Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

95 reviews

annie_tonk's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Kidnapping

Minor: Cursing

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This swashbuckling, Middle Eastern mythology inspired historical fantasy follows a middle-aged single mom and former pirate captain as she’s coerced out of retirement for one more adventure. I loved the rep here—the older (and funny and caring and badass) main character, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian rep, and fantastic queer rep too! The length and the emphasis on plot over character development took this from a 5 star to a 4.5 star for me, but highly recommended if you’re in the mood for an adventure on the high seas!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Murder, Slavery, Transphobia, and Sexual content

indigoriverboat's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• 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

What a joyous romp! I loved reading about Amina Al-Safir, her reunited, old crew, the choices from her past that haunt her, and her love of her daughter. This book spins a wild, mystical tale with plenty of twists and turns, adventures both magical and mundane, and flawed, lovable characters. The pace really picks up in the last half of the book. I could not put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Slavery, Sexual assault, and Torture

deathmetalpainter's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Awesome fantasy novel with historical backing. It's not often I get to read of Arabian pirates. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Sexism, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• 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

Amazingly perfect from the protagonist to the villain to the clever twist. So happy to see some nods to the Daevabad trilogy as well! Cannot wait for the second book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Sexism, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Misogyny, and War

Minor: Torture, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Amina, an infamous smuggler/pirate, comes out of retirement and gets her crew back together for one last job. Plans go awry and both danger and hilarity ensue. Great adventure story with funny, distinct, and lively characters. Excellent as an audiobook; it has a frame narrative from a scribe who is relating Amina’s story as she told it to him, and Amina’s asides to him really come to life in audio. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture, Transphobia, War, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Classism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

ienbdri's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It started off so strong but then it kinda morphed into your average fantasy novel. I loved the narration and following a hero that isn't 16, but the story just fell flat at some point. It was clearly preparing stuff for the next volumes but lost sight of the main adventure on the way. I literally forgot why they were traveling in the first place?

The magic birds just deciding her fate? A place between worlds without an explanation that really wasn't necessary for the story? Random magic without any system? Naaaaah.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Cursing, Gore, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Transphobia, Death, Sexism, and Slavery

karatics's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Classism, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Deadnaming, Rape, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Infidelity

sunnydale's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative inspiring medium-paced

• 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

what a delightful read. the world was so rich, i immediately wanted to learn more about the historical context, and fortunately the author provided a bibliography! the audiobook is very well-produced, with two voice actors, sound effects in the "present-day" chapters, and adjustments made to address listeners instead of readers. 

i love that the protagonist's faith is central to her character, and we're also able to see how it's developed throughout her life. her faith is sometimes messy, sometimes self-contradicting, but she also never doubts her core beliefs, and she's a more authentic character because of it.

irrelevant to the quality of the book, i noticed that "midnight" is the author's favorite adjective for anything dark. "midnight beach," "midnight ocean," "midnight fabric," etc. it felt like a scavenger hunt trying to find the word in each chapter, lol.

i would recommend this to fans of fantasy, especially those who are looking for non-western fantasy settings. i definitely recommend the audiobook, although you might want a print or ebook copy for the helpful bibliography.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Alcohol, and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent

Violence and sexual content are at a PG-13 rating. There is a lot of swearing. The cat is fine.

thewellbitch's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• 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? No

5.0

LOVED IT!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Alcohol, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Slavery