I couldn't believe this was a debut when I first read it (and by an author who was only in his twenties, at the time.) The setting is brilliantly original, well ahead of the urban fantasy curve when it was published. The pacing is breakneck, with a perfect balance between unfolding the world while quietly obscuring the plot.

In particular (MINOR SPOILERS) the author does a good job of relying on the reader's expectation that back story will be filled in slowly to exploit the fact that the MC is themselves unaware of the backstory, and therefore learns about it at the same speed as we do. The revelation that the MC doesn't know his own past is skillfully handled, with big and little surprises at every turn.

Sometimes, you read a book and have a pretty idea of how things are going to pan out. I can safely say that for Ayuamarca, I did not see that coming (the ending, that is) and was pretty blown away by the creativity of the underlying concepts.

I wasn't that keen on the sequels (I won't say too much on that though, or it's off topic) but it doesn't matter much. The book is absolutely solid as a standalone, if you choose to read it that way.

Nota bene: this book has been rereleased under a different title more recently but I love the original title more, and that's the copy I own, so that's what I've chosen to review under. ( )

Capac Raimi comes to the City to work for his uncle, a notorious gangster, but it isn't long before he attracts the notice of the Cardinal. The Cardinal is the most powerful man in the City; he manipulates people like puppets, and nothing happens in the City without his knowledge. For some reason, he wants Raimi to work for him.

Things go well at first, until Raimi begins to notice odd discrepancies. His friend disappears and nobody else seems to remember him, not even his sister. There isn't even any documentation. Then he realizes he can't recall any of his own past before his arrival.

Once this mystery is set up, the novel becomes a more interesting and quicker read, but I wasn't satisfied with the mystical solution. It tilts at being meta-fictional but not quite. It just seems too easy, while still leaving questions unanswered. I suppose they may be further elaborated upon in the second and third books, but I'm not sure I'm keen to pick them up. ( )

You can read my review here: http://www.thegenretraveler.com/horror/travel-reads-procession-of-the-dead/ ( )

A dark crime novel with elements of Philip K. Dick. ( )

Hadn't read Shan's YA series although I'd heard of them. Picked this up mainly because of the interesting setup and what I thought might possibly be some ties to Incan mythology. The latter never really makes an appearance. However, I was rather pleasantly surprised by an intriguing crime noir setting that almost reminded me of something by Jim Thompson. Wound up enjoying most of the novel and the somewhat predictible mystery therein. However, I was extemely disappointed that the tale was ultimately resolved mostly through exposition, being of the opinion that it is generally better to show rather than tell and prefer it when the protagonist is allowed to discover things rather than when the author simply reveals all of his secrets. Still an enjoyable read overall. ( )