Murder mystery meets fantasy in this unexpectedly somewhat unique story. The twelve heirs of the states of Concordia are travelling by ship to an important ceremony. As the heirs to their respective states they each have their own blessing with the exception of the main character Dee who must keep this hidden at all costs. A closed room murder mystery this book keeps you guessing but also deals with a number of other issues such as class and prejudice. Although marketed to an adult audience this novels for me felt more YA although this didn’t spoil my enjoyment. There was a large cast of characters which did take me sometime to get to grips with.. I ended up writing a list to remind me initially but I soon managed to get everyone sorted. I’ll be interested to see what the author writes next. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This book exceeded every expectation. Marketing (and the internet) have really focused on the murder mystery side of this but it is a fantasy at its core.

The worldbuilding was simplistic but effective. Essentially there are 12 provinces protected by a barrier y bfrom the monsters outside, with a 13th province as the enemy, who are left to fend for themselves. Each province has a spiritual leader who receives a “blessing” from the goddess to protect their province and these blessings are often kept secret. Our main character is faking being blessed but has to attend a summit with the other blessed on a cruise to a sacred mountain. During the cruise people keep getting murdered and it is up to our protagonist to investigate and discover who is doing it before they end up getting killed themselves…

I liked this. I liked our central protagonist, Dee/Ganymedes, an overweight joker who has to grow to fit the role of being a hero. I felt the secondary characters were well realised as well, especially Grasshopper, who was very realistic at being a 6 year old. I also liked that the book was really unashamedly queer and I rooted for the relationships.

The story seems to be a stand-alone which is refreshing because everything ties up at the end. Sometimes a book doesn’t need to be a series. It was quite a hefty book but it never felt that way because it was quite fast paced.

5/5 I have no complaints.

I had heard about this book as it's going to be featured in an upcoming illumicrate box but for some reason despite everything I had heard I didn't realise that this is a very fantasy heavy mystery. I really thought this was going to be an Agatha Christie sort of story with some mild magic elements but this is definitely a Fantasy Mystery with emphasis on the fantasy! The main character has a strong voice and an endearing (if crude) sense of humour. The plot has plenty of twists and turns but the conclusion makes sense and I was satisfied by the ending. I think fans of Gideon the Ninth will enjoy this one!

I have reviewed Viyage of the Damned by Frances White for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen the title as both a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Pick of the Month. Please see the link for the full review.

I wanted to love this, I really did but I just couldn't get into it at all. I didn't connect with the characters and found the monologue of the main character to be a little annoying with the constant swearing every other sentence. It made it feel juvenile, like when a kid knows they shouldn't be swearing at home so they fill any sentence possible with it with friends.

There are however same sex relationships which is nice to see, and a diverse range of characters. I just wish I had been more interested in them!

Voyage of the Damned is a magical murder mystery which takes place at sea. Probably my favourite thing about this novel is the narrator which is incredibly unique and witty. The character of Ganymedes has probably one of the most distinctive voices that I have read for a long time and I really enjoyed it.

On the other hand, there were some aspects of this story that I didn’t 100% love. For example, some of the world building felt clunky and came across a little bit young for an adult story. The colourful hair of the characters and the fact that the provinces are named after animals felt like features of a YA novel rather than for adults as intended. I also felt as if some of the worldbuilding was just big dumps of information told to us by characters. I found this a bit disappointing and thought it could’ve been done in a way that was more interesting.

Despite the fact I thought there were some issues I think this is still a very good debut fantasy novel. I am very excited to see what Frances comes up with in the future.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I couldn't get into the characters and I couldn't take the world building seriously.

A fantastic debut from Frances White!

Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) for providing me with an eARC of Voyage of the Damned in exchange for an honest review.

Voyage of the Damned is a quirky and magical murder mystery set aboard a ship. It is a locked-room mystery that is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Glass Onion, and those who also love a hint of fantasy. This book is charming, whimsical, and wonderfully gay.

12 heirs of their respective provinces come together on a 12 day journey to the mountain in which their goddess first bestowed her blessings upon them. A trip meant for celebration and honor quickly turns sinister when the body of one of the heirs is discovered. As bodies start piling up, our main character, Ganymedes, is on a mission to find out ‘whodunit’.

With each province having its own associated color, blessing (power), and animal representative, I just HAD to make a murder board to see if I could figure out the culprit along the way. (Note, the main character also makes a murder board and it was hilarious).

The heirs…aka the suspects...all have secrets, political motivations, and deeply seated backgrounds with one another which helped propel the story along. I had the hardest time trying to figure out who I thought the murderer was, which only made me want to read more.

It was so easy to get sucked into the story. It was both ridiculous and addictive and I just had to know what was going to happen next. There were also some lovely heartwarming moments that really tugged at the heartstrings along the way.

Our main character is seen as the lowliest of all the heirs and with secrets of his own, he really had nothing to lose. Watching him team up and make new friends while battling his life-long discrimination and bullying from others was very powerful to read. Throughout, Ganymedes was witty and chaotic and an easy character to both love and understand on a deeper level.

The first 10-20% is filled with a large amount of worldbuilding that I know some will dislike, but I had a great time learning about the world and the provinces. Since I was building my own murder board, the beginning was fantastic for helping me lay out the characteristics of the various heirs and understand the underlying political alliances and tenuous relationships.

Overall, I had a great time with this book. It was immersive, powerful, fun, and intelligent all at the same time. I loved the fantasy elements woven throughout the book and am so excited for others to pick it up when it releases in January (2024). I cannot wait to see what others think of this book because I think it has a good chance of being a top read of the year.

#voyageofthedamned #franceswhite @michaeljbooks @penguinukbooks

This many people getting murdered should not be so much fun! The main character, Dee, is gloriously outrageous, beautifully flawed, and immensely relatable: he made this book an absolute joy to read. And, of course, the nail-biting suspense kept me up at night...

I've seen it compared to Agatha Christie, and well, I guess you could make some plot comparisons with 'And Then There Were None'... but honestly, I'd rather read this any day. Reading Christie is like dissecting a corpse with a scalpel. This is more like sinking into a bubble bath and then finding it's laced with arsenic. I'd compare it more to The Goblin Emperor, or maybe A Taste of Gold and Iron.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the advance reader copy.

I’ll start by saying I enjoyed reading this but don’t think it’s the best book I have read in a while.
It’s a fantasy style Agatha Christie murder mystery which happens on a boat whilst our passengers head for a celebration.

There are a few things I would have liked fleshed out more, such as the world building and the general ‘magic’ system. But otherall the who dunnit does keep you engaged.

Without having spoilers in this review, the conclusion and twist felt a little rushed and there seemed to be little repercussions for certain characters.
Otherwise a fun read.

I really enjoyed this rather unique locked-room fantasy murder mystery. A strong read that held my attention throughout.. The cover is stunning too

Magical blessings combined with a thrilling murder cruise, oh go on then!

Voyage of the Damned was a unique combination of genres that seemed like they wouldn’t work but they really did. There was so much to like about this book and it was hard to believe it was a debut.

The world building was detailed and the writing was great. I loved the snarky humour and dialogue throughout. I also liked finding out about each blessing and how the magical system in the book worked. Plus the mystery element kept me guessing. Some things I saw coming and others I definitely didn’t.

The characters were fleshed out and had enough depth the make them interesting, although there were some I would love to have read more about.

But of course Dee stole the show. A different kind of hero but a hero nonetheless. I liked that he was constantly underestimated and disliked by almost everyone but didn’t let it change him, he stayed true to himself and was happy to show the others he didn’t care about their opinion of him.

If that hasn’t sold you on this book yet, did I mention the story is colourful, gay and there are magical dragon butlers - come on what more do you need.

The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star read for me - the pace was a little slow at times. That’s usually a personal preference though so if any of the above sounds interesting, I’d definitely give this a go.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do you ever read a book and instantly need to re-read it? The moment I finished Voyage of the Damned, I flipped right back to the beginning because, honestly, I couldn’t decide whether what I’d read was ridiculous or brilliant. I can say now that it’s a happy combination of both.

Dee is the perfect protagonist for this story. His internal monologue is relatable and emotionally devastating, but he’s also genuinely funny. The combination makes him easy to root for, and I’d happily read a series of books about Dee’s adventures. The romance didn’t win me over immediately (which was probably because I have a cold heart. And I was distracted by all the murder and plot twists – and holy moly are there plot twists!), but his friendship with Grasshopper had me from the get go.

There are clearly strong influences from anime/manga and video games (e.g. Danganronpa), so this would be the perfect book for a Japanese pop-culture fan – especially one that wished anime was more inclusive.

‘I felt it instantly when I saw him - that thread which connects his heart to mine'

Themes:
Murder mystery
Cosy fantasy
Hidden identity
Magic
Reluctant allies
Conspiracy
Romance

Content warning: amputation, suicidal ideation, and self-harm

Synopsis:
Each heir of the 12 provinces of Concordia is graced with a unique magical ability, except Dee. Dee joins 11 blessed heirs of Concordia on a 12 day voyage to the Goddess' Mountain. Soon after departure, someone is murdered. Dee must unmask the killer before everyone on board ends up dead.

