Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
Ganymedes Piscero is in the last place he would ever want to be: on a magical ship traveling toward the most magical place on the continent, surrounded by the heirs to the provinces of Concordia – who all have magical gifts, and who all hate him.
Ganymedes – he prefers Dee, actually – is also the heir to a province: Fish Province. They govern the ocean-side beaches and have a duty to provide fish for the empire. As the heir of Fish Province, Dee should also have a Blessing, but one has never manifested for him.
Dee’s father has forced him to pretend to have a Blessing, to cover up his own infidelity. Luckily for him, no one is open about their gifts. Most of the twelve heirs refuse to share them, unless they are impossible to hide. The heir of Ox Province has the ability to breathe fire and a hot temper to match.
This pilgrimage was organized to celebrate the emergence of the twelfth heir: a tiny six-year-old from Grasshopper Province who recently manifested her Blessing. With the completion of this new generation of leaders, it is time for them all to journey to the mountain where the first Blessings were bestowed.
It is a twelve-day journey, but on the first night, Eudora – heir to Dragon Province and the Empire itself – is murdered.
As the bodies of the other Blessed begin to pile up, Dee, Grasshopper, and Wyatt of Bear Province team up to uncover the killer.
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED by Frances White is a magical locked-room mystery. The Blessed are isolated from the rest of the world while they are onboard this vessel, but they are far from helpless.
Apart from Grasshopper, they have all known each other for a number of years. They have had time to form alliances and enforce the provincial hierarchy. And with so few of their powers known, it will be difficult to determine who is capable of hiding a murder.
Despite spending the entire novel on the boat, readers are able to get a good sense of the world. Each of the provinces of Concordia has its own terrain and culture, and the Blessed from each province has been shaped by their region.
White does an excellent job writing characters. Each of the twelve has their own unique voice and perspective. As Dee travels around the ship, trying to solve the murders, we get to experience each of them in their own environments. Dee’s voice is able to bring a lot of humor to the book, even in the face of mortal peril.
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED works well as both a fantasy book and a mystery. When I read mystery fiction, I like it to be slightly unpredictable while also feeling solvable. Like I could have figured it out, given enough time. This book threads that needle for me. I had some suspicions that turned out to be accurate and there were also surprises waiting for me at the end.
Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian
