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books_n_pickles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Started listening to this one in the car with Areg but ended up finishing it by reading on my own. It's more my genre than his, but our bigger issue was that the audiobook--while well-narrated and infinitely helpful with pronunciations (seriously, if we're translating languages into the Latin alphabet, why do we have to import English's nonsensical pronunciations into them?), it was just a bit too quiet to hear in a car that isn't very soundproofed. It also has what feels like a bit of a slow start before breaking into a turbo-charged obstacle course, and I think the slower beginning wasn't the best for long drives.
Anywho, the plot.
The near-future "neon-noir" (as Moreno-Garcia calls it) Mexico City has banned vampires from its environs, though the rest of the country has been something of a safe haven for vampires who faced persecution once they "came out" to the world in the 1970s. Atl is a descendant of Latin American vampires who have been around since before the Aztecs; the European Necros, a younger lineage more prone to violence, have been encroaching into her family's territory, including their narcotics empire. After staggering acts of violence, Atl is on the run, hiding in the safest place she can think of, the last place a reasonable vampire would be: Mexico City.
There, she meets Domingo, a charming trash-picker who is absolutely fascinated by vampires in general and Atl in particular. He eagerly assists her by giving blood and making connections with both her mother's old allies and his own underworld contacts, all in an effort to get her safely out of Mexico City and over the border on her way to vampire-friendly Brazil.
The world- and character-building that I so admired in Moreno-Garcia's <i>Mexican Gothic</i> are in more than full force her, since she's not as constrained by history and remote location as she was in that book. Mexico City is vibrant and alive, with its established neighborhoods, historic districts, seedy lower-income housing, hipster gentrification zones, and massive landfills; its dive bars, diners, metro, and retro automats. The biggest near-future-y element is the "Sanitation" department, a slightly sinister public health body that monitors Mexico City for signs of a deadly disease and, of course, the illegal presence of vampires.
Character-wise, along with Atl and Domingo, we have a woman cop who transferred from northern vampire territory to Mexico City to keep her teenage daughter safe, only wind up tangled in the Atl-Necros mess; a live-wire young Necros hopped up on violence and drugs, determined to capture and torture Atl for daring to reject his romantic advances and laterretaliating against his clan's broadside shot of beheading her mother by killing three of their own--the Necros may have responded by slaughtering Atl's entire family, but it's the personal slight that drives this guy on. There's a young gang member eager to kill a vampire, to send a message to other vampires that they and their drug trade are not welcome in the spoken-for territory of Mexico City. There are Diego's connections, both friends and foes: gun traffickers, dog fighters, street kids, rivals in love. And there's a weary "Renfield" (a <i>Dracula</i> reference) who's served as a dogsbody to the Necros clan leader for a very long time and just wants to retire, not chase down Atl while trying to control the hot-headed heir. Oh, and there's Atl's awesome doberman with a florescent tattoo.
That's a lot of pieces to put on the board, which accounts for the slow start. It's the kind of sprawling world building and character establishment that I absolutely love, but which is probably divisive among readers. The complex global vampire lore--which is helpfully broken down at the end of the book, though I didn't realize that since I was reading the ebook--is nuanced and fascinating.
I'm kind of torn about this book. For everything I loved in it (and there was a lot, so I'm going with four stars instead of three), I didn't feel a real connection. I did feel quite a lot of discomfort withthe inevitable Atl-Domingo romance. As Atl contemplates, Domingo is like a puppy in his outwardly innocent enthusiasm (though of course, as a kid who lives on the streets he's much more experienced in life than he lets on). When they get together, even though the narrative has stressed that they're kind of the same age, even if vampire Atl is a bit older chronologically, it still feels a bit icky. Part of why Atl feels so much older and so mature is the bloody violence that she's seen and crippling guilt that she feels--all deep, dark feelings that are so at odds with Domingo's sunny, almost childlike disposition. It just kind of felt...a little too close to statutory, and that colored my whole experience of the rest of the book. Probably unfairly. Oh well, that's just my brain.
Sprawling and complex, this book won't be for everyone--but for vampire and urban fantasy enthusiasts, it's a heady and delicious brew.
Anywho, the plot.
