Magic, murder and mayhem – a locked-room whodunit, but make it fantasy. We’re only covering the first six chapters this week, but I am so into this. So very into it.

Let’s discuss Voyage of the Damned. (Spoilers follow for chapters 1 through 6!)

Before I begin, and in case you’d like to join us, here is the full Read Along schedule courtesy of Ariana at The Book Nook!

All right. Let’s get to my thoughts and feelings…

Welcome to the United Empire of Concordia! I hope you’re settled in for the ride. What do you make of this world and the magic so far as we’ve encountered it?

“United” Empire. Riiiiight. As someone living in the “United” Kingdom, I can’t help feeling a wee bit sceptical of this whole concept, and indeed, we are quickly shown that this “unity” does not, in fact, benefit everyone equally. There are tops and there are bottoms (not like that), and everyone knows their place. Or ought to, depending on who you ask, I suppose.

Scepticism aside, however – I am really fascinated by the setup here, including the worldbuilding. I am very quickly sorting these characters into “good guy” and “not so good guy” camps, though I remain optimistic that my mind may change as we go. In fact, I’m counting on it. But we’ll see about that.

As for the magic, I’m also really intrigued by this aspect of the world. A meritocracy, this is certainly not, as the ensemble cast has quickly begun demonstrating. I’m also intrigued to see what sort of justice or resolution we might see, not just regarding the deaths but the balance of power. It clearly needs some resolving.

Ganymedes, or Dee, is our guide on this voyage of intrigue – what are your initial thoughts about him and the precarious situation he’s in?

He is a precious cinnamon roll, and he needs to stop being so damn hard on himself! I very quickly started sympathising with his predicament, not least because it doesn’t seem to be of his own making (screw you, Fish Dad). His efforts at rebellion and self-ostracisation definitely feel more like self-sabotage to me, and I want to hug him and tell him he IS worth something even without a Blessing.

LOVE YOURSELF, DEE.

Very quickly we have been introduced to a very varied cast of characters, and as is proper for any murder mystery, they all have their secrets… does anyone stand out to you as a particularly strong personality right away? Anyone you can see yourself rooting for or against?

OK, here’s the thing. I feel like there’s perhaps a fine but distinct line between “strong” and “forceful” when it comes to personality, and I’m not convinced all of these characters are on the “strong” side of the line. Ego does not equate to strength of character, and Leofric … has a lot of ego? At least it seems that way to me, at the moment. So he stands out, but not in any way that I’m particularly liking so far.

There’s plenty more that I really want to know about most of them, though, and if I’m being honest that includes Leofric. I hope there’s more to him than just colossal egotism; that would be a letdown for me.

And this is a murder mystery, so I’m deliberately holding back on rooting for or against anyone at this point. Let’s see what there is to see…

It doesn’t take long for death to find its way onto the ship. What are your reactions and predictions?

Honestly, I didn’t think the most glorified of the twelve would be the first to go. And given how much of his backstory we got, I also didn’t see Ravi’s death coming so soon – though maybe I should have? Tragedy sells, right? Poor Ganymedes. So my reactions have been suitably surprised, but as for predictions … again, I’m trying not to make any, haha! I want to continue being surprised.