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The Day of the Dead (Cassandra Palmer, #3.1)
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The Short Stories/Other Novels > The Day of the Dead

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message 1: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) So, who's been re-reading Day of the Dead then? I will confess that I actually haven't, mostly on account of sheer laziness, but I suppose I'd better seeing as I got shanghied into being discussion leader :D


message 2: by Enjee, Founder (new) - rated it 5 stars

Enjee | 1194 comments Mod
Why did he cut his hair?


message 3: by Mel (new) - rated it 4 stars

Mel (mel_b) | 406 comments Because he was pursued by the whole vampire community. I believe he wanted to go a bit incognito.


Sarah  | 64 comments Is that like putting on glasses to obscure Superman's identity?


message 5: by Mel (new) - rated it 4 stars

Mel (mel_b) | 406 comments LOL I think so. Oh and he put on a cheap suit.


message 6: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) Is $1200 cheap for a suit?


message 7: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) I'd forgotten how enjoyable that story was. I'd love to see more of Tomas and Sarah. I'd ask KC if he was coming back, but I suspect all I'd get was a wait and see. A spoilerish question if ever there was one.


message 8: by Mel (new) - rated it 4 stars

Mel (mel_b) | 406 comments I think she once said that Tomas will re-appear in the Cassie series.
It was 1200 dollars? Hmm, I remembered he said it was cheap, guess I remembered wrong.


Marissa (millionmph) | 74 comments I really liked Sarah. I think she was more interesting then Thomas here, but the two of them meshed really well together. I would love to see them again in a future Cassie book.
I don't remember a cheap or 1200 suit. How the heck did I miss that? I guess thats what I get for reading such a shot story bit by bit over a 5 hour time period.


Jessi When does this story take place? I thought it took place after Claimed By Shadow; so does that mean that Tomas left the Fey realm?


message 11: by Kat (new) - rated it 3 stars

Kat | 237 comments Yes, he did. The reason stated in the short story was that he had a score to settle with Alejandro, one he was now able to finish since his time in the fey realm broke his bond to Louis Cesar


message 12: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) The story is set in October, a few months after Claimed by Shadow. However Tomas has had no further interactions with Cassie in the intervening time.


Valerie ~ Val Hall ~ | 1164 comments I suppose we will have something in the following books. I mean, Cassie has to deal with the Fay King at some point in time.


message 14: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) Probably. Allow me to correct that. We have no information about any interactions between Tomas and Casssie in the intervening time.


Valerie ~ Val Hall ~ | 1164 comments Maybe I have the timeline wrong but CbS does occur at the beginning of the summer. Even book 4 does not extends until october...so there is time left for resolving this plot line.


message 16: by Mel (last edited Oct 09, 2010 02:49PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Mel (mel_b) | 406 comments The Cassie books run until the first week of July. Dory #1 is in the beginning of July, Dory #2 is in August. DotD is in October and the Lia books are in December, if I'm correct.


message 17: by Mai (new)

Mai (maisydaisy) Yep, that sounds about right.


message 18: by Lannister (new)

Lannister (lannisteruk) | 10911 comments So who's reading this story? I think this short is one of the most interesting with how it relates to the main series. It gives away nothing but leaves a ton of questions.

The last time we saw Tomas was in Claimed by Shadow, when Cassie left him in Faerie. I think Claimed by Shadow was probably around June time, give or take. Day of the Dead is the end of October (and remember, time passes differently in Faerie, so it's possible that a fairly short or a very lengthy time has passed for Tomas.)

At the start of the story, we get this...
He’d eluded his pursuers, but with no money he’d been forced to use a highly illegal suggestion on the clerk. Since then, he’d lost track of how many times he’d done something similar, using his abilities to fog the minds of airline employees, customs agents and the taxi driver who had conveyed him a hundred miles to this tiny village clinging to the side of a mountain.

Every incident had been a serious infraction of the law, but what did that matter? If any of his kind caught up with him, he was dead anyway.
So how did Tomas get out of Faerie? Who is pursuing him? Is it Fey or Vamps? Do you think the Consul still wants him dead, as a significant reason for her 'butchering' him was to lure in Cassie? Tomas says LC wants him back in slavery. How would LC feel about him being killed?

