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

adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

Fool, no one is listening to sailor's yarns about pirates and wizards to learn about fucking topography. Put that damn map away and let's try this again.

Amina Al-Sirafi is an absolute gem. Beginning with Chakraborty's vibrant and charismatic characters, each chapter twists you deeper into the magical and horrific worlds lurking beneath the surface. I enjoyed the way the truth of these characters—good and bad—was slowly revealed as their polite society selves were stripped back by circumstances. As expected, Chakraborty paints a rich (and extremely thoroughly researched) setting of Islamic myth and history, though I think she may have underestimated a general readerships familiarity with the world and language as the glossary is a bit more sparse than I expected.

Above all, I am left so impressed by Chakraborty's growth between the Daevabad Trilogy and this novel. I liked Daevabad! I had a very fun time! But that said, there were a lot of aspects of that trilogy that read very young adult and unformed. The narrative was not quite as tight as I would have liked, and it often shied away from truly digging into horrors its characters were going through. All of my complaints have been fixed in Amina—and even shined up with a well-executed narrative form. It really is one of my favorite reads this year, and I am so excited to see where Amina goes next. I will continue to pick up anything she writes.