Now that the scene is set, the mystery unfolding on The Voyage of the Damned is underway! I’m excited to see if I was right about any of my predictions from week 1. So far, I am already wrong about some, yikes!
For those just tuning in: Ariana with The Book Nook is leading this year’s Wyrd and Wonder readalong of The Voyage of the Damned by Frances White: a magical cruise ship murder mystery. Wyrd and Wonder is an annual month-long fantasy celebration held every May. This year’s hosts are Imyril with There’s Always Room for One More, Lisa with Dear Geek Place, Jorie with Jorie Loves a Story, Annemieke with A Dance with Books, and Ariana with The Book Nook.
*Proceed with caution: This post contains spoilers for chapters 1-14 of The Voyage of the Damned*
The Voyage of the Damned Readalong Week 2 Questions
1. What do you make of the murder of Ravi? Seventeen stabwounds is a lot.
Ravi’s death seemed unplanned compared to Eudora’s, which was more of a spectacle. Having 17 stab wounds suggests the murderer was frantic. Dee’s last conversation with Ravi and Nergui being involved also seemed to suggest that Ravi was involved in something shady. This is supported by the note Dee finds, where Ravi reveals he knew he was going to die. Ravi’s providence mining necessary Divinium to maintain the bandage is another important factor.
Hm…
With the murderer attacking the Blessed, who maintain Concordia’s safety and stability, and targeting Ravi, who supplies Divinium to maintain the bandage, it appears the murderer is trying to break down the barrier between Concordia and the outside world. Are they working with the Crabs we keep hearing about? They have to be involved somehow since they keep being mentioned.
2. Our Dee comes together with Wyatt who seems to have had a change in attitude towards Dee since we first met him in the first part. How does that make you feel? Equally he seems to be avoiding his friend Shinjiro. Why do you think this is?
I predicted Eska, Leafric, and Jasper would become allies in my week 1 post, so Wyatt teaming up with Dee was a surprise. I had dismissed him after Eudora’s death because he was so obsessed with her. After reading this section, I like that Dee now has someone close that is going through the same thing he is. Dee and Wyatt both had people they care about murdered, so they are both grieving.
I didn’t really think much of Wyatt avoiding Shinjiro. Wyatt doesn’t seem to like showing weakness, so it makes sense that he would avoid seeking help. Shinjiro also doesn’t seem to consider Wyatt’s feelings with how easily he tells Dee about healing Wyatt. I doubt Wyatt likes to advertise that information.
3. How do you feel about how all the blessed are reacting to the death of Ravi?
I’m surprise no one (Leofric in particular) has tried to put everyone on lockdown yet. They had their meetings about the murders and tried to put Eska on house arrest, but otherwise everyone is still roaming free around the ship. The book wouldn’t have much of a plot if everyone was confined, but I bet there come’s a point after enough murders that the characters want to have everyone in once place to prevent further scheming.
It makes sense that everyone is still overcoming the shock of realizing not just one but two people were murdered on the ship. They are scared and grieving and probably not all thinking straight. In that sense, I feel like everyone’s reactions have been believable.
4. What is it that Nergui has on Dee do you think? Will it really be that he doesn’t know he isn’t blessed or do you feel that perhaps he has something else up his sleeve?
I think it’s possible Nergui has something else up his sleeve. Dee’s worst fear is that everyone will find out he’s a fraud, so I think he’s assuming Nergui knows based on that fear. I also think it’s possible that Nergui is just reading Dee’s feelings of inadequacy and preying on that, and that he doesn’t know anything specifically damning about Dee. At this point, I’m actually starting to suspect that Nergui isn’t all that bad? He seems to obviously suspicious to be the killer, and since he was in Ravi’s room the day he died I wonder if Nergui was the one that warned Ravi about his death? I’m making wild guesses again, but I actually have no idea! I will have to wait and see what happens next.
5. Now that we are a little further along in the story, how do you feel about some of the characters now as we get to know them better through Dee’s interactions with them. Like Leofric, Wyatt, Eska and Cordelia
Hold on, let me get my list…
- Eudora | Dragon (Dead): Still dead 🙁
- Leofric | Tiger (Still no reason to suspect so far…): He didn’t play a big part in these chapters, and he didn’t team up with Dee as I predicted.
- Nergui | Spider (Still under suspicion, for obvious reasons): Nergui still seems to be up to no good, and I am dying to know what he wants to discuss with Dee!
- Cordelia | Tortoise (Suspect #1): After chapters 7-14 I am even more convinced she is the murderer! What is she wandering the halls crying about Lysander for? Trying to disguise her hunt for her next victim!!!
- Tendai | Elephant (Still no reason to suspect): Still no opinion, we haven’t seen enough of her. I highly, highly doubt she is the murderer. I feel like at almost halfway through the story, we have already been fully introduced to the killer.
- Shinjiro | Bunnerfly (Suspect #2): He is still a suspicious character. After Cordelia, he is my second guess at who the murderer is.
- Jasper | Ox (Adorable, has never done anything wrong in his life): Dee and Eska are trying to convince me this 14-year-old with anger issues is dangerous, but it won’t work!
- Ravinder (Ravi) | Crow (Dead): wasn’t a fan of him dead or alive. Maybe he’ll be redeemed as more information about his death is revealed. I think it’s possible he pushed Dee away to keep him out of danger. Still doesn’t mean I like him.
- Wyatt | Bear (Still no reason to suspect): Now that we’ve gotten to know Wyatt, I am even less suspicious of him. He seems loyal and kind based on his interactions with Dee. Although, if he is the murderer the betrayal would be epic. Can’t trust anyone!
- Eska | Ermine (Still no reason to suspect): I still think she is going to become an ally at some point. She’s too awesome to get sidelined. The fact that everyone thinks she’s the murderer has convinced me she’s definitely not the murder.
- Yewande | Grasshopper (Adorable, has never done anything wrong in her life): Still cute!
- Ganymedes (Dee) | Fish (our storyteller!): The more I learn about his backstory, the sadder I feel for him. I didn’t realize the lie about him being blessed had gone on for so much of his life! I hate that it drove such a deep wedge between him and his mother. I suspect she knew about her husband cheating and was deeply hurt that Dee kept his secret
6. The crabs are mentioned quite a few times now and we have a better idea of what happened there. Do you think that they might play a part here?
Yes, they’ve been mentioned far too many times not to be a major part of the story. It’s interesting that the only known half-Crab character, Ravi, was the second to be killed. Dee kept Ravi’s secret, but even he considered that might be a reason Ravi was targeted. I think the biggest question is *how* are the Crabs involved?
7. Do you have other thoughts?
I’ve noticed that depression and suicidal ideation are seen in multiple characters in The Voyage of the Damned. First, we hear from Leofric and Eudora struggled with her role as the Dragon blessed. Dee’s mom not reacting to him stepping out into a hurricane made me think she was too depressed to care. Then we have Dee’s struggle with everything he’s gone through so far. Considering the book’s dedication is “For everyone who has ever entered a room and felt they did not belong”, I like that the author is including depression as I feel it is very relevant to feelings of not belonging. I was not expecting so much emotional depth to a comedic murder mystery.
Who do you think is behind the murders?
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I’m not sure what to think about Tendai. We have seen so little of her that there is no way to form a good opinion.
She’s really kept herself away from Dee. My Guess is she will be more important later on, but she won’t be the killer. It would be weird to ignore her as a character so long and have her take center stage at the end as the one behind the murders.