And talking of LC ...
[Alejandro] didn’t look like a monster, with an attractive if florid face and bright, intelligent black eyes. But then, the worst ones never did.
Do you think Tomas considers LC a monster? Is this fair? Do you think Tomas would feel differently if he knew about Christine?

At the end of story, Tomas muses
He could assume his position, round up whatever vampires had made it out before the cave-in, and claim to be the new head of the Latin American Senate. That would put him beyond the jurisdiction of the North American version – which wanted him dead – and his master – who wanted him back in slavery. He could rebuild Alejandro’s empire and walk these halls once more, this time as their master. He would be rich, powerful and feared ...
And, in time, just like Alejandro.
What do you think about his decision to turn his back on the Latin American Senate and, indeed, the vampire world? Smart or dumb?

Finally, I understand LC's control over Tomas vanished in Faerie, because it was a different world. But that doesn't mean their bond is snapped. Wouldn't LC be able to begin that 'pull' again once Tomas returned? How can Tomas resist this time, when he couldn't before? What's to stop LC asserting his power and dragging him in once again?


message 19: by Anna (new) - rated it 4 stars

Anna | 1680 comments Lannister wrote: "Do you think Tomas considers LC a monster?"
Yes.
Lannister wrote: "Wouldn't LC be able to begin to pull again..."
Perhaps LC is too busy pulling Dory to notice :P


message 20: by Lannister (new)

Lannister (lannisteruk) | 10911 comments Anna wrote: "Perhaps LC is too busy pulling Dory to notice :P"

LMAO!! Yeah, possibly LC has other things on his mind!

I suppose this means we can assume LC is still alive by the end of October. I presume Tomas is able to sense him? I'm not quite certain how the bond works. Though, I suppose if Tomas could sense LC, then LC could sense Tomas. Hmmmm, I'm confused!


message 21: by Kathy (new) - added it

Kathy Davie (kathydavie) | 457 comments No, I don't think Tomas considers LC a monster. At least not on the same level as Alejandro. As for turning his back on the Latin American Senate, I suspect there were two reasons which impacted his decision: Sarah's a hot lay *grin* and Tomas' fear of becoming like Alejandro. And it's not as if Tomas has a limited lifetime in which to take over the LA Senate. If he really wants it, he can always go back and challenge for it.

As for LC exerting power over him. I think LC's got other things on his mind. I also suspect that Tomas' time in Faerie gave him the opportunity to discover what it was like to NOT have that exertion on his mind, gave him time to consider how to resist it.


message 22: by Anna (last edited Feb 27, 2013 01:38PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Anna | 1680 comments Kathy wrote: "No, I don't think Tomas considers LC a monster.

I suppose it's down to how you define a monster. I think Tomas resents LC for being hs master & I think he detests being controlled - perhaps this is par for the course if you are a strong vampire and ultimately destined to become a master yourself. But he is controlled by LC, and to someone as strong as Tomas I think it is a form of torture. So yes, I think Tomas does consider LC to be a monster. And I suspect LC has to work hard to keep Tomas in line. I don't think that Tomas gives a monkey about Christine. He is focussed on his own fortunes, his own oppression and looks for his own emancipation. Why should he care about LC's mistress?


message 23: by Lannister (new)

Lannister (lannisteruk) | 10911 comments I wonder if Tomas is mistaken about LC wanting him back. We know now that the whole reason for LC keeping Tomas under his thumb was because of the secret about Christine. But that's old news now. I don't think LC is really a monster and he has no reason to enslave Tomas any more. He might actually let him go free. I'm sure Dory said somewhere that LC was the only vamp ever to keep another first level master under his control. It must have been a huge drain on LC's part so why bother? Tomas has no wealth (I believe) and little in the way of status. LC might be glad to see the back of him!

I'm kinda thinking Tomas was wrong not to take the Senate seat. OK Sarah was hot, LOL, but he'd known her for five minutes. I don't think Tomas would ever turn out like Alejandro and I'm surprised that he worries that he might. What does he think of himself?! Maybe his own experiences are making him cynical. I wish he would go back and challenge. He could bring the LA Senate into the war and support the rest of the vampire world against the fey.


message 24: by Anna (new) - rated it 4 stars

Anna | 1680 comments Do you think the consul might persuade him to take a political role in South America -after all - better the devil you know.

