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A review by tashasbooks
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Silver Nitrate is a horror book that mixes magic and cults in mid-90's Mexico City. It is a vibrant novel that is unsettling but explores the magic of cinema.
We follow Montserrat and Tristán, two childhood friends that are still navigating and figuring out their lives in their late 30's. Montserrat has been a lover of classic Mexican horror, which led her to her career as a sound editor. She works at the company Anteres, but her boss and co-workers are sexist and she can feel herself being pushed out, with no other job opportunities available. Tristán is burnt-out old child star that was popular in telenovelas, but lost everything with a horrible accident. He has been jumping from relationship to relationship and taking gigs of voiceover work.
Tristán moves into a new apartment building, and discovers that a retired film director, Abel Ureta, lives next door, and had directed many of Montserrat's favorite horror movies. They meet him and discuss his last movie, "Beyond the Yellow Door," and why it was never finished and released. Montserrat has heard rumors of lack of cash or issues with the screenwriting, but Ureta tells them that the movie was never finished for other reasons and since then, everyone who worked on it has been cursed. Abel convinces them to help finish the sound work on the silver nitrate film reel he saved, and they agree to help. They learn more from Abel about that time and the benefactor of the film, Nazi occultist Wilhelm Ewers. Montserrat can't stop herself from researching Ewers and his occultist and racist beliefs, as well as the magic system he created with runes and elements. However, things start to go wrong quickly. Montserrat feels a dark presence haunting her, and Tristán starts seeing the ghost of his dead girlfriend.
This is a horror book, but I would say it is more psychological for the first 70% of the book, which I didn't mind. I wouldn't go into this thinking it is a heavy on the horror. I initially thought it would be, but regardless I appreciated the book for other reasons. The characters were so individually interesting, and it was easy to differentiate between them when reading from the different perspectives. They are opposite in a lot of ways, but I loved their friendship and eventual romance. It really felt like you were in the book and apart of the conversations that took place, and you spend a lot of time with them as they deal with their actions and the consequences that follow. It's very darkly atmospheric and immersive writing.
This book weaves in so many elements which leads to a complex story and plot. I'm not familiar with horror and classic horror movies, but there are so many mentions and callbacks to those. It is in a different historical time, and it feels accurate to the 90's, with research being done with books and having them communicate with pagers and landlines. It is evident that a lot of extensive research was done on the occult and the magic system that was developed. It's very easy to follow over time and it's built throughout the book, without any info-dumping. It was also super interesting to learn so much about occultism and the history of that in Nazi times, especially since a lot of it was accurate and pulled from real history. There are sorcerers, dark magic, ghosts, and it all ties into movie-making and the silver nitrate reels. It's tense and suspenseful, and builds to the more supernatural and horror aspects of the latter part of the book.
And when the supernatural elements actually hits?? The book takes off like a rocket and it's such an enjoyable read. You truly feel the high stakes and what the characters are facing. You are asking yourself if the characters really will survive, which is always such a fun part of reading horror and its unpredictability.
I really loved this book for all the different aspects of it, and definitely recommend if you are interested in magic, horror, and cults.
Thank you to Random Publishing House - Ballantine/Del Rey and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
We follow Montserrat and Tristán, two childhood friends that are still navigating and figuring out their lives in their late 30's. Montserrat has been a lover of classic Mexican horror, which led her to her career as a sound editor. She works at the company Anteres, but her boss and co-workers are sexist and she can feel herself being pushed out, with no other job opportunities available. Tristán is burnt-out old child star that was popular in telenovelas, but lost everything with a horrible accident. He has been jumping from relationship to relationship and taking gigs of voiceover work.
Tristán moves into a new apartment building, and discovers that a retired film director, Abel Ureta, lives next door, and had directed many of Montserrat's favorite horror movies. They meet him and discuss his last movie, "Beyond the Yellow Door," and why it was never finished and released. Montserrat has heard rumors of lack of cash or issues with the screenwriting, but Ureta tells them that the movie was never finished for other reasons and since then, everyone who worked on it has been cursed. Abel convinces them to help finish the sound work on the silver nitrate film reel he saved, and they agree to help. They learn more from Abel about that time and the benefactor of the film, Nazi occultist Wilhelm Ewers. Montserrat can't stop herself from researching Ewers and his occultist and racist beliefs, as well as the magic system he created with runes and elements. However, things start to go wrong quickly. Montserrat feels a dark presence haunting her, and Tristán starts seeing the ghost of his dead girlfriend.
This is a horror book, but I would say it is more psychological for the first 70% of the book, which I didn't mind. I wouldn't go into this thinking it is a heavy on the horror. I initially thought it would be, but regardless I appreciated the book for other reasons. The characters were so individually interesting, and it was easy to differentiate between them when reading from the different perspectives. They are opposite in a lot of ways, but I loved their friendship and eventual romance. It really felt like you were in the book and apart of the conversations that took place, and you spend a lot of time with them as they deal with their actions and the consequences that follow. It's very darkly atmospheric and immersive writing.
This book weaves in so many elements which leads to a complex story and plot. I'm not familiar with horror and classic horror movies, but there are so many mentions and callbacks to those. It is in a different historical time, and it feels accurate to the 90's, with research being done with books and having them communicate with pagers and landlines. It is evident that a lot of extensive research was done on the occult and the magic system that was developed. It's very easy to follow over time and it's built throughout the book, without any info-dumping. It was also super interesting to learn so much about occultism and the history of that in Nazi times, especially since a lot of it was accurate and pulled from real history. There are sorcerers, dark magic, ghosts, and it all ties into movie-making and the silver nitrate reels. It's tense and suspenseful, and builds to the more supernatural and horror aspects of the latter part of the book.
And when the supernatural elements actually hits?? The book takes off like a rocket and it's such an enjoyable read. You truly feel the high stakes and what the characters are facing. You are asking yourself if the characters really will survive, which is always such a fun part of reading horror and its unpredictability.
I really loved this book for all the different aspects of it, and definitely recommend if you are interested in magic, horror, and cults.
Thank you to Random Publishing House - Ballantine/Del Rey and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!