Joint Review: “Silver Nitrate”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Silver Nitrate” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publishing Info: Del Rey, July 2023

Where Did We Get This Book: We received eARCs from NetGalley and Edeweiss+!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film–and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

Kate’s Thoughts

I always look forward to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s new books, because I know that I am almost assuredly going to be a well done take on whatever genre she wants to tackle. We’ve seen horror, we’ve seen fantasy, we’ve seen noir, and romance. She really knows how to be a chameleon and jump from genre to genre, and “Silver Nitrate” is no exception. This time we have a little bit of magical realism, a little bit of historical fiction, and a little bit of good old fashioned occult horror. As well as the real life horrors of post WWII Nazis fleeing to Latin America. Man, that’s another thing I love about Moreno-Garcia; she deftly inserts historical context from a place I have little knowledge of into her stories, and I find it so, so fascinating every time.

“Silver Nitrate” is both an exploration of mystic occult intrigue as well as a history lesson in Mexican cinema. I really loved learning all of these historical tidbits about movie history in Mexico, and the film industry in general and the inner workings of it. I was having to go and look into some of her references (okay, many of her references), but that made the experience all the richer because I LOVE connecting historical dots and how it can really elevate a tale. And she always does it in a way that flows very well, never taking me out of the story too much (just enough to go on a tangent or two). The history of Mexican cinema was just such a fun angle to me, and I really enjoyed learning more and seeing that side of the story.

And as for the horror aspects of this story, Moreno-Garcia once again really evokes the creepy in her narrative. Whether it is strange imagery that Tristán is seeing after getting in too deep, or the idea of a cursed film in general, or the very real scares of the idea of Nazis using mysticism as a way to gain power, there are so many unsettling aspects of this book and Moreno-Garcia balances them all. She can do flat out horror, or building unease, and both parts on the horror spectrum fit in very well within the story.

Another delightful story from Silvia Moreno-Garcia! I love that we get new content by her pretty consistently, and I cannot wait to see what kind of genre hopping she takes on next!

Serena’s Thoughts

Another summer comes, another Silvia Moreno-Garcia book to joint review here on our blog! At this point, it’s well established how much we both enjoy this author. But one of the things I appreciate the most is how I can never anticipate what sort of story I will get from her next. Yes, she often incorporates fantasy and horror elements (hence both of our love of her work!), but the exact sort of story is always very different. Last summer found us reading a re-imaging of “The Island of Doctor Moreau.” And this summer we do a deep dive into the 90s and classic Mexican film history.

I’ll be honest, I know next to nothing about this topic, so I spent a large portion of this book with my phone open to Google, frantically researching the various directors and actors mentioned. But, as I said, this is one of the great joys of her work. I also went down several rabbit holes regarding Nazis and mysticism; always a fun time! I really liked how these two seemingly very disconnected topics were woven together so neatly. One thing that stood out to me on this read is the unique approach to fantasy and magic systems that this author takes. That is, she doesn’t worry about it much. Much of the magic in her books is used to enhance the overall tone of the book, with very little put into explaining to readers how exactly any of this works. She’s a perfect answer to the types of fantasy fans who insists that complex systems with clear rules, ala Brandon Sanderson, is the only way to portray magic.

I also really liked our main two characters. Their relationship, a friendship built over decades of knowing one another, was such a true depiction of this sort of rare person in one’s life. Someone who you understand so well that you, on one hand, can’t stand them, but on the other hand, love them more than life itself. I particularly liked the swapped nature of their personalities from the sort that we typically see, with Montserrat taking on the more aggressive, proactive role, with Tristan very much serving as the softer one of the two.

Overall, this was another excellent story by this author. See you all next summer (fingers crossed!), can’t wait to see what we’ll be reading next time!

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun combination of horror, history, and occultism.

Serena’s Rating 8: A fascinating mix of historical deep dives and truly creepy moments!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Silver Nitrate” is included on the Goodreads lists “Vintage Media in Dark Fiction”, and “Non-Caucasian Protagonists in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Paranormal Romance”.