Today, we will be reviewing a horror novel by the New York Times best-selling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Silver Nitrate. Keep reading to find out if Garcia’s latest novel is right for you!
Silver Nitrate Summary
Montserrat is a talented sound editor who is being replaced by another sound editor because she is a women in a field dominated by males. Her best friend Tristán is an actor who is in between jobs and still dealing with the death of his ex-girlfriend from 10 years ago.
After breaking up with his girlfriend, Tristán moves into a new building and discovers that his neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta. Montserrat and Tristán are big horror movie fans and befriend him and discuss movies. But things take a turn when Abel tells them about his movie that was cursed and never completed.
Abel regals them of a tale about a Nazi occultist casting spells using silver nitrate and making a movie. The movie was never complete and Abel wants to complete it decades later and change his luck. Montserrat and Tristán decide to play along and please Abel but when Tristán begins to see his ex-girlfriend, he and Montserrat began to take Abel and the magic seriously.
But as Montserrat and Tristán quickly learn, the magic spell they cast had an unintended effect. As they try to uncover the secrets of the Nazi occultist, they are met by resistance with other magical users who want to use the spell of the movie for their own goals, no matter the cost.
Commentary
The novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is set to release on July 18, 2023. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy and was not able to put this novel down. The characters are fresh and interesting and the history lessons in the book will make you look up some of their claims which to my surprise were accurate.
I loved the plot of this novel and how well it was executed. During the first half of the novel, the reader is uncovering the truth about Abel and his cursed movie. But as the novel progresses, the magical element which we and the characters don’t take seriously becomes not only real but deadly.
The narration switches between Montserrat and Tristán and it works really well. We get to see their relationship from both sides. As the characters point each other’s flaws, we can see exactly what they mean by reflecting on their past narration. It is a clever maneuver which makes this more than just a horror novel.
Conclusion
As a fan of horror novels, I think this is a great addition to the genre. There is a lot that readers will enjoy. I know I won’t be the only one that would love to see a sequel to this novel. Happy reading!
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