Scan barcode
A review by mxsallybend
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
4.0
Having never read Shannon Chakraborty before, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into with The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, except I loved the idea of pirates, sorcerers, mystical artifacts, and a legendary woman out to end her career with one last score. I was kind of expecting a 1000 Arabian Nights sort of tale, and that’s precisely what I got – to my delight.
Amina is a fantastic character, a woman who stands tall alongside both heroes and scoundrels. Yes, she’s a pirate who has done some horrible things, but she’s also a mother who is haunted by that legacy. She’s a multifaceted character, and she only grows more complex as more friends and allies and woven into the tale. Speaking of friends, Dalila is a definite highlight of the story, and so long as we get more of her (and more of her backstory) in the next two books, things will be great.
The plot seems simple at first, but it too grows more layers as the story goes on. This is neither a simple heist nor a simple rescue story, it’s also a tale of second chances, found family, gender roles, dangerous plots, and deep mythology. It takes a bit to get going, but it’s thoroughly entertaining, which just the right amount of humor to contrast the anger, the sorrow, and the danger. With that said, I felt like the book took a sharp turn into magical fantasy in the final third, which I wasn’t at all prepared for (despite the magic and monsters to that point), but it grounds itself in time to nail the climax and give us a reason to keep reading.
My only regret with The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is that I waited so long to give it a read, but that also means the wait for the second book will be a little bit shorter. Fun stuff!
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/book-review-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi-by-shannon-chakraborty-fantasy/
Amina is a fantastic character, a woman who stands tall alongside both heroes and scoundrels. Yes, she’s a pirate who has done some horrible things, but she’s also a mother who is haunted by that legacy. She’s a multifaceted character, and she only grows more complex as more friends and allies and woven into the tale. Speaking of friends, Dalila is a definite highlight of the story, and so long as we get more of her (and more of her backstory) in the next two books, things will be great.
The plot seems simple at first, but it too grows more layers as the story goes on. This is neither a simple heist nor a simple rescue story, it’s also a tale of second chances, found family, gender roles, dangerous plots, and deep mythology. It takes a bit to get going, but it’s thoroughly entertaining, which just the right amount of humor to contrast the anger, the sorrow, and the danger. With that said, I felt like the book took a sharp turn into magical fantasy in the final third, which I wasn’t at all prepared for (despite the magic and monsters to that point), but it grounds itself in time to nail the climax and give us a reason to keep reading.
My only regret with The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is that I waited so long to give it a read, but that also means the wait for the second book will be a little bit shorter. Fun stuff!
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/book-review-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi-by-shannon-chakraborty-fantasy/