I got a little over halfway through this book and stopped and looked up the author, because it was this weird combination of a story that was tailor made for me and that comes from a completely different perspective. So I had to know more about the author. I discovered that she is heavily into the Lovecraft scene. No huge shock there. The novel doesn't delve deeply into the weird fiction tropes, but there are hints that the author is familiar with them. I will say up frint that this is the first book of hers I have read, but I'm excited to get to some of her other work.
Touching on the elements that made it seem tailor made for me, first is the time period. It taked pace in the 90's. Being born in the mid 70's this is the era of my late youth/early adulthood. Nostalgia is always intoxicating. The book also touches on movies. In fact one of the few complaints that I have is that I wish it went a little deeper in the weeds on old movies, along with the next point which is old occultists. I have a fascination with early 20th century occultists, and their ties to political movements of the time. Miss Garcia obviously went down some of these same rabbit holes, and has at least a passing familiarity with Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, and especially Kenneth Anger. Music isn't touched on much, oddly for a book that is so much about sound, but one of the few times when the main character's clothing is detailed she is wearing an Iron Miaden Killers t-shirt, so that lines up well with my tastes as well.
Now for the things that don't line up with my experience, but that made the book even more interesting. The story is from the point of view of a young woman. As a straight(ish) white man in the U.S., most stories are told from a point of view very similar to my own. Many dudes like me gent all bent out of shape if someone dares to try to tell a story that doesn't confrom to that point of view. For myself, I'm familiar with all those beats. I lived them. It's refreshing to see what a young woman makes of Boris Karloff. A young woman from Mexico yet, which is where the story is set. And being so pop culture centered it is cool to get some insight into what pop culture there was like.
After finishing a book I will often look at reviews written by others to see what they think. FOr this one I saw several complaining that the story wasn't scary, or that it moved slowly. And I have to admit, if you're looking for a jump scare every few pages, or the long but unrelenting creepiness of Stephen King, this is not that. It does read more like a thriller with supernatural/horror elements than straight horror. As for pacing, I think storytelling these days tends to be much too rushed. I appreciate someone taking the time to build a world and develop a character. Sometimes I think it would be nearly impossible to get a book like It or a movie like The Godfather made today. The other complaint, which I do agree with, is the (spoiler alert!) silliniess of having the main character apparently end up in a romantic relationship with her male friend. Granted it is made explicit that she long harbored a crush on him. But after the events of the book it just feels like she could and should do better for herself.
Now to touch on the actual story a bit. Montserrat is a sound editor at a shitty little studio in Mexic City in the 90's. Her friend Tristan is a t.v. star with a troubled past. Thye meet a movie director who made some legendary horror movies back in the 60's. They learn that his notorious unfinished film was a collaboration with an ex-Nazi occultist who was attempting to use the medium of film in an effort to cast a magickal spell. They get wrapped up in his attempt to complete the spell in order to try to alleiviate the curse everyone involved with the movie has been living under since it went unfinished. There's a vengeful ghost, a murderous cult, a magickal duel, and lots of coming to terms with demons of the past. While I wouldn't rate this as one of my favorite novels, it touched on a great many of my preoccupations and was good enough that I can't wait to delve into the author's other work. I would highly recommend it, with just the caveat that you should go into it knowing that it's more like a hybrid of Thomas Harris and Anne Rice than it is like a work by Stephen King or Grady Hendrix.
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