Reviews tagging 'Death'

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

182 reviews

qiaokelibar's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is now in my top 5 favorite books of all time. The prose was engaging in a way I could only hope to emulate. The characters, from the heroine to even the smallest side character, were all so interesting and well fleshed-out. There were little mysteries peppered throughout that kept me guessing until the end - and the ending itself? Amazing!! The reveal of

the scribe's identity

had me doing cartwheels of joy (Lie: I'm literally laying in bed). I need everyone in my life to run to their nearest bookstore and buy themselves a copy ASAP. I can't wait until the next installment!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Murder and Classism

Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Alcohol

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.75

 The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was an utter delight to read - a rollicking good yarn featuring a pirate on a quest, plenty of adventures on the land as well as the high seas, and battles with magical creatures. It is historical fantasy set in a world reminiscent of the 12th century Middle East. I liked the adventure, the setting, and the cast of supporting characters, which was top-notch and featured some fabulous diversity in terms of ethnicity , religion, and gender. I also liked the strong feel-good family vibes involving both blood and found families. But what I loved, what really made the book a winner for me, was, of course, Amina al-Sirafi. She's a real bad ass - a middle aged Muslim mother and retired pirate, who is persuaded to go one one final adventure, one that promises to financially set up her family (her, her mother, and her daughter) and will perhaps provide a chance for redemption after her last journey went awry. Of course, this adventure proves more challenging than she expected. Amina's smart, savvy, courageous, full of witty, irreverent, and often self-deprecating humour, flawed in many ways (lustful, not averse to profanity...the list goes on), but honest (at least when it counts), loyal, and fully deserving of respect from friends and foes alike. I loved Amina, and I loved her voice. The audio production for this book was excellent and really enhanced my experience. All in all, this was a fabulous fun read that left a long-lasting smile on my face. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcohol

ooms's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture and Sexual harassment

peasandpancakes's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Really entertaining book but something was missing for me and I am still unsure what it is. Maybe it was some of the characters that did not feel fully fleshed out to me, or maybe I just didn’t like/get the magical creatures in what is supposed to be the actual earth. I did like Amina being a total bad ass.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Torture and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content and Abandonment

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Slavery

chanlo1994's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

As a white person, it's so refreshing to have story based in Middle Eastern/Indian Ocean culture. I had to forget everything I knew about the typical (western based) mythology so I could truly learn about these mythologies while I listened. These narrators were fantastic and I truly enjoyed listening to them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chrisb913's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

This was an incredibly fun read. The humor and wit of Amina and The supporting cast had me laughing the majority of the story. The incredibly unique narration of the book also boosted my enjoyment.

The way that Chakraborty wrote into the story breaks in the narration as if Amina was being interrupted while telling you the adventure was pure gold

. I also highly recommend listening to the audiobook because the voice for the characters was perfect. I really would like to reread this when the next book comes out. I wish I had tandem read the audio and physical together, as just listening to the audio, I feel like I missed out on worldbuilding and story plots. At the end of the day, highly recommend this books!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Transphobia

yrc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

Once in a while I don't know what kind of story I'm looking forward to before I actually start to read/listen to it. This is a prime example of exactly that. 

I enjoyed the humor in this book greatly, the epic and larger than life adventures against both wicked men and sea monsters alike. I also felt that the swashbuckling tone was sourly needed as a scratch to my itch. Life can't be taken seriously every second of each day.

Amina is a wonderous character and actually goes through the hardships of being separated from family,  limitations of age and biases towards women, which was a refreshing character arc often not seen enough in fantasy.

The rest of the crew was terrific as well, especially Dalila and Mahjed. The historical touches were fun to encounter and the narrators did a magnificent job with this text. 4 starts and recommended if you are looking for a fun book, that doesn't shy away from dark situations but does it with style and purpose.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry