Certain Dark Things
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.
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 finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both 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?
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Publication Year: October 25, 2016 (Reprint May 11, 2021)
Illustrator: John Picacio
ASIN: B08F43JYDN
ISBN: 9781250785589
Praise
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, author of the NYT bestselling Shades of Magic series
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
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
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 of Shadowshaper and of the Bone Street Rumba series
If The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo met (and devoured) Interview with the 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, Andre Norton Award-winning author of Updraft[
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, Bram Stoker award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts
The Mexican setting is a huge part of the allure of this new novel from Moreno-Garcia (Signal to Noise), as are the fascinating varieties of vampires she sets forth.
—Library Journal
I love to see compelling new takes on vampires, and Certain Dark Things succeeds beautifully; reading vampires through geography and mapping the consequences of their movements. Smart, tender and insightful, I enjoyed this tremendously.
—NPR.
One hopes that return visits to this urban fantasy world are in the offing.
—The New York Times
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.
—Book Riot
With dark and delicious elegance, Moreno-Garcia delivers a satisfyingly bloody vampire story with a tantalizing twist.
—The Globe and Mail
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.
—Sleeps with Monsters, Tor.com
Confirms that Moreno-Garcia is an author to watch.
—Publisher’s Weekly
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
— Locus
Envisions a fascinating near future Mexico City with vampire drug lords vying for territory… and will appeal to those who enjoy rooting for unlikely heroes.
—Booklist
The novel has many mature themes, much violence, and strong language, but it all helps create a wonderful urban world filled with danger and suspense. Fans of visceral, grungy urban fantasy settings and supernatural elements will be engrossed. This excellent book is a must-have purchase for all libraries, especially where horror and urban fantasy fiction is hot.
—VOYA Reviews
Certain Dark Things is arguably the vampire novel for the 21 st century.
— New York Journal of Books
Nothing you’ve seen before will prepare you for the vampires of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s brilliant new novel Certain Dark Things.
— The Vancouver Sun
I pictured this book as the offspring of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction with a dash of telenovela and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s own seasoning.
—The Book Smugglers
Certain Dark Things gives us a reason to love vampire novels again.
—Pop Culture Beast
Are you one of those people who like to bitch about vampire lit being too pretty? Then shut your trap and pick this up immediately. You like your vampires bloody and violent? This is what you need. You enjoy clever, immersive world-building? Here you go. You dig noirish narco shoot-outs? You just hit bingo, motherfucker.
—LitReactor
If you’re bored of pale, seductive heartbreakers boasting a mouthful of fangs and not much else, take a trip to Mexico City.
—Rue Morgue