Silver Nitrate

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Narrated by: Gisela Chipe

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film—and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

“No one punctures the skin of reality to reveal the lurking, sinister magic beneath better than Silvia Moreno-Garcia.”—Kiersten White, author of Hide

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Tordotcom, Polygon, CrimeReads, BookPage, Book Riot

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

©2023 Silvia Moreno-Garcia (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“In this summer’s treat, Silver Nitrate, Moreno-Garcia again deploys horror as a touchstone for a textured ghost story with surprising historical undertones while paying homage to a lesser-known progenitor of the form. True to her method, she succeeds here by knowing when to follow the rules of genre storytelling and when to turn them upside down.”—Los Angeles Times

“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 Washington Post

“Hip as hell, Silver Nitrate delivers a cinematic and exhilarating punch. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does it again with this creepy and unforgettable occult thriller, teeming with the decadence of old horror movies. I felt cooler just reading it.”—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, bestselling author of Woman of Light and Sabrina & Corina

Old Mexican Power Rangers

The beginning was somewhat slow but it does pay off! This was an entertaining, funny, and a lovecraft-ian style book. This author is a great story teller and I haven’t experienced that in awhile with recent books.
I’m Mexican myself and enjoy lovecraft, but also am put off because he was a racist guy. This kind pokes at that in an entertaining way.

You meet some older characters throughout the story and I just kept picturing them as aged Mexican actors. It was awesome and hence the title of this review.

The narrator was very choppy. To me it felt like someone forced to read in class after being picked up popcorn style.
To my partner, it seemed like someone who just took a Spanish class and wanted to show off the words they can say right.
You get used to it, but it makes the beginning slower because you have to get used to them.

This is my 3rd book by this author and I’m looking forward to listening to more.

the Quick and the... is it over?

I really enjoyed this story and the narrator but it's a lot of foreplay for a short and quick climax.

Less story and more factoids

I really wanted to love this novel. I could tell the author was building up a strong independent female protagonist and I am a huge horror fan. But there was more time focused on technical details and factoids about film sound and production and Nazi history than actual character development or description of the present moments. Even the dialogue was very dry and often used as a tool to regurgitate research and historical data instead of a natural flow of conversation. The book could probably be about a half or third of the actual length if you cut out all the sterile research and made it more human. Obviously a capable writer but I’m not sure what audience she’s writing for exactly. Maybe people who want more of a documentary than straight fiction just not my thing.

Fun little read..

there’s a good mix of surrealism, magical realism, and a little bit of horror thrown in for good measure... The narration was great!

Good story but the narrator…

I think I would have liked this better in print. I never adjusted to the narrators cadence and weird inflections. Monotone but somehow trying to hard at the same time.

Interesting and fun

I enjoyed the back and forth between the two main characters. I found the topic of old films interesting. The magic part was fascinating!

I finished this in 48h

It’s almost 4 a.m as I’m writing this, the premise, main characters and the slow burn were mesmerizing. The voice actor made me laugh in places that may have been lost on me if I had encountered it in book form. It was an overall wonderful experience and I hope to read more books from this author and hear more stories read by this actor!

Fantastic!

It is so rare to find an adult horror story that makes me feel this good. It discussed magic, fear and love without ever making me feel like I was reading Harry Potter. These characters feel like real people. This is some of the best character development I’ve ever read in a horror/fantasy novel.
I think I’ve found my new favorite author. I love the setting being in 1993.
The narration is first rate.

Very entertaining and heartfelt thriller.

The world is great, and the two main characters’ relationship is really compelling. Just a blast top to bottom and a very fun thriller with some great chilling moments. If you’re looking for a fun thriller to get cozy with, this is it.

The most interesting tale about movie magic.

I had no idea what to expect from this book. It’s many layers kept on piling on to the point where there was only one logical way to proceed. The story makes complete sense the way it unraveled. Very enjoyable.