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A review by flyingfox02
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
A swashbuckling romp... for about a third of the story.
This book is about a middle-aged retired pirate who is offered the chance to have one last adventure. The first third of the book is spent on her getting her old ship and crew back together. There's not a lot of action there, as we're just getting to know the setting and characters. The second third is where things really get going as the Amina and her crew try to rescue a young scholar from a barbarian. Then the final third... there's more action but to me it felt like the author was making things up as she went along. There was a magical world and creatures which felt a bit random. I just didn't really care about the events of that final third.
On a more positive note, I liked the little historical details sprinkled throughout the story (it's set in 12th century Yemen) though I'm not sure how accurate they are. Also this is written from Amina's POV who's Muslim, and her religion is a fundamental part of her, and we see that in the way she thinks and speaks. I haven't read a lot of books with Muslim characters so that was nice.
This book is about a middle-aged retired pirate who is offered the chance to have one last adventure. The first third of the book is spent on her getting her old ship and crew back together. There's not a lot of action there, as we're just getting to know the setting and characters. The second third is where things really get going as the Amina and her crew try to rescue a young scholar from a barbarian. Then the final third... there's more action but to me it felt like the author was making things up as she went along. There was a magical world and creatures which felt a bit random. I just didn't really care about the events of that final third.
On a more positive note, I liked the little historical details sprinkled throughout the story (it's set in 12th century Yemen) though I'm not sure how accurate they are. Also this is written from Amina's POV who's Muslim, and her religion is a fundamental part of her, and we see that in the way she thinks and speaks. I haven't read a lot of books with Muslim characters so that was nice.