Procession of the Dead | |
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Author | Darren Shan (second publish under the pen name of D.B.Shan) |
Series | The City trilogy |
Publisher | Orion Publishing Group (first publish in February 1999) HarperVoyager (re-release in March 2008) |
Number of Pages | 312 |
Succeeding Book | Hell's Horizon |
Procession of the Dead is a book written by Darren O'Shaughnessy (more commonly known by his pen-name Darren Shan) that was originally published in February 1999 in the UK under the name of Ayuamarca. It is the first book in The City trilogy. It was re-released in March 2008 following Darren Shan's popularity under the new title.
Plot[]
The book begins with Capac Raimi stepping off a train to begin his new life as a gangster in a city he appears to admire. He keeps his ticket when he notices there is no one there to take it and decides he will show it to his children when he is older. After exiting the station he sees an odd anomaly; a single clound raining in a very contained area. A blind man runs out and stands under the rain, he stares at Capac before returning back to the crowd and vanishing. Capac hails a taxi and heads to his Uncle Theo's house. Theo was a gangster who lost his wife during the birth of his child; which died shortly after. Because of this Theo broke and turned to alchol and drugs, his influence on other gangsters slipped. Eventually he pulled himnself out of his pit of despair and rebuilt his small empire. Capac joins him as his heir and learns the tricks of the trade. Soon they get a deal that will aid them massively in the drug business, Capac, Theo and 3 guards go to meet the dealer. Before anything can be arranged; Theo and the guards are shot dead by snipers and Capac is taken to the head of all gangsters, the most powerful and influential man in the City, The Cardinal.
Characters[]
- Capac Raimi - A young and eager gangster. He has a talent for persuasion and was dreamed of by the Cardinal who believes he is special. Capac learns more about the tricks of the trade whilst in the City and comes to face difficult decisions in his life before fighting for it. He is an Ayuamarcan.
- Ferdinand Dorak - Better known as the Cardinal - The most powerful and influential man in the City. When young he was orphaned after his mothers death (he never knew his father) and becomes a violent, untrained gangster. When trained by Leonora Shankar he became and efficent and ruthless mastermind; rather than a ruthless murderer. He built an empire and now nothing happens in the City without his knowledge.
- Ama Situwa - A witty young woman who worked in her father's restaurant. Ama became a love interest of Capac shortly before they met. Curious about her origin, she repeatedly broke into the Party Central and found information about the Ayuamarcans, becoming doubtful of her past. She is also an Ayuamarcan.
- Paucar Wami - An elite assassin who works under the Cardinal, also an Ayuamarcan, but an exceptional one that is fertile and able to live longer outside the city.
- Conchita Kubekik - A woman with the face of a teenage girl but the body of a fifty-eight elderly. She befriended Capac in the Skylight hotel and revealed that she was actually the Cardinal's wife. She is also an Ayuamarcan.
- Leonora Shankar - The owner of the restaurant Shankar's, reserved for gangsters and people who worked for the Cardinal. She is the mentor to the Cardinal, teaching him on how to become ruler of the city. She also served as somewhat a mother figure to Capac. She is also the very first Ayuamarcan created by the Cardinal.
- Ford Tasso - The second-in-command of the Cardinal, a man contended with being a right-hand man and obeyed the Cardinal's orders no matter how weird and impossible they sound like. He continued to serve as a right-hand man after Capac became the Cardinal.
- Sonja Arne - Head insurance agent under the Cardinal, first introduced as a mentor for Capac. She is usually capable and sophisicated, but could get emotional when mentioning her family, as she did when Capac claimed she had a younger brother but she claimed to be an orphan.
- Adrian Arne - Brother of Sonja, driver and confidant of Capac. Talkative and humorous, he befriended Capac swifly after their first encounter. Later on he disappeared, causing Capac to investigate the mysteries behind vanishing people who left no mark or memory like Adrian.
- Y Tse Lapotaire - A former heir of Cardinal, precisely the second. He abandoned the opportunity however. He was introduced to Capac by Leonora, who provided him information on how to please the Cardinal. He was also the first to provide some insight on their names' Incan origin, telling Capac that his real name was "Inti Maimi", the Incan phrase for June, meaning festival of the sun.
- Stephen Herf - An unseen Ayuamarcan.