Out of Aztlan

by V. Castro

An ancient goddess rises up from an inverted temple in a lake of blood to purify the earth. Two pearl divers plot revenge against the Spanish merchants who enslave them. A mutant species of jellyfish fueled by garbage heaps wreaks havoc on beachgoers. Aided by mermaids, a pirate known as The Scorpion and her all-female crew challenge a corrupt king. And back on dry land, a mother avenges the daughters of her community with a very special batch of ancho chili salsa.

V. Castro's spirited characters come alive in her uniquely playful, fiery style, from a vengeful lobster to a mother willing to put her life on the line for justice. In these and other stories, the descendants of Aztlan-the mythical homeland of the Aztec people-work to overthrow their oppressors and usher in the dawn of a new world.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Horror Thriller

200 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2022

About the author

Hi ! Thank you so very much for picking up my books. You can also check out www.lamuertemarket.com

Wishing you Blessings and Abundance!

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am Aztlan.”
I'm a huge fan of V. Castro's work. Her contribution to the horror genre is unmatched. Castro's storytelling voice is so smooth and engaging, once I start reading I get this feeling I call "reader's bliss"--the world just disappears.
The stories in this collection, all together, have such a strong vibe. Cultural tales of gods & goddesses, sea creatures, myths & legends, epic romance, and people rising up against oppression. It might just be my favorite Castro book--definitely up there with Goddess of Filth (a must-read).
Powerful intro.
“I am Aztlan.”
TEMPLO MAYOR- “My body pumps Mestiza blood.”
DIVING FOR PEARLS- An epic romance--sexy & powerful. “The fisherman’s daughter.”
“I am also just me.”
AT THE BOTTOM OF MY LAKE OF BLOOD-- I feel like I’ve read about this inferno goddess ready to unleash hell before. Mestiza Blood 🩸?
LOBSTER TRAP--"Lobster Ladies 🦞"
ASYLUM--Narco Queen, border wall to keep infected Americans out of Mexico! Lol flipping the script—love it
DAWN OF THE BOX JELLY--- "a new favorite Castro story! This is SO GOOD. I think short stories are always the length they need to be but in the case of this tale, I could see it developed into a novella. The main characters were amazing--it could be like a modern JAWS
EL ALACRÁN- “My venom & your magic?" Sexy female pirates. What more could you want??
PALM BEACH POISON--Ok, seriously, you have to watch that Epstein doc on Netflix. It's called "Filthy Rich" and it's about the grooming of young girls in the sex trafficking ring Epstein and Maxwell had for years in Palm Beach and then, read this story. Revenge fantasy is the fucking BEST.
All the stars for this collection. I had the best time with it.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

V. Castro has enjoyed a surge in popularity and recognition of late, thanks both to her Bram Stoker Award nominations and high-profile releases in media tie-in franchise work like Aliens: Vasquez and indomitable small-press works like Goddess of Filth and The Queen of the Cicadas. Her first Big 5 Publisher title, The Haunting of Alejandra, is due out in Spring 2023 through Penguin’s Del Rey imprint. There’s a reason for all this of course – she’s just a damn good author. Her works provide a fresh perspective for jaded horror readers, as she enriches her scares with Latinx mythology, folklore, and mysticism, as well strongly-voiced feminism, that isn’t often seen or done particularly well in the mostly male, white bread horror community.

Castro returns with her third short story collection behind Sed de Sangre and Mestiza Blood, with Out of Aztlan. Collected here are eight stories spanning the mythic to the personal. You can’t but help imagine the lived experiences Castro writes from and that give rise to pieces like “Templo Mayor,” where our narrator tells us of her desires to immerse herself in a Mestiza culture she hardly knew as she visits an archeological dig site that has revealed an unknown area of an ancient temple, or the dangers of raising children in this modern world populated by people like Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, and what she might do to protect them, as “Palm Beach Poison” demonstrates a certainly understandable bit of wish fulfillment as it exorcises personal demons.

Out of Aztlan covers a wide-range of topics and tropes over the course of its stories – we’ve got ancient goddesses, cultish killers, mermaids, pirates, killer jellyfish, and dystopian post-apocalyptic futures. These last two subjects, in particular, provided a pair of personal favorites for me.

In “Asylum,” a global pandemic has brought mankind to its knees and all but destroyed America. On the other side of the wall separating the US from Mexico, a Cartel leader has helped make Mexico all but resurgent, finishing the wall to keep American’s out. The US has been reduced to “a wasteland of disease, hunger, feral animals, and things that were once human,” i.e. a Republican’s wet dream! I really dug Castro’s perspective on border relations and the way a pandemic has put the shoe on the other foot in terms of immigration policies. Of course, we saw this playout in real-time during COVID-19 when American travelers found themselves persona non grata from entering foreign nations, but I really appreciated the way Castro captured the heroic aspects of Mexico and the way national pride united the country, turning a Cartel leader into a folk hero.

