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A review by earth_to_mars
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
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
3.5
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, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming and War