Scan barcode
cleo_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars. Completely enjoyed this immersive fantasy about a retired pirate captain / smuggler who brings her crew back together for one last job. Set in the world surrounding the Indian Ocean in the 12th C, but with magic.
I love fantasy adventures with middle aged protagonists and Amina is delightful. This is a rollicking pirate fantasy that is also a meditation on motherhood and sacrifice, regrets and middle age.
There’s no romance and unlike 98% of the fiction I read, the protagonist is cis and straight. There are queer supporting characters though and found family. Be warned, there’s a fair bit of violence and descriptions of atrocities. And some body horror.
I love fantasy adventures with middle aged protagonists and Amina is delightful. This is a rollicking pirate fantasy that is also a meditation on motherhood and sacrifice, regrets and middle age.
There’s no romance and unlike 98% of the fiction I read, the protagonist is cis and straight. There are queer supporting characters though and found family. Be warned, there’s a fair bit of violence and descriptions of atrocities. And some body horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Rape and Slavery
jazzlibrariansbookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A solid read. Really good and fun characters, not overly wordy but wordy enough if you like the higher fantasy levels. There is swearing - but this makes it very fun. Read it if you want a fun time - it does take a hot second to get into but when you start to love Amina the book is so much fun
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
relin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I got stuck at 30% because I thought it was going to get spookier. Glad I followed my friend's advice and tried again because it was delightful and mystical. Nothing bad happens to the cat, and I'm excited for this to be a series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Abandonment and Medical content
Minor: Trafficking and Slavery
Religious differencesthemis_biblos's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
"This man could manifest as a beam of celestial light, and he chose to use that power to spy on a naked woman?" - "Are you surprised?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
twiller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Y’all, this is a weird one! Not bad by any means (I rly enjoyed a lot of it, actually!) but certainly strange. The first half of the book is this “season 1 of a longform adventure anime”-esque collecting-the-squad montage and easily the best part of the book. Anima is a striking but relatable main character with oodles of flair and the supporting cast introductions are banger after banger. I’m completely obsessed with the first like, 300 pages. The later parts are… bizarre. Continuing the anime comparison, the last 100 pages or so feel like when an anime’s last arc is too long to put in one episode but the creators wanna make one BIG IMPACT finale so they just do the entire last volume of the manga in a big season-ending movie. It’s not bad! It just throws a LOT at the reader in very quick successions and very little of it is fleshed out enough to rly leave an impression. I’m intrigued by the ideas presented towards the end, but they never rly grow beyond those ideas. It makes complete sense to me that this is the first part of the trilogy, there’s plenty to expand on here, but I’ve read series-beginning books that have a more complete stand-alone plot than this. As it is, it never rly feels like this book ever “ends”. It just kinda… stops. I prolly will check out the sequels bc, as I said, I’m interested in the concepts presented here, plus I’ve heard Chakraborty’s other series (which I have not read) has a similarly rusty start but leads to an incredible payoff. We shall see!
Last thought: As a history nerd and SPECIFICALLY a historical fiction lover that will tear my hair out if I have to look at another fucking Austen-wannabe Victorian romance, I am soooo happy that Chakraborty’s works and Islamic/MENA/South Asian historical fiction stories as a whole are getting some traction (finally some good fucking food). That being said, I’ve seen some ppl say that they’re bummed that the Muslim fantasy novel with a mostly brown cast getting press is written by a white American lady n… yeah that kinda sucks. I don’t think it’s any fault of Chakraborty’s herself (she is Muslim herself and it’s obvious from her extensive source list and author’s note that she tried incredibly hard to do this story justice), but once again the publishing industry reveals its deeeeeeeeep biases. I genuinely recommend this book even through all of its flaws, but I also recommend checking out some lesser known works by global Muslim authors. Idk I doubt that’s a particularly hot take but yeah anyway um!!! This review is rambly but i don’t care I have to go study for an exam bye!!!
Last thought: As a history nerd and SPECIFICALLY a historical fiction lover that will tear my hair out if I have to look at another fucking Austen-wannabe Victorian romance, I am soooo happy that Chakraborty’s works and Islamic/MENA/South Asian historical fiction stories as a whole are getting some traction (finally some good fucking food). That being said, I’ve seen some ppl say that they’re bummed that the Muslim fantasy novel with a mostly brown cast getting press is written by a white American lady n… yeah that kinda sucks. I don’t think it’s any fault of Chakraborty’s herself (she is Muslim herself and it’s obvious from her extensive source list and author’s note that she tried incredibly hard to do this story justice), but once again the publishing industry reveals its deeeeeeeeep biases. I genuinely recommend this book even through all of its flaws, but I also recommend checking out some lesser known works by global Muslim authors. Idk I doubt that’s a particularly hot take but yeah anyway um!!! This review is rambly but i don’t care I have to go study for an exam bye!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia
catherinedsharp's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A fascinating blend of the real and fantastical with lots of adventure and emotion. Slow to read but it’s a pleasure not a drag, and the writing is always entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Violence, Gore, Confinement, Islamophobia, Death, and Grief
cadimy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing
meant2breading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
Reasons why I adored this book from beginning to end:
1. A fierce pirate captain who is sailing the 12th century Indian Ocean and is respected by her crew?! And is a single mom?! Heck yes.
