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Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean's most notorious pirates, she's survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural. But when she's tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she's offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade's kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family's future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God's will. Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there's more to this job, and the girl's disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there's always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power ... and the price might be your very soul.… (more)
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The
There are several pieces of social commentary that hit home, and Chakraborty does not spare politicians in her assessment of their behaviour and actions.
I am writing this on my phone so it is much shorter than I would like it to be. There are parts of the book I will be looking through again to grab the quotes and comments I want to retain. In my first reading I was just enjoying the story and did not take notes.
These are plenty of adventures and voyages here -- not unlike those of Sinbad. As the reader, one encounters the demons, the monsters, the elemental powers. But there is a strong narrative thread tying it all together. Where is the old woman's granddaughter? What of the Moon of Saba?
This book by Shannon Chakraborty is the set-up of a new series, one that draws on Arabic culture in much the same way The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold did. The story here doesn't seem quite as complex as the books that made up the Daevabad Trilogy, but it does establish the personalities gathered around our brave sea captain.
If you're in the right mood, this book is a good deal of fun! The author knows well just how to bring in plot twists so that the reader is caught off guard. Magic is not always benign; generally speaking, it's more likely not to be. And be cautious of any contract entered into with those who have the means to wield such powers!
Chakraborty writes fiercely independent female characters and Amina is no exception. Though the world building is dangerously slow, the reader establishes meaningful relationships with many characters. The delicate foreshadowing made for a tantalizing tease to the fantasy, and still the book is full of many surprises. Diversity is a prominent theme throughout The Adventures of Amina al- Sirafi; from the characters to the voice actors, there is a little bit of something for everyone to identify with.
Reading Amina felt like this vision. I wasn't into fantasy or
But everytime I picked up Amina's tale, I felt like I was living my vision. That I was the young child from the past, hiding in my room with a lantern or reading my adventure stories by the light of the moon. This book woke up my imagination in a way no book has done since I was that age myself.
It truly was laid out in my mind like the 7 voyages of Sinbad, with some great ensemble vibes ala The Blues Brothers ("we're getting the old band back together").
Readers familiar with the authors other series, The
There is also interspersed in the story some "breaking the third wall" chapters which had me laughing. The use of a "microphone" sound in the audiobook, for an interview taking place in a medieval timeframe was strange but hilarious. The two narrators Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal are excellent. Lameece Issaq brings the bold Amina to life.
The only think which put me off was the flagrant use of the "F" and "MF" words throughout.
I *know* that Amina is supposed to be a hardened pirate, but it just seemed so *modern* to me to hear those words thrown out so much.
I believe this can be read as a standalone, but, oh, I can't wait to read the further adventures of Amina, her family and her crew!
There are wild prison escapes, mythological creatures which may or may not be friendly, and lots of adventure that I could imagine on the movie screen going on and on with lots of techno effects.
Apparently this is the first of a series with Amina traveling the world undoing evil and apparently Dunya, now known as Jamil, who is a storyteller.
(*) The author is a white convert to Islam.
This felt very much like the author had a list of things that she wanted to include in the story and sure enough would throw something in just so she could check off a box; gay character...check. Trans-gender...check, etc etc. That aspect of the character
Then, I know there isn't any logic to magic, that's the whole point of magic. In this authors hands, it's very much just a Dues ex machina device...I need the character to end up here, ok add a magic island (that again is not explored or developed in the least...just "boom, magic island". Problem solved.)
This is just one of those books that I find particularly annoying, because it has a significant amount of unique story elements (female, Muslim, pirate. Set in the 13th century around the Arabian peninsula), that I hadn't seen before. It could have been so much better then what we ended up with. There's obviously going to be many more books with these characters in this world. Unfortunately, I'll never know if they actually get any better.
But
The magic for me with this historical fantasy was not the story itself, but the setting – I loved the Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean, the surrounding countries and the time period.
I think the author felt the same way, as she explained in her Author’s Note at the end of the book: “The Indian Ocean is arguably among the oldest seas in maritime history, witness to over five thousand years of humans traveling its shores and crossing it’s expanse. Pilgrims and pirates, enslaved persons and royalty, traders and scholars. In our modern age, we are accustomed to thinking of continent and land borders; rarely do we see the sea and its littorals as places of shared culture. But long before the so-called European Age of Exploration (an age that would do more damage to existing Indian Ocean networks and indigenous populations than any such incursion before), the ports of the Indian Ocean were bustling, cosmopolitan places where one could find goods and people from all over.
“…It was always my dream to write a book set in this world, to pull on the stories that had resonated so deeply, and when I first began, I was thrilled to finally have a proper work excuse to throw myself into research.” P 473
Thoughts: I was looking back and I did read the first 60% of "The City of Brass" and ended up not finishing it. I kept hearing great things about this book but kept putting off
This story is apparently set in the same world as "The City of Brass" but a thousand years earlier. Being that I didn't finish "The City of Brass" I don't really know how this book ties in with that one. This story follows Amina al-Sirafi, a retired pirate who is trying to live a quiet life with her daughter. That is until an old woman, up who is the mother of one of her former crewmen, shows up. The woman offers Amina a huge sum of money to find her kidnapped daughter. Of course, the story isn't that simple. Suddenly Amina is finding herself blackmailed into more of an adventure than she ever wanted, although she kind of enjoys it. She is back with her old crew and facing off against supernatural powers beyond her wildest imaginings.
This was very well written and easy to read. The story is fast-paced with fun characters, lots of action, and some intriguing twists and turns along the way. I adored Amina and her crew and enjoyed that all the characters were older than you typically see in adventure fantasies. They all had families and other responsibilities that they needed to balance with their crazy adventures. The magical aspects around the spirits, gods, and celestial magic were very well done and intriguing too.
I think my only complaint is that it felt like so much happened in this book, I couldn't help wondering if it would have been better as two shorter books. However, I really loved it and plan to pick up the next Amina al-Sirafi book.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this book. It was a fun and fast-paced fantasy adventure with entertaining characters that are a bit older than your typical adventuring type. I enjoyed the magic and the world as well. The story was engaging with some excellent twists and turns, and the characters were unique and likable. I plan on reading the next book in this series when it releases and would recommend this to those who enjoy adventure fantasy.
I enjoyed this, but it didn't flow along smoothly for me. I suspect I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind for it, and it's probably not the book's fault at all. If you're intrigued by fantasy on the high seas with pirates and magic and a swashbuckling middle-aged heroine, I encourage you to pick this one up!
The story is of pirates, motherhood, magic, religion, etc
Its a mix of stuff and does have "bases covered" basically skillfully into the story but not fully and the story would have been just as good if not better without trying to dot i's and cross
I'm not usually a fan of the "getting the gang together for one last big score" trope, which is how this started off, but it worked for me - the titular Amina al-Sirafi is a middle-aged woman retired from piracy offered a ludicrous reward if she locates the
Both characters - Amina, her crewmates, and others - and setting (the Indian ocean region in the medieval era) are richly realized and Amina's narrative voice is captivating. While the book stands alone it clearly sets up sequels, and I'm definitely looking forward to them.
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Waterstones exclusive with red sprayed page edges and mapped/decorative endpapers.