"Piñata is a slow-burning story of corruption and cosmic revenge that makes a nice alternative to same old same old scuffles with crosses and holy water."
—Esquire
“With Piñata, Leopoldo Gout reminds us how Pre-Columbian Mexican magic is still present, and the only thing we have to do is to listen and tune into that frequency. Piñata is a magnificent novel and dances in a very original and Mexican way alongside the greats such as Stephen King or Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.”
—Carlos Bardem, author of Badaq and Mongo Blanco
“Gout puts a unique twist on a classic possession story by incorporating Indigenous Mexican lore into the gory plot.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Piñata is a fast-paced horror story that draws on history to give it a depth and sense of scale that similar stories often lack. And by incorporating real-world violence into the plot, Gout elevates the novel into something much more than it needs to be to succeed as a possession story.”
—The Los Angeles Review of Books
“Gout succeeds in presenting a thought-provoking, violent, and immersive revenge-horror story and excels in restoring the rich history of an erased people.”
—Library Journal
“This creepy, fast-paced read brings a fresh voice to horror…. Fans of Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, and V Castro will devour this bloody tale of vengeful spirits and the dark legacy of colonialism.”
—Booklist
02/01/2023
A New York architect originally from Mexico, Carmen Sanchez jumps at the chance to oversee the renovation of an old Mexican church into a hotel and bring her daughters along for the summer. However, from the start of their trip, an angry force seems drawn to Luna, the younger daughter. When the renovations open up a hidden room, revealing an ancient piñata made of pottery and filled with viscera that was part of the complex religious practices of the conquered Nahua civilization, a wronged spirit is able to seep out into the modern world with very real consequences. The novel's omniscient narration allows the characters and historical details to realistically build, laying a strong foundation for the dread that permeates every page. Gout (Ghost Radio) succeeds in presenting a thought-provoking, violent, and immersive revenge-horror story and excels in restoring the rich history of an erased people. VERDICT A great choice for readers who enjoy novels where the true horrors of colonization and human-rights atrocities are corrected in gruesomely riveting fashion while retaining the utmost respect to the victims, as seen in the works of V. Castro, Stephen Graham Jones, and Tananarive Due.—Becky Spratford