“Dawn of the Box Jelly” revolves around a scientist, Guadalupe, traveling from Texas to Portugal to investigate the rising number of dead sealife washing ashore and bearing unusual signs of attack. Things get complicated further when tourists start disappearing… Castro delivers a terrific bit of natural horror here, drawing on Jaws and cheesy ‘80s When Animals Attack titles like Gregory A. Douglas’s The Nest or Mark Kendall’s Killer Flies. As with The Nest, ecological concerns give rise to mutated horrors challenging the food chain, a result of mankind’s less than sterling influence upon the natural world. Marine pollution and climate change prompt Portugal’s jellyfish to begin behaving in unheard of ways, which is certainly bad for the tourists, but great news for readers, like me, who love this kind of stuff!

Out of Aztlan is a great showcase for Castro’s work, and provides a varied assortment of stories for fans of her novels and a great starting place for new readers looking to sample her wares and sensibilities.

[Sonora Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories. There were several I would like to see expanded into novels.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Creature Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!~

Out of Aztlan is a collection of horror short stories about justice and reclaiming what's rightfully yours. It's broken into eight different stories: Templo Mayor, Diving for Pearls, At the Bottom of my Lake of Blood, Lobster Trap, Asylum, Dawn of the Box Jelly, El Alacran, and Palm Beach Poison. These tales range from a POV of a colony of lobsters, to the "Devil" herself ascending from the depths of hell.

V. Castro has done it again! I think I enjoyed this one even more than Goddess of Filth! Her writing was like a nice warm hug, that also kept me on the edge of my seat. It's so easy to sit and read her works in one sitting with the way she writes. One of my favorite parts of her horror writing is the use of culture and myth that we just don't see enough in the lime light; this collection being about the Aztec people. South America and Mexico have some horrifying legends and I love it!! My favorite of the stories are Diving for Pearls, Asylum, and Dawn of the Box Jelly.

Diving for Pearls was so heartbreakingly real, it really shines a light on what we are willing to let people suffer through in exchange for something as silly as a pearl necklace. Itzli and Paz have such a beautiful relationship and I think that's why I enjoyed this one the most.

Asylum felt very relevant with the pandemic still in play. I think that's what made it so viscerally unnerving. It was very interesting to see how the border played a role in how the outbreak affected those in Mexico.

Dawn of the Box Jelly!!!! Don't think I missed the box joke at the beginning of this one! This was probably the most horrifying for me (the ocean is very scary). I'll be honest, I think I've only heard of box jellyfish in passing and I had no idea they were that venomous.... Definitely another reason to not litter and be respectful to the creatures of the ocean.

I could not recommend this one enough, especially if you want a quick, charming scare!

[Heather Horror Hellion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaking fantastic! It's just incredibly fantastic.

Let's talk about these amazing short stories. The book is about 186 pages so it's a quick read, but it will hype you up and make you want to pillage, right wrongs, and destroy.

All the stories are fantastic, but let me tell you about my favorite ones.

1. At the Bottom of my Lake of Blood. This story was just beautiful in a destroy everyone who sucks way. I definitely support this.

2. Asylum. I want this to be its own book. I want more. I want to see it all come together because the cartel and amoeba virus is something the world needs.

3. Palm Beach Poison. Just chef kiss. This mom is amazing, and I loved it.

This book has everything culture, love, deadly creatures, pirates, poison, REVENGE, mermaids, and it's all gift wrapped in 186 pages. Why haven't you read it yet?

[Varadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the stories and ideas and themes. I really loved the fierce desire for freedom from colonizers and Niaps and stuff, and the alternative world building, especially with Sirena and Ossibus was so neat! The prose was sometimes very distractingly simplistic or kludge-y, and some of the stories were more like sketches or scenes. But I enjoyed it.

[Lor · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much incredible worldbuilding in here, but it's so well done... not a single word is wasted, Castro uses precisely the amount they need, no more no less. I adored it.

[Gaby Treviño · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collections are a hit or miss for me, but I loved this one!! Each story contained so much world-building yet was rooted in familiar Mexican and Lantinx indigenous folklore and myths. I also loved that the horror wasn’t gory for the sake of shock value, but was more subtle and chilling throughout. Also LOVED the small nuggets of South Central Texas landscapes - yes the snake farm is real😌

Favorite stories: Diving for Pearls, At the Bottom of My Lake of Blood, Dawn of the Box Jelly

[Torrie Tovar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts

"Mexican American by birth raised in a country that never made me forget I was Mexican first. My skin just a shade too dark to pass for anything but an invader, an inconvenience like a cold sore even though I was born there."

It should be no surprise that I loved another book by V. Castro. I mean chances are that if she wrote it, ima love it. This one is no exception.

This is a short story collection that deals with climate change. All the stories deal with it but they are not connected. Each story was so good. Like y'all. They were amazing. But my favorite was Asylum which is quoted above.

If you are in the mood for some short stories pick this collection up, you won't be let down.

"Some of the women cleaned the skulls of their tormentors to be soldered to the ship for decoration. The ship a tomb of our rage and pain."

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Violet Castro pens a series of sharp horror tales for her collection Out of Aztlan. Characterized by strong Latinx protagonists and unique worlds of mysticism, Castro creates a diverse assortment of stories. The opening salvo is Templo Mayor, which pits a young traveler against a ritualistic killer; her struggle mirrored in the Aztec slaughter of the moon goddess. Pearl Divers sets a pair of cunning lovers against a cruel Spanish empire in the name of freedom. A vengeful spirit rises from her imprisonment to remove evil souls from the earth as At the Bottom of My Lake if Blood upends the world dynamic. After losing members of their colony to overzealous fishermen, the clawed crustaceans of Lobster Trap rise up to avenge their slaughter with an attack on the greedy humans above the waves. Asylum discusses the divided Americas following an infectious plague, as Mexico is now a safe haven under cartel control and behind solid walls. Three female researchers examine a mutated ocean threat preying on beachgoers during Dawn of the Box Jelly, while the longest offering El Alacrán pits the titular pirate captain against a violent king and the remnants of a discarded technological age. The final installment, Palm Beach Poison, follows a mother’s determination to end a rich couple’s abuse of young girls no matter the cost to herself. Violet Castro sings the songs of revenge across all of the fictional accounts, giving her female leads the opportunities to take back their own power from a world that has cast them aside. Despite the heavy-handed critique of male lust and greed, Castro is able to shine a light on an oft-underrepresented culture of feminine empowerment. The lengthiest story best highlights her writing by allowing the plot time to breathe and grow organically, which is something that many of the others lack. Out of Aztlan gives a voice to Latin women and ideals, shouting it out to the rooftops with each tale.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been thrilling to watch the ascension of V. Castro. Rising to prominence with works such as Goddess of Filth , The Queen of the Cicadas , and Mestiza Blood , Castro upends traditional horror tropes with primal intensity. Proud of her Mestiza heritage, Castro makes it a centerpiece in her latest collection, Out of Aztlan, with passionate and fiery tales straight out of Aztlan, the mythical homeland of the Aztec people

You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Jess Simms · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of plot, character, worldbuilding, and other core storytelling elements, Out of Aztlan is a solid, entertaining read. I love that every story has a female protagonist, a relative rarity in genre story collections. The blending of horror with fantasy is also masterfully done, and there's a great balance here when it comes to theme and setting. There are enough connecting threads between the stories that they feel like they belong together, but enough variety between them that the reading experience never gets stale.

If pressed to pick a favorite, I'd have to give it to "El Alacrán". I could have happily spent a whole novel in that world of post-apocalypse magical swashbuckling. I also appreciated how the characters and world were built over the course of the story--a well-controlled reveal of information that created great moments of natural surprise and a strong pace when it came to tension and release.

My only issue with the book is that it felt like it was rushed to the shelf. The writing at the sentence level didn't read as tight as in "Goddess of Filth"--just one more pass through the manuscript by an editor I think would have elevated it to the same level of excellence in the prose that it shows with the core story elements. It's still definitely well worth a read, particularly for fans of feminist horror, climate fiction, or Aztec mythology.

[Nyssa Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feminine rage with a dash of eco-horror thrown in. Written beautifully, Aztec goddesses, Texas women & clever sea creatures are at the heart of this collection. It touches on a lot of social, historical and environmental issues but blends everything pretty well together. My only issues were some of the characters had no personality to connect with & some stories were too short. Like the concept was there but not enough time spent to truly grasp the horrors of it. My favs were Lobster Trap & Dawn of the Box of Jelly.
________
Templo Mayor - 2.5 Stars. Not bad plot wise, but I felt no connection to the FL. She had no personality and felt very blank. I feel this story was too short to feel anything. Like a woman is about to be sacrifice but it was written in a way that didn't capture any fear.

Diving for Pearls- 4 stars - Tragic and beautiful.

At the Bottom of My Lake of Blood- 3.5 Stars - Felt like it was a snippet of a larger story.

Lobster Trap - 5 Stars. Loved it. Lobsters get revenge, what more could you want. Wished it was longer.

