Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

17 reviews

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

Silvia Moreno-Garcia does not disappoint. Silver Nitrate had me on the edge of my seat and is terrifying in all the right ways.

Monserrat and Tristán have been friends since they were kids, and though Monserrat has been in love with Tristán all these years, he is oblivious to her feelings. The boys' club running the film industry in Mexico City in the 90s leaves no place for Monserrat, even though she's an extremely talented sound editor. As an aging actor, Tristán is also starting to feel left out of the industry, too. So when he finds out that his new neighbor is a cult horror director who wants to work with himself and Monserrat, Tristán wants to jump in without any hesitation. However, Monserrat is a little more cautious. The director, Abel,  wants the two of them to help him finish a film that he never got the chance to complete, but that film has left everyone who has touched it with bad fortune. The person Abel originally worked with on the film was a Nazi who believed creating this film would bring them magical powers. Abel believes finishing the film will lift the curse and bring fortune and fame, as well as magic, to the trio, but once they start working on it, strange things start to happen that leave Monserrat and Tristán wondering just what they got themselves into.

This novel focuses on how obsession with the occult can drive people to go to the extreme. It also explored the art of film, especially horror movies, and how all of the pieces come together to create a sort of magic--and in this story, the magic happened to be real. After being powerless her whole life, both in her career and in her own body, Monserrat has to decide what to do with the very real power she gets ahold of. She has to choose whether power is the most important thing to her. 

Similarly to one of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's other novels, Mexican Gothic, this was a very atmospheric read. Silver Nitrate explores ritual and how the past can still permeate the present. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Cursing, and Vomit

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A tribute to foreign cinema, adversity, and overcoming your own demons, this book inspires everyone to embrace their own magic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Bullying, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, War, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Colonisation

Be aware that this novel features ageism, toxic workplace environments, Nazism, cults, occult rituals, violence with knives, harming one’s self for rituals, and people being crashed by large instruments.

meg_thebrave's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A bit of a slow start for me. Moreno-Garcia clearly knows her film history, and while the context is helpful, it bogs down the exposition. However, I enjoyed this exploration of magic and its conclusion, and enjoyed both Montserrat and Tristán. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

julianh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse and Medical content

reddeddy's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

nicolemhill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author I trust implicitly. It took me longer than usual to get hooked by this one, but she has never let me down before. I persevered. And about halfway through the book, the occultist hijinks took over my thoughts. I couldn't put it down, and I came to hold such affection for Montserrat and Tristán. 

Read if you like: horror films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, telenovelas, and women who don't take 💩 from anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

hjb_128's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

falchionm's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

heather667's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and War

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book is SMG at her core and I really liked the concept of the book! The only drawbacks were that it REALLY seemed like the story dragged on for too long at different moments and (like classic SMG) sped up super quickly at the end. I also felt like I didn’t get enough out of the main characters other than sho they are at their surface level. I think this book would greatly benefit from a sequel and building out this world more. 
The writing was spectacular and the fantasy elements kept me entertained. I just wish it was edited a bit better and a whole lot spookier (then maybe I could feel fine with not dive too deep into the characters?). 
However I will say the biggest win is having two messy/annoying bisexuals obsessed with horror (kinda) as the MCs. Huge representation win lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation