We used to joke that of the three of us, I could kill you up close, Tinbu could kill you from another ship, and Dalila could kill you from a different city three days later.
I’d grown up feeling terribly unusual; out of place and never at peace with the fate afforded young girls. In a hidden corner of my heart, I nursed embarrassing dreams. That I was not the child of my parents, but the daughter of a tribe of female warriors who flew upon winged horses. Or I was heir to a hidden sea kingdom below the waves, and the whispered sighs I heard from the water when we sailed and the strange lightning in the distance were not natural weather phenomena but magic, my true family calling to me. Then I grew into an adult. One who learned the hard way that if there was magic in this world, it could be as brutal and cunning as the worst monsters out of a fairy tale.
We get to see some of that in action.
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.
Shannon Chakraborty – image from her Twitter pages
Well, maybe not quite lost. An erstwhile Crusader, Falco Palemenestra, a Frank (local speak for European) with a profound lust for magical objects, appears to have made off with young Salima’s greatest treasure, 16yo Dunya. Granny wants her back. She makes Amina an offer she cannot refuse.
And the chase is on. But of course, Amina has to pull together a crew. This is where we meet her erstwhile first mate, Tinbu, who has been in charge of her ship since she went on sabbatical. Much more fun is her good pal Dalila, a professional poisoner. You do not want to sip from the wrong cup in that workshop.
Easily one of the most enjoyable topics to research was criminal activity—specifically overwrought stories and urban legends about criminal activity—in the medieval world. All the cons, tricks, and poisons in this book are pulled from history: there’s actually a thirteenth century charlatan’s guide (recently translated into English by the Library of Arabic Literature) which discusses both the three cups game still used to swindle gullible tourists today and the numerous knock-out drugs Dalila employs. The guild Dalila hails from—the Banu Sasan—was also real, or as “real” as the fantastical odes recited about it were. – From the Fantasy Hive interview
There are jails to break, corrupt local officials to deal with, and a ship to wrest from impoundment. Cons are run, disguises are used, buckles are swashed. And a-sailing we will go. Of course, there are further stops to be made, intel to gather, and some dark magic to encounter. There is a significant supporting cast, with the main characters receiving their due. And then there is Raksh.
Let’s talk about the night I accidentally married a demon.
Oopsy. Amina has issues with relationships. This one did not end well. And now he’s ba-ack. And he is a total hoot, well, except for the darker elements, of course.
So many of the characters in this book are coming to terms with past misdeeds or trying stick to a more righteous path and then you have this utterly selfish, sexy creature of chaos and trickery just waltz in and repeatedly betray them to save his own skin and spin “a better story.” And that’s the very point of him—he’s not human, he’s very much meant to be a relic of a forgotten age when people did tell stories of meddling, petty gods and monsters, a supernatural aspect that naturally feeds on human ambition and wouldn’t even understand why he’s expected to feel remorse for doing so. It was fun to create such a foil for Amina herself and really delve into the almost alien psyche of such a being. – from The Fantasy Hive interview
We learn that Falco is particularly interested in a frighteningly powerful magical object, The Moon of Saba (which has absolutely nothing to do with dropping trou, promise). Can Amina save the teen, and keep Falco from getting his mitts on this very dangerous treasure?
The largest pearl in the world; a miniature moon said to have been snatched from the sky by a lovelorn fairy and gifted to Queen Bilqis, who made it the centerpiece of her crown. A gem believed to bestow upon its owner countless wishes, supernatural sight, and unending good fortune.
Map of al-Sirafi’s adventure
Amina stands out from the usual superhero sorts for two reasons. The first is that she is a lifelong criminal, (Make me good, but not yet?) even though she seems to have a good heart. Second is that she is a middle-aged mom. She has to struggle not only with the challenge of her aquatic mission, but with the conflict between her desire to stay at home to raise her daughter and her need for seafaring adventure. Parenting and piracy seem poor partners. There are other ongoing thematic concerns. Coming to terms with one’s past deeds is among them. There are plenty of ledgers to balance.
Teuta, Queen of the Illyrian Ardiaei tribe, leads a pirate expedition against rome. – image from WorldHistory.org
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 can only imagine what Ray Harryhausen would do with such a rich trove of material. Above is a still from The 7th Voyage of Sindbad
There is treasure. There is an island, and there is even a possible reference to Treasure Island, although, really, it may just be me projecting, and islands and treasure are merely standard tropes for the genre.
I straightened up with care, pinching my brow to keep black spots from dancing before my eyes.
Per usual, Chakraborty brings her effervescent sense of humor to her writing. There are plenty of LOL moments, particularly when Amina interacts with Dalila or Raksh.
“What about you, Lady Dalila?” Noor asked. “Is there anyone back home you are eager to return to?”
Dalila picked at her teeth. “I had to abandon a time sensitive experiment with extremely promising indications as a knock-out gas.”
“For pain relief,” I amended quickly. “Dalila is our…healer.”
Noor’s brows rose slightly. “Ah, yes. Majed speaks frequently of how you ‘healed’ him when you first met.”
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 interview
The 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.”
“What in God’s name is a daeva?”
He held up a hand. “You don’t want to know, trust me. More overdramatic creatures have never existed. And they’re not even the worst ones here. Everyone likes to complain about humans, but let me tell you…spend a couple centuries with the inhabitants of the unseen realms, and you’ll be aching to haunt a mortal latrine.”
There is a form of ecstasy that occurs in reading some books. Some are serious, (Serena pops to mind) others are more of the entertainment sort. I remember, as a kid, being rapt by some of the great classic adventures, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, and others. I was desperate to continue reading, despite the unwillingness of my eyes, and my mother reminding me, yet again, to turn the flashlight off under my covers. Well settled into middle age, the Harry Potter series offered the same sort of excitement. About six years ago, I was delighted to report that I felt that joy once more, at a grizzled time of life, on reading Shannon Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy, about djinns and sundry contemporary creatures and figures. While these books did nothing to iron out the wrinkles that brace my eyes, or straighten a spine that has strayed much too far from the standard shape, they did offer many hours of pure, innocent joy, the sort I experienced when my soul was more truly unstained. I am overjoyed to report that Chakraborty has worked her magic again. The Adventures of Amina el-Sirafi, the first in a promised trilogy, is a treat for the eyes and the imagination. Unlike Michael Corleone, I am eager to be pulled back in. You will be, too. No Shanghaiing required. Climb aboard, me hearties, and let’s set sail. The adventure has just begun.
I wanted to travel the world and sail every sea. I wanted to have adventures, to be a hero, to have my tales told in courtyards and street fairs where perhaps kids who’d grown up like me, with more imagination than means might be inspired to dream. Where women who were told there was only one sort of respectful life for them could listen to tales of another who’d broken away—and thrived when she’d done so.
Review posted – 4/14/23
Publication date – 2/28/23
I received an ARE of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi from Harper Voyager (well, my book goddess secured this particular treasure for me) in return for a fair review. Thanks, dear, and thanks HV.
This review has been cross-posted on GoodReads
=======================================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
My reviews of other books by the author
—–2017 – The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)
—–2019 – The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2)
—–2020 – The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3)
Interviews
—–Lit Reactor – Shannon Chakraborty: Navigating the Creative Voyage by Jena Brown
—–The Portalist – Shannon Chakraborty Breaks Down Her Writing Process and New Book, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Jena Brown
—–Bookpage – Shannon Chakraborty sets sail for a new horizon by Linda M. Castellitto
—–The Fantasy Hive – INTERVIEW WITH SHANNON CHAKRABORTY (THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI)
—–Writer’s Digest – Shannon Chakraborty: On Humor and Joy in Fantasy by Robert Lee Brewer
Items of Interest from the author
—–Fantasy Hive – Excerpt – Chapter 1
—–Tor – Excerpt – Chapter 5
Items of Interest
—–Americanliterature.com – Arabian Nights – The Story of Sindbad the Sailor
—– Godfather III – Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!
—–World History.Org – Queen Teuta of Illyria
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