Asylum - 3 stars - amoeba infection causes zombie-like apocalypse. Didn't care for the story, not an apocalypse person. Still pretty good though. It's mainly just observations about the world.

Dawn of The Box Jelly - 5 stars. It was giving The Blob vibes but with Jellyfish/Jaws elements and I loved it.

El Alacrán - 4 stars. Pirates/magic vs king/tech. It was weird yet good.

Palm Beach Poison- 3 stars. Mother gets revenge on the rich.
________

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The standout stories for me were Diving for Pearls, At the Bottom of My Lake of Blood, and Palm Beach Poison - perfect execution for me.

I felt let down by the promise of Dawn of the Box Jelly. The opening section had me gripped immediately but the rest fell flat. Horror-monster-flick-with-a-low-budget vibes.

El Alacran felt choppy and blunt with a strange tone, despite having the greater share of the page count. I would read the novel version of it though, the world-building and premise was very intriguing.

Lobster Trap and Asylum were good, but the themes a little over the top for my particular tastes.

Overall, I think this was a great collection and I would consider reading more from V. Castro.

[Ken The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, great fun. I am now a huge fan of V. Castro. I love her characters, the setting, the twists at the end... all of it! This particular collection of short stories are going to keep you fully engaged from beginning to end. As the cliche goes, I could not put the book down, and as I finished one short story, I immediately started the next one. I highly recommend both the book and the author.

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly loved this book. Each story was intriguing, fascinating, and creative. It’s like Cloud Atlas but better - because it’s feminist, Latinx, and each story is about people refusing to accept oppression. It’s bloody, inspiring and so damn cool. I can’t stop thinking about it and I’m recommending it to everyone. Big thank you to my local “weird & fantastic” local independent bookstore, Word Horde Emporium, for stocking this stellar indie gem!

[Chela Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn’t enough character development for me to believe that the female protagonists were badass. I had to take the narrators word for it. Some stories were too short with unnecessary love stories that contributed nothing to the narrative. The author has good story ideas, but the lack of descriptions left me feeling like I read a book a pre-teen had written.

[Adam Rodenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not full on horror, there are horrific aspects to this great little story collection. Heavy on the feel of fables (which I loved), this one evoked a lot of great imagery.

Stand out stories: "Templo Mayor," "Diving for Pearls," "At the Bottom of My Lake of Blood," and "Dawn of the Box Jelly."

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored Goddess of Filth by this author, but these stories didn’t do it for me like that Novella did. I loved the concepts and messages behind each story, and really enjoy V. Castro’s brand of feminist horror. I just think I would’ve liked to see these stories be a bit more developed.

[Ryan Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of V. Castro and was very excited to read this collection. Out of Atzlan did not disappoint. Great stories, all set around the ocean. It's a lot of fun and filled with Castro's unique take on the material.

[chloe emme · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love the seeing more diverse authors in the horror genre and the stories were so unique. i found that the writing style was a little too blunt and short, which made it feel less mystical and playful stories and more like bullet points. i didnt rly feel too immersed bc of it

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hit by V. Castro. I really enjoyed the stories in this collection. They ranged from pirates to zombies to a deadly salsa.


V. Castro has quickly become one of my favorite authors. My favorite stories from the collection were: Palm Beach Poison, El Alacran, Asylum, and Templo Mayor.

[Ana y los libros]

Unos cuentos me gustaron mucho y otros me parecieron que podrían haberse desarrollado más. Es terror Latinx y me dieron ganas de leer algo más de la historia.

Después escribiré una reseña más completa :)

[Josh Buyarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome collection! All of the stories are great, but The Dawn of the Box Jellyfish was a huge stand out!
A touch of Jaws mixed with kaiju like mutations.

[Madison McSweeney]

Engaging collection of horror stories ranging from swashbuckling seafaring fantasy to modern revenge tales.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short stories about goddesses, mermaids, killer jellyfish and various revenge scenarios. Fast and brutal!

[Melissa Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every story!!!!!

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m 50/50 split on which stories I liked it didn’t like as much. I think it was a harder time connecting

[Daley Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Captures so many stories and emotions in each page, never boring!

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first discovered V. Castro in the anthology, Worst Laid Plans, where she contributed one of my favorite stories. After reading Out of Aztlan, she has cemented herself as a must buy author.

My favorite story was Dawn of the Box Jelly. I love a good underwater creature feature, and this quickly paced story was a perfect example of that genre. Templo Mayor and At the Bottom of My Lake of Blood were also excellent, each empowering and awe inspiring in its own way. The only one that didn’t really work for me was El Alacrán. I really wanted to like this unique story; it was full of good ideas. It just felt somewhat rushed; I think it would work much better if given room to expand its ideas in a longer format.