Genre: Fantasy, Murder-Mystery
Published: Michael Joseph Publishing, January 2024
My Rating: 4/5 stars
“You don't need a Blessing to be a miracle.”
Fantasy-murder-mystery wasn’t a genre I knew I wanted before 2024, but boy am I happy that it came into my life… I went into Voyage of the Damned with high hopes but cautious expectations, as I’ve seen very mixed reviews in response to it. Overall, I was so pleasantly surprised. This is far from a perfect fantasy, but regardless; I had so much unadulterated fun with it!
If go in with the correct expectations and meet the novel on its own grounds, you’re in for a romp.
The Story:
For thousands of years, the Empire of Concordia has been divided into twelve provinces, led by a committee of an emissary from each province, selected by the Goddess herself when they inherit a magical ability known as the Blessing from their parent. A new generation of Blessed is ready to emerge the throne, and they embark on a celebratory voyage overseas towards the Sacred Mountain. On board: 11 Blessed, 1 fraud; a boy named Ganymedes (Dee), faking his blessing to cover up a family secret. Then bodies start dropping… One by one, the Blessed fall victim to an assassin within their midst. Suddenly it’s up to our underdog to step up to solve an mystery and save the empire…
What I loved:
The novel is pitched as “if Agatha Christie wrote fantasy”, and to be fair, that description is quite accurate and gives you some idea of where to set your expectations. Christies books (at least to me) are closed room murder-mysteries, a bit more on the lighter side. Their plots are often a bit ridiculous, their protagonists a variant on a classic stereotype, and despite their high murder-count they have a strange “feel-good”-vibe to them. That immediately describes the expectations you should set for Voyage of the Damned. Within the fantasy-murder-mystery genre: this is to Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile what The Tainted Cup is to Sherlock Holmes. Different flavours; pick your poison. If you want deep and intricate character- and world-building; go with Robert Jackson Bennett. Otherwise, Frances White created a propulsively readable mystery with a memorable cast of characters. With such a large cast of 12 potential killers/victims, the fact that they’re all stereotypes (often even aligning with the stereotype of their provinces totem-animal) actually helps to keep track of them without overwhelming the reader.
A few standouts are obviously Ganymedes “Pissfish” Piscero, who I actually really came to love, despite how annoying I found him at the start. His outward flamboyance and self-deprecating humor are a shield against a deep-rooted complex of inferiority and insecurity. He’s an absolute blundering bisexual mess of a character, but the way we get to know him more and more throughout really endeared me to him. Then there’re the two major secondary characters he allies himself with and their developing relationships. Again; utterly endearing.
Of course at the center of any murder mystery is the actual mystery itself. In this case: I loved it. There was plenty of potential (hidden magical abilities and political rivalries that made sure that everyone was a suspect, flimsy alibi’s galore and literal no means of escape from the ship), and it delivered on much of it. I was hooked until the end and the twist… well, we’ll get there in a minute…
What I didn’t love:
Almost all of the points mentioned above can be construed into negatives as well, depending on what you’re looking for. The worldbuilding is quite shallow, characters are stereotypical and flat, and the humor might not be your jam. Yet I feel like much of that is deliberate. I do have a few legitimate gripes that kept it from 5-star level.
Firstly, I hate the “aesthetics” of this fantasy world. The characters’ different haircolours representing their provinces, the overabundance of the animal-imagery… it felt so juvenile and so 2000-YA-fantasy (think Divergent-factions or the Capitol from the Hungergames) to me.
Secondly; the twist really bugs me. Not because it’s a bad twist; it’s actually pretty good and fitting to the story, but because it undoes some of the strongest elements of the story that came before. I can’t explain without spoiling, so spoiler-section at the bottom for those interested.
Overall; this was a book I loved reading, despite its flaws. The experience reminded me a lot of what I felt reading Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, although obviously a very different subgenre. Won’t be for everyone, but might just be the perfect thing you’re in the mood for. At least it was for me…
You can find this book here on Goodreads.
SPOILERS BELOW:
Throughout the novel, we get a lot of development between Wyatt and Dee, and their relationship became one of my favourite elements of the story. I loved Wyatt, I loved his underdog character and the way his disability and illness were handled. He is seen holding his own, regardless of his physical condition and there are even some powerful statements made about disability in conversations between the two. I also loved how Dee was able to be himself fully with Wyatt in ways he hadn’t been able to with other characters before. Then comes the twist: Wyatt has been dead all along and the person Dee has been interacting with has been his ex Ravi using his powers of transformation to disguise himself. This to me, undoes ALL the relationship-build-up between Wyatt and Dee. I don’t care for Ravi’s argument of “it was still all me, you just fell in love with me all over again”. ABSOLUTELY NOT: you were deceiving Dee and exploiting his willingness to open up to a stranger. This is NOT okay.
Also, from a disability-perspective, this undoes a lot of the positive representation. We go from a terminally ill character having a vital role in the story, to the author fridging them at the start and “broodingly handsome tall boy” pretending to be him. Yikes…
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