Ever since reading (and loving) Mexican Gothic, I have meant to read another Silvia Moreno-Garcia book. I pored over her book list, and it’s fascinating. Each book seems very different in tone, style, and theme from the other. I eventually settled on Certain Dark Things because vampires, and also the gorgeous cover, which looks even better than the photo I have here on the blog.
About Certain Dark Things
Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.
Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but little by little, Atl is warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses start closing in.
Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?
~ Synopsis from GoodReads
My Review
This is an odd, odd book – or maybe I am unfamiliar with neo-noir or Urban Fantasy books, but this book was spectacularly different from any other books I have read.
What I Loved
Great world-building. I love the concept of vampire species, and I love how history and myth have been intertwined beautifully – for example, the colonization of Mexico by the Spanish vs the migration of European vampires destroying the local species of vampires.
Fast-paced. While there is world-building, it’s not page upon page of just that. This is a fast-paced, violent romp through Mexico City.
What Could Have Been Better
Too Long? This is technically a short book (about 230 pages or so), but it felt long for the story it told. It could have worked just as well as a novella within 120-150 pages.
The love story. Too much time was spent on the love story between Domingo and Atl. While I get that there needed to be a strong reason for Domingo to help Atl escape Mexico City – the instalove wasn’t interesting or unique.
Still, I liked it for the unique take on vampires. Sadly, this is a standalone novel. I would have liked a series of books set in this universe.
