The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A new fantasy series set a thousand years before The City of Brass

"A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised-Chakraborty's storytelling is fantasy at its best." -- R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War

"An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina's adventures are the reason to read fantasy." -- Ava Reid, internationally bestselling author of Juniper & Thorn

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman's determined quest to seize a final chance at glory--and write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean's most notorious pirates, she's survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she's tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she's offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade's kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family's future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God's will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there's more to this job, and the girl's disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there's always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power...and the price might be your very soul.

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496 pages

Average rating: 8.29

173 RATINGS

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13 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Feb 21, 2025
10/10 stars
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time! A beautiful and very nearly classic romp of an adventure, but told through a female voice and within a narrative that is plainly queer and easily inclusive. There is something deeply healing about literature set in times long ago that make you feel that all identities have always existed and always been valid. Through an authentic feeling and sure footed voice, this book flawlessly entwines massive social commentary and pure joy and fun. Truly a joy to read.
cozyandcontentnc
Jan 25, 2025
6/10 stars
Our club enjoyed this story of badass female pirate Amina, who is pulled back onto the high seas with her loyal crew (and demon ex-husband) in a search for a young woman with the key to a powerful magical treasure from the ancient world. I loved the medieval settings of different ports and locations in the Arabian Sea - it conjures a different sort of swashbuckling in the vein of Sinbad but with a female MC who is legendary in her own right. A slowish start leads to a dizzying series of locales and characters serving to set the characters up for future adventures. Looking forward to more tales of nakhuda Amina Al-Sirafi!
Lisa Pizza
Jan 15, 2025
10/10 stars
I want to read this book every day forever. Amina is such a fantastic character, flawed yet bad ass with a moral compass.
PackSunshine
Jan 05, 2025
8/10 stars
The first 50 pages when she was at home didn't grab me, but as soon as Amina left home, the fun began. Terrific pirate story, well-researched. It's Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with Indiana Jones mixed with the old Angelique series (unfortunately no longer in print and I can only find one of my mom's old books - they're asking $170+ on Amazon for old beat up copies!).
Ashku7
Nov 30, 2024
10/10 stars
4.5 Stars

This was fun y'all!
We've got pirates, not-demons, sea creatures, high stakes, low stakes, and a great cast of characters (hello, Delila and Raksh). This was full of action, realness, and shit that goes sideways, rightways, up and down.
Amina al-Sirafi is a fucking GWOAT and I look forward to continuing reading this series.

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