True to her method, she succeeds here by knowing when to follow the rules of genre storytelling and when to turn them upside down ... Several times in Silver Nitrate, a spirit commands, 'Follow me into the night.' While the better part of us hopes Montserrat and her compatriots will refuse, there is simply no resisting the dark spells cast by Moreno-Garcia’s characters — nor those so expertly cast over readers by the author herself.
If this sprawling tangle of mythic and literary references seems a little esoteric, fear not. Silvia-Moreno's soaring cosmic horror stays rooted in grit and feeling ... As always with Moreno-Garcia, the corporeal ends up meaning more to her characters than the spectral — and the heart is far from powerless against the horror. One recommendation: Read Silver Nitrate on paper. Moreno-Garcia imbues the tangible qualities of physical books with a palpable, talismanic power, just as she does with the vinyl records and silver nitrate film within those novels. And if any ink happens to come off on your fingers, take that as further proof of her magic.
This book does not linger in subtlety. The budding, slow-burn romance between Tristán and Montserrat is telegraphed from the beginning. Inner thoughts are projected to the point where revelations feel toothless, and key plot details are delivered in stiff dialogue. Moreno-Garcia couches this world in endless references to actors, directors, horror films, occultists and Mexican companies. At its best, it is a robust and haunting picture of 1990s Mexico City, its film scene hollowed out by neoliberal reforms and bad taste. Other times, the details weigh down the narrative ... After this throat-clearing is over, the novel picks up, taking on an electrifying rhythm as Moreno-Garcia’s inventive and carefully arranged supernatural mystery unravels.
Moreno-Garcia is perhaps best-known for her brilliant 2020 novel Mexican Gothic ... Her latest novel Silver Nitrate is equally good ... The various nods, tributes, and references are detailed in the author’s notes at the end of the novel but I’ve found that tracking down these references is part of the fun of reading one of Moreno-Garcia’s novels. Of course, the novel is much more than a loving tribute to Mexican film and the horror/occult genre, it’s a critique of misogyny and racism and a study in female empowerment while also being a love story.
Moreno-Garcia spends a bit too much time explaining how Ewers’s movie magic functions, but the myriad film references and odes to analog tech make this the equivalent of a lovingly nostalgic double-bill, Chiller Theater for 21st century horror nerds. Best of all is Moreno-Garcia’s depiction of the poignant, lifelong friendship between Montserrat and Tristán, with its simmering romantic undercurrent, shared childhood language and adult resentments. Like its namesake, Silver Nitrate catches fire and doesn’t stop burning until the end.
The novel is a tightly constructed mystery-thriller, with occult overtones and some fantasy elements, but it is also a sprawling overview of a half-century of Mexican history, including the arrival of Nazis following the Second World War, home-grown fascism and racism, and the native film industry, carving out a place for itself in the shadow of Hollywood, and in the transition to home video in the early 1990s ... It’s not just that “Silver Nitrate” is as strong as her previous novels; Moreno-Garcia’s great strength as a writer is that every book is so different, in terms of genre and approach, as to make any side-by-side comparison utterly superfluous. Suffice it to say, this is another great book from Moreno-Garcia, exactly what we have come to expect.
Much like the horror films to which it pays homage, Silver Nitrate has deliberate pacing and deep character development, but these elements don’t hinder its capacity for utter terror, as it summons the fear of what’s hiding at the edge of your vision, just out of sight in the dark. Moreno-Garcia plays in this space well, recognizing that when the inexplicable happens, the subsequent doubting of your own sanity can be just as frightening as the initial event ... While the horror is effective and then some, the sentence-by-sentence craft of Silver Nitrate is not to be overlooked. Moreno-Garcia’s prose is enchanting, full of perfect phrases that dot every page. Whether they are describing the brilliant whites produced on old film or the visage of a ghostly apparition, her sentences deliver tidy packages of imagery like motes of light in the darkness, their beauty so great that sometimes you forget—just for a moment—about the things that go bump in the night.
another instant classic from one of our best genre authors ... Even as she begins weaving the dark web of magic and conspiracy at the core of Silver Nitrate‘s world of faded stars and frustrated artists, Moreno-Garcia is also laying the emotional groundwork of her characters in ways that are both seamless and compelling ... With Silver Nitrate, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has offered us yet another must-read in her growing body of chilling, wickedly addictive fiction. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer hoping to see what all the fuss is about, you shouldn’t miss it.
Moreno-Garcia is a master of pacing, gradually ramping up the supernatural stakes while peppering the tale with fascinating bits of occult esoterica ... But the novel rests mainly on a few sharply drawn characters ... Some of the secondary characters, like Montserrat’s sister Areceli, don’t really have much to do, despite a subplot involving her cancer treatments, while others, like that silent film actress, seem to know exactly how to hit their marks in a Gothic melodrama. None quite fall into stereotypes, though, and Moreno-Garcia’s affection for a nearly forgotten corner of film history, as well as her almost gleeful appreciation of occult arcana, are undeniable fun, as are her two engrossing main leads.
The intricate plot is supported by a fully realized setting and seamlessly integrated information about the detailed work of sound editing. Recommend to fans of Ring (2003), by Koji Suzuki; Night Film (2013), by Marisha Pessl; or Last Days (2013), by Adam Nevill.
Moreno-Garcia’s quick pacing and thoroughly developed characters are aided by the author’s seamless blending of invented filmographies with references to actually existing niche titles...and era-appropriate moviemaking techniques...Details regarding the dark arts and occultism are equally immersive ... Moreno-Garcia’s clever blurring of these lines makes for fantastic reading. An engaging, inventive story of moviemaking and the occult for film geeks and genre buffs.
Combining real history with unsettling magic, Moreno-Garcia effortlessly ties explorations of misogyny, addiction, antisemitism, and racism into a plot that never falters from its breakneck pace. The narrative shifts effortlessly between fantasy, horror, and romance, helmed by a well-shaded cast. The complex female characters are particular standouts. This is a knockout.