I agree I don't think LC is foul but I think that to Tomas 'enslavement' is 'enslavement'-I think that is part of his cultural and personal baggage. He is not willingly under LC's control so he will hate it. Perhaps that's why he doesn't want Alejandro's role he doesn't want to control others.


message 25: by Lannister (new)

Lannister (lannisteruk) | 10911 comments Anna wrote: "Perhaps that's why he doesn't want Alejandro's role he doesn't want to control others. "

That's a very good point, Anna. Tomas definitely has some issues about having had to answer to others for 500 years, and he maybe just doesn't want to be that guy. I don't know if it's ever said whether Tomas has made any vampire 'children'. Maybe he never felt the inclination to be the master of another.

I suppose it's my desire for a nice HEA that makes me want Tomas to head the Latin American Senate. It's a nice neat ending, but it's rather looking like the story won't go that way.

KC has said we will see Tomas again though, so I wonder if that'll be in Faerie or after the events of this story.


message 26: by Anna (new) - rated it 4 stars

Anna | 1680 comments I'd like to see him again and I'd like him to go for the senate position but
I can't help feeling that being pretty much skinned alive would piss you off! I'm not sure he'd be we'll disposed to follow the consul's instructions. :P


message 27: by Lannister (new)

Lannister (lannisteruk) | 10911 comments LOL!

It's actually quite hard to imagine Tomas being on the same level as Snakey and Anthony. He doesn't seem anywhere near as powerful enough. After all, if LC decided he wanted a consul job, he'd only have to challenge Tomas and he'd have it. He beat Tomas before and has held him in thrall for a century, so there's no reason to think Tomas would win second time round.

I feel slightly sorry for Tomas sometimes. I think it's because I like to root for the underdog! :)


message 28: by Nancy (new)

Nancy | 495 comments Mod
Do you think in the short time Tomas has been back from faerie he has caught up on the dire situation that faces all magic beings and humans? He, Sarah, her brother and her mercenaries will also be killed in the aftermath of a "godly" victory, whether they know the situation or not.

If he is aware of the situation, isn't it VERY short-sighted to kill Alejandro and then leave SA Senate in chaos by not becoming Consul? Becoming SA Consul would put him in a position to withstand any retribution from the other Senates and to help with the war effort.

I wonder why he thought he would become another Alejandro? Do you think his time in faerie was as a captive? Does anyone think he saw the errors he made and just decided he wasn't fit to be a Consul?

Was it vampire assassains he was fleeing? Were they Rasputin's or Cleopatra's? Were they killers sent by the Dark Fey King?

Aaaaarrrrgggghhh! Too many unanswerable questions for me. I wish I hadn't re-read this looking for hints as to how Tomas would fit in the Ragnarok storyline.

One little tie-in with Shadow's Bane did happen, though. The fanatic mercenary wanted to collect vampire bones during and after attacking Alejandro's stronghold. He said they helped with spells.....


message 29: by K (new) - rated it 4 stars

K | 63 comments I think Tomas could easily see LC as a monster. Even if he didn't know Christine was a revenant, he knows that LC kept him captive while hundreds (if not thousands, depending on the timeframe) of others were slaughtered just so Christine could live.

LC is responsible for letting Alejandro behave as he did. Yes, the other senators/consuls are responsible by just sitting back and letting Alejandro continue existing, but LC actively stepped in to stop a challenging rival (Tomas). So in a way he actively ensured that Alejandro stayed in power.

Which puts LC as the power behind the throne on both the European and South American senates for a time...

For all Dory's love of him for being so moral and upstanding, she is overlooking a huge, selfish choice he made that led to slaughtering humans in a way that disgusted even other vampires. That's one of the reasons I don't see him as some golden hero that some do.


message 30: by Nancy (new)

Nancy | 495 comments Mod
Interesting, K!

Granting your premise that Tomas WOULD view LC as a reprehensible, uncaring monster (and I can certainly empathize with his view), why didn't he take the SA Senate? He once melded the remnant of natives into a competent military unit to protect their villages from the conquistadors. He would know how to inspire and unite the remaining vampires into a functioning Senate.

KC has said that we will see Tomas again. I hope he will return as more than a member of a small mercenary group. Mistakes and all, I still like Tomas, and I hope he will forgive himself and step up to leadership of the SA Senate.


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