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adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have very conflicting opinions on this book, but I'll try and explain it as best as possible. There will be spoilers so read the review with caution!
I'll start off with this, I'm not a fantasy reader. I don't read a lot of it, so maybe I don't understand the ins and outs of what makes a good fantasy book. But I did enjoy it. At least until the ending. And the main reason the ending I think fumbles is because of the message theming and of course, the romance. The Wolf and the Woodsman is still the only fantasy book that I think pulled off the romance pretty well.
Anyway, what I did like about this book were the characters. There were a lot. And I think it's hard to pull off a big cast, but Voyage of the Damned did a pretty solid job, as each character had a unique voice and personality and were developed just enough to feel three-dimensional. They were more than just stereotypes of their province, and it works well for all twelve of them.
My absolute favorite thing of the book was Dee's POV. It was such a breath of fresh air to have a character balance heart and humor in their inner dialogue. There were parts that hit a little too deeply and parts that made me, at the very least, chuckle. He's so very obviously flawed and needs to overcome said flaws in order to solve the growing murders on the ship before it's too late. He's realistic, in my opinion. And I enjoyed reading through his eyes.
Now, slight nitpick, this does feel like a YA book at times, which again, feels par for the course for a lot of adult fantasy books, but it doesn't necessarily hinder my enjoyment. There was a lot of exposition through Dee's POV that felt over-explained and at times, unneeded.
What did interfere with my enjoyment was the entire third act of the book, the finale.
Massive Spoilers ahead!
From the least offensive thing to the most offensive:
I didn't mind that Leofric and Cordelia were the killers. I think that made sense, their motivations were understandable. Grief over Lysander led to rash decisions and radicalizations, which can happen, they needed something to believe in. I didn't care for Ravinder faking his death, and despite his Half-Crab/Half-Crow heritage, I don't think his sob story excuses everything he did throughout the present.
I don't particularly like the fact that, not only does Dee get his Blessing, but all of them. It think this messes with the themes of the book, of accepting one's self regardless. I thought it was going to go the other way, similar to Encanto, where Dee realizes he doesn't need a Blessing in order to be powerful, but that his Blessing was inward, that he could bring the provinces without magic. It just feels too 'perfect' for him. I don't even think he really did anything to deserve all the Blessings.
And lastly, the romance. Oh my god, we could have just done without Ravinder and Dee. I think they would have stayed better as exes who had a thing when they were teenagers. I'll say I was rooting for Wyatt and Dee, because I thought it would have been nice, but surpise it wasn't Wyatt! It was Ravinder all along. Which, is deceptive! This is the same person that told Dee he was 'of no value' at the beginning. Part of the plan or not, it's gross! And to excuse Ravinder's (attempted) murders and overall plan of killing all the Blessed because he's sorry feels rushed and for no reason other than to push a gay romance at the end. It feels weird that Dee doesn't even care about the massive amount of deception and absolute terrible actions all for the sake of "love". I'm not going to excuse Ravinder just because he's a pretty boy with a sob story.
All and all, I had fun! It was fun. There's not a ton of magic for a fantasy novel, but I don't personally care. I don't mind the fact that the ending was wrapped up neatly in a little bow. It makes sense considering this is a one-off it seems. It's just a fun low-fantasy murder mystery, and I would recommend it to people who aren't huge fantasy fans and just starting to get into the genre.
I'll start off with this, I'm not a fantasy reader. I don't read a lot of it, so maybe I don't understand the ins and outs of what makes a good fantasy book. But I did enjoy it. At least until the ending. And the main reason the ending I think fumbles is because of the message theming and of course, the romance. The Wolf and the Woodsman is still the only fantasy book that I think pulled off the romance pretty well.
Anyway, what I did like about this book were the characters. There were a lot. And I think it's hard to pull off a big cast, but Voyage of the Damned did a pretty solid job, as each character had a unique voice and personality and were developed just enough to feel three-dimensional. They were more than just stereotypes of their province, and it works well for all twelve of them.
My absolute favorite thing of the book was Dee's POV. It was such a breath of fresh air to have a character balance heart and humor in their inner dialogue. There were parts that hit a little too deeply and parts that made me, at the very least, chuckle. He's so very obviously flawed and needs to overcome said flaws in order to solve the growing murders on the ship before it's too late. He's realistic, in my opinion. And I enjoyed reading through his eyes.
Now, slight nitpick, this does feel like a YA book at times, which again, feels par for the course for a lot of adult fantasy books, but it doesn't necessarily hinder my enjoyment. There was a lot of exposition through Dee's POV that felt over-explained and at times, unneeded.
