The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty

Readers, prepare to have your swashes buckled! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty, is an electrifying tale of pirates, magic, ambition, betrayals, and banter. I tried to read this book slowly, to make it last, but ended up staying up far too late to finish it one night because I just couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I can’t praise this story highly enough: run, don’t walk, to get a copy.

Amina al-Sirafi is living in quiet retirement outside of a remote Omani town in an even more report house when a wealthy woman from Aden arrives on her doorstep. This wealthy woman has a proposition for the former pirate captain: find her lost granddaughter and earn a million dinars…or have her location exposed to all of the enemies Amina made during her years at sea. With great reluctance, Amina says goodbye to her daughter and mother, packs her weapons, and sets out to regather her old crew. Ten years on from their glory days, Amina and her crew aren’t in the best shape—although the Marawati, Amina’s ship—is as swift as ever. This is a good thing since Amina and her sharp-tongued (and fiercely loyal) number two, Dalila, discover that the third member of the old gang has just been arrested in Aden for committing some illegal salvage. Their rescue attempt results in spectacular explosions of Greek fire and a lot of pissed-off government officials. Then, before Dalila can so much as say “I told you so,” it turns out that the story of a missing granddaughter is a lot more complicated than Amina was originally told.

From that less-than-auspicious beginning, the plot of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi never ceases its rollicking pace. Amina and her crew race from Aden to Mogadishu to the mysterious island of Socotra in their quest to recover the missing granddaughter and the evil Frank (a Crusading European) who took her. As if this wasn’t enough to deal with, the supernatural complicates things—as does the reappearance of Amina’s monstrous pain-in-the-ass fourth husband. (Readers who tackled Chakraborty’s excellent Daevabad Trilogy will recognize a cameo when Amina and the pain-in-the-ass husband end up shipwrecked on a magical island.) The stakes just keep climbing higher the more Amina et al. discover about the Frank’s plans and the powers of the mystical objects he seeks.

I can’t praise this book highly enough. It has so much of what I love in stories! Fantastic, lively characters. A gripping plot with real stakes. Beautifully described settings that make me want to know even more about the story’s world. When I finished reading The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, I felt like I had to pause to catch my breath because I had been utterly spellbound. And then, as if Chakraborty wanted to give me a bonus gift on top of an outstanding, unforgettable story, she included historical notes with further reading! How can I not gush about a book that comes with its own intriguing bibliography? Readers, do yourselves a favor and grab a copy of this book as soon as possible. You won’t regret it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.