A review by readingintandem
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Amina Al-Sirafi is a legendary pirate reluctantly pulled from retirement for what she thinks is one last voyage to save the young daughter of a former crew-mate when what she truly finds herself on is an adventure brimming with mythical artifacts, magical creatures, and fantastical and imaginative settings. Alongside her crew: loyal Tinbu, mistress-of-poisons Dalila, and navigator Majed with a little “help” from her estranged trickster demon husband, sets out on a high seas adventure to stop an evil sorcerer from using a wealthy teenage scholar to unleash chaos on the world.
Amina is a fascinating character- a cynical but immovable natural leader with a sharp tongue and low tolerance for nonsense. As a late 30-something reader myself, it was awesome having a main character in their 30s/40s who has seen a little something of life and has real responsibilities on her shoulders; simultaneously carrying the sense of obligation that comes with being a mother and the desire to keep the part of you that makes you, YOU, whole. Chakraborty is a master of creating characters and situations that are seemingly paradoxical - reinforcing to the reader how people and things are rarely only what you see on the surface.
Queer/trans representation and themes of friendship/found family are woven expertly through this adventurous tale. The characters are diverse, the action scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat, and you will root for the success of every single character - even the deeply flawed ones (looking at you Raksh).
My only critique is the setup of the story as being told by Amina to a scribe, which felt slightly unclear from the onset so when the scribe would randomly break into the story with a question to chastise Amina about her language it really pulled me out of an otherwise completely immersive story. There were also some plot points that I had lingering questions about that weren’t clarified, specifically relating to how Amina arrived at the Peri Island. Regardless, this was a well researched and fascinating story with an excellent character study.
The story does end somewhat open-ended with what might be the potential for a second book or book series with Amina Al-Sirafi,and if that is the case I certainly would not complain! Thank you HarperVoyager and netgalley for the opportunity to read this story as an e-arc.
Amina is a fascinating character- a cynical but immovable natural leader with a sharp tongue and low tolerance for nonsense. As a late 30-something reader myself, it was awesome having a main character in their 30s/40s who has seen a little something of life and has real responsibilities on her shoulders; simultaneously carrying the sense of obligation that comes with being a mother and the desire to keep the part of you that makes you, YOU, whole. Chakraborty is a master of creating characters and situations that are seemingly paradoxical - reinforcing to the reader how people and things are rarely only what you see on the surface.
Queer/trans representation and themes of friendship/found family are woven expertly through this adventurous tale. The characters are diverse, the action scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat, and you will root for the success of every single character - even the deeply flawed ones (looking at you Raksh).
My only critique is the setup of the story as being told by Amina to a scribe, which felt slightly unclear from the onset so when the scribe would randomly break into the story with a question to chastise Amina about her language it really pulled me out of an otherwise completely immersive story. There were also some plot points that I had lingering questions about that weren’t clarified, specifically relating to how Amina arrived at the Peri Island. Regardless, this was a well researched and fascinating story with an excellent character study.
The story does end somewhat open-ended with what might be the potential for a second book or book series with Amina Al-Sirafi,and if that is the case I certainly would not complain! Thank you HarperVoyager and netgalley for the opportunity to read this story as an e-arc.