The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

Pirate Amina al-Sirafi finds her and her crew on 'one last adventure' whether she wants it or not, and winds up quickly in over her head.

I preface this review with that I generally do not like pirate stories. If I did, this would be a solid 5/5, no notes sort of deal. But since I don't, it had a higher bar to clear, and clear it did. The narrative structure is interesting at the start, the characters are almost immediately compelling, and it was enough to keep me turning the pages despite being ready to dismiss it. I'd say the book really hits its stride about 40% in at which point I couldn't really put it down.

Extra bonus points for LGBTQ+ representation.

Yes!!! This book is fantastically enjoyable! Shannon manages to weave a fabulous cast of characters, a nail biting plot, alluring romance (or should I say definitely-NOT-romance?) with hilarious situations and touching moments so seamlessly, you feel as if you're sailing the Arabian sea with her.

This was a great, captivating read. Truly an adventure book. I don't think there are many fantasy novels set in this region and it was an additional treat to read about places we mostly know from wars and crises, like Aden and Mogadishu, when they were in their prime. The characters are great and have interesting backstories. The main villain was perhaps a bit too one-sidedly evil. The others had more nuance. And I could have done with one or two fewer action scenes. But those are small criticisms. It was very enjoyable to read this book and I recommend it. I hope we'll see Amina and her crew again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! What's not to love: it has pirates, monsters, the supernatural, sword fights, magic fights, and adventures galore.

I don't want to include any spoilers, but the plot revolves around Amina al-Sirafi, a retired female pirate captain living in 12th/13th Century Arabia. Due to ... events ... she is lured back onto the ocean for one last irresistable treasure hunt. Although, just like Jake & Elwood, first she has to get the band, or rather her crew, back together.

This book is filled with well-rounded and unforgettable characters, and takes the reader on a fantastic journey around the lands and peoples bordering the Indian Ocean of 800 years ago. With, as previously stated, a very hefty dose of magic and fantasy thrown in as well. Definitely worth a read.

I must preface this with the fact that I am a notoriously slow reader with poor "stamina" and this felt like three books instead of one to me. Turning over the final page, I felt more exhausted than satisfied. But the fact that I'm still rating it as I am should signal how well the strengths of this book still manage to outweigh my (entirely subjective) misgivings.

Cover art notwithstanding, I somehow convinced myself that this was gonna be more historical fiction with some magical realism elements floating in the background. And for the first half of the book that certainly was the case; going into this I was loosely aware of the long history of the Indian Ocean and all the cultures on it that interacted with each other. Long before Vasco da Gama showed up on the scene and changed everything, there was this whole other cultural sphere going on during the Islamic Golden Age that often gets neglected in favor of imagery of desert palaces and caravans of camels linking cities from Persia to Al Andalus. And I'm glad that I finally came across some fictional media that dove into this neglected historical period.

The "gang of past-their-prime adventurers coming out of retirement for one last job" is something I've seen done before, but to date this is the best iteration of it that I've come across. I really enjoyed the side cast of supporting pirates, but I wish they had had more time in the spotlight before the second half of the story turned to hard fantasy and the magical threats quickly became too dangerous for them to be relevant. For a story that seemed to initially be leaning hard into a theme of relying on the power of friendship, our protagonist sure ended up doing a lot on her own.

I had issues with the pacing and tone shift in the latter part of the book where we went from swashbuckling hijinks to high stakes sword and sorcery, and there was a strange bait-and-switch with a side villain who was initially painted as a great and terrible evil but ended up being completely overshadowed by the actual antagonist. But overall the strong opening just about counterbalanced the unexpected ending for me.

To be a woman is to have your story misremembered. 

This book is a perfect combination of some of my very favorite fantasy tropes. Coming out of retirement for one last job! Getting the gang back together! A badass older protagonist who is also a parent! Naval adventure! Female pirate captain! I seriously adore all these, so of course I had to read this book and, quite predictably, I liked it a lot. 

Admittedly, it wasn't super easy to get into; I think the first 100-120 pages took me longer than the rest of the book combined. The prose here is rich and evocative and voicey, but in a way that took me some getting used to (might be an ESL thing?), especially combined with the historical Arabian peninsula/Indian ocean setting. It's a part of the world I admit I know little about, and what I do know is filtered through the lens of European history. Yes, that's something I certainly want to rectify! But for now, figuring out the feel of the historical period + all the fantasy elements + the prose made for a combination that stalled me a bit. I think that maybe, a bit counterintuitively, it would be easier for me to get immersed if the action started earlier and I could absorb everything else through it. But the set-up here certainly took a long time. Fortunately, eventually the pacing picked up and when I got all the promised adventure, I couldn't stop reading.

There's a great balance of characterization, plot, and worldbuilding to be found here. All the elements blend together to create a truly exciting fantasy story. I loved Amina in particular as the protagonist: she has the kind of dominating presence I would expect from a woman in her position. Her struggles to balance her past and her present, her history and her burning love for her daughter, her womanhood and being in the position of leadership in a cutthroat man-dominated world, her religion and the kind of things she does/lets others do as a pirate and the people she surrounds herself with—all of that was super well-crafted and never turned overdramatic. I adored her crewmates, as well, in particular Dalila and Majed. Especially Dalila. She's my venomous favorite.

I also appreciated how gradually the secrets of the past resurfaced, adding to the plot one by one and merging together, and all the quests within quests that formed the larger adventure. In some ways, the plot reminded me of a well-crafted tabletop campaign, and that's definitely a compliment. 

I do feel that the beginning could be made a bit tighter for a better effect, but overall, this definitely goes on my list of my favorite 2024 reads!

It takes a while to warm up but picks up speed quickly. It was enjoyable. That was enjoyable because there aren't many middle-aged women writing cool shit books. Great rep. It's great to read a book that reminds me of masjid evenings. Additionally, I thought Dunya's little twist was well-done and welcomed. I'm excited to read the remaining books in the series.

I think this should get published on other online publishing platforms. so it can reach more people. Relax I will not tell the spoiler part. haha! enjoy it!

Now this was the sort of pirate queen adventure I was expecting when I had read Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea. (That book is historical pirate politics and internal musings about power and this book is more fantasy adventure; I liked them both, they're just different.)

Amina al-Sarafi is a middle-aged pirate queen who gets blackmailed out of retirement into "one last job", gets the criminal gang back together, and ultimately faces off against a sorcerer and his sea monster (as if the cover doesn't give you this hint). (Also, gender stuff! You love to see it.)

It's set in the same world as her Daevabad trilogy although you don't need to have read those books at all. (You might appreciate a single character briefly appearing as well as the lawyer parrots, but that's about the extent of it.) My opinion here is that this is a fantasy pirate heist book and so is a bit more accessible than a fantasy djinn politics book (even if here it means that the world feels more like a stage and the side characters get a little bit less air time).

All in all great fun, highly recommend especially if you liked SA Chakraborty's previous work.

A fantastic adventure novel with history in its bones in a way that you can tell it's very well researched. Just beloved of its cultural settings and fantasy woven through it. An absolute delight. Not to mention extraordinarily well written.

This book will sweep you away and carry you into a pirating world in a different time. I particularly enjoyed this book's perspective of the setting's time and place.

It warms up slowly, but then it barrels along. This was fun. There aren't enough middle-aged women doing cool shit books, so that was a pleasure. Great rep. Wonderful to read a book that makes me miss evenings at the masjid. And the small twist for Dunya was also welcome and done well, imo. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.