My thoughts:
A perfect blend of murder-mystery and fantasy. Frances White has written a tale with a. very unigue, memorable and fully developed cast.
My favourite character apart from the MC is Grasshopper, she is the most adorable, amusing and realistic fictional 6 year old. The MC is kind, charming, ridiculous and relatable; he had me cracking up on every other page.
The world and magic system is fascinating and done so well. It’s fast paced at the start and the end.

This is a standalone murder-mystery fantasy, full of heart breaking and laugh your arse off moments, with a twist!
Everyone needs to read this book! Highly highly recommend!
#voyageofthedamned

What can I say? I was obsessed with this book. When I wasn’t trying to feverishly guess the murder in this most exalted of sub-genres – a fantasy murder mystery – I was being emotionally battered by some of the most honest, perceptive and real character work I’ve come across in any genre.

Honestly? It is ridiculous that this book is a debut, because on three key areas – worldbuilding, (murder) plot and honest, deeply moving character work – White knocks this out of the park so hard they’ll still be searching for the ball when we colonise Mars.

Let’s start with the worldbuilding. The premise of this book is fiendishly simple – twelve magically powered (and rarely straight) people on a boat are killed one by one – or as White herself puts it, “a magical gay mystery cruise”. But the world around that is – or at least it should be – monstrously complicated. The Empire of Concordia is split into twelve provinces, each named after an animal (Dragon, Tiger, Bear, you probably don’t need me to keep naming animals). The leaders of these provinces have “blessings”, i.e. magical powers that can be anything and that they pass onto their children. The provinces all have very different climates – desert, arctic, jungle etc. – and also different political power dynamics (to cut a long story short, half are weak, the other half are dicks). The young leaders on the boat – all headed to a mountain where the most powerful leader, the Dragon, will receive her own ultimate blessing – all have different personalities and endless secrets.

Basically, the amount of information here is staggering, but the first 15% of this book is a textbook study on how to get across SO MUCH worldbuilding in a way that doesn’t feel complicated or excessive. By a quarter of the way in I could easily tell you about each and every province and that is more impressive an achievement than however the hell the pyramids were built.

Then there’s the main character whose eyes we see the whole story through, Ganymedes, better known as Dee. Oh man, Dee. Not content with giving us one of fantasy’s great murder mysteries, White offers up one of fantasy’s great protagonists. Dee is an utterly hilarious but also heart-breaking whirlwind; if you don’t get a little water in your eyes, I don’t believe you. Dee hails from one of the weaker Southern provinces, Fish province, who are considered weak, poor scum by most of the arrogant Northern provinces. But Dee is unwilling to bend to these bullies, and makes an alliance of the weaker provinces to find out who is killing their way to power. He is a chaotic detective who it is impossible not to root for.

On a political level, White uses this story to show how the strong bully the weak, and this offers some meaty colonial themes for our own world. But this is not the simple analogy you might think; even the bullies turn out to have their own heart-breaking origins; even the strong turn out to have been tragically forged by their own weakness; twisted by their own pain into being a villain.

But on a personal level, Dee is a marvel too. He has a secret that is destroying him, and this is a book partly about how hiding your real identity can grind you down. Given that Dee is Bi, and a majority of the book’s characters are at least one of the letters in LGBT, this obviously has real relevance for those communities, but it also offers a textbook case for anyone on how the seemingly confident can lack self-esteem, and how you can be weakened by the secrets that mistakenly shame you.

White wields this powerful lesson like a scalpel; 70% of Dee is hilarious, larger than life chaotic – half of his proclamations had me shrieking with laughter – but the other 30% is heart breaking, and more so for how quickly it follows the humour. Humour and personal grief are difficult to meld well in writing. For White, it is seamless. There is also a great (gay) romance for the ages entwined among all the satisfying murder – never has the message about the power of someone seeing you for who you are been so keenly felt. This book will break you a thousand times and mend you all over again.

Finally, there is the murder mystery itself. To do a fantasy murder mystery that works is a challenge akin to threading the eye of a needle in the middle of an earthquake. Fantasy readers expect worldbuilding and character arcs as well as the complex, clockwork plot that murder mystery fans expect. Yet White has achieved maybe the best example of this cross-genre I’ve ever seen. I approached these murders like a man obsessed; I was so confident I’d guessed the twist, and I was so wrong, so utterly, utterly wrong. Speaking as someone who is currently writing their second fantasy murder mystery, I genuinely do not know how she did this. She must have given over most of her abode to post-it notes and paper string, either that or she’s a genius. At this point, I’m tending towards the latter.

