Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

92 reviews

octopus18's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

Loved the historical and geographical context, it's not a period I knew much about.

The fantasy appeared maybe a bit late in the story, I was confused about how "normal" and then suddenly how "magical" things were. It's set in a non magical world, but then when surnatural is introduced, it doesn't shock the characters very much...

A few anachronisms in the vocabulary used by the MC/narrator wrt the historical period the story is set in.

I also appreciated the diversity of characters (ethnicity, faith, LGBT+,...)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Rape and Slavery

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

This was super fun. I love Amina and the mythos and pirate vibes. I'm excited to see more, specifically in the relationship developments with her family. It was a great audiobook that made the reveal at the end have an extra layer. Though I kind of wish I can read it physically and likely will on the reread which may bump it up to 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Transphobia and War

flyupinthesky's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Although I have had this on my tbr pile for a while, I was a bit nervous as a mood reader that I wanted a pirate story. This isn’t just a 5 star read, this is now one of my top books of all time. I am now going to read everything else this lengendary storyteller has to offer. She has crafted these magnificent and very flawed characters which you can’t help but be gripped by their tale. A swashbuckling adventure as well as nuance, found family, piracy and magic. I was so enthralled, I couldn’t stop turning the page. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture and Violence

Minor: Addiction

nightstitch96's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Alcohol

Minor: Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, and Vomit

chloebrandon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed the initial light-handedness of magic in this book and how historically believable the world building is (although I am very uninformed on the 12th century in the Indian Ocean, so take that with a big grain of salt). Although

the fantasy elements don't really pick up until the last hundred or so pages,

I enjoyed the purely historical fiction elements and clearly well-researched world building, based on Chakraborty's extensive further reading section. In retrospect I honestly think I would have enjoyed this book slightly more if it were purely historical fiction with no fantasy elements, which may be hypocritical of me to say because I likely would not have picked it up in the first place had it not been marked in the fantasy genre. The introduction of some of the fantasy elements felt slightly rushed and out of place which is the reason for the imperfect score. However, I enjoyed the themes of motherhood, parenting, long friendships,

the revelation of Jamal's part in the story as the scribe,

and just how kick-ass Amina and Dalila are.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Torture, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Deadnaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War

mamaewalk's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Slavery, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

Author of the Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty, brings us back to this beautiful and dangerous world through the story of a middle-aged, human, ex-pirate: Amina al-Sirafi.

The name "Amina al-Sirafi" strikes fear into the hearts of many due to her scandalous pirating career. Now, she's settled at home with her mother and daughter. She should be content. But when the wealthy mother of a former crewman shows up at her door begging Amina into finding her granddaughter, she thinks it's a sign from God to have one last adventure with her friends before she officially retires. Little does she know that this task will lead her and her crew into mysteries and legends Amina could've only dreamed of.

S.A. Chakraborty took elements of a classic pirate story--a diverse and fun-loving crew, a quest for treasure, fearsome creatures--and added her own twist to it. The Daevabad Trilogy has to be one of my favorite fantasy series, so diving back into this world was so much fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Transphobia

ooms's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture and Sexual harassment