Certain Dark Things
Welcome to Mexico City… An Oasis In A Sea Of Vampires…
Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is busy eking out a living when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life.
Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, must feast on the young to survive and Domingo looks especially tasty. Smart, beautiful, and dangerous, Atl needs to escape to South America, far from the rival narco-vampire clan pursuing her. Domingo is smitten.
Her plan doesn’t include developing any real attachment to Domingo. Hell, the only living creature she loves is her trusty Doberman. Little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his effervescent charm.
And then there’s Ana, a cop who suddenly finds herself following a trail of corpses and winds up smack in the middle of vampire gang rivalries.
Vampires, humans, cops, and gangsters collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive?
Reviews
“Beautifully and powerfully reinvigorates one of the seminal horror fiction monsters in some truly unexpected and sublime ways. Filled with powerful themes of trust, corruption, vengeance, and bloodlust, this novel is by turns sensual and grim, introspective and disturbing, suspenseful and moving, and all told in the sleek and lyrical prose for which Moreno-Garcia is deservedly acclaimed. CERTAIN DARK THINGS is arguably THE vampire novel for the 21st century.”
“Darkly ironic worldbuilding is the real treat of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s CERTAIN DARK THINGS, which posits that vampires are a species that coexists with humans, most recently amid the human underworld.”
“One of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s great achievements in CERTAIN DARK THINGS is her representation of Mexico City as a real place, a city with history, districts, subways, with beauty and ugliness, with problems […] The whole is a beautifully balanced portrait of imperfect people making terrible choices and gritting their teeth magnificently through the consequences.”
“The Mexican setting is a huge part of the allure of this new novel from Moreno-Garcia, as are the fascinating varieties of vampires she sets forth.”
"Vampire fiction fans will sink their teeth into this."
“A bittersweet, satisfying ending confirms that Moreno-Garcia is an author to watch.”
“CERTAIN DARK THINGS is a gorgeously (dark) emotionally gripping thriller. Moreno-Garcia’s characters are vivid and compelling, as is her prose. As a novel, it’s fantastic: honest, wrenching, compassionate, and brutal. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
“With CERTAIN DARK THINGS, Silvia Moreno-Garcia demonstrates that there is always more to be done with familiar figures such as the vampire, and that in the hands of a talented writer, the creatures can rise to new (un)life.”
“This is a vampire story unlike any you’ve ever read, beginning with its setting: modern-day Mexico City, where a scrappy kid named Domingo spends his days searching through the city’s trash [...] Vampire gangsters, a messy romance, and distinctive Mexican flavor, in the skilled hands of the author of Signal to Noise, one of our favorite books of 2015? You simply cannot go wrong.”
“This novel is a must if you love vampire novels. Especially vampire noir novels.”
“Action-packed, endlessly fascinating and thorough in its world building, it won’t be easy for readers to not devour what is hopefully the first of many books in this enthralling version of a Mexico teeming with wonderfully realized predators.”RT Book Reviews
“With dark and delicious elegance, Moreno-Garcia delivers a satisfyingly bloody vampire story with a tantalizing twist – Aztec mythology – and a romance that warms the heart even as it causes it to pound a little faster out of sheer terror […] Not since my days of reading Anne Rice has a vampire story so wholly delivered such a head-spinning plot combined with true substance of character.”
“A hard-edged, emotionally mature, occasionally heartbreaking example of contemporary fantasy at its finest.”
“This fast-paced horror tale presents a new, alternate world of vampire-human rivalry and will appeal to those who enjoy rooting for unlikely heroes.”Booklist
“Moreno-Garcia weaves together Aztec mythology into her vampire lore, and situates the clans in the drug world of Mexico. There’s a cast of sympathetic and layered characters, and the writing is equally effortless even when describing gory action scenes and contemplative moments considering moral dilemmas. This is a new favorite.”
