In July 2023, author Silvia Moreno-Garcia (SMG) became one of the few (if not the first) Latine authors to be nominated for a Hugo award in the novel category for her 2022 novel The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. Started in 1953, the Hugo Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in sci-fi and fantasy works, and Moreno-Garcia is someone who has contributed immensely to those categories over the years. Readers might be familiar with her Mexican Gothic or Gods of Jade and Shadow, but these books make up only a small portion of Moreno-Garcia’s body of work. To celebrate her nomination and her long, versatile career as an author, SMG fans and fellow Latinas Olivia and Danielle have decided to recommend some of Moreno-Garcia’s lesser known books — just in time for Latinx History Month, too!
Signal to Noise (Danielle)
Even to the untrained ear, music can feel magical. But what happens when the magic is more than just a feeling? What happens when the music you love has the power to grant your strongest wishes? Set in Mexico between 1988 and 2009, Signal to Noise follows Mercedes “Meche” Vega as she returns home for the first time in years and is confronted with her mystical past. You can only run from memories, old friends, and choices for so long. Especially when magic is involved.
First published in 2015, Signal to Noise was Moreno-Garcia’s debut novel. In it, readers will find a foundation of sorts for the rest of her body of work. Nuanced and messy, Meche exhibits the same characteristics as many of Moreno-Garcia’s other main characters: an intense yearning for life and meaning, an unapologetic desire to make the best for oneself, a propensity for complicated friendships and relationships. Meche and the story that follows her is primed for explorations of human growth and stagnation. There isn’t a lot of action, if any, but Moreno-Garcia has never needed that to tell a good story. If you love music and the profoundly cringe memories of teendom, this book is the one for you. It’s the one, after all, that started everything.
Velvet Was the Night (Olivia)
Set in 1970’s Mexico City against the backdrop of the repression and massacre of student protestors by the Mexican government, Velvet Was the Night follows two main characters: Elvis, a young man with a passion for rock n’ roll, and Maite, a young woman with an obsession for romance comic books. Both are on the search for a young woman who went missing under suspicious circumstances. As they unravel the mystery of her disappearance, Elvis and Maite are placed on parallel trajectories filled with shady government agents and Russian spies who, for their own nefarious reasons, will go to extreme measures to get to the bottom of the young woman’s disappearance.
Velvet Was the Night is a slower-paced novel, but I think its languidness has an immense payoff when it comes to the resolution of the mystery and the highly anticipated intersection of our two main characters. I also love the way Moreno-Garcia tackles historical fiction; she seamlessly blends events and periods from Mexican history into all her stories, but this shines in books like Velvet Was the Night which leans into the dark truth of this historical noir. Settle in and take your time with this one. I promise it’s worth it.
The Beautiful Ones (Olivia)
A novel of romance and manners, as described by Moreno-Garcia, The Beautiful Ones is a regency-esque romance with a touch of magic. Nina, a young woman making her debut for the Grand Season, struggles to control her telekinesis and finds high society difficult to navigate. During her debut, she meets Hector, a beloved entertainer and fellow telekinetic, who sees Nina for her potential. Hector takes Nina under his tutelage and as her power grows, so do her feelings for her mentor. But Hector is harboring a secret, which threatens to end their companionship before it can begin, setting the pair off on a journey ripe with tension, miscommunication, and longing—all the markings of a great romance novel.
When people show interest in Moreno-Garcia’s work, this is one of the books I recommend they begin with. The Beautiful Ones is lush in feeling and imagery, while Moreno-Garcia’s concise prose remains sharp, hitting at the heart of the reader. The magic Moreno-Garcia weaves in doesn’t distract or take away from the story but rather complements it, establishing this fantastical world that often feels similar to our own. If you’re a fan of the romantasy genre but crave something a bit more elevated, this is the book for you.
Untamed Shore (Danielle)
Summers always have the potential to be life-changing. In a sleepy town in Baja California, though, Viridiana never expects much. But when a wealthy American family settles in for the season and hires Viridiana to act as their translator, guide and maid, the young woman gets a taste of what life could offer her away from home. As the summer progresses and morals are tested, Viridiana must decide what she’s willing to do to be accepted into that life and who, if anyone, she’s willing to trust.
More than any of her other books I’ve read before, Untamed Shore reminded me of just how good a writer Moreno-Garcia is. She doesn’t waste time or fill space with frilly, unnecessarily profound wording. And yet, her stories are always profound and her characters always intriguing anyway. Untamed Shore is a relatively quiet noir, subtle and slow as it builds toward an unsettling tension. The fact that the tension never really boils over, but simmers until the very last page is what makes this book, in my opinion, one of Moreno-Garcia’s best. Maybe not an ideal starting point for her body of work, but worth the wait, and the read, in every way.
Certain Dark Things (Olivia)
This is not your typical vampire book. You won’t find any romance, sparkles, or vegetarian vampires here. Certain Dark Things takes place in an alternate Mexico City and follows 17-year-old Domingo, a street rat, whose life changes when his path crosses with beautiful and dangerous Atl. Atl is a descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, and she’s on the run from an equally dangerous, rival narco-vampire clan. Initially, her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but bit by bit, he squeezes his way into Atl’s life and enters the hell that is the world of narco-vampires.
If you’re looking for an accessible urban fantasy that is dark and gritty, look no further. First, Certain Dark Things is short, making it an approachable, quick read. But don’t assume its length will leave you wanting more. Moreno-Garcia has a talent for succinct storytelling while delivering a well-developed plot, world, and characters that leave the reader feeling satisfied. I’ll admit, this book is a weird one—even Moreno-Garcia says so, revealing that the story comes from a place of being a weird vampire-loving kid. But I like weird, and I think if you give this book a chance, you will, too.
Silver Nitrate (Danielle)
Mexican film history meets the dark legacy of the occult in Moreno-Garcia’s latest work. Sound editor Monserrat has always been a talented woman in an industry that overlooks her potential. Struggling to find meaning again in her work, Monserrat joins her actor friend Tristán in helping a forgotten Mexican movie director reverse his luck. The more Monserrat learns about this director and his unsavory history with the occult, the more she uncovers about herself and the power that maybe she was always meant to wield.
Silver Nitrate has many of the same elements as Signal to Noise, wrapped up in a much spookier and unsettling narrative. It’s not so much the magic or the mystery that I want to talk about here, though. More than other of Moreno-Garcia books, this story grapples with the fear of growing older and finding yourself irrelevant. Or run-down. Or past your prime and never to return. Monserrat and Tristán are near their forties and grasping at straws to understand how who they are connects to who they wanted to be. It’s nice to have a book that looks that fear in the face and says that maybe it’s never too late to discover that the magic you always sought was something you always had.
Other finalists in the novel category include John Scalzi, Travis Baldree, Tamsyn Muir, T. Kingfisher, and Mary Robinette Kowal. The 2023 Hugo Awards will take place on Saturday, October 21st at the Chengdu Worldcon.
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