Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

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

97 reviews

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

'The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi' by Shannon Chakraborty is a fun and fast paced historical fantasy novel.
Amina al-Sirafi has put her pirate days behind her. Now she lives with her daughter and mother far away from the rumors about her younger days. But Amina's calm life is thrown into turmoil when a woman comes looking for her help and knows exactly who she is. Her granddaughter has been kidnapped and she offers Amina a pretty sum to go rescue her. Amina has no interest until she learns who the granddaughter is and how she's tied to Amina's past. She'll have to get the band back together if she has any hope of completing her quest.
Chakraborty has created such a fun historical fantasy novel full of great characters, peril, and a dash of the fantastic. I love pirate stories and this one does not disappoint. This novel is also a breath of fresh air among the troves of novels centered on character in their 20s. Amina and her crew are nearing middle age with a number of adventures behind them. Chakraborty does an excellent job of slowing rolling out information about Amina and her crew's past.
The audiobook of this is fantastic and actually leans into the frame story of Amina telling this tale herself. I'm so excited that this is the start of a series because I can't wait to go sailing with Amina and her crew again.

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brynalexa's review against another edition

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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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grizzlysnack's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

A fantastical pirate story that is sure to keep you hooked from the first chapter! The characters are practically jumping off the pages as you read, and the world building in this book is both enthralling and terrifying!

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bookishcori's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.25

Give me all the 40-something woman pirates who are parents.

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achingallover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Slow start but SO GOOD

I need to reread the daevabad trilogy now

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kurumipanda's review against another edition

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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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ienbdri's review against another edition

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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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onthesamepage's review

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adventurous funny slow-paced

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

4.0

I still find it hard to believe that in the year 2023, I have read an adult fantasy book (probably my favourite genre) that contains verses from the Quran within the text. This book is always going to have a special place in my heart for that alone.

But we'll come back to the Muslim representation. Let's talk about the fantasy parts first.

For this scribe has read a great many of these accounts and taken away another lesson: that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.

I haven't read the Daevabad trilogy yet, and I don't think you necessarily need to to enjoy this book, but it might be useful to know that there are some crossover characters, and that the books are all set in the same world. I read this book as part of a readalong, and based on the discussions, I gather that a few parts of this may have more of an impact if you've read the trilogy.

The book is written as Amina narrating her story to a scribe named Jamal. It didn't happen a lot, but there were a couple of instances where Amina would interrupt her storytelling to make a snarky remark directed at Jamal, and I really liked those inserts. Without them it was easy to forget that this is her telling her story, and not just me reading a fantasy book written in first person.

"I am not distracted," I insisted. "I am murderously focused."

The story has a lot of journeying (she is a pirate, after all), "getting the gang back together", and then setting off on the actual quest. It's a pretty fun adventure, with interesting characters, and I really enjoyed reading it. I will say that the last quarter of the book relies a bit too much on a "deus ex machina" aspect in my opinion, and I kind of wish the author had allowed Amina to find another way to deal with the villain of the story.

Having this book open with "In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate", as a Muslim, just felt very powerful. It really set the tone for me right off the bat, and the constant mentions of everyday Muslim things gave me this feeling of being seen. There were mentions of the prophets and some of the stories surrounding them (although I actually disagree with the version used here, but that's a small quibble).

And if one of these events made me feel as though I had no right to ever call upon God again, the other filled me with a driving need I could not deny. So I keep my daily prayers, even if I feel unworthy the entire time.

The story was full of these small mentions that never allowed me to forget that Amina is Muslim. She said, "God is greatest", before diving headlong into danger. She acknowledges that she has nobody to turn to but God when she finds herself with her back against the wall. She talks about how she used to drink, how she kissed men who were not her husband, and how she doesn't do those things anymore because she's trying to be a better Muslim. Good representation isn't about characters that are the perfect portrayal of what a Muslim should be, it's about this: being Muslim is part of Amina's character, and there's no possible way to ignore that.

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sunnydale's review against another edition

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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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kappafrog's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense slow-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

The historical setting was 10/10. I loved how rich the details were and how immersed I felt in the world of the 12th century Indian Ocean. Amina was also a great protagonist, very complex and easy to root for. The choice of setting and characters was exciting and refreshing.

The book got too violent for my tastes at times. Some of the plot armour the main characters had got pretty convoluted. Still, I look forward to seeing more in this series.

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