This novel is by a brilliant author, but I found the pacing of the plot and action to be slow. I enjoyed the characters but I wasn't as convinced that the plot and story could keep the attention of most readers.

A retired female pirate, one of the most renowned in the Islamic world, is lured out of retirement with promises of untold wealth. She doesn’t own her own home, her family struggles to stay afloat, and the lure of providing an education for her daughter and life of relative comfort for her family is too tempting to ignore. She sets off on a quest at the behest of a noblewoman, experiences working mom guilt the entire time, and outpaces men in a space designed only for them. Is this a tribute to millennials and working moms everywhere??

Okay, but in all seriousness, Amina is one of the most relatable MCs I have ever met. She is an absolute badass - she can lead, she can fight, she’s cunning, strong, wise, and most of all, she’s loyal. She doesn’t let anyone or anything stop her from achieving her goals, but has the wits to know when to seek out help. Written as a first-person accounting of her many exploits to her biographer, Amina takes the reader on an epic, and often humorous, journey through the medieval world of the Indian Ocean. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is an homage to Islam, womanhood/motherhood, and the wisdom that comes with age and experience. You won’t want to miss this high-stakes fantasy quest!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Setup: A retired pirate captain who only wants to stay home with her daughter gets pulled back into adventure, and we learn all about the strange magics that she encountered before and new wonders and terrors on the current quest.

I liked this book but didn't *love* it- perhaps my life stage is closer to Nahri's (from The City of Brass) than Amina's, so I connected with this one less. 3.5-4 stars but Goodreads doesn't do fractions. I definitely liked it enough to keep an eye for the next book; Chakraborty has earned my goodwill with her reliably enjoyable writing.

https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi-by-s-a-chakraborty/

Tl;dr Snapshot Review

A fascinating book that reads like a story straight out of 1001 Nights. It’s rich in world, excellent in characters and satisfied my fancy for swashbuckling sea pirate adventure. The Legend and the woman behind it, captain us into a tale of mystery and adventure filled with evil magic, sea monsters and mythical beings!

Full review:

Those who have read the authors earlier works (The Daevabad Trilogy) would know what to expect and won’t be disappointed. From the get go, Chakraborty starts weaving a deft tale rich in world building and character development.

We start off with getting to know a retired Amina living with her daughter, hiding from her infamous past and hoping for a peaceful future. But as we read from the synopsis, fate has different plans. She is approached by the mother of a shipmate of hers who offers a heady mix of rewards and threats melded into an offer Amina can’t refuse. Once she gets set, she immediately realizes that she has been misled and things are far more serious that she was let know. The kidnapping doesn’t look like one, her supposed enemy takes on a new and far more frightening dimension and the stakes are far far larger and deadlier than her worst expectations. But with the threats hanging over her, she’s forced to carry on.

The story then switches back and forth between the current quest and key events prior to her retirement. As she gets her crew back, more layers of history are revealed and we see both sides of Amina, the notorious pirate who wanted to be a legend and the mother who just wants to be back her family now.

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After reading City of Brass, I became a firm believer that S.A. Chakraborty writes some of the best prose in the book world and this book just reinforced that. They way she weaves a rich tapestry of words, so rich in detail is absolutely phenomenal. The depth of detail brings to life the culture from the landscape in Arabia to the seascape life at the ports of Aden (Yemen) with a clarity that genuinely makes you feel you are right there journeying with Amina. the prose is predominantly told from the perspective of Amina, though she breaks the flow now and then to remind us that part of it is a narration by her to her chronicles/historian. Not just the worldbuilding, but the action of the characters, their speech, their mannerisms etc are perfectly in synch (at least to my own ignorant self) to fit that period lifestyle.

Amina is a superbly written multifaceted character. A pirate that other pirates fear to cross, a myth where stories and reality have lost their definitions, and now a mother living life of piety and motherhood in retirement and one where her suppressed past self and wages a war with current self to get back to good ol’ glory days! The way she balances her inner desires to her reality, makes for one captain, I’d be happy to sail with! Not just her, but each of the supporting cast are etched well and have their own role to play.

On the flipside, the novel is not without it’s faults (for lack of better word), but these may be more because of my personal bias than anything the author wrote. For one, fascinating though the worldbuilding has been, many a time I felt it took priority over the actual plot progress making it a unevenly paced read. Paragraphs and sometimes pages pass in providing details before the characters actually progress along the story. I did end up with a feeling that I’d have been OK if she had traded a bit less worldbuilding, so I could get a more crisper read. Secondly, the plot is fairly predictable and events just happen to progress the plot rather than a organic progression which felt a bit forced.

