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rubyredders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It's very locked room murder mystery ala And Then There Were None, with everyone on board the ship being a chosen magic user for their respective area and the deaths start thick and fast. Trying to figure out the murder mystery was fun.
So many of the characters are endearing and the representation is insane. We got queers of every flavour, trans rep, a wheelchair user and a chronic pain sufferer with long term illness. Plus every one of them is some variety of messed up. These people have suffered, are suffering and are causing suffering to each other.
Our main character Ganymedes (Dee) sometimes comes across a bit younger than he is in the writing, but I can excuse it because, again, all these characters are going through it and clearly living a different life from the average person. He did have some great moments of maturity though
There was a romance subplot that I shan't say more about because spoilers
The ending wrapped everything up while leaving the future open to interpretation.
I'll be keeping my eye out for the authors future works because this is a very strong start.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Xenophobia
inkysplodge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Murder, Self harm, Death, Classism, and Cursing
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Blood, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Suicide, Vomit, Animal death, and Sexual content
persephonefoxx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
We can get murdered tomorrow. Tonight, we party.
It’s giving Danganronpa in the best way possible.
It probably says a lot about me, but I love a fun murder mystery. And God, this book was so fun. An ensemble cast of super powerful teenagers and young adults (and one amazingly insane six-year-old) stuck on a murder cruise? Filled with politics divides, generational disputes, social expectations and pressures, dangerous secrets, and loves worth killing and dying for? A perfect cocktail mystery, magic, and so much murder.
There were multiple times this book had me screaming. As in book closed, turning to my wife, ‘omg omg omg’ screaming. (Let’s just say a certain scene pertaining to secrets and fingers will go down as one of my top ten favourite scenes of all time.) And while I had a pretty solid idea of who was doing the killing by the time we entered the final quarter (thanks to obsessive autistic pattern recognition and a very quickly diminishing suspect pool), there were twists and turns in the final quarter of this book that had me going feral.
And I can’t talk about this book without talking about the oodle and oodles of representation. Causal and expansive queer representation in an incredibly well thought out queer normative fantasy setting. Not to mention the additional disabled, plus sized, POC, and chronically ill representation across the cast of multifaceted weirdos. Plus it gets mad props for including the most accurate line about bisexuality I have ever read: “why do I want women to beat me up and men to gently embrace me?” Same Dee. Same.
TL:DR - This book was so much fun. Dripping with representation in an ensemble cast of well-rounded and loveable (and sometimes hate-able) characters. (Nergüi really is ‘that bitch’ and I love them.) It is a rollercoaster of murder, mystery, romance, magic, and friendship. A story of self-discovery, self-worth, and kindness. I loved this book, and I fear my wife will have to listen to me ramble about it for some time to come.
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Body shaming
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, War, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Torture
sarahna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Ableism, Blood, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Body shaming, Confinement, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
keya_caivalur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Suicide attempt, Murder, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Mental illness, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug use, Chronic illness, Classism, Bullying, Child abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit, Abandonment, War, and Death of parent