Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (review)

What got me first was the cover: bright red with silver letters disclosing terrified eyes. Then there was the title: Silver Nitrate. I was intrigued. Then I saw that the author was Silvia Moreno-Garcia and that sealed the deal. I had to buy it. I have read a couple of books by her: Mexican Gothic, and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, both of which I enjoyed. I guess you would classify these books as horror, but I would not call them really frightening reads, more like disturbing with a side of horror, yet with well-developed characters and plot. Is there such a genre as “literary horror?” Probably. There is a genre for just about everything. But that is how I think of her books, sort of high-class horror.

Silver nitrate was a type of movie film that was the standard until the 1950’s when safety film was introduced. Silver nitrate film was a superior product in many ways giving vivid projections to the screen. Unfortunately, silver nitrate film was extremely flammable and had a nasty habit of self-combusting, destroying the film and whatever or whoever else happened to be around.

Montserat and Tristan are the main characters. Montserat is a sound editor for a small film studio and Tristan is an actor. They are both down on their luck. Montserat, a woman trying to navigate the male dominated world of sound editing in Mexico in the 1990’s. Tristan had been in a car accident years ago which left him scarred and he was blamed for the death of a beloved actress, which had pretty much shut down his career.

Montserat and Tristan had been friends since childhood where she dragged him to every horror movie she could get into (she covered his eyes at the scary parts). She has always had an affinity for horror movies. I suspect Moreno-Garcia loved horror films as a child (as I did). This novel is in part a love letter to old horror movies.

But it is also a dark fantasy. Our two characters come into possession of a reel of film. The silver nitrate print is of an unfinished horror movie from the 1960’s that was thought to be lost. They run afoul of several parties trying to use magic associated with the film: NAZIs, cultists, egomaniacs, and weirdos. Yes, they are in deep doodoo. Both our main characters are flawed but intriguing. They find they have many enemies and few allies. You often hear the term “movie magic” but here it is taken literally. And as silver is often associated with magic, what better medium to cast your spell on than silver nitrate film.

The web of intrigue converges on our heroes as the mystery of what is going on is slowly revealed. I didn’t want the story to end. Come to think of it, this novel would make a good horror flick. Maybe they should shoot it on silver nitrate film.

Star Liner

Comments

Retired

I retired this week. So, big lifestyle changes for me? Not so much. I retired on Thursday. My office had an amazing party for me on Wednesday, lots of food, lots of cards, lots of personal connections. Gifts too, I wish I had told them, no gifts. I really don’t need anything. But all this does make one feel appreciated. It also makes me feel appreciated that they want me to come back on a contractual basis every now and then to impart my institutional knowledge. It is always the case when someone retires, knowledge is lost to the organization. Things have to be relearned by the next generation. This is somewhat offset by the fact that the world is changing through advancing technology etc. So, the knowledge that the retiring person has might eventually become obsolete anyway. Better to go out while you are still on top. We have all seen professional athletes who stayed on well beyond their prime. It would have been better to go out while still on top. But it is a hard thing to ...

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu

My first experience with cyberpunk as a genre of science fiction was Neuromancer by William Gibson. Neuromancer was one of the early works that defined the cyberpunk genre. It was insanely influential. It won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award. But for me, it just did not resonate. I had a hard time visualizing the concepts. It left a bad taste in my mouth for cyberpunk. I mostly avoided the genre. Then a couple of years ago I read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson which is cyberpunk (although some people say it is a parody of cyberpunk). Whatever, I liked it. I recently picked up All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu and it immediately became apparent to me that this was cyberpunk. Julia Z is the main character, and I think this is going to be the start of a series following her. She is a hacker (hence cyberpunk). She has got herself in trouble and so she lives on the margins, barely making it. Then a lawyer asks her for her help. His wife has been kidnapped. The ...

Darkness

There was a moment when I discovered that l liked dark music. I do like dark music. I like minor keys and a haunting theme. I like other kinds of music too, but that darkness speaks to me in a special way. What does that say about me? Am I messed up? I don’t think so. Maybe I am just built that way that haunting tunes or lyrics imparts some inner truth to me. It resonates. I know precisely when I discovered this about myself. It was Summer of 1971. I was 12 years old. I was on a plane with my family heading to Illinois. Airplanes back then did not have much in the way of entertainment, but what they did have were headphones and music channels you could listen to. I was listening to a channel of popular current hits, and a song came on called “That’s the Way I Always Heard it Should Be” by Carly Simon. I had never heard of Carly Simon. This was before “Anticipation” and “You’re so Vain.” She was not yet famous. But this song came on and, I don’t know, it did something to me. It...

A speculative mind

Search This Blog