Minor niggles aside, this was a rich and fascinating read and one I believe would add to her previous successes with Daevabad Trilogy.

Recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley's extremely quick response time! ARC received in exchange for an honest review. There may be spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution!.

THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI is a high-seas adventure following the exploits of the notorious pirate Amina al-Sirafi as she's dragged out of retirement to settle a threat against her family. This did not read like a pirate book, but that didn't bother me as much as I thought it might (given the way this book was advertised). Instead, this reads like a mashup of a heist book, adventure novel (à la TREASURE ISLAND), demon-hunting quest, break-up story, and historical account all in one.

THE CONS (of which there are few, but they were early enough in the book to almost turn me away from reading): This book was trying to be too many things at one time. For the first 90-120 pages, I was contemplating putting it down pretty frequently. Though having Amina's background was necessary to understand her motivations, I thought the plot dragged on far too long, from her first encounter with Salima--who sets in motion the course of events of this book--to getting the crew back together to finally getting a lead on the whereabouts of their quarry. This book is long, so 100 pages of not-so-good material isn't the end of the world (it clocked in at 682 pages on my e-reader), but it is still a long time to go without being fully immersed in the story.

So. What saved it?

I felt like my entire outlook of the book shifted during one specific scene, and I went from being extremely so-so to extremely excited to see what was in store for us. (I will leave it at silver coins, in an effort to keep at least a little mystery to this book). In no time at all, the story jumped into action and kept me turning page after page until the very end. I was completely drawn in to Amina's journey, her crew, her (supposed-to-be-dead) husband, and the mythology surrounding the artifact at the center of so much bloodshed. In fact, I had such a good time reading the rest of the book that I forgave it for anything I'd disliked about it before, and that's ... pretty rare for me, haha.

I haven't read any of S.A. Chakraborty's previous works, and I'm not sure I will (because if they're this long, and they're a trilogy, when will I find the time???), but I immensely enjoyed myself throughout (the majority of) this book.

And since I'm making a conscious effort to evaluate books less on the technical or nitty-gritty pet peeves they irk in me this year and more on my enjoyment overall, this gets a full 5 stars from me! The first of 2023! You go, Amina al-Sirafi!

As an end note, I also loved the commentary on how much of Amina's notoriety comes from the simple fact that she's a woman stepping out of the traditional role in the society that she lives in, and though I found the in-between chapters where people tell their accounts of her or her compatriots largely unnecessary, I think they paint a fun picture of the way her legend spread versus the woman we actually meet and follow in the present day of the story. And! Raksh's annoyance at being considered a demon when he is much older than the concept, and his true origins having been lost to time so people box him in when he's a lot larger and mythical than even that. Things I'm hoping continue to come up in the sequel!

Notes from the Margins:

📝 I gambled. “I know how to dissolve the bind between us,” I lied in a rush. “But it is a complicated, delicate process. A spell of sorts, one that may be tricky to navigate.”
“How?” Raksh asked, growing breathless. “What is it?”
God guide me. “A divorce.”

📝 “Your obsession with me is embarrassing.”

DNFd @20%

The way that this book is written. Is making it the story feel all over the place and hard to focus on. Maybe I will continue this at a later date, but I'm really not enjoying it at the moment.

The notorious Nakhuda Amina al-Sirafi disappeared from society in stories as spectacular as her escapades on the sea. The truth is much simpler: she retired. But after a decade of watching her daughter grow, an old debt comes calling that lures Amina back into the life she had left behind.

Chakraborty has done it AGAIN! This book was un-put-downable (and so good, I need to make up words, apparently) and flew by. Though very different from the Daevabad trilogy, Chakraborty's strengths were all on full display - world-building, deep characters, and an extremely distinctive narrative voice. Chakraborty should write a master class in voice; Amina had the most mama-bear, salty, sarcastic voice and it was clear on every single page that this was HER story. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Content Warnings: language, violence, gore, references to sexual violence, references to pedophilia, references to genocide

I wanted to enjoy this one but I found the plot, story, and characterizations hard to follow and not really resonate the best for me at times.

There are so many things I loved about this one! In fantasy, middle aged women with children are rarely the mc. In fact I can't think of a single book with this representation. It was a breath of fresh air to get an mc who is experienced in life stepping back into her old life, but from an older wiser kind of outlook.

I really enjoyed this fun story that was full of adventure and humor.

I hadn’t read anything by this author before picking this book up. Although, I had heard great things about her writing. I do have her first series on my tbr, haha. The book, for the most part, was good and I can see why this author has a following.

The book is told from on point-of-view and it comes from Amina al-Sirafi. She is a retired pirate who now takes care of her child and mother. It’s such an interesting change of careers and I like that through the book we get her thoughts on both and can understand the pull of the adventure, but also wanting a good life for her child. Amina is one fierce lady and masks her concerns well! She is a fighter and will do anything to protect those she cares about.

There are quite a few other characters in this book that get a lot of page time. One being her crew. There are three major players to this and each one is brought back into the fold when a kidnapping takes place and they in a way are connected to the girl. Loyalty is a trait that they all have in common. The crew was fun to get to know, but I definitely thought Delila was hilarious with her antics when it comes to alchemy. The villain is also pretty present and he is the perfect guy to hate. There is also a special someone that has a fun relationship with Amina and I hope they continue to make a presence in the trilogy.

The plot is filled with adventures on land and sea, politics, backstabbing, and magic. I will say that it took me a bit to get into and there were some lulls in the story as well that kind of took me out of it. It was definitely much harder to put down once I got past the 50% mark and things started to move rather quickly. I also thought the plot would stretch across the trilogy but it wraps up by the end although she was give a task to complete and I am assuming that is what the other books will be about. Because of it wrapping up, the climatic ending didn’t feel so climatic for me.

My only other complaint is that the writing style was confusing because we are told in the beginning that she is being interviewed about her adventures and someone is writing them down so the dialogue is a bit different here which is fine, but it will jump to that sort of dialogue in the middle of chapters telling about the adventure but the tense and narration changes so suddenly that it can be hard to make sense of while reading. I don’t even know if that makes sense with how I explained it, haha.

Overall, this was a good read. I am curious how the sequel will be and I am sure I will check it out.

Rating: 3.5 stars

This first in a proposed series is a rollicking ride around the Indian Ocean with the middle-aged retired smuggler Amina al-Sirafi. She gave up her pirate life ten years before when she gave birth to her daughter, Marjana. She ekes out a living in an isolated ruin of a house in Oman. Then she is approached to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a former shipmate. She is offered a fabulous sum of money and Amina can't resist the lure of just one more adventure.

Filled with historical details drawn from accounts of medieval seafaring and the cultures of the people whose lands touch the Indian Ocean, this is more than a funny, exciting, fresh tale of sorcery, danger, and found family. It is also a fascinating glimpse into an area of the world that up until now rarely forms the basis of fantasy world-building. Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy was a fabulous work that opened up a deep well of mostly unfamiliar folklore and legend for contemporary fantasy readers. Readers will be richly rewarded by this new set of characters and this enchanting new world. Highly recommend.

First and foremost, I have to mention how much this book surprised me in terms of humor. It made me laugh quite a bit which I wasn't expecting. Chakraborty's other series has a more series tone with some light moments, but this one is a perfect mixture of comedy, action and fantasy. It somehow balanced being both lighthearted, fun and moving. In all honesty, I believe that is because of the main character who inhabits all of those traits. Amina is crass, stubborn, strong and wilful. I honestly loved her as a main character. I never knew what was going to come out of her mouth or what she would do next. She is a heroine that I am excited to see more of, so I am very thankful that this a series. This book is filled with history, mythology, magic, action, horror, comedy and relationships. It is an absolute blast and I a cannot wait to see what other epic quests Amina and her gang go on. If you are wanting something fresh then this is a perfect book to pick up!

4.25/ 5 stars!

Obsessed! Shannon Chakraborty has done it again. This book was so much fun and just the epic pirate adventure I was looking for. I loved how complex the characters were through their flaws and ambitions, especially and most prominently Amina. It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did I could not put it down for the life of me. If you’re looking for a pirate adventure filled with adventure, myths, magic. piracy (and so much more) LOOK NO FURTHER.

A diverse presentation of characters and different personalities. Chakraborty does it again with amazing story telling and world building with a high stakes plot.

This is my most anticipated book of 2023 and Shannon Chakraborty has once again risen upto my expectations and gave me a thrilling seafaring adventure with a memorable cast of characters.This is a mini heist cum rescue mission cum coming of age Sinbadish adventure on the high seas with one of the bestest badassest funniest sarcastic 40 plus year old heroine and her equally crazy bunch of friends, crew and a himbo trickster demon! I had sooo much fun reading this book and just didn’t want it to end. Amina al sirafi would remain forever one of my favourite heroines!!! Subjectively it’s maybe around 4 stars but I keep thinking about them soo much afterwards that I had to give this book 5 stars!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, as the name implies is a cute book of magic filled pirate adventures with a cozy mystery vibe and Shannon Chakraborty's signature style. I like that this book is written in the voice of the era of the people the characters represent. It completely came across as the author intended (see her 'Author's Note') and added another layer to her already masterfully produced prose. For me this is Shannon Chakraborty's best most sophisticated work to date.

