The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi: The epic first book in a swashbuckling new fantasy series from the bestselling author of THE CITY OF BRASS (Amina al-Sirafi, 1)

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What was your approach to combining this research and the historical setting with your elements of the more fantastic and the mythology of the Middle East? However, heist books often lose me, and this is above all, a heist. Don't you Six of Crows me. Amina is hired by a woman who claims her granddaughter has been kidnapped by a Frank. Are these Germans? I'm not good with this time period. It doesn't matter. After all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.” This first installment delivers a complete and fulfilling story while also setting up the plot perfectly for future books in the series. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is easily the best book that I have read this year. I feel like Amina should totally have accepted the job. Its a crazy amount of money to not even complete the job in full. This adventure can only lead to problems but what kind of story would it be if it didn’t.

A+ storytelling with compelling writing and such a witty and heartfelt (not to mention feminist) voice!! I LOVE IT The worldbuilding is really phenomenal. As a historian myself, I applaud the amount of effort the author put into researching the Indian Ocean world. The magic in this fantasy novel is based off of wonder literature and astrological/magical beliefs of the people in this time period and region. The details down to the ecology, economy, society, culture, different types of ships--it's all really well done. I gave in to the hype. I finally read Chakraborty’s book for the first time, and it certainly will not be the last. They come up with a rather dramatic charade that ends with them all in the prison. Well, that’s one way to get in I suppose. Amina’s mother isn’t happy with the news of her departure. Next she has to explain her leaving to Marjana.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. Amina al-Sirafi has led a storied existence, leaving home at sixteen and making her way on the briny deep, not just a pirate, but a female captain, a nakhudha, notorious for her success at parting the wealthy from their wealth. Not exactly a Robin Hood, not particularly bloodthirsty either. But life moves on. The years take their toll, and one seeks out less perilous enterprises, particularly after a singularly harrowing experience, particularly when pregnant. Years on, Amina is living a sedate existence, raising her ten-year-old daughter. But life comes calling, in a way that might be familiar to Michael Corleone. A rich widow, Salima, the mother of Asif, a crewman of Amina’s who had been lost, wants to hire her to retrieve her granddaughter, 16yo Dunya, Asif’s daughter. My original goal for this novel was to have the setting be as historically accurate as possible with only the plot and magical details invented…which was an excellent way to end up both repeatedly humbled and reminded of the slippery malleability of the past. Hilary Mantel famously said once that “history is not the past. It is what is left in the sieve when the centuries have run through it.” Except of course the centuries have not run unobjectively through it; history is the creation of those who tell it with all their unconscious biases and outright intentions.

Like the best fantasy tales of new and old—Amina Al-Sarafi is here now, and she's always been here and always will be here. Her tale is too rich to ignore. The Amina al-Sirafi trilogy takes place in the same world as the Daevabad trilogy, although this story focuses mostly on the human realm, where magic is a thing of legend and power rather than an everyday occurrence like in Daevabad. Stop ogling a demon's ass! Ogling a demon's ass is what got you into all these troubles in the first place!"- i adored the time period, i loved the characters, i had a lot of fun with the plot, and i obsessed over the mythology of it all. this is an exceptional start to a series i fully expect to love.I am so, so delighted I got to experience this fantastic story and the sequel is now one of my most anticipated release.