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Zero Saints
Enforcer and drug dealer Fernando has seen better days. On his way home from work, some heavily-tattooed gangsters throw him in the back of a car and take him to an abandoned house, where they saw off his friend's head and feed the kid's fingers to...something. Their message is clear: this is their territory, now. But Fernando isn't put down that easily. Using the assistance of a Santeria priestess, an insane Puerto Rican pop sensation, a very human dog, and a Russian hitman, he'll build the courage (and firepower) he'll need to fight a gangbanger who's a bit more than human...
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2015
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6469 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 269 reviews
October 12, 2016
I just finished this whirlwind cocktail of a novel and I'm feeling lightheaded. The raw humanity, the surreal spell, the body and the soul that bind the elements of this story together left me reeling. The prose is both savage and tonally alluring. The nucleus explodes with both revenge and spiritual evolution. I let my Kindle translate the Spanish sections for me throughout 65% of the book. For the final 35%, I let the motion and the physicality of the words guide me. I didn't miss a beat. Highly recommended.
February 18, 2017
It's impressive how much great material author Gabino Iglesias is able to fit into such a tiny book. This, his Spanglish-language 2nd novel, is filled with everything from heavy doses of Santería and Yoruba religions, Mara Salvatrucha bangers that just may have a hint of demon in them, a hitman who is also an aspiring reggaeton artist, examinations of immigrant life, and a man who never blinks.
Her smile had all the power of the sun but didn't blind me. Instead, I wanted to look at it forever, to stay there and just look at her glorious face until everything around us turned to dust except our bodies.But this is a difficult one to review. I also find it difficult to summarize it without spoiling the experience for others. It's one of those books that feels like it truly deserves a second read to fully process. From page 1, Iglesias hit me hard, and then the book was over before I even grasped what I read. The book is engrossing though, and mixes a somber tone and moments of quiet contemplation with moments of savage, visceral violence. There's even a hint of the fantastic, what I'll call magical noirism! Not only is about a quarter of it told in untranslated Spanish, but there is also untranslated Russian and Yoruba. As I said, there's a lot going on in this one! Many might find it a difficult read, but it's definitely rewarding. Give it a look, I'll wager you've probably not read anything quite like it...
The thing about life is that time gets between facts and memories and as memories turn into what they are, facts start sliding back, moving into a space full of images from películas and skeletons from bad dreams and imagined monstruos and stuff that someone told you.
October 26, 2022
Once again, Gabino Iglesias simply stuns.
In this short crime/thriller/supernatural novel, we encounter many gods, saints, weapons, gangs, and something mysterious in a bucket.
Written in Gabino's style of Spanglish, my Kindle's translation feature sure does come in handy.
Full of darkness, mystery, faith, drugs, alcoholism, guns and a couple of wonderful dogs, this novel is sure to surprise and delight.
Highly recommended!
*I bought two copies of this book with my hard earned cash.*
In this short crime/thriller/supernatural novel, we encounter many gods, saints, weapons, gangs, and something mysterious in a bucket.
Written in Gabino's style of Spanglish, my Kindle's translation feature sure does come in handy.
Full of darkness, mystery, faith, drugs, alcoholism, guns and a couple of wonderful dogs, this novel is sure to surprise and delight.
Highly recommended!
*I bought two copies of this book with my hard earned cash.*
December 14, 2015
This was an incredible read, yet I have a difficult time wrapping my head around everything that was great about ZERO SAINTS because there was so much stuff both on the emotional, technical and intellectual level that clicked with me. First thing first, the protagonist Fernando was pretty awesome. He is a tough guy and a man of principles, yet he is alone in a way only a man of his ilk can be in a world on the edge of reality, filled with outlaws and murderers. I've had a hard time prying myself from this book because I've connected with the fear, the loneliness and the rich interior life of Fernando.
Also, It's been a while since I've read a crime novel that conveyed a sense of danger with so much immediacy. The characters are great, but they are constantly in such a state of danger, you actually feel great to be at home instead of being part of a novel. For a novel that has an understated fantasy aspect, it was a clever way to ground it in reality. I also loved the religious aspect of ZERO SAINTS as it subtly seeped into its reality and kept the reader guessing. I often speak of great novels as emotional experience, but that was one. I felt the need to talk about it right away, but I need to take in some of its power now. A short, yet SO-LID novel. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy.
Also, It's been a while since I've read a crime novel that conveyed a sense of danger with so much immediacy. The characters are great, but they are constantly in such a state of danger, you actually feel great to be at home instead of being part of a novel. For a novel that has an understated fantasy aspect, it was a clever way to ground it in reality. I also loved the religious aspect of ZERO SAINTS as it subtly seeped into its reality and kept the reader guessing. I often speak of great novels as emotional experience, but that was one. I felt the need to talk about it right away, but I need to take in some of its power now. A short, yet SO-LID novel. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy.
March 25, 2017
Un interesante conjunto y bien hecho cuento de la pérdida y la venganza. ¡Gracias, Kindle Translator! No podría haberlo hecho sin ti. Seriamente.
Por cierto, ¿qué hay en ese cubo loco? ¡Comer dedos, hombre! ¡Dedos! Y Dios sabe qué más. Si Fernando falla en su bendita misión de violencia, entonces tendrá que averiguarlo de la manera más dura.
Looking forward to reading more from Gabino Iglesias.
Por cierto, ¿qué hay en ese cubo loco? ¡Comer dedos, hombre! ¡Dedos! Y Dios sabe qué más. Si Fernando falla en su bendita misión de violencia, entonces tendrá que averiguarlo de la manera más dura.
Looking forward to reading more from Gabino Iglesias.
June 19, 2017
Wow, this book packs a LOT of punch into its pages.
Billed as a 'barrio noir,' I think that term hits pretty close. There are lots of passages en Español in here. Now me personally, I took a couple of years of Spanish in high school, so I was able to figure out maybe 50% of the non-English parts. But you know what? You don't really need to understand Spanish to suss out what's being said. Context, context, context, amigos. You can tell where someone's saying someone else is a douche, or someone's praying to a saint, or someone's pining for some authentic grub.
I personally thought that this novella (novelito?) was extremely well-written, and it comes with a few twists and genre-flavorings that I did not at all expect.
Billed as a 'barrio noir,' I think that term hits pretty close. There are lots of passages en Español in here. Now me personally, I took a couple of years of Spanish in high school, so I was able to figure out maybe 50% of the non-English parts. But you know what? You don't really need to understand Spanish to suss out what's being said. Context, context, context, amigos. You can tell where someone's saying someone else is a douche, or someone's praying to a saint, or someone's pining for some authentic grub.
I personally thought that this novella (novelito?) was extremely well-written, and it comes with a few twists and genre-flavorings that I did not at all expect.
May 17, 2019
Iglesias really does something special within these pages. Listed as a barrio noir, and mentioned as such by the author himself, this is a crime novel like no other I’ve experienced. A taste of horror, a bit of dark magic, and sections of gorgeous prose commenting on society, life, and humanity, are just a few of the things that made this read special for me. The mixture of Spanish and English throughout might be daunting for some, but the authenticity of the cultures and peoples depicted in this novel demand it.
I’ve heard he may have another novel on the way, and I’M HERE FOR IT.
I’ve heard he may have another novel on the way, and I’M HERE FOR IT.
March 1, 2016
In Gabino Iglesias’s barrio noir Zero Saints, ex-pat Mexican drug dealer Fernando finds himself targeted by a gang of rival bangers from hell – maybe literally from hell. This book is getting a lot of hype, and deservedly so. It’s a kick in the teeth of a crime novella, interwoven with religion and the supernatural like a Tex-Mex John Connelly. Moments of beauty are punctuated by scenes of quite shocking violence – for someone who considers himself pretty desensitized, that’s saying something. And hey, I even picked up a little Spanish. One question, G. What’s in that fucking bucket?
November 6, 2015
This is a fantastic read and definitely Gabino Iglesias at his best. It's the second book I've read by him this year and they're about as different as two books can possibly be.
Zero Saints is intense, grimy, almost holy, and full of violence and pain. The violence is institutional, systemic, but also present and active and very real in an immediate sense. There are brutal men here. Men who may be demons. Demons who may be men.
Iglesias tells a personal story about drugs, immigration, cultural heritage, religion, and violence with touches of postcolonialism and humor, which are really difficult things to tie together. These characters are felt deeply and they're real to me. Real in tangible and concrete ways because I know people like this.
But, yeah, fantastic stuff. It begins with so much intensity that you can't imagine anything else living up to it, but this novel never really stops, it only takes a few breaths. It's a quick, intense, and fast paced read with plenty going on beneath the surface.
Iglesias is something else. You gotta watch out for whatever he does next.
Zero Saints is intense, grimy, almost holy, and full of violence and pain. The violence is institutional, systemic, but also present and active and very real in an immediate sense. There are brutal men here. Men who may be demons. Demons who may be men.
Iglesias tells a personal story about drugs, immigration, cultural heritage, religion, and violence with touches of postcolonialism and humor, which are really difficult things to tie together. These characters are felt deeply and they're real to me. Real in tangible and concrete ways because I know people like this.
But, yeah, fantastic stuff. It begins with so much intensity that you can't imagine anything else living up to it, but this novel never really stops, it only takes a few breaths. It's a quick, intense, and fast paced read with plenty going on beneath the surface.
Iglesias is something else. You gotta watch out for whatever he does next.
June 15, 2016
What an original, violent, oddly beautiful, bat-shit-crazy mix of crime and horror. I loved it.
October 13, 2020
Updated as now on STORGY.com
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Zero Saints, in my humble opinion, is just that little bit better than Coyote Songs. I bloody loved Coyote Songs, but this one is just off the chain, crazy good!
Please don’t hit me in the face (I know Coyote Songs holds a special place in peoples hearts), or chop my fingers off and drop them into the bucket, I mean no disrespect it’s just my opinion.
And whilst we are on that subject… what the hell is in the BUCKET Gabino?
Tell me, I wan’t to know? Or do I? Or will it be like playing out the climactic scene in Se7en where Brad Pitt is screaming about wanting to know what’s in the box? We all know how well that turned out. So on second thoughts Gabino – you keep that dirty little secret and your bloody bucket!
Anyway I’ve gone totally off point, so let’s bring this back to the review.
Zero Saints is a brutal ride into the dark and gritty underbelly of Austin – a shit-kicking, whiskey drinking, nacho eating, no nonsense kind a place. A place that’s riddled with the lowest of the low, where immigrants find a way of life, where the wealthy keep the poor under the heel of their boot and a place where drug dealers thrive and addicts run rampant. It’s where hit men and enforcers mingle in dive bars and strip joints.
And now, this hellhole that is Austin is where a heavily-tattooed group of gangsters are hoping to make a name for themselves and have taken up residence, moving in like a cancer to chew this place up and shit out what’s left over.
‘The American dream is as false as the meat in your one-dollar burger and the canned laughter you hear on television.’
These gangsters are determined on taking over the local drug racket and will carve this landscape up and keep the lions share for themselves. They’ll take it by force if they have too, and these brutal gangbangers have something else on their side, which, might be a bit more than human.
Strap yourselves in for the ride of your life. Things are going to get bumpy and bloody, you’ll be thrown about at will and tossed through the windshield like a crash-test-dummy. This is a race for survival, where all bets are off and the winner takes all.
Zero Saints starts like an olympic sprinter out of the blocks, it’s fast, brutal and shows no signs of slowing down. Our protagonist Fernando is kidnapped by a bunch of gangbangers and taken to a dingy part of town in the boot of a car, it’s one hell of an introduction to our protagonist, the voice of Fernando is brilliant and pulls the reader right in. He’s pulled out of the car and taken into what appears to be an abandoned house, where he has to witness a friend being tortured and then beheaded. It’s brutal, grotesque and sets the tone for all the crazy that’s about to be unleashed on the reader.
Did I mention that there’s also a bucket. I can hear you saying, ‘Ross, give it a rest about this bucket‘ but I can’t. These gangbangers tear and saw and pull pieces off the man they’re torturing, and one-by-one they deposit these offerings into a bucket. As the morsels of flesh fall in, there’s the splat but it’s then followed by an audible crunch. It’s only a subtle thing, something that has no relevance on any of the narrative that follows, but like an itch you can’t scratch it stayed with me through the whole damn book. It’ll stay with you too, mark my words. I still hear it in my nightmares…
Gabino’s prose is on fire in this book, it’s unflinching as you would expect (it’s one of the reasons I love his work), it’s also beautifully poetic and masterfully woven together, there’s gorgeous work on similes and metaphors that at times had me salivating with its brilliance. There’s one piece of writing in particular that really blew me away, it’s just absolutely stunning (page 117) it’s just masterful.
‘Sometimes the best thing that happens to other people is an unloaded gun.’
Gabino Iglesias is the Mexican Bukowski – it’s a bold statement but one that I stand fully behind. Gabino’s work on broken characters is reminiscent of the master himself, it is as if Bukowski were guiding Iglesias’ pen whilst writing the scintillating Zero Saints. The prose and narrative in Zero Saints can also be compared to the bleakness, grittiness and utter thrill ride that was Cormac McCarthy’s ‘No Country For Old Men’.
Gabino Iglesias is elbowing his way into that bracket of writers that I just can’t get enough of, he’s rubbing shoulders with greatness… so he best pull up a chair and make himself comfortable, because on this form (and Coyote Songs) I think he’ll be sticking around for a while.
Zero Saints is a freight train derailment of a book and one that truly leaves its mark on the reader, hardboiled crime with a huge slice of horror. Brilliantly brutal and utterly engrossing.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Zero Saints, in my humble opinion, is just that little bit better than Coyote Songs. I bloody loved Coyote Songs, but this one is just off the chain, crazy good!
Please don’t hit me in the face (I know Coyote Songs holds a special place in peoples hearts), or chop my fingers off and drop them into the bucket, I mean no disrespect it’s just my opinion.
And whilst we are on that subject… what the hell is in the BUCKET Gabino?
Tell me, I wan’t to know? Or do I? Or will it be like playing out the climactic scene in Se7en where Brad Pitt is screaming about wanting to know what’s in the box? We all know how well that turned out. So on second thoughts Gabino – you keep that dirty little secret and your bloody bucket!
Anyway I’ve gone totally off point, so let’s bring this back to the review.
Zero Saints is a brutal ride into the dark and gritty underbelly of Austin – a shit-kicking, whiskey drinking, nacho eating, no nonsense kind a place. A place that’s riddled with the lowest of the low, where immigrants find a way of life, where the wealthy keep the poor under the heel of their boot and a place where drug dealers thrive and addicts run rampant. It’s where hit men and enforcers mingle in dive bars and strip joints.
And now, this hellhole that is Austin is where a heavily-tattooed group of gangsters are hoping to make a name for themselves and have taken up residence, moving in like a cancer to chew this place up and shit out what’s left over.
‘The American dream is as false as the meat in your one-dollar burger and the canned laughter you hear on television.’
These gangsters are determined on taking over the local drug racket and will carve this landscape up and keep the lions share for themselves. They’ll take it by force if they have too, and these brutal gangbangers have something else on their side, which, might be a bit more than human.
Strap yourselves in for the ride of your life. Things are going to get bumpy and bloody, you’ll be thrown about at will and tossed through the windshield like a crash-test-dummy. This is a race for survival, where all bets are off and the winner takes all.
Zero Saints starts like an olympic sprinter out of the blocks, it’s fast, brutal and shows no signs of slowing down. Our protagonist Fernando is kidnapped by a bunch of gangbangers and taken to a dingy part of town in the boot of a car, it’s one hell of an introduction to our protagonist, the voice of Fernando is brilliant and pulls the reader right in. He’s pulled out of the car and taken into what appears to be an abandoned house, where he has to witness a friend being tortured and then beheaded. It’s brutal, grotesque and sets the tone for all the crazy that’s about to be unleashed on the reader.
Did I mention that there’s also a bucket. I can hear you saying, ‘Ross, give it a rest about this bucket‘ but I can’t. These gangbangers tear and saw and pull pieces off the man they’re torturing, and one-by-one they deposit these offerings into a bucket. As the morsels of flesh fall in, there’s the splat but it’s then followed by an audible crunch. It’s only a subtle thing, something that has no relevance on any of the narrative that follows, but like an itch you can’t scratch it stayed with me through the whole damn book. It’ll stay with you too, mark my words. I still hear it in my nightmares…
Gabino’s prose is on fire in this book, it’s unflinching as you would expect (it’s one of the reasons I love his work), it’s also beautifully poetic and masterfully woven together, there’s gorgeous work on similes and metaphors that at times had me salivating with its brilliance. There’s one piece of writing in particular that really blew me away, it’s just absolutely stunning (page 117) it’s just masterful.
‘Sometimes the best thing that happens to other people is an unloaded gun.’
Gabino Iglesias is the Mexican Bukowski – it’s a bold statement but one that I stand fully behind. Gabino’s work on broken characters is reminiscent of the master himself, it is as if Bukowski were guiding Iglesias’ pen whilst writing the scintillating Zero Saints. The prose and narrative in Zero Saints can also be compared to the bleakness, grittiness and utter thrill ride that was Cormac McCarthy’s ‘No Country For Old Men’.
Gabino Iglesias is elbowing his way into that bracket of writers that I just can’t get enough of, he’s rubbing shoulders with greatness… so he best pull up a chair and make himself comfortable, because on this form (and Coyote Songs) I think he’ll be sticking around for a while.
Zero Saints is a freight train derailment of a book and one that truly leaves its mark on the reader, hardboiled crime with a huge slice of horror. Brilliantly brutal and utterly engrossing.
September 25, 2023
5/5✨
🐙 "Mi pecho quería implosionar, engullirme, ayudarles a desaparecer. Del polvo venimos y al polvo vamos, pero lo cabrón del asunto es que no eres capaz de transformarte en polvo sin dolor cuando más lo necesitas.”
🧙♂️ Santamuerte, protégeme de mis enemigos, haz lo mismo con los míos. Cada día me arrodillo a ti y te rindo tributo para que el de enfrente sea el que te mire a los ojos. Haz que esto siempre sea así. Santamuerte, agarra de la pechera a los malvados, masacra a quien se cruce por mi camino porque haré lo que sea para proteger a los que me protegen.
🕯️ Oí decir hace poco, a una persona a la que aprecio, que no conectaba con la poesía porque no había leído el tipo de poesía correcta. Justo eso me pasa con el noir. Lo he intentando en numerosas ocasiones pero pocas veces he terminado de conectar con el estilo. Muchas veces por el exceso de barroquismo, otras porque se nota a la legua lo incómodo que se encuentra el autor con el estilo. El caso es que es un género que con demasiada frecuencia se me atraganta.
Con Gabino he conectado desde la primera frase. Hay libros que pasan como un torbellino y este es uno de ellos. La prosa de Gabino Iglesias es apabullante, deslumbrante. Siempre se dice que lo importante en una novela no es lo que se cuenta sino cómo se cuenta. Justo con ese concepto hace aquí el escritor toda una clase magistral. Con una economía de palabras brutal, el estilo de Iglesias se basa casi más en lo que sugiere, muy al estilo del bueno de Ketchum, que en lo que cuenta. Me ha encantado como te hace entrar en un juego en el que tu mente monta la historia con una mínima cantidad de detalles, ¡pero es que el resto está en las palabras que no están!
Otro detalle importante es escribir sobre lo que uno conoce. Y aquí Gabino lo hace igualmente. Utiliza su herencia cultural, algo que hacen con mucha frecuencia los escritores latinos, entrando en terrenos sobrenaturales tocando lugares menos comunes y más coloridos que los que habitualmente visita la literatura anglosajona (V. Castro o Silvia Moreno García son otros ejemplos de este tipo de reivindicación, incluso el propio Stephen Graham Jones en otro ámbito). Y justo en ese "tributo a los suyos" es donde la novela brilla especialmente.
La edición, ya agotada de Dilatando Mentes, es una auténtica maravilla. Con fotos realizadas por el propio autor y una traducción muy trabajada, en la que ha colaborado el propio autor. Probablemente es uno de los libros más bellamente editados por esta editorial.
Recomendable, muy recomendable. Fans de Ketchum, fans de Tarantino... este es vuestro escritor. Recientemente ganador del premio Bram Stoker por su novela "The devil takes you home" esperamos pronto ver más obras de él traducidas porque estamos ante un escritor de muy altísimo nivel.
¿Qué os parece?¿Lo habéis leído?
🐙 "Mi pecho quería implosionar, engullirme, ayudarles a desaparecer. Del polvo venimos y al polvo vamos, pero lo cabrón del asunto es que no eres capaz de transformarte en polvo sin dolor cuando más lo necesitas.”
🧙♂️ Santamuerte, protégeme de mis enemigos, haz lo mismo con los míos. Cada día me arrodillo a ti y te rindo tributo para que el de enfrente sea el que te mire a los ojos. Haz que esto siempre sea así. Santamuerte, agarra de la pechera a los malvados, masacra a quien se cruce por mi camino porque haré lo que sea para proteger a los que me protegen.
🕯️ Oí decir hace poco, a una persona a la que aprecio, que no conectaba con la poesía porque no había leído el tipo de poesía correcta. Justo eso me pasa con el noir. Lo he intentando en numerosas ocasiones pero pocas veces he terminado de conectar con el estilo. Muchas veces por el exceso de barroquismo, otras porque se nota a la legua lo incómodo que se encuentra el autor con el estilo. El caso es que es un género que con demasiada frecuencia se me atraganta.
Con Gabino he conectado desde la primera frase. Hay libros que pasan como un torbellino y este es uno de ellos. La prosa de Gabino Iglesias es apabullante, deslumbrante. Siempre se dice que lo importante en una novela no es lo que se cuenta sino cómo se cuenta. Justo con ese concepto hace aquí el escritor toda una clase magistral. Con una economía de palabras brutal, el estilo de Iglesias se basa casi más en lo que sugiere, muy al estilo del bueno de Ketchum, que en lo que cuenta. Me ha encantado como te hace entrar en un juego en el que tu mente monta la historia con una mínima cantidad de detalles, ¡pero es que el resto está en las palabras que no están!
Otro detalle importante es escribir sobre lo que uno conoce. Y aquí Gabino lo hace igualmente. Utiliza su herencia cultural, algo que hacen con mucha frecuencia los escritores latinos, entrando en terrenos sobrenaturales tocando lugares menos comunes y más coloridos que los que habitualmente visita la literatura anglosajona (V. Castro o Silvia Moreno García son otros ejemplos de este tipo de reivindicación, incluso el propio Stephen Graham Jones en otro ámbito). Y justo en ese "tributo a los suyos" es donde la novela brilla especialmente.
La edición, ya agotada de Dilatando Mentes, es una auténtica maravilla. Con fotos realizadas por el propio autor y una traducción muy trabajada, en la que ha colaborado el propio autor. Probablemente es uno de los libros más bellamente editados por esta editorial.
Recomendable, muy recomendable. Fans de Ketchum, fans de Tarantino... este es vuestro escritor. Recientemente ganador del premio Bram Stoker por su novela "The devil takes you home" esperamos pronto ver más obras de él traducidas porque estamos ante un escritor de muy altísimo nivel.
¿Qué os parece?¿Lo habéis leído?
June 13, 2024
“Oggún oko dara obaniché aguanile ichegún iré”
Esta oración es para asegurarse que Oggún aceptará el sacrificio, que el derramamiento de sangre va a ser de su agrado.
Nando,un ilegal que huye de México para alejarse de unas personas que le quieren muerto, recalará en Austin, Estados Unidos; seguro que su vida allí será mucho mejor, nada puede ser peor que en México.
¡Ay Nando, qué equivocado estabas!
Dedicándose al trapicheo de drogas, un buen día se verá inmerso en una situación inesperada y sangrienta que olerá a muerte, porque Nando no escuchó a esos “pinches cabrones” esos que le golpearon en la cabeza por detrás y lo metieron en el maletero de un coche.
“Santa Muerte, mi Señora Blanca, Señora Negra, a tus pies me postro para pedirte, para suplicarte, que hagas sentir tu fuerza, tu poder y tu omnipotencia contra los que intenten destruirme”
Desde este punto de partida, seremos los principales testigos de las andanzas y desventuras de Nando en su propia lucha por sobrevivir.
Esta es una historia de violencia desmedida, de cultos, de brujería y santería, de maras, en definitiva de muerte 💀.
“Lo peor de la muerte es lo que les hace a los vivos”
Un noir muy rápido que lees de una sentada, que no deja lugar a la imaginación: aquí todo se narra sin filtros, explícita.
Es sencilla en cuanto a su trama, sin grandes complicaciones pero violenta y sangrienta como pocas. Ha sido como asistir a una mezcla de alguna película de Tarantino y “Perdita Durango” de Álex De la Iglesia juntas.
Con esta edición numerada de Dilatando Mentes hay que quitarse el sombrero, posiblemente sea una de las ediciones más bonitas que hayan tenido en catálogo (no sé si la habrán reeditado, estaba agotada).
Esta edición cuenta con fotografías del autor, con ilustraciones en blanco y negro de calaveras del propio imaginario mexicano.
Casi toda la novela está narrada con frases y vocablos del español mexicano que se han mantenido de su edición original que curiosamente está escrita en inglés.
En definitiva, Gabino Iglesias, será un autor que seguiré leyendo. Ya tengo por casa “Devil takes you home”
Esta oración es para asegurarse que Oggún aceptará el sacrificio, que el derramamiento de sangre va a ser de su agrado.
Nando,un ilegal que huye de México para alejarse de unas personas que le quieren muerto, recalará en Austin, Estados Unidos; seguro que su vida allí será mucho mejor, nada puede ser peor que en México.
¡Ay Nando, qué equivocado estabas!
Dedicándose al trapicheo de drogas, un buen día se verá inmerso en una situación inesperada y sangrienta que olerá a muerte, porque Nando no escuchó a esos “pinches cabrones” esos que le golpearon en la cabeza por detrás y lo metieron en el maletero de un coche.
“Santa Muerte, mi Señora Blanca, Señora Negra, a tus pies me postro para pedirte, para suplicarte, que hagas sentir tu fuerza, tu poder y tu omnipotencia contra los que intenten destruirme”
Desde este punto de partida, seremos los principales testigos de las andanzas y desventuras de Nando en su propia lucha por sobrevivir.
Esta es una historia de violencia desmedida, de cultos, de brujería y santería, de maras, en definitiva de muerte 💀.
“Lo peor de la muerte es lo que les hace a los vivos”
Un noir muy rápido que lees de una sentada, que no deja lugar a la imaginación: aquí todo se narra sin filtros, explícita.
Es sencilla en cuanto a su trama, sin grandes complicaciones pero violenta y sangrienta como pocas. Ha sido como asistir a una mezcla de alguna película de Tarantino y “Perdita Durango” de Álex De la Iglesia juntas.
Con esta edición numerada de Dilatando Mentes hay que quitarse el sombrero, posiblemente sea una de las ediciones más bonitas que hayan tenido en catálogo (no sé si la habrán reeditado, estaba agotada).
Esta edición cuenta con fotografías del autor, con ilustraciones en blanco y negro de calaveras del propio imaginario mexicano.
Casi toda la novela está narrada con frases y vocablos del español mexicano que se han mantenido de su edición original que curiosamente está escrita en inglés.
En definitiva, Gabino Iglesias, será un autor que seguiré leyendo. Ya tengo por casa “Devil takes you home”
May 28, 2022
TW: homophobic terms in Spanish
What an insane blood soaked ride with an ending to match! Even though the MC Fernando flees Mexico after pissing of the wrong people, he can’t help himself falling back into a line of work, dealing drugs, that has been lucrative for him, but he could be doing this at his own peril. There are no saints, but the demons he prays for protection from are very real in human form. Zero Saints is both brutal and bleak, with a tentative relief at the end. I couldn’t put down the end couple dozen pages of this book because how everything turned out was so crazy!
What an insane blood soaked ride with an ending to match! Even though the MC Fernando flees Mexico after pissing of the wrong people, he can’t help himself falling back into a line of work, dealing drugs, that has been lucrative for him, but he could be doing this at his own peril. There are no saints, but the demons he prays for protection from are very real in human form. Zero Saints is both brutal and bleak, with a tentative relief at the end. I couldn’t put down the end couple dozen pages of this book because how everything turned out was so crazy!
November 12, 2015
A ferocious book, and I learned some new words, too! Gabino Iglesias' new novel is full of Spanish thought bubbles and slang and asides that are expertly rationed and don't confuse at all. Kind of like what Burgess did in A Clockwork Orange, maybe more like what Cypress Hill did on their Greatest Hits, but twice as murderous as either. Context more than gets you through the language Chimera, and the author's strategy pays off big time, highlighting the dangerous, otherworldly beauty of the borderlands, especially Iglesias' blood-red Mexico, "un monstruo," which eats the unwary like popcorn, sometimes fingers first. Violent as hell. Sad, too. I devoured it fast, before it ate me instead.
January 17, 2023
3.5* too many passages, sentences, half sentences in Mexican.
October 29, 2025
Oscura y potente que mezcla violencia, fe y redención en el corazón de la frontera mexicana.
A través de la figura de la Santa Muerte, el autor explora cómo la religión, la cultura y la supervivencia se entrelazan en la vida cotidiana de México.
Mezcla el realismo sucio con lo sobrenatural para hablar de fe, culpa y supervivencia en un mundo donde la frontera entre el bien y el mal se desdibuja. Me ha gustado cómo el autor combina el lenguaje callejero con una narrativa casi poética, creando una atmósfera tensa pero muy viva.
Me ha impresionado cómo logra convertir ese entorno tan crudo en algo lleno de simbolismo y humanidad.
A través de la figura de la Santa Muerte, el autor explora cómo la religión, la cultura y la supervivencia se entrelazan en la vida cotidiana de México.
Mezcla el realismo sucio con lo sobrenatural para hablar de fe, culpa y supervivencia en un mundo donde la frontera entre el bien y el mal se desdibuja. Me ha gustado cómo el autor combina el lenguaje callejero con una narrativa casi poética, creando una atmósfera tensa pero muy viva.
Me ha impresionado cómo logra convertir ese entorno tan crudo en algo lleno de simbolismo y humanidad.
June 27, 2025
Being a character in Gabino’s imagination must be a scary place to live. I’m glad I get to sit outside and read about it in a book.
If you haven’t read a Gabino Iglesias book, you absolutely should.
If you haven’t read a Gabino Iglesias book, you absolutely should.
February 13, 2026
We need more horror crime fiction
May 23, 2016
Zero Saints is as gritty and uncompromising a novel you will find while still being glad you read it. Gabino Iglesias places his story in Austin, Texas. It is not the urban chic Austin of SXSW or Austin City Limits but the Austin of gangs, drug dealers and a displaced people. Fernando has crossed from Mexico into the Austin streets but have not escaped the terror of the gangs. While his life is still hard, being a drug-dealer in Austin is still better than the horrors that affected his family south of the border. But he is about to realize that may no longer be true. At the beginning of Zero Saints, he has been abducted by a group of drug dealers who want him to take a message to his boss that they were taking over some of the territory. That message includes Fernando watching his friend being tortured and having his head sawed off. This new gang is of a level that is past anything Fernando has experienced. . They seem to have special powers emanating from a source of dark magic. Even Fernando's paid enforcers are afraid to take them on. But Fernando has a need for revenge and honor even when everything tells him it is hopeless.
There are many things that make this novel stand out from the load of similar crime and gang novels. First is the main character. Fernando may not be what most readers consider a role model but he is honorable in his own way. He has values and faith. That is something the reader can identify with. The second thing is the language in the book. Almost half is in Spanish yet it does not slow it down. It flows effortlessly through the pages blending into the plot and action. I could read some of it even though I do not understand Spanish very well, it is the language of the streets that I am familiar with. Let's just say the Spanish I heard as a child was not taught in the schools. Yet except for occasional large portions of prayer, it is not only easy to get the gist but it places you there in the midst of the action and angst. And that leads to the third reason this book is so vibrant. The flow. It doesn't stop whether it is violent action or a tense conversation or the moving emotions of the past and present going through the mind of the protagonist. Iglesias have developed in under 200 pages a very real glimpse of life in these parts of the United States. The supernatural aspects are only a tease to the real messages in this book.
If I read Zero Saints last year when it came out, there would be no doubt it would have been on my top ten list. But I didn't. That is no reason to miss it. As long as we have urban life, as long as cultures collide, and as long as we tolerate an underclass of immigrants, this book will have relevance. I give my top recommendation to Zero Saints
There are many things that make this novel stand out from the load of similar crime and gang novels. First is the main character. Fernando may not be what most readers consider a role model but he is honorable in his own way. He has values and faith. That is something the reader can identify with. The second thing is the language in the book. Almost half is in Spanish yet it does not slow it down. It flows effortlessly through the pages blending into the plot and action. I could read some of it even though I do not understand Spanish very well, it is the language of the streets that I am familiar with. Let's just say the Spanish I heard as a child was not taught in the schools. Yet except for occasional large portions of prayer, it is not only easy to get the gist but it places you there in the midst of the action and angst. And that leads to the third reason this book is so vibrant. The flow. It doesn't stop whether it is violent action or a tense conversation or the moving emotions of the past and present going through the mind of the protagonist. Iglesias have developed in under 200 pages a very real glimpse of life in these parts of the United States. The supernatural aspects are only a tease to the real messages in this book.
If I read Zero Saints last year when it came out, there would be no doubt it would have been on my top ten list. But I didn't. That is no reason to miss it. As long as we have urban life, as long as cultures collide, and as long as we tolerate an underclass of immigrants, this book will have relevance. I give my top recommendation to Zero Saints
April 9, 2020
Following ‘Fiebre Tropical’ this was my second ‘Frontera’ novel, or whatever they call writings covering people from South American roots living in the States that are written in a mix of English and Spanish. Again, despite never having officially studied Spanish, I had little difficulty getting what was going down. Unlike ‘Fiebre’, pretty much a romance story, this is a real gang coming of age piece set in Austin, Texas, which certainly has its gory moments. I appreciated the story it was telling, and there were parts I really liked, but it never really rose above just that. I will buy and try his ‘Coyote Songs’ should it jump out at me on the bookstore shelves, but only if that happens.
February 1, 2016
Zero Saints is no nonsense noir that is impressive on many levels. The writing is technically superb, yet retains a lyricism without ever trying too hard. Fernando's story is gritty and uncompromising. The struggles, the emotions, the setting, the supernatural and religious elements, they are all conveyed so well. Gabino Iglesias is for real. This book hits hard and doesn't let up, earning it’s place among my all time favorite reads.
February 6, 2017
Dark, sharp, and at times incredibly brutal. I fucking LOVED IT! Full review to come.
June 23, 2023
4.5 rounded up
Dark and gritty, great characters and story.
Dark and gritty, great characters and story.
March 3, 2016
So. Gabino Iglesias. I had never read any of his work before. To be honest, I didn't really know that he was a fiction author. We were facebook friends and I had read a ton of book cubrirreviews by him. In fact, I greatly admire him as a book reviewer and follow his reviews avidly. But I had never encountered his fiction. Then I started seeing this book pop up over and over again. All over Facebook and Twitter people were raving about it, and it got so hot the feds had to step in to keep it from burning down the internet. You all remember that, right? Well, I might be exaggerating just a tad, but that's the way it should have gone. The book is ZERO SAINTS and if things happened the way they should in life the internet would be a smoking ruin right now.
Being 100% serious, there really were a lot of people that I trust and respect talking up this book around my various social media feeds and, among those of us heavy into dark noir, it was an exceptionally hot topic. Hot enough that I had to get my hands on a copy as soon as I possibly could. And I'm so, so glad I did. ZERO SAINTS is like nothing I've read in this sub-genre before. Iglesias himself describes it as barrio noir and that's actually pretty apt. It's the story of a superstitious drug dealer and cartel enforcer, Fernando, an unwilling immigrant to southern Texas who finds himself at odds with a rival gang led by a ruthless and terrifying man who might have been spawned in the depths of hell.
In ZERO SAINTS Gabino Iglesias does something that I've seen done before, but rarely with any great success. In fact, the only name that comes to mind, other than Iglesias, is Cormac McCarthy. What I'm talking about is the use of Macaronic language, the integration of one language into the context of another. In McCarthy's case, his usage is strictly a Spanish/English crossover or what people refer to as Spanglish. With Iglesias' book, it's mostly Spanish but he also does it successfully with Russian in a few places. For those of you who are sitting there trying to figure out what the fuck I'm talking about, here's a sample, in which Iglesias unwittingly describes the essence of the book:
"Todo deja de ser roca para convertirse en agua. Everything flows. Everything acquires the consistency of shadows seen in dreams."
This is done frequently throughout the narrative, but never clumsily, and it's really quite beautiful, even poetic, in it's execution.
ZERO SAINTS is straightforward, hardcore noir fiction, sometimes brutally violent, fast paced, and brooding. It's also brutally honest at times and looks issues like poverty and immigration right in the face boldly and fearlessly:
"What happens when you cross la frontera is that you want to clean up, find a good job somewhere, meet a beautiful, sweet girl. You want the American Dream. But fuck all that. The American Dream is as false as the meat in your one-dollar burger and the canned laughter you hear on television. And it’s even worse for you. You have no skills and no diploma and no friends and no nada. You’re a problem. Un ilegal más. A beaner. A television joke. A wetback. You’re nothing but an issue brainless white politicians discuss from the safety of their offices."
Having read tons of hardcore dark crime and noir of every type, I can honestly say that ZERO SAINTS is completely unique, both in content and execution. It's crime and violence with a bite, but it's also literary, with an underlying philosophy that is lacking in a lot of noir fiction. It's also rife with underpinnings of horror and the supernatural, with elements that will scare the hell out of you. That's no exaggeration. Parts of this book literally gave me chills and it's no easy feat to scare me.
I haven't had so much raw, unadulterated fun with a book in a long time and I can't wait to see what comes out of Iglesias' masterful pen next. And I hope to god he revisits Fernando and delivers more of this delightful, unique "barrio noir" that he's so adept at. As he should be since he pretty much created it. Gabino Iglesias is a rockstar wordsmith and ZERO SAINTS is not the work of a one trick pony. I have a feeling Iglesias will be a name that fans of dark fiction will utter again and again in the coming months and years. I certainly hope it is, and you will too after you read ZERO SAINTS. Go get it. Read it before you die.
Being 100% serious, there really were a lot of people that I trust and respect talking up this book around my various social media feeds and, among those of us heavy into dark noir, it was an exceptionally hot topic. Hot enough that I had to get my hands on a copy as soon as I possibly could. And I'm so, so glad I did. ZERO SAINTS is like nothing I've read in this sub-genre before. Iglesias himself describes it as barrio noir and that's actually pretty apt. It's the story of a superstitious drug dealer and cartel enforcer, Fernando, an unwilling immigrant to southern Texas who finds himself at odds with a rival gang led by a ruthless and terrifying man who might have been spawned in the depths of hell.
In ZERO SAINTS Gabino Iglesias does something that I've seen done before, but rarely with any great success. In fact, the only name that comes to mind, other than Iglesias, is Cormac McCarthy. What I'm talking about is the use of Macaronic language, the integration of one language into the context of another. In McCarthy's case, his usage is strictly a Spanish/English crossover or what people refer to as Spanglish. With Iglesias' book, it's mostly Spanish but he also does it successfully with Russian in a few places. For those of you who are sitting there trying to figure out what the fuck I'm talking about, here's a sample, in which Iglesias unwittingly describes the essence of the book:
"Todo deja de ser roca para convertirse en agua. Everything flows. Everything acquires the consistency of shadows seen in dreams."
This is done frequently throughout the narrative, but never clumsily, and it's really quite beautiful, even poetic, in it's execution.
ZERO SAINTS is straightforward, hardcore noir fiction, sometimes brutally violent, fast paced, and brooding. It's also brutally honest at times and looks issues like poverty and immigration right in the face boldly and fearlessly:
"What happens when you cross la frontera is that you want to clean up, find a good job somewhere, meet a beautiful, sweet girl. You want the American Dream. But fuck all that. The American Dream is as false as the meat in your one-dollar burger and the canned laughter you hear on television. And it’s even worse for you. You have no skills and no diploma and no friends and no nada. You’re a problem. Un ilegal más. A beaner. A television joke. A wetback. You’re nothing but an issue brainless white politicians discuss from the safety of their offices."
Having read tons of hardcore dark crime and noir of every type, I can honestly say that ZERO SAINTS is completely unique, both in content and execution. It's crime and violence with a bite, but it's also literary, with an underlying philosophy that is lacking in a lot of noir fiction. It's also rife with underpinnings of horror and the supernatural, with elements that will scare the hell out of you. That's no exaggeration. Parts of this book literally gave me chills and it's no easy feat to scare me.
I haven't had so much raw, unadulterated fun with a book in a long time and I can't wait to see what comes out of Iglesias' masterful pen next. And I hope to god he revisits Fernando and delivers more of this delightful, unique "barrio noir" that he's so adept at. As he should be since he pretty much created it. Gabino Iglesias is a rockstar wordsmith and ZERO SAINTS is not the work of a one trick pony. I have a feeling Iglesias will be a name that fans of dark fiction will utter again and again in the coming months and years. I certainly hope it is, and you will too after you read ZERO SAINTS. Go get it. Read it before you die.
October 25, 2020
Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias is as noir as any gritty classic by Jim Thompson, James M Cain or Ross MacDonald.
I’m not entirely sure this officially qualifies as horror, but there are plenty of scary scenes, Santeria rituals, and acts of violence to keep you flying through the quick chapters of this intense read.
Any book worth your time can sometimes take some effort. I don’t read Spanish, and there are a lot of passages that are written in Spanish without translation. This proved to be a challenge, but I’m OK with being reminded by the author that I should have paid closer attention to my own neighborhood in Queens when I was 14 and chose to learn Spanish instead of Italian.
And I will tell you that some of these untranslated paragraphs were indecipherable without a translation app, while at other times I surprised myself with how many Spanish words I’ve picked up just from life experience. Oh, did I mention there is some untranslated Russian thrown in for good measure?
While you may get slowed down by some of the Spanish (there’s also plenty mixed in with the English), don’t let this otherwise blazingly fast-paced “barrio noir” crime novel stop you from devouring it. Remember the first time you saw a Quentin Tarantino movie and were kind of awed by his audacity? That’s the best way for me to describe Gabino Iglesias and Zero Saints.
I’m not entirely sure this officially qualifies as horror, but there are plenty of scary scenes, Santeria rituals, and acts of violence to keep you flying through the quick chapters of this intense read.
Any book worth your time can sometimes take some effort. I don’t read Spanish, and there are a lot of passages that are written in Spanish without translation. This proved to be a challenge, but I’m OK with being reminded by the author that I should have paid closer attention to my own neighborhood in Queens when I was 14 and chose to learn Spanish instead of Italian.
And I will tell you that some of these untranslated paragraphs were indecipherable without a translation app, while at other times I surprised myself with how many Spanish words I’ve picked up just from life experience. Oh, did I mention there is some untranslated Russian thrown in for good measure?
While you may get slowed down by some of the Spanish (there’s also plenty mixed in with the English), don’t let this otherwise blazingly fast-paced “barrio noir” crime novel stop you from devouring it. Remember the first time you saw a Quentin Tarantino movie and were kind of awed by his audacity? That’s the best way for me to describe Gabino Iglesias and Zero Saints.
July 15, 2016
Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias was published by Broken River Books late in 2015. A quick, propulsive tale packed with violence and threat, in which a gang-connected drug dealer on the dark side of Austin, Texas receives a warning from a group of rivals, who might also be demons. Fernando tries to find the right path through a dangerous milieu that stretches across the border into Mexico, venturing there and back again.
I don’t know who came up with the phrase “Barrio noir,” but it fits. Some readers have complained about the amount of Spanish or “Spanglish” mixed into the text, but I found this helped create a sense of atmosphere, of partial foreignness or at least separateness from the dominant American culture more familiar to many of us. It allowed me to believe I was seeing through Fernando’s eyes, and let me feel privy to his thoughts.
Visceral and tough, poetic and beautiful yet oh-so-dark. Zero Saints is a highly recommended thrill ride, artfully told, and sets Gabino Iglesias apart from the bulk of his neo-noir contemporaries. I can’t wait to see what this guy does next!
I don’t know who came up with the phrase “Barrio noir,” but it fits. Some readers have complained about the amount of Spanish or “Spanglish” mixed into the text, but I found this helped create a sense of atmosphere, of partial foreignness or at least separateness from the dominant American culture more familiar to many of us. It allowed me to believe I was seeing through Fernando’s eyes, and let me feel privy to his thoughts.
Visceral and tough, poetic and beautiful yet oh-so-dark. Zero Saints is a highly recommended thrill ride, artfully told, and sets Gabino Iglesias apart from the bulk of his neo-noir contemporaries. I can’t wait to see what this guy does next!
February 26, 2018
La simplicidad de No hay santos alcanza todos los aspectos que uno quiera analizar, desde la caracterización de los personajes hasta el hilo narrativo o la construcción de diálogos. Si bien en otros casos esto podría ser un elemento desfavorable, Gabino Iglesias utiliza la concisión con maestría, mostrando en cada caso solo lo que quiere transmitir. No hay nada superfluo ni accesorio. Nando es un inmigrante mejicano que llega a Austin huyendo de un pasado oscuro y sobrevive trapicheando con drogas, para verse sumergido de repente en una trama relacionada con la mara salvatrucha. Su idolatría por la Santa Muerte y su empeño por sobrevivir articularán el resto de la narración. Crítica completa: http://www.libros-prohibidos.com/gabi...
July 26, 2018
Intense, visceral, and the language was really creative and stunning. I'll write more as I collect my thoughts on the book.
October 21, 2020
This book would be voted most likely to have a film adaptation be filmed by Robert Rodríguez. It is gritty, violent, intense, dark, and teach you to say your prayers, those you know and those you don't know to gods and spirits you've only heard of in passing.
I think the main trigger warning here is triggers since there's a whole lot of guns, drugs, shooting, and killing going on. Oh and there's a bucket which might scare you more than a gun.
Also, this is a book that is best enjoyed if you're truly fluent in both English and Spanish. Although the narrative is in English, there's a LOT of Spanish and it switches back and forth very much like stream of thought. It's not to say you can't enjoy it if you don't translate or don't even know Spanish, but there's a very unique flow to Zero Saints, and like Nando, rewards you the better prepared you are.
I think the main trigger warning here is triggers since there's a whole lot of guns, drugs, shooting, and killing going on. Oh and there's a bucket which might scare you more than a gun.
Also, this is a book that is best enjoyed if you're truly fluent in both English and Spanish. Although the narrative is in English, there's a LOT of Spanish and it switches back and forth very much like stream of thought. It's not to say you can't enjoy it if you don't translate or don't even know Spanish, but there's a very unique flow to Zero Saints, and like Nando, rewards you the better prepared you are.
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