"She has invented a complex world in which humans run around half in terror or in subjection, and half in love with countless subspecies of modern-day vampire . . . Will you be gripped to the last page? Oh, I expect so."The Times
"A sleek and brutal noir thriller . . . balanced on a knife edge between hope and horror."The Guardian
"Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a chameleon of an author . . . her writing is truly one of a kind."Culturefly
"Silvia Moreno-Garcia pulls zero punches, bares all the fangs, and goes for every throat in the room with Certain Dark Things. And then she walks out without looking back."Stephen Graham Jones, bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
"A fresh, stunning interpretation of vampire lore...Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing is unforgettable."Christina Henry, author of Alice and the Ghost Tree
“With its vibrant prose and stellar world building, CERTAIN DARK THINGS is one of the best books I’ve read in years.”V.E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s gritty novel is steeped in the history of Mexico City and vampire lore and yet manages to deftly re-invent the bloodsucker. The wonderfully complex Atl and her 21st Century Renfield, Domingo, are revelations.CERTAIN DARK THINGS packs a wallop.”Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts
"One of my favorite books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and one of my all-time favorite horror books...Certain Dark Things will make you think about vampires in a whole new way."Charlie Jane Anders, Hugo Award-winning author of The City In the Middle of the Night
“CERTAIN DARK THINGS is a delicious, elegant, gritty vampire noir. Moreno-Garcia has created a world that pulses with life and terror and honesty.”Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author
"A tense crime plot wrapped in grim, glittering vampire lore and perfectly delivered with Moreno-Garcia’s unflinching prose, Certain Dark Things is a bloody neon dream of a book."Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf
“Not since Anne Rice’s seminal Interview with the Vampire has the vampire story been so radically reimagined. Silvia Moreno-Garcia reinvents it for the 21st century in this high-concept, explosive tale of narco-vampires in Mexico City and just when you thought it was safe to step out of the coffin. CERTAIN DARK THINGS is dark, inimitable, and so very, very cool. Unmissable.”Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award Winning Author of Osama
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia carves out the heart of Mexico City, and then eats it, in this riveting noir-punk reinvention of vampire lore. CERTAIN DARK THINGS is exquisitely vicious and brutally beautiful.”Ann Aguirre, New York Times bestselling author
“If The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo met (and devoured) Interview with a Vampire to the twined rhythms of Octavio Paz, Bram Stoker, and Ozomatli, you might come close to the layers and textures of CERTAIN DARK THINGS. Set in a beautifully and heartbreakingly rendered Mexico caught up in Narco-Vampire wars, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel lets us fall in love with many perspectives before she breaks our hearts and puts us back together again. I cannot wait for the movie.”Fran Wilde, author of Updraft
"A lush and haunting supernatural noir, CERTAIN DARK THINGS is visceral, beautiful, and teeming with originality and complexities."Alex Segura, author of the Pete Fernandez series
“If you’re looking for a rather romantic read that still manages to crush about every trope from vampire romances, this is the book for you. If you’re looking for blood and death and awesome genetically modified dobermans, this is the book for you. If you’re looking for a nuanced examination of hunger and longing, corruption and hope, this is the book for you. Go read it.”
“It is in those moments, when blood lust and corporeal lust commingle and hang like perfume, that CERTAIN DARK THINGS is at its most frightening.”
“If you enjoy these darker vampire stories, I’d definitely recommend picking this up.”
“A unique urban fantasy that’s brimming with folklore, legend, and the magic of Mexico City, this will not disappoint. […] It’s tight, well-executed storytelling.”Stacked Books
“CERTAIN DARK THINGS gives us a reason to love vampire novels again. It’s something new, with a fresh perspective I’ve not seen before. It’s a slick, smart, bloody novel with characters that are all too human–even when they’re not. “Stylish, bloody, dark and HARD, not a sparkle in sight, I read this book quick.”
“CERTAIN DARK THINGS is fantastic; it’s a calculated tale accompanied by charming morally gray characters. You need to pick up this book, you won’t be disappointed.”
“Silva Moreno-Garcia did something impossible in my world [...] she made me like, (nay…love) a vampire novel. Stylish, bloody, dark and HARD, not a sparkle in sight [...] This tale is smart, fast paced and while in my opinion, skirts young adult territory (mostly from a character prospective) it is a awesome October read. A great world and probably did more to make me interested in vampires than anything else did in media in a while.”
“This is an elegant, modern, dark take on classic vampire lore […] it’s the vampire tale I did not know I was waiting for.”
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s CERTAIN DARK THINGS is the book I wish had been my introduction to vampires in literature back when I was a kid.”
“There is solid building of the different types of vampires. You can actually see how the city looks by her descriptions.”
“This is completely Moreno-Garcia’s world, her characters, and a very well-told story. […] If you think nothing new can be done with vampires, then I suggest you read CERTAIN DARK THINGS.”
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia offers a whole new world to discover in CERTAIN DARK THINGS, a novel that offers rock solid world-building and compelling characters that are guaranteed to charm you and open your eyes.”
“If you haven’t read any of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work yet then I don’t quite know what you’re doing with your life, she’s a fantastically fresh voice in the world of speculative fiction and CERTAIN DARK THINGS is proof of her creativity.”The Moor Maiden
“CERTAIN DARK THINGS is an excellent example of what a vampire novel can be. The characters are strong, the writing is fast-paced, and it paints a vision of a world we have not seen before.”
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia weaves together a great story centered around vampiric gang politics with a dash of history all the while integrating Mexican folklore and other cultures in this up-tempo and fast-paced read. If you’re looking for a refreshing and new spin on the vampire lore I highly recommend CERTAIN DARK THINGS.”Creatyve Books
Awards & Accolades
USA
Amazon: "Editors' Pick for Best SFF"
USA
Amazon Audio: "#3 New Release in Noir"
USA
LibroFM: #6 in Horror Bestsellers for Audiobooks
USA
National Latino Book Club: “June 2017 Book of the Month”