, I wouldn't say this fits the noir or thriller genre - it fits urban fantasy with still deep and dark themes but a lighter approach to them.
One of the best things about this book is the creation of a diverse cultures and societies of vampires in the world and its incorporation within the story without seeming too info-dumped or too complicated to follow. The author grants each one an equal space to shine and the conflict between those cultures is what incites the entire storyline alive.
Perhaps of the incorporation a completely new society and cultures leads to the author not complicating the main plot too much. Instead, Silvia Moreno-Garcia leaves the plot simple and fast-paced, without the common complexity that often follows her novels. However, that particular choice does not interfere with the story in a negative light - instead, it shifts the attention that a greater, more complex plot would have to the characters and the vampiristic societies she created.
The two protagonists are opposite of each other: Atl being rough and naturally dark and violent whilst Domingo is soft, gentle and naïve. Surprisingly, those are the exact characteristics that make them attracted (Domingo immediately and Atl after a while) to each other.
Overall, even though I'm writing this review two years later, I still look upon this book with delightfulness and satisfaction.
Others Reviews on Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Books:
� Gods of Jade and Shadow
� Velvet Was The Night
� The Beautiful Ones
� The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
� Signal to Noise
� Mexican Gothic
� Silver Nitrate
“There is a phrase, atl tlachinolli, ‘the water that scorches the earth.� My name means ‘water� but it is also war.�
Synopsis:
Set in Mexico City, in an alternative present, Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting young man tries to survive the heavily policed streets when Atl collides into his life. The Aztec descendant vampire is smart, beautiful and dangerous so, of course, Domingo is enamored. But Atl needs to escape the city, for she is being hunted by a rival vampire gang and her plan doesn't include a slow human but his personality ends up charming her, even as the pile of corpses behind her keep rising.
Review:
It's hard to make vampire book appealing - this is me saying when I literally lived the hype of Twilight and of the vampire books of the 2000s/early 2010s.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia manages to give a well saturated genre and mythical creature a breath of freshness, blending the old genre with a slightly diverse, reshaped cast of characters and storyline. Its action-packed pace is an addicting read with intriguing plotlines and nuanced and, somewhat, unexpected characters, particularly the protagonists.
Unlike most of her books, I wouldn't say this fits the noir or thriller genre - it fits urban fantasy with still deep and dark themes but a lighter approach to them.
One of the best things about this book is the creation of a diverse cultures and societies of vampires in the world and its incorporation within the story without seeming too info-dumped or too complicated to follow. The author grants each one an equal space to shine and the conflict between those cultures is what incites the entire storyline alive.
Perhaps of the incorporation a completely new society and cultures leads to the author not complicating the main plot too much. Instead, Silvia Moreno-Garcia leaves the plot simple and fast-paced, without the common complexity that often follows her novels. However, that particular choice does not interfere with the story in a negative light - instead, it shifts the attention that a greater, more complex plot would have to the characters and the vampiristic societies she created.
The two protagonists are opposite of each other: Atl being rough and naturally dark and violent whilst Domingo is soft, gentle and naïve. Surprisingly, those are the exact characteristics that make them attracted (Domingo immediately and Atl after a while) to each other.
Overall, even though I'm writing this review two years later, I still look upon this book with delightfulness and satisfaction.
Others Reviews on Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Books:
� Gods of Jade and Shadow
� Velvet Was The Night
� The Beautiful Ones
� The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
� Signal to Noise
� Mexican Gothic
� Silver Nitrate
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Reading Progress
November 17, 2021
– Shelved
November 17, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 2, 2023
–
Started Reading
June 4, 2023
–
15.63%
"the vampire lore in here is astonishingly well developed that it almost made me question if vampires were real"
page
40
June 9, 2023
–
32.81%
"babes, the lore in this is fucking crazy it actually makes me mad it is a standalone"
page
84
June 9, 2023
–
39.06%
"i really want the start of a romance here but i feel like the author is only going to give us scraps and then be like "hey, open ending, make it up yourselves""
page
100
June 12, 2023
–
50.78%
"just an update to know if i gotten 50% into the book and to let you know i genuinely hope there is a romance because domingo deserves the world and alt deserves someone who is as calm and kind as him"
page
130
June 16, 2023
– Shelved as:
demigod-tier
June 16, 2023
–
Finished Reading