What did interfere with my enjoyment was the entire third act of the book, the finale.
Massive Spoilers ahead!
From the least offensive thing to the most offensive:
All and all, I had fun! It was fun. There's not a ton of magic for a fantasy novel, but I don't personally care. I don't mind the fact that the ending was wrapped up neatly in a little bow. It makes sense considering this is a one-off it seems. It's just a fun low-fantasy murder mystery, and I would recommend it to people who aren't huge fantasy fans and just starting to get into the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming, War
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I pre-ordered Voyage of the Damned as I was drawn to the summary but sucked in, yet again, by sprayed edges, a pretty cover, and the promise of beautiful endpapers. And, yes, the cover, edges, and end papers are pretty but I should have just borrowed it from the library.
My favorite parts of the book were: the murder mystery, Dee’s humor and devil-may-care attitude (which I saw as self-preservation), and Grasshopper’s relationship with Dee. I was interested enough in all the characters and the mystery to keep reading rather than DNFing the book. However, I really could have used Dee’s Diagram of Deduction to keep track of who-was-who, what their blessings were, who was alive & who was killed, who hated/loved who, and what each province’s characteristics were. Maybe it was because I was reading before bed that made it hard to keep details straight. But before-falling-asleep is my primary reading time—and I’ve never before had trouble reading fantasy with new worlds.
Yes, there were similarities to Agatha Christie’s perennial favorites And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. But every time I picked up Voyage of the Damned, rather than feeling like I was eagerly returning to a circle of friends for the latest gossip and to watch the next drama unfold, I was having to reacquaint myself with the characters, gather the threads of the plot, and try to recall the wider pieces of the setting.
I think it may be time to lower the bar for ruling a book a DNF. I should not continue to pick up a book that intrigues me but makes my brain hurt in trying to keep track of all the threads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
More brutal violence than I was expecting and incredibly anime feeling. Everyone represents an animal, Fruits Basket zodiac style, and have different rainbow hair colors. The cast is very diverse, which flips back and forth between contrived and just a sign of how screwed up this world/system of governance is.
The youngest passenger is an adorable six-year-old so if "child on murder boat" raises any red flags for you, look into content warnings or just skip this one.
It's engaging but not for me.
The youngest passenger is an adorable six-year-old so if "child on murder boat" raises any red flags for you, look into content warnings or just skip this one.
It's engaging but not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Ableism
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
12 provinces (if we exclude the 13th exiled beyond the Bandage). 12 heirs blessed with a secret magical ability (but one of them is lying and unblessed). 12 days on a boat journey to pay tribute to the Goddess (and most of them will not make it to their destination).
✓ a rare 50/50 Fantasy Mystery blend!
✓ positive queer, fat & disabled characters
✓ comfy elements: hilarious mc and lovable scooby gang
✓ multiple dead bodies! Woohoo!
✓ thorough world-building and strong mystery plotting
x disappointing romantic twist/reveal
x some 2-d depictions of important characters with little or no on-page appearances
This was such an impressive romp with so many elements I love in both my mysteries AND my fantasies. The murder mystery was a strong A plot, following an immensely likable and hilarious amateur sleuth and unsung hero, Dee of Fish Province. He was strong while being flawed, and I couldn't help but root for him. I'm also a sucker for boat settings, Scooby gang camaraderie, and a high body count where no one is safe! Meanwhile, on the fantasy side, we had a captivating origin story that reminded me a bit of Sky Woman from indigenous tradition, strong world-building, illustrated maps, and important themes about empire, unity, and acceptance. I loved the details added about the separate provinces, their trade and customs, their alliances, and the individual abilities of every province heir.
Elements I was less impressed by include (1) fan fiction/YA-esque humor at times. Don't get me wrong, there were SO many times I was laughing along and charmed by the witty and sharp dialogue, but it also felt overdone sometimes. (2) Two characters were mentioned numerous times through anecdotes and brief flashbacks/memories: Lysander and Ravi. These characters remained 2D to me, and I never felt invested in who they were because I never truly saw them on the page, and when I did, it was so brief/insubstantial. (3) My biggest issue with the narrative was how the author handled the romance between Dee and another character. There was a major reveal/twist in the book that, for me, overall cheapened the entire development of the romance itself. I was really disappointed, and I wish the reveal never happened to be honest. And as it did, Dee needed a stronger, averse reaction to the reveal. The love interest got off way too easy. and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
CW: descriptions of drowning, violence and physical injuries (including severed limbs), dead bodies, self-harm and suicidal ideation
Actual Rating: 3.75 stars
Original Pub Date: 20 August 2024
Reading Format: print + audio
Thank you NetGalley, MIRA and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!
