Certain Dark Things (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)

Certain Dark Things
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy/Horror
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: In a near-future Mexico City that has declared its independence as a city-state, crime and corruption may run rampant, but it has a reputation as one of the few areas of the Americas free from any species of vampire. At least, it's supposed to be. While other nations have varied in their reactions to the revelation that various vampire species were real, ranging from outright expulsion to legal repression, Mexico City's powerful street cartels united and drove the blood-drinkers out, keeping them out to this day. But when homeless teenager Domingo, scraping a living as a garbage collector on the city streets, meets the strange dark-eyed woman on the subway with her gene-modded guardian dog, he learns there's at least one vampire in the city limits... and she's in trouble.
Atl, descendant of vampires who used to be warrior-priests in the days of the Aztecs and now run profitable drug cartels in northern Mexico, used to be the spoiled baby of her family. Then a power struggle with new, thuggish European "necros", vampires with powers of mind control over their victims, left her entire family dead and her on the run. If she can make it to Central or South America, where laws are less stringent and the reach of the necros is reduced, she might find safety, but with increasing security at border crossings, she needs fake ID and other assistance, and her only possible contact is in the ostensibly vampire-free zone of Mexico City. But even a fugitive vampire needs to eat now and again. When she met the young man on the subway, she only thought to pay him for a little fresh blood and his silence. Soon, though, Domingo becomes swept up in her problems, when a son of her family's rivals follows her to Mexico City intent on ending her clan once and for all.

REVIEW: Certain Dark Things draws on Central and South American traditions and the long history of its setting in Mexico City to create a vampire story with a distinctly different flavor. It also flips the common trope of the masculine protector vampire seducing the helpless human lady. Domingo, who grew up in rough conditions and has perhaps an unhealthy obsession with comic books and popular graphic novel depictions of vampires, may not quite be helpless, but he definitely has a lot to learn about the reality of the beings he's loved for so long, and despite the harshness of his situation and upbringing he retains an optimistic romanticism that both blinds him and gives him fuel to keep pushing ahead as things grow increasingly dark and desperate. Atl, meanwhile, struggles with feelings of guilt and trauma from the slaughter of her family, plus mixed feelings about taking on a human assistant - a "Renfield", as they're known in vampire circles, loyal servants bonded by blood - when she should be trying to keep a low profile and escape. There's also a woman police detective, jaded by the harsh reality behind promises of "reform" and equality in the notoriously lackadaisical and corrupt force, whose experiences hunting vampires before coming to Mexico City come in surprisingly handy when not one, but two vampires turn up in a city with no idea how to handle them, as well as the immature rival necro vampire Nick, whose hot temper and sadistic feeding habits create more trouble for everyone. As with most vampire fiction, there's an air of tragedy and horror over the whole tale, especially where human and vampire lives mingle... particularly vampires like Atl's race, who embrace the old Aztec core values of sacrifice being an inevitable, unavoidable part of life. The plot wends through the grit and dark history of Mexico City's streets, ratcheting up the stakes and tension, until it reaches a finale that stumbles enough I almost shaved a half-star off the rating. Though it feels fairly complete, the set-up and characters might carry sequels or spinoffs. Ultimately, the overall originality of the setting, and the fact that the ending, even with its stumbles, did play into the overall theme of the book, managed to keep it afloat at four stars. I'm definitely interested in reading more from this author.

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