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A Novel
by Shannon Chakraborty
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.
"Sheer joy, with quirky characters, spooky monsters, sprightly banter, and swashbuckling that puts Sindbad to shame." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Readers will...be delighted by the extra, fantasy-filled pages and fresh conflict in the true final act. This pirate fantasy set in the medieval Middle East will appeal to a wide range of readers, just as Chakraborty's books have in the past." - Booklist (starred review)
"[E]ntertaining...If readers are not won over by the playful plot twists and thrilling action sequences, they will fall for the charmingly crooked cast and dry humor. This swashbuckling adventure is sure to delight." - Publishers Weekly
"An energetic start to a pirate fantasy trilogy, filled with magic, mayhem, and self-reflection. Fans of Jenn Lyons's storytelling will want to pick up Chakraborty's new series." - Library Journal
"Chakraborty's seafaring adventure is pure incandescence and adrenaline. Readers will leave these pages with their lungs full of ocean air, their fingertips glittered with magic and their hearts a little heavier for being both smitten and heartbroken by its finely drawn, poignant cast of characters. This is a book I will daydream of for years to come." - Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
"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
"Chakraborty delivers again with a captivating story of motherhood, faith, friendship, dangerous magic, and hijinks on the high seas. Amina al-Sarafi is now my favorite pirate captain and I'm on board to follow all her adventures." - Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga
This information about The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Shannon Chakraborty is the author of the critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling Daevabad Trilogy. Her work has been translated into over a dozen language and nominated for the Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy, Crawford, and Astounding awards.
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