You have one task in January. Read this book. It may well turn out to be 2024’s landmark fantasy.

The 12 heirs to the 12 provinces are on board a ship, completing a 12 day pilgrimage before they take up the mantle of leadership back in their respective homes. But on the first night, one of them winds up dead. And only one of the remaining 11 couple possibly have committed the murder.

This is a brilliantly twisty mystery with a fantastically original magic system. I loved the fantasy element, but the murders were the most gripping part of this book. A really strong book that I couldn't put down!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

With Voyage of the Damned, White has created something that will stick in my mind for a long while to come. This is a fantastically written, captivating fantasy murder mystery with a protagonist that chiselled a place for himself within my heart.

I was fascinated by the world-building here, with the different provinces and their own Blessings. This was such a fascinating and rich mythology, matching with the personal characteristics of many of the characters. The whole concept behind the Blessings is also so interesting and weaves into wider conversations around identity, power and colonialism in the book.

The mystery aspect of the book was also fantastic. This feels like a three-dimensional game of chess with layer after layer of secrets and deception going on. It is a locked room style mystery on a boat travelling onwards, even as the bodies start to pile up. White packs these pages densely with twists and betrayals and reveals that leave you reeling. At the same time, this is also a deeply detailed character study of Ganymedes and his discovery of his own place in the world. His voice was hilarious, charming and bombastic, but also showed a scared and vulnerable person always cast aside and mistreated. I laughed with him and I followed him into the darkness, one so recognisable to so many queer people.

This has such a fantastic core plot about being proud of yourself, learning to love yourself and come into your own power - however that may look. It is dark and goes to some difficult places, so please be aware of trigger warnings before reading. However, it is a story of self-acceptance and joy amidst the bloodshed and death. There is light and there is love here despite it all. In fact, the romantic subplot was brilliant, with some gradual building chemistry and cracking dialogue. I also really want to highlight the theme of found family and Ganymedes’ relationship with Grasshopper was one of the highlights of the book for me.

In short, Voyage of the Damned was the queer Death on the Nile esque fantasy murder mystery I needed in my life.

Without a doubt one of the best books I've read in the last year!
Dee is an everyman hero - a little overweight, a tendency to rile people up the wrong way, constantly feeling unworthy, and left behind. Despite that, despite some depressive episodes, despite betrayal by the man he loves, he is kind - offering a friendly hand to people who are struggling, trying to see the good, and offering protection where it's needed. One of my favourite heroes, and with an absolutely stellar sense of humour.
Part murder mystery, part fantasy, part coming of age story...with a lil dash of romance...Voyage of the Damned is definitely one of.my recommendations for 2024.

{AD|GIFTED} Gay murder mystery cruise with magic (and dragon butlers)!

I was lucky to receive an eARC of this book and decided to read it based on it being a potential pick for a couple of book boxes. I wasn't sure what to expect from the cover - maybe a historical fiction mystery like The Devil and the Dark Water? Having read the book, the fish cover fits much better but it doesn't tell the reader a lot going in.

This is a bold, exuberant story with big characters, a locked-room murder mystery, queer rep, and romance. But it's underpinned by an unforgettably incredible main character, Dee. Compared to the other Blessed who have inherited magical gifts, Dee is rather ordinary. And yet, it's his ordinariness that makes him extraordinary. Filled with self-loathing, Dee masks his true feelings with outrageous humour, mockery, and deflection. His search for identity and acceptance mimics the ship's literal journey, and I couldn't have wished for a better ending for him.

As the Blessed are murdered one by one, I was beginning to suspect almost every character. The twists of the plot are intricately plotted and I was gripped from beginning to end. I guessed one plot twist but that was it and I didn't get as far as working out how it happened so it barely counts.

The friendship between Dee and six-year-old Grasshopper was my favourite element of the story as it was so sweet. Which worked even better when Grasshopper kept spouting hair-raising opinions that terrified others. The romances between Dee and Ravi and Dee and Wyatt are both beautiful. I was heavily invested in both as I just wanted Dee to be loved and valued for everything he is.

I look forward to re-reading this one and appreciating it even more since I raced through it towards the end.

This was such fun. It was a real rollercoaster keeping me guessing right to the end. A really entertaining book.