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Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
This is the book that was a candidate for the April read, but I was compelled to read it before. You should all read it too!
A great fun adventure romp, full of pirates, magic, evil sorcerers, exotic locations, romance, djinni, grudges, and a happily ever after(-ish).
It's set in a medieval Indian Ocean, a melting pot of people and cultures. Amina al-Sirafi is a middle-aged mother of a cute ten-year-old, retired from a life as one of the most notorious pirates in the Indian Ocean. She's "invited" out for one last job by a rich woman from Aden, to rescue her daughter, kidnapped by a "Frank" (European).
The plot then rattles along at a good pace, with events snowballing believeably into something far more complicated and dangerous than we first thought. The characters come across as real people, with their own personalities and in many cases a shared history that is often mentioned in passing, rather than through laborious exposition. The writing's good, with enough description to give good mental images of places, without getting bogged down.
I liked that a lot of Chakraborty's storytelling choices are outside the typical range. The main character is a middle-aged woman who's competent but not invulnerable. The story is told from the point of view of the people of the western Indian Ocean, and celebtates their cosmopolitan makeup. The only European in the mix, Falco, is most definitely not a white saviour!
One to read. It's a great ripping yarn, and I'm looking forward to the clearly-signposted next installments of the series.
Comments
Added to list! Sounds up my alley.