I was introduced to Shannon Chakraborty writing under the name S.A. Chakraborty through her book The City of Brass, first book in the Daevabad trilogy. There was a lot I liked about it; excellent Middle Eastern inspired fantasy world building, an engaging story, and a great female main protagonist. Yet, I disliked how pretty much the only female character was the main one.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi also has excellent Middle Eastern inspired fantasy world building. This time it’s set on the Indian Ocean during the time of the crusades (with magic and sea monsters!). The story had me thoroughly captivated. Amina is a formidable woman and I loved how she’s a retired pirate captain with a ten year old daughter. This time there are multiple complex women and Amina has a close friend in her crewmember Dalila (who is a talented poisoner and alchemist).
Prior to the start of the book, Amina has had a full adventuresome life. She’s terrorized the waters of the Indian Ocean, married multiple times, and is attributed to all sort of outrageous stories. Circumstances have her leaving that life behind and raising her daughter Marjana on her own in a meager existence. Ten years has passed since Amina’s retirement when a very rich older woman comes asking for her help. Salima’s granddaughter, Dunya, has been kidnapped by a Frank. Dunya’s father served on Amina’s crew and died aboard her ship. A combination of guilt, maternal sympathy, and desire to raise her family from poverty with the payment this would provide gives Amina the motivation to get the gang back together for one last job. However, what starts as a simple job soon becomes complicated and then quickly spirals out of proportion when magic starts to be involved.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and highly recommend it. I’m whole heartedly enjoying seeing more mature women as main protagonists in fantasy and Amina is a great character. It was interesting watching her working through what her religion, Islam, means to her and how to best honor it. I appreciated how she had to navigate a rocky patch with Dalila regarding their religions.
If the mentions of pirates, magic, and sea monsters didn’t give it away this book is a swashbuckling adventure and I eagerly look forward to the next one in the series. It has also reminded me how much I overall enjoyed Chakraborty’s writing in The City of Brass and is encouraging me to pick up book two in the Daevabad series.