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tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
And I especially - ESPECIALLY - loved Amina al-Sirafi as a POV character. She's a middle-aged sea rat with a bad knee and a penchant for swearing. She's sharp and funny, observant and ambitious, long-suffering and guilt-ridden. She's devoted to her family and crew and tries her best to balance both. She's faithful but certainly no saint. She's genuinely the most fascinating narrator I've read in recent memory and I love her SO much. And I don't usually like 1st person! Her narration, how she sees the world, and her relationships with her old crew just sparkle off the page.
I also loved the framing technique of Amina telling her story and her hilarious back-and-forth with the scribe writing it down. It's genuinely so fun, and it gives the scribe their own voice when they interject with asides and bits of historical letters to help you contextualize the ports and places in the story.
What fell a little flat for me was the pacing in the last 1/3 of the book. It felt like the story switched genres and backslid into stereotypical fantasy plotting, complete with a shoehorned quest to extend it into a series. Maybe I misjudged the genre (I went in mostly blind and have never read this author before) but I thought the story was stronger when the supernatural aspects lurked around the edges as a more unknown entity. Going full stereotypical fantasy killed some of that tension and mystery, and the cliché plotting weakened the writing for me. Personally, it just made those chapters a slog to get through.
But honestly, even if I found some of the pacing and plotting a bit disappointing, I still absolutely adored the characters and world-building. The pace picked back up for the climax and everything wrapped up in a satisfying way while promising future adventures with the most fun cast of characters I've read in a long time. Plus, on a superficial note, the cover is gorgeous (though my hardcover's sleeve seems designed for a book 100 pages thinner rip). If you can stomach the content warnings - which I'll go into below - I highly, highly recommend.
P.S. to fellow reviewers: It's possible to mention representation without spoiling things. Signed, a
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Torture, Confinement, and Sexual assault
Minor: Classism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Transphobia
1. The ship's cat is completely fine! He isn't harmed at all and is spoiled right to the end of the story.2. Most of the warnings in the moderate and minor sections are due to background societal issues in this time period. The narration is pretty lighthearted overall so most things are either briefly mentioned or actively challenged by the narrator.
3. The blood/gore/death/aftermath of torture/body horror is most prominent in the last 1/3 of the book, once they get to
4. The main character is implied to be a recovering alcoholic. The last time she got blackout drunk is relayed in detail as an important plot point in her past.
5. Gang rape is suddenly threatened by the villain on page 282 (hardcover ed.). Mild spoilers about what happens:
mesulkin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Blood, Sexual content, Racism, and Gore
ko_rax's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Where should I start? I loved it!
I like the setting, as well as the lovely cast, and appreciate how Chakraborty does a wonderful job at illustrating the influence of age in a setting that usually calls for a young, independent hero(ine). Amina is witty, and her hilarious remarks made me laugh out loud not only once! I also adore the dynamic between Amina and
The author Chakraborty is also quite nerdy and provides a list of reading recommendations to further delve into the origins of this novel's setting. Highly appreciated!
That being said, the first half of the novel is slower than the second half, and that may be an issue to those used to fast-paced adventure literature. For me, I found the story reasonably paced, and I loved every bit. I ended up reading more and more with every session, and did not put the novel away towards the end, reading over 200 pages in one go.
On another note, be careful if you struggle with
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Rape, and Transphobia
3rdtimelucky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Rape
bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, War, and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Rape, and Transphobia
excommunikate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: War and Rape
e_claire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Gore
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gore, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Kidnapping, Confinement, Classism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Dysphoria, War, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Drug use, Slavery, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, and Vomit
frog_appreciator's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Kidnapping and Slavery
miastr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Rape, Transphobia, and Slavery