The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty Series: Amina al-Sirafi #1
Published by HarperCollins on February 28, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Alternative History, Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Fantasy / Historical, Fiction / Sea Stories
Pages: 496
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
"A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised–Chakraborty's storytelling is fantasy at its best." -- R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War
"An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina’s adventures are the reason to read fantasy." -- Ava Reid, internationally bestselling author of Juniper & Thorn
Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.
Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.
Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.
My Review
This book came to my attention through Book Of The Month, but I was on the fence about it then, so I chose not to use my credit for it. A while later, it came to my attention again through BookTube from a creator I enjoy watching. I debated yet again. It was not long before it came into my inbox through a newsletter from a podcaster I listen to who said that the audiobook was wonderful. I took a look at my then Audible subscription and noticed I had some credits to use and thought, sure, why not let’s do this, and I ordered it. Am I disappointed I took a chance on this book? Absolutely not. I very much enjoyed the story of Amina and her crew. You should know that if you decide to read this through audio, it is 16 hours and 59 minutes, so yeah, she is a chunker. Reader, have you heard of this story? The one about a retired pirate, a woman in her forties, and a mother? If you have not heard about it, I encourage you to check it out. If you are hesitant like I was, head to the library; I am sure you will be able to get a copy there.
Amina Al-Sirafi, like I said, is a woman in her forties who has retired from her pirating ways. She stays at home raising her daughter, and frankly, she is hiding out from past enemies. Amina is not the woman she used to be back in her pirate days. Amina used to be one of the best pirate captains on the seas and was feared by many. One day, while she is making repairs on her home, a woman comes to the house in search of help. The kind of help she needs can only come from Amina, and the woman is willing to pay for the assistance. You see, this woman is the mother of an old crew member of Amina’s and also the grandmother of his child. His child has gone missing. Amina is told that the child was taken by a man who had visited them at their home. The woman does not give Amina much information to go on but is willing to pay her large amounts of money. She has, in a way, guilted Amina into helping her. You see, the woman’s son, who also happened to be on Amina’s crew, was dead, and he died while he was working with Amina. Friendship, guilt, and responsibility won out, and Amina decided to take the job. I mean, seriously, how hard can it be? The money makes up more than enough for the time she will be spending away from her family. They will be set for life after this voyage.
Amina sets off in search of her old crew and her ship. She can not go on a rescue mission without them, but they do not make it easy for her. She has not been in touch with them for years, and some are rather upset about it. After finding a member of her crew (the woman who is good with poisons), she sets out to find another member and her ship. Unfortunately for Amina, this crew member is in need of some serious rescuing himself along with the ship and its crew. This whole scene made me giggle. I found the way Amina and her friend go about rescuing the other crew member hilarious. They even recruited someone they found on the street to help them. Seriously, the whole thing made me giggle. I will give it to Amina; she is a creative and witty one, for sure. Needless to say, she gets her crew and ship back and sets sail.
The job is not as simple as Amina first thought it to be. In fact, it becomes downright dangerous, and she feels completely out of her element. The old lady forgot to mention that the man who took her granddaughter is also involved in dark magic. Magic is something that Amina knows nothing about. I also can not forget to mention the monster that he controls and his killing tendencies or his jacked-up humanlike crew. This is not the last adventure that Amina is hoping for, and when she tries to back out with the old lady, the unthinkable happens: the old lady makes a threat that Amina can not live with. The threat leaves Amina no choice but to carry on in her search for the granddaughter.
Throughout the story, we watch as Amina, her crew, and her demon husband search for this man and girl. The things that they come across are terrible, and eventually, they become separated from one another, putting Amina and her husband into a completely new situation. Now, not only does Amina need to find the granddaughter, but she has to survive the predicament she is in and rescue her crew yet again. The Adventures Of Amina Al-Sirafi is a fast-paced adventure story and one I enjoyed very much. This is book one in a new series by Shannon Chakraborty, and I am just saying I am here for it. I am eager to see what will happen next in this series. Reader, if you are looking for an adventure story where the main character is a forty-something mom with a bum knee, multiple ex-husbands, and a demon husband she can’t seem to kill, then give this story a go. If you are looking for battles, magic, magical creatures, monsters, and pirate adventures, then this might be just the story for you. If friendship, LGBTQ+ themes, and loyalty are something you enjoy in a story, then again, this could be one you might enjoy. I also enjoyed getting to know the pirate crew and the world in which this tale takes place. Does this sound like something you might be interested in? If you decide to pick this one up, please let me know what you think. If you have already read it, what do you think? Have you read anything else by this author? Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Battle Scenes
- Death of a child
- Blood/Gore
- Runaway Teen
- Death of a friend
- Stabbing
- Monster Attacks
- Threats of Rape