Voyage of the Damned by Frances WhiteGratitude
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and HTP books for the review copy of Voyage of the Damned by Frances White. It's a beautiful book!
Description
In Voyage of the Damned, Dee is on a boat with eleven other young people, bound on a pilgrimage to inaugurate the new empress. The others on the boat are not average young adults—they are the Blesseds, the ambassadors for the goddess in each of their regions. Together they unite Concordia and ensure that everywhere is safe and the economy is healthy.
The relationships between the different regions and between the Blesseds is full of politics and secrets. Dee’s province, known for the fish it provides for the rest of the empire, is at the very bottom both geographically and in terms of respect. Add to that Dee’s own secret—he does not have a blessing, but for the sake of his province, he must pretend.
Just when he thinks that things cannot get any worse, other Blesseds start turning up dead. As Dee begins to investigate, he finds two unlikely allies to aid in his sleuthing. Will he be able to find the murderer and save the rest of the Blesseds? Will he be able to keep his secret and protect his province?
Voyage of the Damned has queer representation and a blend of genres–think of Agatha Christie meets Percy Jackson. The characters and relationships are complicated and interesting. And the book really is beautiful. The front cover is blue and gold and it has edge decoration.
The relationships between the different regions and between the Blesseds is full of politics and secrets. Dee’s province, known for the fish it provides for the rest of the empire, is at the very bottom both geographically and in terms of respect. Add to that Dee’s own secret—he does not have a blessing, but for the sake of his province, he must pretend.
Just when he thinks that things cannot get any worse, other Blesseds start turning up dead. As Dee begins to investigate, he finds two unlikely allies to aid in his sleuthing. Will he be able to find the murderer and save the rest of the Blesseds? Will he be able to keep his secret and protect his province?
Voyage of the Damned has queer representation and a blend of genres–think of Agatha Christie meets Percy Jackson. The characters and relationships are complicated and interesting. And the book really is beautiful. The front cover is blue and gold and it has edge decoration.
Would I Teach This Book?
Would I teach Voyage of the Damned? With its mix of murder mystery and fantasy genres, Voyage of the Damned might fit in with a genre writing class. It is a first novel, and in many ways feels like a first novel. Dee, as the main character, does not feel entirely consistent, and neither are the relationships between the characters—and not in a complex way, but in a it doesn’t make sense way. In addition, there are some twists, especially at the end, that don’t feel exactly satisfying for the characters or the plot.
Perhaps in a literature course on queer representation it might make sense to include Voyage of the Damned, but I think it would still be a hard sell.
View all my reviews
Perhaps in a literature course on queer representation it might make sense to include Voyage of the Damned, but I think it would still be a hard sell.
View all my reviews
