the_horror_gay's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stephanie_k's review
4.0
3.75
CW: Extreme violence, bleak
A collection of hellscapes surrounding the U.S./Mexican border, where all-too-real crises give birth to vengeful spirits and hungry ghosts which in turn influence the living. I thought this cyclical relationship was executed and explored well. Horrible and powerful. I am definitely interested in reading the author's other works. There are passages written completely in Spanish, but as a non-Spanish speaker I felt I was still able to get the gist of what was going on.
CW: Extreme violence, bleak
A collection of hellscapes surrounding the U.S./Mexican border, where all-too-real crises give birth to vengeful spirits and hungry ghosts which in turn influence the living. I thought this cyclical relationship was executed and explored well. Horrible and powerful. I am definitely interested in reading the author's other works. There are passages written completely in Spanish, but as a non-Spanish speaker I felt I was still able to get the gist of what was going on.
rosiepajamas's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
scrow1022's review
4.0
He calls his work "barrio noir" and I forget not to look for happy endings in noir, I keep expecting some kind of happy ending to his books and not finding it. Resolution for sure, of sorts, the survival of a few. But that's on me and my expectations, not the story, and I like his writing, the style, the description, the desperation mixed with hope, even as that hope is not fulfilled.
gnashchick's review
5.0
I highlighted this: She was a saint in the making, the Mother of Chaos, the blood of generations that has been spilled on every forgotten chunk of land across a world where suffering es el pan nuestro de cada dia.
Every character in this story suffers. Five people hold common threads of grief, horror, anger, and destruction. Some want revenge, some seek destruction, some want justice for the weak, others harness the rage and grief and supernatural power that permeates the deserts of the Southwest. This book is brutal and visceral, punctuated with beautiful, lyrical prose and prayer. I was compelled to murmur prayers in the dark, sounding out a language I can read but can't speak well enough to say I know it.
Some books are praised with the, "I couldn't put it down" cliche, but readers, I had to put it down. I needed the time to process the images the author showed me, or to echo the grief of something that hit way too close to home. I've been reading horror for most of my life. Gory images don't bother me. This is what got to me: The siren songs of angels. A mother's grief pouring onto the searing desert sand. Violent saviors convinced they're doing God's work. I needed time to stop and think about these things, take a dip in those emotions, and look at the world with someone else's eyes.
Powerful stuff, this.
Every character in this story suffers. Five people hold common threads of grief, horror, anger, and destruction. Some want revenge, some seek destruction, some want justice for the weak, others harness the rage and grief and supernatural power that permeates the deserts of the Southwest. This book is brutal and visceral, punctuated with beautiful, lyrical prose and prayer. I was compelled to murmur prayers in the dark, sounding out a language I can read but can't speak well enough to say I know it.
Some books are praised with the, "I couldn't put it down" cliche, but readers, I had to put it down. I needed the time to process the images the author showed me, or to echo the grief of something that hit way too close to home. I've been reading horror for most of my life. Gory images don't bother me. This is what got to me: The siren songs of angels. A mother's grief pouring onto the searing desert sand. Violent saviors convinced they're doing God's work. I needed time to stop and think about these things, take a dip in those emotions, and look at the world with someone else's eyes.
Powerful stuff, this.
sindysin666's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
cekrall's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
hollyhaze's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
raforall's review against another edition
5.0
Star review now on the blog and Booklist Online: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2019/01/what-im-reading-coyote-songs-by-gabino.html
Raw, honest, and beautifully written horror on the southern border. It will make you uncomfortable in every way and you cannot, will not, and should not look away.
Raw, honest, and beautifully written horror on the southern border. It will make you uncomfortable in every way and you cannot, will not, and should not look away.
raincorbyn's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this one hit me like a truck, a page turner even with pauses to hop on google translate from time to time.
Gabino Iglesias gives us cinematic action, but also something more textural, slower, bigger. Characters, monsters, and forces beyond words all wait like coiled springs, explode into gory, righteous violence, and then coil back down, some never to return, others never to leave. Like King at his best, Iglesias shows us a battle between good and evil, from the perspectives of many who are wrong about what side they are on.
There are literal monsters, and there are the horrors of white supremacy, nationalistic cruelty, and misogyny; and forces older than these, lurking, watching, deciding how to act, and through whom.
Really outstanding stuff, I'm rushing to get more of his work.
Gabino Iglesias gives us cinematic action, but also something more textural, slower, bigger. Characters, monsters, and forces beyond words all wait like coiled springs, explode into gory, righteous violence, and then coil back down, some never to return, others never to leave. Like King at his best, Iglesias shows us a battle between good and evil, from the perspectives of many who are wrong about what side they are on.
There are literal monsters, and there are the horrors of white supremacy, nationalistic cruelty, and misogyny; and forces older than these, lurking, watching, deciding how to act, and through whom.
Really outstanding stuff, I'm rushing to get more of his work.