Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

83 reviews

stormeno's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Colonisation, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Slavery, and Confinement

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful 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

3.0

This was a very fun, straightforward adventure tale. It was actually quite a bit more fantasy than I expected, but it was a pleasant development. The author's dedication in her research really pays off in the nearly tangible setting. The characters, having a few years and adventures under their belts, feel more well-rounded and real. Getting flashbacks to their previous adventures was fun, and it's nice to jump straight into a found-family dynamic. The series set-up is straightforward, but still intriguing. I really enjoyed these characters and I look forward to seeing more from them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism, Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Grief, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape, Classism, Dysphoria, Slavery, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Alcohol

incident of mass murder and ritual human sacrifice off page but remains described in brief detail; instance of being stranded at sea; violent threats made against a child on numerous occasion

arbramirez's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

adventurous

5.0

“You look like a fucking prawn.” 

Yes I will be using this insult in future, I cannot stop laughing at Amina saying this in the middle of battle.  

This is just the absolute peak of adventure fantasy, so much rollicking fun with such a wonderful crew onboard a (reformed) pirate ship. Chakraborty’s particular skill lies as usual in her deep historical worldbuilding and character work, making this such an incredible setting to drown yourself in with a brilliant crew to keep you afloat. Their relationships and sassy retorts were a joy. 

Please tell me we have a sequel. 

Content warnings: graphic depictions of blood and gore, violence, torture, confinement, drowning, threats of rape

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Blood, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Rape

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, War, Kidnapping, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

adventurous slow-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

2.75

I wanted to love it, I really did. I think I gave every book in the Daevabad trilogy a minimum of 4 stars. This one just didn't work for me. 

I think part of that was the marketing? I remember seeing so much about it being a pirate book, a seafaring adventure. I felt like we really didn't get that until about... well past halfway. The beginning of the book is incredibly slow. I still don't understand the point of the opening scene to the story, and the first half is basically picking up their crew around different areas and gathering information. There are moments of adventure or these events that happen - but they didn't pull me in or have me stressed for the characters.

I think that was the big thing for me. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed and I think that was due to the format of the storytelling. Since it's Amina telling her story to a scribe, I feel like we never actually get to truly know her character. And the random interjections where she replies to the scribe - who remains off page through the main story - completely pulled me out of the story with a jarring effect.
Everything is tell, not show. Which is evident by the very many long descriptions. So. Many. Descriptions. Don't get me wrong, I love details. But I found myself skimming because I truly didn't care about all of the tiny details in this random library that had nothing to do with the story. Anyways, I did like the side characters, but even they felt underdeveloped. 

I will say that there were some unique elements and Chakraborty does have good writing. The ending was also done really well - it was great to have a character from the Daevabad world show up, and the reveal at the end was well done! I'm glad I didn't DNF it, but I'm still not sure if I'd continue with the series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Kidnapping, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Torture, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Slavery, and War

itisnatal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Torture, and Body horror

Minor: Sexual violence and Slavery

cozyscones's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Death, Sexual harassment, Gore, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Deadnaming, War, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Torture

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring 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

Amazing book, lots of adventure, magic, history, and family. I’ll definitely be checking out the other books in the series once they’re out. Told in the format of Amina talking to a scribe, this story was fantastic but I did wish there was more piracy involved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Murder, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual harassment

victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Minor: Colonisation and War