Synopsis:
A Head Full of Ghosts meets Mexican Gothic in Piñata, a terrifying possession tale by author and artist Leopoldo Gout.
It was supposed to be the perfect summer.
Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots.
Then, an accident in at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short.
But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what’s been awakened.
They were worshiped by our ancestors.
Now they are forgotten.
Soon, they’ll make us remember.
My Edition:
Net Galley ARC (I’m sooooo far behind on these reviews – it’s pathetic)
My Thoughts:
Do you love Old Gods? I love Old Gods. And I love reading a book that feels like a movie. Piñata is that book. Gout’s writing feels cinematic. He manages to build a world that is so rich and immersive that I promise you will forget you’re reading a book from time to time.
The world of Piñata is beautifully creepy. The Old God central to the story is a Tzitzimitl. Tzitzimimeh are celestial star demons. They are depicted as skeletal women often clothed in bone-themed garb. They are tied to darkness, and are said to cause solar eclipses. I suggest doing some reading on them – as Old Gods or “demons” go, they are pretty fascinating.
Piñata, to me, reads a bit like a combination of Don’t Look Now (I think I get those vibes because of Carmen’s job restoring a place of worship interacting with a supernatural presence) with Poltergeist by way of The Exorcist. It’s exciting, occasionally slow (in a good way!), and frequently incredibly creepy.
I find that things that when a certain type of horror starts to feel stale for me, the ticket out is almost always to look for that subject or archetype in a culture that is quite different from my own. Piñata worked perfectly for me in that respect. I’m not going to tell you the particular archetype that I had begun to find stale because I want you to go in as blind as you can, given the synopsis. But I will tell you that you probably won’t expect most of what you get from this story – in the best possible way.
Rating:
If you’re looking for something super scary, but also extremely interesting, I highly suggest checking out Piñata. Also, omg that cover art is wonderful.
Piñata
By Leopoldo Gout
Tor Nightfire
Published: March 14, 2023
Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audio
293 Pages
