by Shannon Chakraborty
Harper Voyager, 2023. 482 pages. Fantasy
After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean's most notorious pirates, Amina al-Sirafi has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon, and has retired 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? Such an obvious choice 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.
If you're looking for an excellent combination of adventure on the high seas and a hint of magic, look no further. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a great new take on the genre, featuring a middle-aged Muslim-Indian woman who is also a pirate. The magical adventures Amina and her crew encounter add an otherworldly quality to this story that pulls the reader in and keeps them wondering what will happen next. While this makes for a fun, escapist read, I also appreciated that one theme of the book was the juxtaposition between Amina's love for her daughter and desire to protect her family and the pull of her former life of adventuring.
I listened to this book in audiobook format, and I loved the excellent narration. The book is told in a conversational style, as Amina tells a scribe her life story. There are asides by the scribe and by Amina as they argue whether Amina's tale is entirely true. This is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I can't wait to see where Amina will travel next.
If you like The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi you might also like:
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Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.
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Harper Voyager, 2018, 530 pages. Fantasy
Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
Tress of the Emerald Seaby Brandon Sanderson
Tor, 2023. 369 pages. Fantasy
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
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