And the style of the writing, while it is unnerving and brutal most of the time, can sometimes feel a little rushed.īut man, I guarantee that you will not see the twist coming in this book. It’s not too distracting, but more could have been done to flesh out their characters. Minus Capac and the Cardinal, the other characters feel a little 2D. Now, there are elements that are a bit meh. If you’re looking for pointers on how to build a horror setting, this is the book to read. There is a sense of dread hanging over every corner of this city. But it is crafted so carefully, with no two settings feeling the same, that every moment I was sucked into its pages. And I’m not saying it is pretty – it is dingy, disgusting, violent, dark, mysterious. Good Lord, the city in this book is painted perfectly.

It’s one of the major things that I love about this novel. While he doesn’t have the strongest personality at the start, by the end you can’t help but marvel at the change within him.

You can sympathise with him from moment to moment, even if his actions are, well, morally debatable. The Capac at the start of the story is a shadow compared to the man he becomes at the end – yet, the leap between the two isn’t unnatural. You need to go into this book knowing nothing about the twist – because when that twist hits, man, does it send you through a hurricane of emotions.Īs such, I won’t delve too much into the plot of the book (needless to say, it is good.) And instead, I want to put a spotlight on the main character, Capac.Įven though this book is relatively short, it is a masterclass on how to write a believable, compelling character arc. This story is one that you cannot spoil beforehand. Because honestly? I don’t want to give too much away. It’s really hard to talk about this book. Then he crosses paths with The Cardinal, and his life changes forever. As he learns the tricks of his new trade from his Uncle Theo he’s soon on his way to becoming a promising new gangster. Quick-witted and cocksure, young upstart Capac Raimi arrives in the City determined to make his mark. And through it all, one character’s journey of survival. Shan – I thought I was in for an urban dystopia story. When I first picked up The Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan – or under his pseudonym D.B. Sometimes, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Procession of the Dead by D.B. Shan