✓ a rare 50/50 Fantasy Mystery blend!
✓ positive queer, fat & disabled characters
✓ comfy elements: hilarious mc and lovable scooby gang
✓ multiple dead bodies! Woohoo!
✓ thorough world-building and strong mystery plotting
x disappointing romantic twist/reveal
x some 2-d depictions of important characters with little or no on-page appearances
This was such an impressive romp with so many elements I love in both my mysteries AND my fantasies. The murder mystery was a strong A plot, following an immensely likable and hilarious amateur sleuth and unsung hero, Dee of Fish Province. He was strong while being flawed, and I couldn't help but root for him. I'm also a sucker for boat settings, Scooby gang camaraderie, and a high body count where no one is safe! Meanwhile, on the fantasy side, we had a captivating origin story that reminded me a bit of Sky Woman from indigenous tradition, strong world-building, illustrated maps, and important themes about empire, unity, and acceptance. I loved the details added about the separate provinces, their trade and customs, their alliances, and the individual abilities of every province heir.
Elements I was less impressed by include (1) fan fiction/YA-esque humor at times. Don't get me wrong, there were SO many times I was laughing along and charmed by the witty and sharp dialogue, but it also felt overdone sometimes. (2) Two characters were mentioned numerous times through anecdotes and brief flashbacks/memories: Lysander and Ravi. These characters remained 2D to me, and I never felt invested in who they were because I never truly saw them on the page, and when I did, it was so brief/insubstantial. (3) My biggest issue with the narrative was how the author handled the romance between Dee and another character. There was a major reveal/twist in the book that, for me, overall cheapened the entire development of the romance itself. I was really disappointed, and I wish the reveal never happened to be honest. And as it did, Dee needed a stronger, averse reaction to the reveal. The love interest got off way too easy. and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
CW: descriptions of drowning, violence and physical injuries (including severed limbs), dead bodies, self-harm and suicidal ideation
Actual Rating: 3.75 stars
Original Pub Date: 20 August 2024
Reading Format: print + audio
Thank you NetGalley, MIRA and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
"Voyage of the Damned", o "ese libro que hizo que me enamorase del protagonista en el capítulo 1". Un narrador con una voz y un carisma increíbles. Una historia con muchos giros, con mucho suspense, asesinatos e intrigas. El worbu es genial y los personajes también. Grasshopper es lo mejor del universo. Ah, y todo es muy queer.
Este libro iba para 5 estrellas, disparado. Y a pesar de que lo sigo recomendando muchísimo y de que sigo adorando a Dee, me he desinflado con una revelación del final. No voy a entrar en detalles porque es un spoiler enorme. Solo diré que la forma en que todos los hilos entre las subtramas se conectan y todo cobra sentido está muy bien ligada, las pistas estaban todas ahí, pero eso no significa que tenga que gustarme. Aun así, un libro buenísimo, 4 estrellazas.
Este libro iba para 5 estrellas, disparado. Y a pesar de que lo sigo recomendando muchísimo y de que sigo adorando a Dee, me he desinflado con una revelación del final. No voy a entrar en detalles porque es un spoiler enorme. Solo diré que la forma en que todos los hilos entre las subtramas se conectan y todo cobra sentido está muy bien ligada, las pistas estaban todas ahí, pero eso no significa que tenga que gustarme. Aun así, un libro buenísimo, 4 estrellazas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Racism, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I find it difficult sometimes to differentiate between "bad" or "flawed" writing choices and writing choices I simply don't like, but seeing as I rate my reads on enjoyment rather than objective quality, I'll be quite honest.
For a debut novel, this was not bad. It kept me engaged, consistently twisting my assumptions of what was really going on down to the final chapters. (Excitingly, SPOILERS:I was partially right in two of my guesses. One of which being that either Eudora, Ravi, or both were alive and in on the murders. The other guess being an alternative to the first; that Cordelia was the murderer, because a "seemingly innocent" frail girl gone mad with grief is an easy call from 300 pages away.)
However, I have some complaints. One of which being that Ganymedes left me disappointed as a protagonist. I have a strong penchant for "misfit asshole" characters, but as protagonists you also have to either have them grow or at least have their flaws pointed out in the story. Dee's insistence that he was the only one who understood Ravi and being convinced that his attitude toward him was a lie after having not seen him for five years especially irked me, and even worsethat the story proved him right . He was entertaining at first, but the story became so distracted with the mystery that it forgot to give Dee time to reflect on himself. The most we got were a few moments of him thinking "I guess I don't know this person who I've only spoken to a handful of times in my life as well as I thought I did.", which, yeah, no shit. I empathize with Dee, as anybody who has been made to feel like a lowly outsider would, but ultimately he was mostly just self-centred and was mostly humanized through the six-year-old that was glued to his side for most of the story who he nearly got killed anyway to literally go commit suicide .
I promise I'm not normally a cynical reader, but I think it's fair to be put off by every other character spilling their guts to him or telling him that he was a good person when the story spent its first fifth establishing how much they were supposed to hate and distrust him.
Lastly, and this is really more of a personal issue than a writing one (maybe), but the reveal ofWyatt having been Ravi all along was not the triumph I think it was supposed to land as. I spent hundreds of pages falling in love with Wyatt as a character, being happy that Dee stopped clinging to the childhood love he thought he knew, only for him to have been dead all along, with Ravi having lied to Dee, and to the audience the whole time. It devastated me. I was given zero time to mourn the boy who never existed as I was essentially told "oh well, it was Ravi the whole time so the emotions were still real!" as if that was supposed to fix the dissonance between the characters of Ravi and Wyatt in my head. And the fact that I was supposed to forgive Ravi in the last stretch of the book for having been in on the devastation that the plot was centered around felt like an extra slap in the face. Barely any thought was even given to the real Wyatt, only how he died.
Anyways, I know that I've complained a lot in this review, but overall it was a compelling read! The dialogue was well written and the conflict well-paced, if not slow to start. I am a locked tomb fan, and this story has quite a few similarities to it (so many so that I started keeping tally of all the comparisons I could make in my head), so overall I found it entertaining enough to finish in just a few sittings. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and the details are where this story falters most, outside of its core murder mystery plot.
(P.S. I want a prequel novella about Leofric and Lysander.)
For a debut novel, this was not bad. It kept me engaged, consistently twisting my assumptions of what was really going on down to the final chapters. (Excitingly, SPOILERS:
However, I have some complaints. One of which being that Ganymedes left me disappointed as a protagonist. I have a strong penchant for "misfit asshole" characters, but as protagonists you also have to either have them grow or at least have their flaws pointed out in the story. Dee's insistence that he was the only one who understood Ravi and being convinced that his attitude toward him was a lie after having not seen him for five years especially irked me, and even worse
I promise I'm not normally a cynical reader, but I think it's fair to be put off by every other character spilling their guts to him or telling him that he was a good person when the story spent its first fifth establishing how much they were supposed to hate and distrust him.
Lastly, and this is really more of a personal issue than a writing one (maybe), but the reveal of
Anyways, I know that I've complained a lot in this review, but overall it was a compelling read! The dialogue was well written and the conflict well-paced, if not slow to start. I am a locked tomb fan, and this story has quite a few similarities to it (so many so that I started keeping tally of all the comparisons I could make in my head), so overall I found it entertaining enough to finish in just a few sittings. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and the details are where this story falters most, outside of its core murder mystery plot.
(P.S. I want a prequel novella about Leofric and Lysander.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, War
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok this was an absolute good time. Voyage of the Damned executed what Gideon the Ninth failed to do for me. This was a gritty, fun isolated closed circle mystery set in a dystopian fantasy setting. The main character,Dee, was lovable and funny. The humor hit like Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. There was a mini-found-family situation ,which is my catnip. The one qualm I had while reading it is figuring out what age range this book is for. Due to the dystopian setting, the characters trapped on the ship are as young as six and as old as thirty. However, I think I’m going to place Voyage of the Damned in either New Adult or Adult age range. A great read! I look forward to trying more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
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
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Somehow the most interesting premise managed to end up getting worse chapter by chapter... Similar to the MC, I'm afraid.
I liked trying to figure out the mystery, but then when it was resolved it felt like there was no way a reader (or, well, me) could have actually figured out what happened with the information that was given.
Also there were some really contrived bits I strongly disliked.
At least some scenes were cute and/or funny, though.Grasshopper is actually so cute/funny!
It was cool to see that there was a bunch of diversity throughout the book, but [heavy spoilers]that every genderqueer person died at the end left a really stale taste for me. I mean, great, the woman liking women and two of the gay/bi men survived, but the trans man as well as the nonbinary person died in the stupidest ways (imho)
I liked trying to figure out the mystery, but then when it was resolved it felt like there was no way a reader (or, well, me) could have actually figured out what happened with the information that was given.
Also there were some really contrived bits I strongly disliked.
At least some scenes were cute and/or funny, though.
It was cool to see that there was a bunch of diversity throughout the book, but [heavy spoilers]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, War