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A review by rg9400
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
This book is juggling a variety of different elements. While comparisons are going to be drawn towards Agatha Christie, I actually found myself thinking a lot about Gideon the Ninth which also has all these disparate houses with unique roles and abilities, people dying, a glib main character who uses jokes as a defense mechanism, queer characters and romances, and similar themes of self-acceptance. However, Gideon the Ninth manages to balance all these unique elements in a way that Voyage of the Damned doesn't exactly succeed at.
At its core is a murder mystery, filled with suspects that start to become eliminated, each suspect with their own secrets and powers. I actually thought the core mystery was engaging, though I really dislike one of the reveals at the end. There isn't a ton of investigation and legwork as other elements tend to eat up focus, but I did end up feeling like each of the characters were distinctive with clues that tie into the various powers (though the magic isn't as integral to the mysteries as in something like The Tainted Cup).
Another very prominent element is our main character's personality and arc. Ganymedes is insufferable. But unlike with Gideon Nav, I did not enjoy his humor at all, and the crass sex jokes often felt like tonal whiplash in a bad way. I do actually think Ganymedes has an interesting arc that actually ties in well with the magic system and plot. Ganymedes and his province are constantly overlooked, leading to a feeling of inferiority. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stand him on the page, so it made his growth less engaging. He does have a young sidekick character who kind of just is there. I think she could have been more compelling had she been given more agency and her own personality other than "young kid who is meant to be adorable". Outside of that, the rest of the characters are similar to what you would expect from a murder mystery, more driven by their motives and secrets than actual character depth.
Next, we have the romance. I hated it. It is over the top mushy and disrupts the pacing constantly. There are also elements of it that I found made it deeply questionable just in terms of how it is set up. I don't have much more to say other than I wish it had been significantly toned down with a lot less page count and more buildup. I also would have changed the ending significantly.
Finally, the worldbuilding and the lore. For a "snowbound" murder mystery, there is actually a surprising amount of lore developed because each character is associated with a unique province with a unique role within the world. With such a limited page count, I think the world is surprisingly given more depth than I was expecting, and it does play a role in the mystery. However, I do think the politics and regions are going to still just be sketches compared to more traditional epic fantasy books, and this type of worldbuilding sometimes backfires where I felt wanting more understanding of the provinces beyond the role they are playing in the story. Again, I think Gideon the Ninth is able to do this in a way where the lore is a lot deeper than just the murder mystery, but it's also setting up a series and isn't a standalone. I think the epilogue was where I found this the most lacking because it pulls the reader out into the larger world, and that's when you realize how little you actually care or know about it. However, within the confines of the murder mystery, I think it's done well with the themes tying neatly into the mystery and character journey.
Overall, I am impressed with certain elements of this book like the mystery and the way it gets tied into the world in such a limited page count. However, the main character's humor is really grating, with the book struggling to effortlessly switch between the tones like Gideon the Ninth does. The writing is just not as sharp and cleverly constructed, and at times you just get thrown out of the book. More importantly, I **really** dislike the romance in this book, with that being enough to dock the review significantly. I don't think a lot of it is even salvageable. I appreciate that the book tries to balance all these elements together because outside of Gideon the Ninth, I can't really think of many others that even attempt it. And the book really had potential because it does some parts of it well, but at the end cannot bring everything together in a satisfying way.
At its core is a murder mystery, filled with suspects that start to become eliminated, each suspect with their own secrets and powers. I actually thought the core mystery was engaging, though I really dislike one of the reveals at the end. There isn't a ton of investigation and legwork as other elements tend to eat up focus, but I did end up feeling like each of the characters were distinctive with clues that tie into the various powers (though the magic isn't as integral to the mysteries as in something like The Tainted Cup).
Another very prominent element is our main character's personality and arc. Ganymedes is insufferable. But unlike with Gideon Nav, I did not enjoy his humor at all, and the crass sex jokes often felt like tonal whiplash in a bad way. I do actually think Ganymedes has an interesting arc that actually ties in well with the magic system and plot. Ganymedes and his province are constantly overlooked, leading to a feeling of inferiority. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stand him on the page, so it made his growth less engaging. He does have a young sidekick character who kind of just is there. I think she could have been more compelling had she been given more agency and her own personality other than "young kid who is meant to be adorable". Outside of that, the rest of the characters are similar to what you would expect from a murder mystery, more driven by their motives and secrets than actual character depth.
Next, we have the romance. I hated it. It is over the top mushy and disrupts the pacing constantly. There are also elements of it that I found made it deeply questionable just in terms of how it is set up. I don't have much more to say other than I wish it had been significantly toned down with a lot less page count and more buildup. I also would have changed the ending significantly.
Finally, the worldbuilding and the lore. For a "snowbound" murder mystery, there is actually a surprising amount of lore developed because each character is associated with a unique province with a unique role within the world. With such a limited page count, I think the world is surprisingly given more depth than I was expecting, and it does play a role in the mystery. However, I do think the politics and regions are going to still just be sketches compared to more traditional epic fantasy books, and this type of worldbuilding sometimes backfires where I felt wanting more understanding of the provinces beyond the role they are playing in the story. Again, I think Gideon the Ninth is able to do this in a way where the lore is a lot deeper than just the murder mystery, but it's also setting up a series and isn't a standalone. I think the epilogue was where I found this the most lacking because it pulls the reader out into the larger world, and that's when you realize how little you actually care or know about it. However, within the confines of the murder mystery, I think it's done well with the themes tying neatly into the mystery and character journey.
Overall, I am impressed with certain elements of this book like the mystery and the way it gets tied into the world in such a limited page count. However, the main character's humor is really grating, with the book struggling to effortlessly switch between the tones like Gideon the Ninth does. The writing is just not as sharp and cleverly constructed, and at times you just get thrown out of the book. More importantly, I **really** dislike the romance in this book, with that being enough to dock the review significantly. I don't think a lot of it is even salvageable. I appreciate that the book tries to balance all these elements together because outside of Gideon the Ninth, I can't really think of many others that even attempt it. And the book really had potential because it does some parts of it well, but at the end cannot bring everything together in a satisfying way.