Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

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

54 reviews

abrielleemory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

How and why I let this book sit on my shelf for so long is beyond me. 

The City of Brass series will forever go down as one of my favorite fantasy series and one of the best series I read in 2023. However, Amina’s story is pulling its own weight. 

Chakraborty’s writing is unmatched. Informational, comical, emotional, and so unbelievably thorough. I’ve seen that the next book in the series is set for September 2025, so it looks like I’ll be anxiously awaiting Amina’s story until then. 

My only critique is that there was no character glossary like The City of Brass had. Chakraborty’s complex characters need a little organization. But, considering the last chapter, I understand why some names could not be identified. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Body horror

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Kidnapping

caoimhemia's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery

tinkeringcheck's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

The first 2/3 of this book was a VERY enthusiastic 5 stars for me. The slow burn of this found family of middle-aged former pirates getting the gang back together for one last (very personal) job just sucked me in. The descriptive-yet-witty narration does an incredible job of immersing you in their world and making this place and time come to life. And I absolutely adored Amina's old crew, who each felt like unique, fleshed out people. The story really sold their existing sibling-esque bonds, which is no easy feat for a story that picks up decades after those relationships were forged.

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

trans person

delighted by the nuanced rep and yet spoiled by well-meaning reviewers. (And also by annoying reviewers who think the mere existence of queer people is inherently political or ahistorical. Insert eye roll here.)

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Content Warnings

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

the big island and especially the cave there.

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:

Because of the threat the MC is overpowered and held down by a group of strong men/villain's goons. She's not sexually assaulted, but she is forced to drink something that has a drugging effect before she's saved. She has upsetting flashbacks to this multiple times to the point her friend asks if she was assaulted.

This could absolutely be upsetting to some readers and is a recurring part of the narration in the last 1/3 of the book.

mesulkin's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

ehmannky'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? Yes

4.25

A really fun and unique fantasy. Chakraborty is one of my favorite authors, and I love her writing. I loved the characters, I loved the world, I loved the plot. The only thing that I felt dragged this book down a star was that I felt like the pacing was really good and everything flowed really well UNTIL you get to the 75+ pages in the latter half of the book where Amina is on the magical island. And I understand it's necessary in order for the series' story to be set up, but my god did it drag. But then it ended and the story picked up again. But other than that, if you're looking for a fantasy that focuses on older characters, has really unique worldbuilding that is deeply rooted in non-European histories, and is just a fun time, this is for you. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

imds'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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Trafficking, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

kassidyreads's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Grief, Transphobia, and Torture

frog_appreciator's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny slow-paced

• 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

I was thoroughly invested from the beginning and enjoyed myself the whole way through. Amina is a delightful character, and I felt a sense of wonder the whole time I was reading. First i’ve read by the author but I’ll definitely be checking out her other books :) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Kidnapping and Slavery

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall an enjoyable book! There were some parts that felt a little incongruous and the ending wasn't as satisfying as it could have been, but the characters were really interesting as was the worldbuilding!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence