The Library Vault

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is an adult historical fantasy novel by Shannon Chakraborty, the author of the international bestselling Daevabad Trilogy. This novel was published on February 28th, 2023 and made it onto the New York Times Bestseller list by early March!

Here is a spoiler free summary of The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi:

Amina Al-Sirafi gave up her old life on the high seas as an infamous pirate with (multiple) bounties over her head to be with her daughter and family, away from the danger she has chased her entire life. However, this is all about to change when a rich elderly mother of a former crew member shows up at her door to offer Amina a deal: track down her kidnapped granddaughter for the fortune of a lifetime. How can Amina refuse the chance to dive back into her old life one last time? However, as she dives deeper into her journey, Amina realizes this is more than just a kidnapping. Shannon Chakraborty’s new trilogy invites readers to immerse themselves into a tale of magic and mayhem across the high seas. There they will encounter pirates, sorcerers, forbidden artifacts, and ancient mysteries. Maybe even a demon or two. Will Amina fulfill her quest? Or will this tale end in the depths of the sea?

I know as both a librarian and an avid reader that I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover. However, it was the cover that initially sold me on this book before even knowing what it was about. Just look at the detail and gorgeous use of color! The cover reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise (some of my favorites). When I held this book in my hands, all I could think to myself was bring me the horizon.

This book has something in it for everyone. This book is the cream of the crop in terms of pirate fantasy novels because the author gave us so many amazing things to love. Let me start with my favorite thing (well…person) which is Amina herself. Amina is not your average woman. She is over six feet tall and forty years old which is pretty shocking for her time (which is Medieval India). This novel introduces us to an older female main character who is liberated, confident, and inspiring: not your typical twenty- or even thirty- something woman we see in so many books. There is a trend of writing about older female main characters in books as of recent and I am here for it. Amina is also a mother and daughter, which makes her all the more relatable. Did I mention she’s a pirate? Oh, by the way, she’s a CAPTAIN. She has her own ship and a loyal crew that respects her. That’s hard to say about a woman in the male dominated world of piracy.

Speaking of Amina’s crew, they are another aspect of the book I really loved. The book gifts us with a diverse, lovable cast of characters that would do anything for each other. They are all similar in age to Amina, having met each other when they were all younger. One even went as far as rebreaking his own leg trying to save Amina while she was in a deadly fight. The loyalty of her crew members is unrivaled and admirable because they chose to leave their families and businesses behind to follow her into the unknown once again. In terms of diversity, there is phenomenal Muslim representation amongst the characters. There is also queer representation: there is a transgender character and a gay character. We get to peak into what life was like for the transgender character, who openly discusses this part of themselves with Amina. I won’t spoil who it is. You have to read and find out!

Chakraborty’s world building is exceptional through her meticulous research and attention to detail. She left a very detailed author’s note at the end of the book explaining all of her research. It is well worth the read because it teaches so much about the time period and other elements of the novel (like the Indian mythology referenced). Successful world building is essential when crafting a fantasy novel. There is a well-drawn and detailed map in the beginning of the book to help pinpoint where Amina and her crew travel. All great fantasy books have maps (just saying). It was so easy for me to escape into the pages of this book for hours on end. This plot-driven novel moved a bit slowly at first, but once it took off, I felt myself on the ship sailing full speed ahead with Amina and crew. I could not put the book down until I read every last word.

For the reasons I have listed above, I have rated this book five out of five stars. I would dare to say it is one of my favorite books of the year so far. I can’t say enough great things about this book. I will warn you all…this is not a quick read (unless you spend all of your free time reading like me). It is 483 pages. That being said, such an epic tale cannot be told in anything less than that. This book is perfect for anyone who loves Pirates of the Caribbean, pirate fantasy/historical fiction, and strong female main characters.

We have multiple physical copies available at the Russell Library. For those who prefer ebooks or audiobooks, there are copies of both on Libby! Ask a library staff member for assistance if needed with placing a hold on this title.