It has been years since I discovered S.A. chakraborty’s books and that was thanks to the Daevabad series. I’ve read this trilogy twice actually. Now, it’s time for her brand new book (okay, not so new anymore as it released in February this year), The Adventrues of Amina Al-Sirafi. Something completely different and I was admittely a little hesitant to pick this one up. It’s about pirates and I don’t really like them. Well, it was time to find out whetther amina would be a pirate I like!

About the book

• Title: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
• Author: S.A. Chakraborty
• Series: Amina Al-Sirafi #1
• Publish date: February 28, 2023
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• ISBN: 9780008381349
• Numbr of Pages: 438
• Genre: Historical fiction, Fantasy

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

I know Chakraborty always delivers in terms of quality. Her books contain a rich, complex world and it’s clear that there has been done loads of research. Not only with the Daevabad series, but also with this one. There has to be, because there are a lot of shipment terms in it. Also, the places in this book which are in the real world still exist or have existed. So the maps and stuff have to be accurate. This has been done well in my opinion. The amount of time spent on research and crafting this story really pays off.

However, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot. I mean, there are adventures, but to me they didn’t stand out. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the way the story was handled, sometimes it felt rushed. For instance, the parts in the “other realm” and what happens to Amina there were finished quite soon. On the other hand, the Arabic words and phrases give something unique to this book. Thankfully they are not explained in detail, because that would be such a pity. There’s a glossary in the back of this book though.

When looking intto the characters, it’s obvious that Amina has a strong personality. She retired ten years ago and lives an isolated life to protect her mother and especially her daughter. one day, a rich woman finds her and her family and seeks her help. Her granddaughter has been kidnapped and she believes Amina is the only one who is able to get her back. At first, Amina refuses to do this, but she notices she misses life at sea. She decides to get this task done and recruits he old shipmen. Here is something I didn’t like, because they were convinced easily. Amina left them and ghosted them for ten years! I mean, I wouldn’t be so easy to convince. Anyway, they all tag along and the adventure begins. During this journey, Amina makes some terrible choices, but the love for her crew, family and especially her daughter is visible through every page. However, we don’t get to know the rest of the crew really, but it seems like they never really opened up in the past anyway.

It took me a longer time than usual to finish The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakrabory. I caught Covid and had to put this book down for nearly a week. However, I managed to finish it rather quickly once I was able to read again. Unfortunately, I liked this book less than the Daevabad triology. That world and story was more rich and complex, which makes this book seem quite “simple”. Also, I am truly convinced now that pirates are just not for me. Therefore, I’m not sure whether I want to continue this series, but I might change my mind once the next book will be released.