The near-future "neon-noir" (as Moreno-Garcia calls it) Mexico City has banned vampires from its environs, though the rest of the country has been something of a safe haven for vampires who faced persecution once they "came out" to the world in the 1970s. Atl is a descendant of Latin American vampires who have been around since before the Aztecs; the European Necros, a younger lineage more prone to violence, have been encroaching into her family's territory, including their narcotics empire. After staggering acts of violence, Atl is on the run, hiding in the safest place she can think of, the last place a reasonable vampire would be: Mexico City.
There, she meets Domingo, a charming trash-picker who is absolutely fascinated by vampires in general and Atl in particular. He eagerly assists her by giving blood and making connections with both her mother's old allies and his own underworld contacts, all in an effort to get her safely out of Mexico City and over the border on her way to vampire-friendly Brazil.
The world- and character-building that I so admired in Moreno-Garcia's <i>Mexican Gothic</i> are in more than full force her, since she's not as constrained by history and remote location as she was in that book. Mexico City is vibrant and alive, with its established neighborhoods, historic districts, seedy lower-income housing, hipster gentrification zones, and massive landfills; its dive bars, diners, metro, and retro automats. The biggest near-future-y element is the "Sanitation" department, a slightly sinister public health body that monitors Mexico City for signs of a deadly disease and, of course, the illegal presence of vampires.
Character-wise, along with Atl and Domingo, we have a woman cop who transferred from northern vampire territory to Mexico City to keep her teenage daughter safe, only wind up tangled in the Atl-Necros mess; a live-wire young Necros hopped up on violence and drugs, determined to capture and torture Atl for daring to reject his romantic advances and later
That's a lot of pieces to put on the board, which accounts for the slow start. It's the kind of sprawling world building and character establishment that I absolutely love, but which is probably divisive among readers. The complex global vampire lore--which is helpfully broken down at the end of the book, though I didn't realize that since I was reading the ebook--is nuanced and fascinating.
I'm kind of torn about this book. For everything I loved in it (and there was a lot, so I'm going with four stars instead of three), I didn't feel a real connection. I did feel quite a lot of discomfort with
Sprawling and complex, this book won't be for everyone--but for vampire and urban fantasy enthusiasts, it's a heady and delicious brew.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Blood
ruthjenkins's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
The author does a good job creating a rich and diverse world of vampires and narcos, without description impeding the story. There are a few bits of exposition dialogue but they mostly make sense in the context of those characters.
The story is a little slow to get started, since the protagonist is in hiding so isn't doing a huge amount, but when the action gets going it becomes quite tense, and very violent.
The story is a little slow to get started, since the protagonist is in hiding so isn't doing a huge amount, but when the action gets going it becomes quite tense, and very violent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Vomit, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture
hannahollihan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Death, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This month's pick for Maven's Vampire Book Club is a recent reprint following the author's wildly successful Mexican Gothic, which I admittedly haven't read yet. So, other than knowing that this author has gotten a lot of praise for her suspenseful and beautiful writing, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I'm not one who usually enjoys gritty stories (I'm a bit put off by the mention of "narco-vampires"), but a kick-ass vampire on the run with a charming human sounds like it could be fun, right? Right?
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, it took a while, but like the puppy that is Domingo, this story grew on me. It's definitely not for everyone, with dark and adult themes very much overwhelming the 'vampire romance' vibes, but so long as you're prepared for a somewhat gritty vampire noir, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. The fast-paced writing and unique world made it easy to fly through, though you may, like me, need more time added to the end to fully digest everything, but luckily the newer version offers just that with its Encyclopaedia Vampirica, author interview, discussion questions, and more. So if you're in the mood for a stand-alone vampire book with unique lore, strong female characters, a bit of sci-fi punk, and a lot lurking beneath the surface, then try sinking your teeth into this one.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, it took a while, but like the puppy that is Domingo, this story grew on me. It's definitely not for everyone, with dark and adult themes very much overwhelming the 'vampire romance' vibes, but so long as you're prepared for a somewhat gritty vampire noir, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. The fast-paced writing and unique world made it easy to fly through, though you may, like me, need more time added to the end to fully digest everything, but luckily the newer version offers just that with its Encyclopaedia Vampirica, author interview, discussion questions, and more. So if you're in the mood for a stand-alone vampire book with unique lore, strong female characters, a bit of sci-fi punk, and a lot lurking beneath the surface, then try sinking your teeth into this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Colonisation, Drug use, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Sexual assault
Adult is 23, Minor is 17. Hate crime & Xenophobia is against vampires as a race. Dogs are injured
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