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stormlightreader 's review for:
This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire & the Fantastic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Scales As Pale As Moonlight: a interesting short story that centres around the Mexican myth of the alicante (snake), which catches the scent of a woman's breast milk, and immediately seeks out the source. The snake then uses its powers on her (and if she has a nursing baby, sticks its tail in the baby's mouth, as a sort of pacifier) in order to feed on the sleeping woman ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maquech: centres around a living brooch, a maquech. The brooch is made from a living beetle. The brooches are decorated with paste gemstones, bric-à-brac, and imitation gold, and are tethered to a woman's blouse by a small chain. Gerardo acquires and sells exotic pets and the maquech is one of those hut upon selling it he feels the loss of the animal when he returns to his apartment. I vaguely remember hearing about live jewellery but this was a very interesting short story, though the exotic pet trade is very sad ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Stories With Happy Endings: a journalist chatting to a vampire in a restaurant 👌🏻 my favourite exchange: ⬇️
Journalist: "No castle?"
Vampire: "In this fucking economy"
Excellent! 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bed of Scorpions: an ok stoey that was atmospheric but may have been better if it was a little longer ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Jaguar Woman: I couldn't get into this ⭐️
Nahuales: I liked this. Very atmospheric and a quick, well written short story giving insight into the nahual myth. A nahual looks pretty cool ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Doppelgängers: this one was a bit eerie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Driving With Aliens in Tijuana: a sci fi short with Aliens (kotch'o). Not my favourite (because aliens) but some good atmosphere and descriptions of Mexico ("there's an illusory calmness about the city when you watch it from afar...you can't spot the sixteen corpses with plastic bags around their heads on the side of the road") ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flash frame: I read this earlier in the year, right after I fijished Silver Nitrate. I liked what I read and would potentially have enjoyed this as a novella or full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Cemetery Man: I liked this. It reminded me of the Orphan Black storyline where they put a parasite into Sarah's face. Yeah, I liked this. I'd read it as a full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Death Collector: the plot, while based on a true story, wasn't the best part. It was the gritty descriptions of Mexico City that I loved:
• "Forty-seven years in the other direction the streets of Mexico City smell of charred human meat and the screams of the wounded"
• "Might as well stay home, stare out the window and watch the narcos drill bullet holes into a car"
• "Fifty thousand federal agents can't stem the deaths in the narco north"
• "Senseless decapitations in Morelos. Heads roll all through the country"
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This Strange Way of Dying: this one didn't hit, unfortunately ⭐️
Bloodlines: Mexican witches. I absolutel loved this one and need a full length novel immediately ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Shade of the Ceiba Tree: I couldn't get into this one ⭐️
Snow: odd and atmospheric, I knew there'd be giant penguins 😂 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maquech: centres around a living brooch, a maquech. The brooch is made from a living beetle. The brooches are decorated with paste gemstones, bric-à-brac, and imitation gold, and are tethered to a woman's blouse by a small chain. Gerardo acquires and sells exotic pets and the maquech is one of those hut upon selling it he feels the loss of the animal when he returns to his apartment. I vaguely remember hearing about live jewellery but this was a very interesting short story, though the exotic pet trade is very sad ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Stories With Happy Endings: a journalist chatting to a vampire in a restaurant 👌🏻 my favourite exchange: ⬇️
Journalist: "No castle?"
Vampire: "In this fucking economy"
Excellent! 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bed of Scorpions: an ok stoey that was atmospheric but may have been better if it was a little longer ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Jaguar Woman: I couldn't get into this ⭐️
Nahuales: I liked this. Very atmospheric and a quick, well written short story giving insight into the nahual myth. A nahual looks pretty cool ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Doppelgängers: this one was a bit eerie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Driving With Aliens in Tijuana: a sci fi short with Aliens (kotch'o). Not my favourite (because aliens) but some good atmosphere and descriptions of Mexico ("there's an illusory calmness about the city when you watch it from afar...you can't spot the sixteen corpses with plastic bags around their heads on the side of the road") ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flash frame: I read this earlier in the year, right after I fijished Silver Nitrate. I liked what I read and would potentially have enjoyed this as a novella or full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Cemetery Man: I liked this. It reminded me of the Orphan Black storyline where they put a parasite into Sarah's face. Yeah, I liked this. I'd read it as a full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Death Collector: the plot, while based on a true story, wasn't the best part. It was the gritty descriptions of Mexico City that I loved:
• "Forty-seven years in the other direction the streets of Mexico City smell of charred human meat and the screams of the wounded"
• "Might as well stay home, stare out the window and watch the narcos drill bullet holes into a car"
• "Fifty thousand federal agents can't stem the deaths in the narco north"
• "Senseless decapitations in Morelos. Heads roll all through the country"
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This Strange Way of Dying: this one didn't hit, unfortunately ⭐️
Bloodlines: Mexican witches. I absolutel loved this one and need a full length novel immediately ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Shade of the Ceiba Tree: I couldn't get into this one ⭐️
Snow: odd and atmospheric, I knew there'd be giant penguins 😂 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️