Book Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1) by Shannon Chakraborty
This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.
ARC provided by the publisher—Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art by Ivan Belikov
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Amina al-Sirafi (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Pages: 483. pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 28th February 2023 by Harper Voyager
I gave in to the hype. I finally read Chakraborty’s book for the first time, and it certainly will not be the last.
“Exaggerations, but the truth scarcely matters when it comes to a good tale.”
Since her debut novel, The City of Brass, was published in 2017, Chakraborty is a name that keeps getting more popularity and recognition with each new book. That debut was six years ago. It is unbelievable that it took me this long to finally read a book written by Shannon Chakraborty for the first time. The first trilogy by her, The Daevabad Trilogy, was completed in the year 2020, and it is a historical fantasy series with a lot of diehard fans. A LOT. And yes, I am ashamed to admit I haven’t read that trilogy yet. That said, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a new book in a new series by her taking place in the same world as The Daevabad Trilogy, but before the events of The City of Brass. And it is very much possible to read this without reading The Daevabad Trilogy first. Because of that, and also the stunning cover art by Ivan Belikov (US edition) that got my attention, I decided to read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi first instead before reading The Daevabad Trilogy. I am happy to say I had a fun time reading it, and if possible, I would love to read The Daevabad Trilogy before the release of the second book in the Amina al-Sirafi trilogy.
Picture: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Ivan Belikov
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is the first book in the Amina al-Sirafi trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty. Amina al-Sirafi was once one of the most notorious pirates in the Indian Ocean. She has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon. But now, she has retired peacefully to a life of piety and motherhood with her daughter, Marjana. But then, an extremely wealthy mother of a former crewman finds out about Amina’s location, and she decides to visit her and offers her a job she cannot refuse. The job is to retrieve her granddaughter in exchange for one million dinars upon completion. Amina has 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. But of course, it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job and the girl’s disappearance. There is always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, and Amina and her shipmates will face a new kind of danger in their mission. This is the general premise of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and the story is told almost entirely through her perspective that she is telling to a scribe named Jamal.
“For this scribe has read a great many of these accounts and taken away another lesson: that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.”
As I said earlier, I haven’t read The Daevabad Trilogy yet, so I can’t make an accurate comparison on which one is better between The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and The Daevabad Trilogy. Or how similar they are to one another. But as far as I know, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a different kind of book and series that takes place in the same world, but again, before the beginning of The Daevabad Trilogy. It is a swashbuckling adventure with themes of motherhood, wealth, freedom, and found family. I will say, though, I am not sure whether I heard this wrong or not, but I thought this book would have a heist-centered narrative. And due to the main character being a pirate, I expected this book would be full of sea adventure portions like The Tide Child trilogy by R.J. Barker, for example. These, for better or worse, were not the case. There was indeed a mission, and obviously, there were seafaring sections, but almost the entire story in the book takes place on the land. This is not a complaint. Generally speaking, seafaring portions in fantasy novels tend to bore me. So I am pleased most of the story takes place on land instead of the sea. But I AM a fan of heist stories. Unfortunately, the supposed heist was the standard main quest to retrieve the granddaughter instead of a heist comprised of intricate planning. And, well, stealing something.
Picture: The Crew of Marawati by April Damon
“I have traveled widely enough that I take everything written about “foreigners” with doubt and know better than to judge a community by their worst individuals.”
Although I enjoyed reading this book, that and one other issue are why I cannot give this book a higher rating than 3.5 stars. I mentioned that found family is one of the tropes implemented into The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. The first half of the novel is about getting the band back together. But the characters felt likable only on the surface level. They were there simply to help drive the story forward. But that was it. The found family trope was evident in the narrative, but other than Amina herself, the other supporting characters did not feel developed enough for me to remember them distinctly. Tinbu, in particular, was incredibly forgettable. I had to research his name again because I already forgot his name at the time of writing this review. Dalila and Majed’s roles in the story, and also their characterizations, were more prominent, and I liked them. But still, they were not focused and developed enough. A few days or a week from now, there is a good chance I will not remember them anymore. This could totally be fixed in the upcoming books, and it might just be the plan to do that, but for now, it feels like a missed opportunity from my perspective because I do like Amina as a character, and I liked seeing Amina’s affection for her shipmates.
“How much easier her life would be if she were rich. For while the pious claim money doesn’t buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing. It is a monster whose claws grow deeper and more difficult to escape with each passing season, with even the slightest misstep setting you back years, if not forever.”
It can be argued that Amina’s first-person POV narration is why the characterizations and focus on Amina were so much more dominant. However, some of my favorite fantasy series and books with first-person narration, like the recently released The Will of the Many by James Islington or Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown, to mention a few, managed to make me care deeply about the supporting characters almost as much as I care about the main character. Sometimes even more, in the case of Sevro to Darrow! At the very least, I can remember them distinctly, and I truly hope I will grow to like Amina’s shipmates more in the sequel. Because I do think Chakraborty’s prose was captivating enough, and she is a great storyteller. If the first half was about gathering the band back together, the second half was about executing the mission and navigating all the chaos that came from it. I found the second half of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi more engaging than the first half, even when the villains and the truth behind the Moon of Saba felt comical. But the adventure along with the themes of social injustice and faiths implemented, plus Amina’s struggle in juggling her responsibility as a mother and doing what she would love to do, has made the narrative intriguing for me.
“For the greatest crime of the poor in the eyes of the wealthy has always been to strike back. To fail to suffer in silence and instead disrupt their lives and their fantasies of a compassionate society that coincidentally set them on top. To say no.”
Do note that this is a historical fantasy novel. The story takes place in our world in the past, but despite that, there were plenty of fantastical elements to keep the readers engaged if you’re in it for the fantasy aspects, such as sea monsters, demons, forbidden artifacts, djinns, and more. Also, I should mention that historical fantasy isn’t usually my preference for reading. I love historical fiction, but I rarely click with historical fantasy novels. But because of where I live, some of the terminologies used in this book were fascinating. I am a Chinese born and raised in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. But I did not realize how similar some Indonesian words are to Arabic until I read this book. Even though I probably should’ve guessed that. Muslim is a religion that is portrayed heavily in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. And well, here’s a fun fact. Indonesia is the country with the largest population of Muslims in the entire world. More or less 13% of the world’s Muslims. And Jakarta, the capital city, is the largest city in Southeast Asia. Although I am not Muslim, as a citizen here, seeing daily words here like fajr (fajar in Indonesian means dawn), raja (king in Indonesian), nikah (marriage in Indonesian), Iblis (devil in Indonesian), peri (fairy in Indonesian), and Quran, Inshallah, Masjid, was a refreshing reading experience. I rarely see these in Western-published fantasy novels.
“After all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.”
Picture: Map of the Great Indian Ocean by Virginia Allyn
Speaking of djinns and peri, I believe there were cameo appearances from the characters in The Daevabad Trilogy here. But again, I do not think it is a MUST to read The Daevabad Trilogy first before reading this book. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi works really well as your first time reading Chakraborty’s book, and more importantly, it is a great and fun start to a new trilogy. It is easily one of the most hyped new fantasy releases of 2023, with plenty of special editions published already. Although I had a few issues with this book, I am assured this won’t be the last time I read a book by Chakraborty. On top of looking forward to reading the continuation of Amina al-Sirafi’s infamous and scandalous tale, I feel more energized to read The Daevabad Trilogy now.
“It is not always easy to do the right thing, Amina al-Sirafi. More often than not, it is a lonely, thankless ordeal. That does not mean it is not worth doing.”
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