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A review by franzis_buecher
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book! After a bit of a slow start, it really picked up and I loved following Amina on her adventures with lots of twists and turns.
There are heists, seafaring adventures, magical artefacts and creatures, battle scenes, and more, and depending on the situation, the mood shifts between funny, thrilling, emotional and even spooky (there were a few scenes on Socotra that had such a creepy atmosphere omg)
Also love how diverse the cast of supporting characters are when it comes to ethnicity, religion, sexuality and gender identity. (That one twist with one particular character made me circle back to the beginning and see everything in a completely new light, I thought it was very well done)
I also loveRaksh even though he's objectively a bad person/entity, but every scene he was in was so enjoyable and often very funny due to his personality and behaviour. I hope we'll see more of him in the sequels!
Not to mention the easter eggs from the Daevabad world! There aren't too many, but one specific character appears and there are some familiar magical creatures as well.
The only thing that I struggled with a bit were the more religious aspects, which for me since I'm not religious and not Muslim didn't hit as hard as they probably would for others. But I always love learning about other religions and worldviews, so it was very interesting as well.
I also learned a lot about the 11th century Indian Ocean and about places I'd never heard about before like Socotra! The small interludes with excerpts from ancient travel reports or tales really embellished the book further and helped a lot with the worldbuilding.
I'm excited to see where this story goes, to get to know some of the side characters such as Tinbu, Dalila, Majed and Jamal even better, and maybe to see some more of Marjana's heritage in future installments!
There are heists, seafaring adventures, magical artefacts and creatures, battle scenes, and more, and depending on the situation, the mood shifts between funny, thrilling, emotional and even spooky (there were a few scenes on Socotra that had such a creepy atmosphere omg)
Also love how diverse the cast of supporting characters are when it comes to ethnicity, religion, sexuality and gender identity. (That one twist with one particular character made me circle back to the beginning and see everything in a completely new light, I thought it was very well done)
I also love
Not to mention the easter eggs from the Daevabad world! There aren't too many, but one specific character appears and there are some familiar magical creatures as well.
The only thing that I struggled with a bit were the more religious aspects, which for me since I'm not religious and not Muslim didn't hit as hard as they probably would for others. But I always love learning about other religions and worldviews, so it was very interesting as well.
I also learned a lot about the 11th century Indian Ocean and about places I'd never heard about before like Socotra! The small interludes with excerpts from ancient travel reports or tales really embellished the book further and helped a lot with the worldbuilding.
I'm excited to see where this story goes, to get to know some of the side characters such as Tinbu, Dalila, Majed and Jamal even better, and maybe to see some more of Marjana's heritage in future installments!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, and Gore