How the author managed to capture the feel of a cozy mystery (while not being a cozy mystery), 'story within a story' style, historical fiction fantasy (while still modern and inclusive) and the cultural religious tensions of the region all at the same time, while maintaining humor, is beyond me. The characters are vibrant and likable. The main cast being middle aged to older adults with adult language, situations and humor which was very very nice. No angst. Dalila is my favorite. I haven't laughed so hard reading a fantasy book in a long time. I cannot get enough of her subterfuge and craftiness.

Admittedly I wasn't sure this book was for me when I started. Although I love spunky, rule breaking women, Amina didn't hook me right away. Her life with her daughter seemed too quaint and tame to hold my interest. Quickly I learned that was the intention. The juxtaposed difference between Amina's retired life and the excitement of her adventures is award worthy. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a keeper. Please please please keep writing this as a series. I can even see it carrying over to the kids as adults. What a delightful, hilarious story this turned out to be. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for my advance copy. I love love loved it.

This book was provided as an advanced copy in exchange for review. It was provided before I was aware of the Harper Collins Union Strike. In support of their efforts, any further review will he withheld until a resolution is reached.

We pretty regularly get people asking for recs in the under-utilized genre of fantasy pirates. I’m very happy to report that *The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi* is not only a new one in that category, but it’s *awesome*.

This is the first book in a new series (I’m guessing the plan is for 5 books, for reasons I will not be sharing) from S.A. Chakraborty, author of *City of Brass* (now publishing using her first name). It concerns, as one might expect, the adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, a pirate captain in the Indian Ocean during the 13th century. She had achieved quite a bit of infamy before retiring to raise her daughter, 10 years before the book starts. But she has to go back to sea when a wealthy woman (mother of a dead former crewman of Amina’s) uses a combination of bribes and threats to induce Amina to go and rescue her granddaughter/her shipmate’s daughter from the Frankish Crusader who has kidnapped her. So Amina is off to get the gang back together, get her ship back, and have one more adventure.

This book has a lot going for it. Let’s start with the setting. This was during the middle of the Islamic Golden Age, and the Indian Ocean sea lanes were a cultural melting pot linking Africa, the Middle East, India, and China. I’m always a sucker for a book with an underutilized setting, and this is a good one. The characters are great; not only Amina herself, who is cynical and snarky and utterly wonderful. There’s also her first mate Tinbu, a rakish Indian former slave; her navigator Majed, a Somali family man who dreams of voyaging beyond the edge of the map; and Dalila, the Iraqi Christian poisoner, assassin, alchemist, and all around Solver of Problems in Creative and Sometimes Explosive Ways.

While the book touches on a great deal of larger issues (most notably questions of gender, unsurprisingly) this isn’t a book that will particularly challenge you. Instead, this is a book that carries you along on a capital-A Adventure. Though there will certainly be sequels, this also works well as a standalone. Sequels are set up, but this ends well by itself.

Bumping *City of Brass* up the queue after this.

Set sail on a new trilogy with a possibly reformed pirate and her loyal crew of diverse ethnicities and skill sets. Amina is done with sea adventures keeping her and her daughter safe on land until she is lured back to the sea to rescue a kidnapped girl. Getting back her ship and crew is easier than the voyage will be and now she is once again dealing with her unusual ex-spouse and a power hungry Frank who will give her more trouble than she bargained for. Shannon Chakraborty's skill at world building was apparent from her recent Daevabad stories but this one will set her prowess in stone forever. A touch of Sinbad the Sailor mixed with One Thousand and One Arabian Nights this is a female driven high-octane adventure with as much sarcastic wit as there are unusual creatures and a dose of heartfelt emotion. Can't wait for the next one! My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Amina Al-Sirafi is retired. She has left behind her seafaring, pirate ways to raise her daughter in peace wither mother and her family.
Until she is forced back into one last adventure. The wealthy mother of one her former (deceased) crewmen has tracked her down to demand her assistance in finding her "kidnapped" granddaughter. Using her wealth, power and threats to bully Amina into agreeing to search for her, the woman sets Amina on a path back into the world she thought she had left behind,
Amina retrieves her ship, being cared for by her trusted friend, and collects some of her old crew to assist her in quest.
There was a lot to enjoy about this story- female pirates, a devilsh poisoner!, reuniting a found family (and the lack of bitterness and resentment among the core crew was amazing. They had some issues - you didn't write! Sorry! Okay! Move on), Amina herself was a delightful voice, funny, clever, slightly irrevrent.
Can't wait to see what the next books bring.


Thank you to NetGalley for an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.