Six stars!

I have been in a reading slump for approximately six months. I’ve started dozens of books, but I haven’t vibed with any of them. Finally after so many false starts, I picked this book and it was the best decision I could have made.

And why not, the book had everything I could want in a fantasy novel, pirates, a fierce FMC that is in my age range, and she’s still kicking ass, mythical creatures, “demons”, a really bad bad-guy, magic. Not to mention the diversity of the characters and the representation. At first I thought the mention of religion (the FMC is Muslim) would take me out of the story, but it did not. It was the main focus of the story, but it what was mentioned made sense in the story.

Retired pirate captain, Amina Al-Sirafi was forced into one last adventure. Reuniting her former crew and ship, is more difficult that expected and noting really goes as planned from then on. The writing was amazing. I was completely caught up in the story; even the exposition kept me totally fascinated. I was emotionally invested in the quest and the characters. The story was like nothing I had ever heard prior. I would definitely read about the further adventures of Amina and her loyal crew. ( )

Arabian tales of a fearsome female pirate sea captain battling magical beings. Maybe better than average for this kind of thing but would definitely not read another. ( )

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ♦ Shannon Chakraborty | Review

I must honestly say that I had never heard of author Shannon Chakraborty before reading this book. Her well-known book series The Daevabad Trilogy also completely passed me by. But meanwhile it was allowed to move into my shelf. The reason for this is The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi which I got in an Exclusive Edition by FairyLoot.



The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ♦ Shannon Chakraborty

Opinion

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty is an adventurous and entertaining high-seas journey with courageous lady pirates, demon husbands, poisoners, some magic, sea monsters, and a cast of endearing characters. The author conjured up such a breathtaking historical and mythical setting, that it didn’t take me long to be drawn into the story.

I loved how strong, but also with flaws the main character Amina al-Sirafi came around. She sure was a pirate and definitely a good one once. It could feel her struggles to go on another adventures but leaving her little girl behind. I enjoyed how she reunited with her most trusted inner circle of her crew and stormed out onto the wide-open sea to save another young woman from her biggest mistake.

While reading, I often had the feeling I’m actually living in this adventure on the broad seas, I could feel salty wind in my hair. The dark fantasy elements, such as demons and sea monsters, in a somewhat medieval Indian Ocean setting combined with diverse characters and multiple religious backgrounds made me devour the book. I could never tell what the next twist and uncovered mystery would bring and to where this group of adventurers would set sail to.

As much as I enjoyed the plot in its whole, I had a bot of a hard time with the last quarter of the book. The weird magic and discovered sea monsters seemed a bit forced to get a bit more tension in the action. Especially the weird feathered creatures were too much for me. I think a different explanation of how Amina could have survived would have irritated me less.

Conclusion

But the overall package of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was terrific, and the book was able to carry me away and inspire me. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next volume because I am sure Amina and her crew still have some fantastic adventures ahead of them.


This review was first published at The Art of Reading. ( )

A light-hearted romp, which reads a bit as if Mary Read (or Ann Bonney) took the lead role in a Harryhausen-inspired version of Sinbad.

The eponymous heroine is a Yemeni smuggler retired from the sea who is blackmailed by a rich woman into recovering her grand-daughter. Her father just happened to be part of Amina's crew before his death, and Amina felt guilty enough at his death to accept the job (the money for doing so didn't hurt either). Based on the Indian ocean trade routes, the story rattled along, and was reasonably historically accurate.

I liked this much better than The City of Brass (which disappointed me enough and so far has not inspired me to read the others in the series).

Light, but recommended.

This is a fun read. I appreciated the authenticity of the setting, it was unusual to read something deliberately set about 1200 years ago. There is a ton of action and fascinating magic to this and the main character is engaging and interesting. While this is essentially a standard fantasy story, there were a lot of unique elements and flavor. ( )