Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

Pirate Amina al-Sirafi finds her and her crew on 'one last adventure' whether she wants it or not, and winds up quickly in over her head.

I preface this review with that I generally do not like pirate stories. If I did, this would be a solid 5/5, no notes sort of deal. But since I don't, it had a higher bar to clear, and clear it did. The narrative structure is interesting at the start, the characters are almost immediately compelling, and it was enough to keep me turning the pages despite being ready to dismiss it. I'd say the book really hits its stride about 40% in at which point I couldn't really put it down.

Extra bonus points for LGBTQ+ representation.

I felt myself getting more and more excited as I read this book.

Here are some things I particularly liked: - Pirates! (need I say more) - Fantasy that doesn't take place in medieval Europe, but instead in a part of the world and in a time that we could all benefit from learning more about - An old team gets brought together - Problems get solved with cleverness and creativity not just raw power and violence - Magic and supernatural beings that are based in different roots than I am used to - A variety of types of people that reflect the varieties that exist

According to Wikipedia, this is the first volume of a trilogy. I would be entirely happy if instead it turns into a long-running series.

I was thoroughly charmed by this book — an adventure-filled, magical story of a pirate queen who became a legend. It took an era that I know nothing about — the seafaring cultures of the 12th century Indian Ocean, especially focused on Oman, Yemen, and Somalia, as filtered through the 1001 Nights, and gave it a contemporary twist by focusing on the glorious Amina al-Sarafi. She’s a Muslim former pirate who has retired to raise her daughter, but gets pulled into One Last Heist by being offered an eye-popping sum of money to go rescue the kidnapped child of one of her former crew. An early chapter in which she successfully defends two idiots who are looking for treasure from an angry sea demon sets the tone for later encounters with creatures more and more magical. Amina has a live-and-let-live attitude toward her queer crew members, which is refreshing. The first in a planned trilogy.