Boy, do I have mixed feelings about this one. Voyage of the Damned is the debut 2024 novel by Frances White, and her second novel is slated for a 2026 release. On her goodreads profile, this novel is described as a “magical gay murder cruise.” That is an incredibly apt surface description, but there is a lot more going on here.

Synopsis

Ganymedes Piscero does not want to go on the forced group bonding cruise with the other Blessed, eleven magic-infused leaders of their provinces in Concordia. He just wants to be lazy, eat whatever he wants, and not have to socialize with a bunch of pretentious idiots who hate him because he’s the incompetent heir from the lowest of the twelve provinces. He’s of the fish province, and it’s difficult for a fish to compete with tigers, bears, and elephants. Not only that, but he harbors a dark secret that would destroy not only him, but his entire province, if it were to be revealed. He isn’t actually blessed. It’s a lie that was concocted by his own father to hide decades of sexual indiscretions (these blessings are hereditary, you see, and Ganymedes is the only legitimate child.) The only reason he isn’t a disappointment to his father is that people THINK he’s blessed, and that’s just a lie. Ganymedes may not be fond of most other people, but he hates himself the most. When the other Blessed leaders start getting picked off one by one on a cruise only occupied by the twelve of them, it strangely becomes Ganymedes who must become the unlikely hero who solves the mystery before they all wind up dead.

Review

I really like the idea of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery that takes place in a high fantasy world. While some reviewers I’ve seen take issue with her world-building and elements that seem unfit for fantasy, I think the mash-up of genres gives White a bit of license to be flexible in her world-building. I found the inclusion of some quite modern real-world references to be quite humorous when they popped up, but I can see how this would be a bit grating to someone who prefers the strict construction of a high fantasy tale. I did listen to this one, so maybe it was a bit easier to glean the humor from such a tale that may have seemed more stilted on the page. Ganymedes was, initially, quite unlikable despite his biting humor that I found endearing. It’s only upon gifting this book with a bit of patience that we see his layers get peeled back a bit and we can see the walls he’s built up between himself and the rest of the world. His sensitivity shines through, and his character is much more palatable.

The other characters, I just don’t know. The twist to the romance angle left me feeling utterly betrayed, and I can’t even explain that without spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that. What should have been a clever twist just felt like a cheap and convenient shot. I enjoyed the underdog angle. Doesn’t everyone like a good underdog story? In this case, I especially liked the way the story explored issues of class structure and social hierarchy. Some of the other characters could have been fleshed out a bit better. It seems that once we got a little backstory to one, that character was dispatched and it was all for naught. When this happens time after time it can be a bit exhausting. That’s no fun.

Overall, I’m still a little confused about how I feel in regard to this one. It was a fun ride, and it definitely held my attention throughout. It’s a unique genre-blending plot with some twists, and the who-dunnit aspect isn’t entirely obvious, though there was one aspect of it I did guess early on. There were still some surprises to keep me intrigued. Despite some pretty major misgivings, I still enjoyed it so I’ll settle on 3 stars. Definitely worth a read-through.

Published January 18, 2024 by Penguin Audio. ISBN 0241640075. Runtime 15 hrs. 22 mins. Narrated by Nathan Foad.