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)

Product Information

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. 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. Pharmaceuticals, is largely the same principle as poisoning, no? The ladies here love me. So many husbands dying in their sleep." Dalila winked, "It must be something in the water." She should be happy and I guess, in a lot of ways she is, but an adventurer will always have that nagging feeling in the pit of their gut that there's more out there. I do. I think to deal with the past of Dunya’s father she will have to rescue Dunya to learn more about the life he left behind.

It’s starting off strong! I find that I really enjoy Amina’s religious observance, I think it makes the book a little more immersive right off the bat. I’ve been in a real book hangover ever since finishing A Day of Fallen Night and I think this is going to be the book that frees me!

I am intrigued and curious to see where the story will take us. I also hadn’t expected Amina to be a mom, but I really like the idea that it isn’t a younger adult in her twenties who goes on these adventures. The Portalist - Shannon Chakraborty Breaks Down Her Writing Process and New Book, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Jena Brown

Sindbad the Sailor meets Ocean’s 11 (in the spirit of the book, I’m cheating and deciding 11 doesn’t count as a word) Dalila rolled her eyes. “It was hardly the worst of my poisons. There are some physicians who actually believe it beneficial to vomit blood every now and then. It balances the humors.” In addition, because Chakraborty is a historian at heart, she has delivered to us a treasure of intel about the world of this time and place. When I started working on Amina, the goal I had for myself, and I think I wrote this in the author’s note at the end, was that I wanted to make it completely historically accurate—outside of the plot. I did a ton of research. There’s been an incredible amount of new work done on the medieval Indian Ocean, but you’re still looking at 12th-century texts. It’s almost 1,000 years ago, and there is a great limit to what we know. - from The Portalist interviewThe series is set a few centuries before Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy, but exists in the same general corner of the planet. Some nods are offered to that world, including a small part for a magical creature from the Djinn tales. And a bit of snark. “Oh, those weren’t humans. Those were daevas.” Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!To put it even more simply: Mention the concept of "greek gods" to almost anyone on the street these days and they have the story already. They know the strokes, or they know at least several small details that have made it into their brain via cultural osmosis.

PDF / EPUB File Name: Adventures_of_Amina_al-Sirafi_-_Shannon_Chakraborty.pdf, Adventures_of_Amina_al-Sirafi_-_Shannon_Chakraborty.epub The focus of the story is on the humans. Sure, there is a major magical supporting character, and some of the humans dabble in dark arts. But they remain people. That said, there is plenty of magic in the air, and water. Some creatures introduced in the Daevabad trilogy put in appearances here. There is a kaiju-level sea beast, and plenty more. I hesitate to say this, but it seemed at one point that more was less, and that there were maybe too many such roaming and flitting about. I’m not sure I ever stopped being a nakhudha,” I finally replied. “Our hearts may be spoken for by those with sweet eyes, little smiles, and so very many needs, but that does not mean that which makes us us is gone. And I hope . . . part of me hopes anyway that in seeing me do this, Marjana knows more is possible. I would not want her to believe that because she was born a girl, she cannot dream.” You’re completely stranded on a deserted island with just one other person. Between Amina, Dalila, Tinbu or Majed, who would you choose to be stranded with and why? Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty from the beginning to Chapter 6. Please only read on if you have finished this section! –!SPOILERS!-i’m usually fine with not understanding what’s not going on but because i didn’t understand the language it made it even harder, half the words i needed help with weren’t even in the glossary. in fact the glossary only had 9 words. i thought the premise was interesting and the characters were funny but idk i just spent more time trying to figure out what they were saying and maybe that’s my own ignorance But when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.

The scope of the story is huge. The worldbuilding is expansive, building far beyond the Daevabad origins, supported by Chakraborty’s signature sweeping, evocative descriptions. Yet it doesn’t feel big and expansive, because the author keeps you close to the main cast of characters, so that you can’t help but fall in love with them even though each one is more unscrupulous than the last. This is found family at its absolute best. After all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.” a b Vanessa Armstrong (18 May 2023). "An Uncommon Pirate Tale: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty". Tor.com . Retrieved 11 Sep 2023.

Amina-Amina is a woman after my own heart! Immediately one of my favorite FMCs of all time, a woman who knows who she is and refuses to conform to anyone else's idea of what they think a woman's place in the world should be. She is unapologetic and shrewd while at the same time kind and fiercely loyal to those she loves. I love how her struggle to balance her two identities as a mother and a Nakhudha was highlighted. She is so refreshing as a female character, a mature woman, mother, and so REAL! I could not love her more! Majed-The dad of the group and the voice of reason. He just makes everyone feel cozy but also super feisty. Love love love that this book is being told from a biographer writing about Amina. I can already see these cute moments between Jamal and Amina being a highlight of the book.