2. Amina Al-Sirafi is an absolute badass.
3. Despite having dark twists throughout, there was comic relief. This book had me laughing out loud at times.
4. Diverse characters, many who are seriously awesome!
5. The main characters are relatable and middle aged.
6. I sincerely LOVED the centrality of friendship in this book. With this in mind, the side characters/her crew were incredibly enjoyable to read about and I was highly invested in their journeys too!
7. I liked way the author weaved elements of the history at that time into the world she built.
8. To get the full pirate experience, I streamed Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack music as I read and it was immersive, really felt part of the adventure.
Yes, ok, the pacing in this book is slightly off and I understand why it is not for everyone, but all of the aforementioned factors more than made up for its flaws for me!
1. A fierce pirate captain who is sailing the 12th century Indian Ocean and is respected by her crew?! And is a single mom?! Heck yes.
2. Amina Al-Sirafi is an absolute badass.
3. Despite having dark twists throughout, there was comic relief. This book had me laughing out loud at times.
4. Diverse characters, many who are seriously awesome!
5. The main characters are relatable and middle aged.
6. I sincerely LOVED the centrality of friendship in this book. With this in mind, the side characters/her crew were incredibly enjoyable to read about and I was highly invested in their journeys too!
7. I liked way the author weaved elements of the history at that time into the world she built.
8. To get the full pirate experience, I streamed Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack music as I read and it was immersive, really felt part of the adventure.
Yes, ok, the pacing in this book is slightly off and I understand why it is not for everyone, but all of the aforementioned factors more than made up for its flaws for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Gore
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
It took me altogether far too long to finish this book. It was first hampered by my borrowed copy being uncomfortable to hold. Those book of the month books are satisfyingly uniform on a shelf but annoying for my wrists when I want to read them. I switched to a digital copy and then had to contend with the slog as Amina pulls her crew together, which is the main reason I can’t give this five stars. Each small victory was interesting but it took so long I felt myself getting impatient to get to the meat of the story. It picked up for me after Amina’s second meeting with Salima and then I was fully bought in.
Having a main character who is an older woman, highly competent, and a parent who still has their own dreams and goals was such a nice reprieve from young, inexperienced narrators who are always five steps behind the Big Bad but somehow manage to prevail. Amina is a beautifully written character and her supporting cast is equally captivating. They are devoted to her yet not subservient like she’s their only reason for breathing. The villains and the morally ambiguous characters are just as developed and I’m thankful they received the same treatment rather than being caricatures of evil.
I was not ready for the trippy turn around the 70% mark but I loved it. It cemented for me how perfectly this would work if adapted to a TV series. It gave the much needed push to boost Amina to become someone worthy of the tales told about her. It’s also such an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy elements intermingled with historical bureaucracy and religious and political machinations.
Most of the characters ascribe to a faith and it is frequently discussed and referenced. In my opinion, it is never preachy or pushing any kind of agenda on anyone, it is merely as simple as believing. If any religious aspects of a book make you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. Likewise, there is talk of genocidal crusades, horrific murders and threats of sexual violence. Skip this if you’re sensitive to those topics. For anyone else, I do recommend giving this a try.
Having a main character who is an older woman, highly competent, and a parent who still has their own dreams and goals was such a nice reprieve from young, inexperienced narrators who are always five steps behind the Big Bad but somehow manage to prevail. Amina is a beautifully written character and her supporting cast is equally captivating. They are devoted to her yet not subservient like she’s their only reason for breathing. The villains and the morally ambiguous characters are just as developed and I’m thankful they received the same treatment rather than being caricatures of evil.
I was not ready for the trippy turn around the 70% mark but I loved it. It cemented for me how perfectly this would work if adapted to a TV series. It gave the much needed push to boost Amina to become someone worthy of the tales told about her. It’s also such an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy elements intermingled with historical bureaucracy and religious and political machinations.
Most of the characters ascribe to a faith and it is frequently discussed and referenced. In my opinion, it is never preachy or pushing any kind of agenda on anyone, it is merely as simple as believing. If any religious aspects of a book make you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. Likewise, there is talk of genocidal crusades, horrific murders and threats of sexual violence. Skip this if you’re sensitive to those topics. For anyone else, I do recommend giving this a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual violence, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Classism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Sexism