TL;DR: Voyage of the Damned is an awesome debut and I didn’t want this story to end! While I can see that the mesh of snarky humour and slow-paced mystery might not work for everyone and our main character takes some getting used to. Luckily, I grew to love Dee and I found myself sucked into the slow-building murder mystery on a fantastical ship run by magic and amazing tiny sentient dragons. If you love your fantasy with a huge dose of corny comedy, secrets upon secrets, politicking, magic, murder (obvi), and found family then I would urge you to try this!

Voyage of the Damned was not at all the book I expected it to be but I loved it all the more for it. It’s unique, fabulously queer, fantastical and extremely entertaining! I didn’t expect to be laughing so much amidst the other volatile emotions that run rampant through these characters and their experiences, let alone amidst all the murderous goings-on in these pages. I found it a refreshing combo of adult comedy, fantasy, and mystery, and I would be so down for more stories with this genre blend!

While the load of information we’re presented initially was slightly overwhelming and trod the line of info dumping, after a certain point all 12+ characters do establish themselves clearly, even with many of them being so similarly horrible and needlessly cruel. Unfortunately, the way most of the “uppers” talked about the “lowers” will probably be relatable by anyone who’s ever been discriminated against for who they are and where they come from. I enjoyed learning about what each region is known for and slowly uncovering the Blessings of the chosen Blessed. I kind of wished we got to see them use more of their Blessings but seeing as how everyone was dying all over the show, there were some we only got glimpses of.

The story hinges on Dee’s narration and luckily for me, I ended up loving his character. Dee is a hot mess Blessed with no Blessing, thanks to a no-good philandering father, and whose life has been orchestrated around maintaining this gigantic lie. He uses comedy and self-deprecating remarks to cope and hide his self-loathing and insecurities. When we first meet him he acts like a right twat to everyone and it was so painful to watch that I wasn’t sure if I could stand his character. Yet underneath that gregarious attitude, we come to learn that Dee has the kindest and softest heart. He is nothing like your “typical” fantasy hero who’s physically fit, adored by everyone and sharp as a tack, but his down-to-earth persona and caring nature made me adore him all the more. 🥹 My heart literally hurt reading about how he saw himself as worthless, of no consequence, and simply “nothing”. Despite his constant attempts at injecting humour in almost every situation, there’s also a deep undercurrent of darkness represented through his depression and mental illness. I got teary more than once while reading his perspective because damnit, Dee, I hard relate. 🥺

The found family he formed with a few characters made me so happy for him and as it’s one of my favourite tropes, it made me enjoy this story even more! I especially loved his relationship with Grasshopper. She’s an absolute wild child and had me cackling so often! I loved her character and her enthusiastic food-loving persona added such levity to a story full of chilling deaths and Dee’s darker mental health moments.

I also found myself fully immersed in the locked-room mystery and had a wild time trying to figure out whodunit but I could’ve never predicted that twist!!! Holy granola, the way I shouted at this book when that twist came about. I loved it! 😂 You have no idea who to trust, and I even grew suspicious of the person who’d be the one most unlikely or impossible to suspect. Everyone’s hiding something—sometimes even multiple secrets and there’s a lot of suss activity going on, which adds even more suspense and confusion. I do think there were points where the story felt like it dragged on a little too long but ultimately, I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery alongside Dee and his merry band of amateur sleuths and became so immersed in the story that I didn’t mind at all!

Overall, this was such an enjoyable debut that I would recommend it to everyone who’s even remotely interested in it, lol. I can’t wait to see what else this author publishes in the future!

Have you read Voyage of the Damned or is it on your TBR?

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