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kiwij96's review
- 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
100% check your trigger warnings for this one. However, there is so much to love about this story. It is well-paced and the perfect length for the story to be told. Nothing felt wasted or out of place in terms of the pacing,
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Grief, Blood, Death, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use, Ableism, and Sexual content
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
kylosten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I thought I was going to be lost at first because of how many characters there were (I struggle with remembering names) but the map and list of characters at the beginning helped a lot! I flipped back to both throughout the story.
I thought the way the author gave pieces to solve the mystery was good. Not telegraphing everything too much, but nothing came out of nowhere, either.
The relaxed writing style and angsty MC had me unsure if I was going to like this but it made this really easy to read and I ended up really enjoying it! The angst made sense for a 22 year old who has grown up with trauma.
If you like movies like Clue or Knives Out you'll probably enjoy the vibes of this (if you're also okay with some fantasy mixed in).
The chapters are on the longer side.
Ending spoiler:
I almost wish the LI would have died even though it would take away from the HEA.
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Xenophobia, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is a sharp, quick-paced murder mystery that was everything I hoped it would be. Twelve Blesseds, each representing a province of the United Empire of Concordia, are on a voyage to the sacred mountain. Except Dee isn't Blessed - he's hiding his lack of power to protect his province. Then Dee has bigger things to worry about as one by one the Blesseds are murdered. Dee will have to figure out who the murderer is and what's going on before he ends up dead.
I had such a great time with this book. It has some great character work, a twisty mystery, an interesting magic system, and fantastic representation of different races, sexualities, body types, and disabilities. It also deals with classism, xenophobia, prejudice, religious bigotry, self-esteem, and the economics of control. Along with grief, love, family, found family, and corruption. Just a whole lot of stuff packed into an isolated, closed circle murder mystery on a boat.
Dee was a great protagonist and it was fun to follow him through his resentment and self-loathing at the lie foisted upon him to finding his true self and working his way through the clues. Dee is loud, proud of his big body, funny while using humour as deflection, and in many ways his idgaf nature is what saves the day. There's also a romance element in this book, which went some unexpected ways a few times.
I liked how the Blessings were tied into the plot, and how the story unravelled by revealing bits about each character and their pasts. It did get a bit confusing that characters had names but were also called their province's animal name.
I did guess some elements of the solution, but not all of it. I'm not sure if I would class this as a fair play mystery since some of the clues come rather late and deal a lot with the politics and secrets there wouldn't be a way of knowing.
I'd have more to say, but it would all be spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death, Classism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, Suicide, Ableism, and Terminal illness
e_read_books's review against another edition
3.75
I was worried in the first couple of chapters that Dee would be too annoying of a character for me to follow. I'll admit his humour did not always land for me, but his true depth is quickly revealed to us and he ended up being a really compelling character and a pretty good detective. I absolutely loved his relationship with little Grasshopper (truly Adorable Level 5/5).
Lowering the score for me is I didn't quite jive with some of the humour and also the conclusion, though it fits well with Dee's character arc. I'm just never going to prefer
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
styxx'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Xenophobia, Outing, Suicide attempt, Grief, Bullying, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Murder
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
madscientistcat'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: Murder, Blood, Suicide attempt, Grief, Classism, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Sexual content
cozyreadergurl3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
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