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Certain Dark things - Silvia Moreno-Garcia Certain Dark Things is a sci-fi fantasy novel set in Mexico City by Mexican Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Originally published in 2016 by Tor Nightfire, it was then reprinted 2021. The novel focuses around Domingo and Atl as they attempt to escape from Mexico City as they are pursued by a rival gang of vampires.

Synopsis
Domingo is a 17 year old garbage collector who lives in a dystopian Mexico City who one evening meets the vampire Atl and her genetically modified Doberman, Cualli, on a subway car. Domingo accompanies Atl back to her apartment where she tells him that she is a vampire. Atl is on the run from a rival clan of vampires, The Necro's, after she massacred the clan. Elsewhere, Nick, of The Necro's, causes a scene in his search for Atl that attracts the attention of Detective Ana Aguirre. Ana is forced to investigate the vampire attack on her own after her police department refuses to help her solve the case as they do not respect her. Ana reluctantly enlists the help of another rival vampire gang, Deep Crimson, to assist in the capture of Nick.

Domingo
Domingo is a 17 year old street kid who spends his days collecting garbage to sell in order to get by. He has messy hair and crooked teeth. He pushes around his shopping cart every day to gather enough wares to sell to the 'Rag-and-bone man'. Whilst his life seems to be the same day on repeat, he see's himself 'going places'.

Atl
Atl is a 23 year old Aztec descended vampire. She wears a black leather jacket with heavy boots. She doesn't go anywhere without her faithful Doberman, Cualli. She keeps her vampire identity a secret as they are outlawed in Mexico City.

Nick
Nick is more of a traditional vampire. He has fangs and a bad attitude to match. He is the son of the leader of The Necro's and is hunting Atl.

Ana
Ana is a Mexican Police Force detective. She is considered an expert in catching vampires as she has previous experience. Despite her expertise, she is not respected by her fellow officers, and has to investigate the vampire attacks alone.

Creation
The novel was derived from a short story written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia in 2011 called 'A Puddle of Blood' which starred a garbage collecting kid named Domingo, and a vampire named Atl. Moreno-Garcia says in a note to the reader in the reprinted edition that the Mexican actor Germán Robles was the inspiration behind some of the characters in Certain Dark Things. The novel was written among the success of the The Twilight Saga, however, editors were puzzled by the story. Eventually, it was sold to Thomas Dunne Books, however that company was reorganised and downscaled and Certain Dark Things was 'orphaned'. The novel then gained a 'cult-like' status online, with copies selling for hundreds of dollars. The novel was then acquired by Tor Nightfire who published Certain Dark Things in October 2016. After Silvia Moreno-Garcia's hit Mexican Gothic in 2020, Certain Dark Things was reprinted in May 2021 to a wave of positive reception.

Reception
Since the original published in 2016 to the reprint in 2021, Certain Dark Things has been met by almost all positive reviews. Averaging a 3.8 on Good Reads. The novel was also described as 'a compelling new take on vampires' in a review by NPR

About the author
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a Mexican-Canadian author born in Baja California in 1981. She is the author of several novels such as Velvet was the Night and Mexican Gothic. She has a masters degree in Science and Technology studies from the University of British-Colombia. She has won numerous awards for her literature including the August Derleth Award for best horror for her novel Mexican Gothic.