This is an historical fantasy novel, set in the medieval Indian Ocean, starring a female Muslim pirate captain who is pulled out of retirement for one last job. She has to reunite her old crew, which has been scattered all over the seas, and then journey into a magical realm in order to rescue a young woman, defeat an evil sorcerer, and possibly prevent a magical apocalypse.
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Originally published: 2023 Acquired: April 2024 Read: June 2024 |
I had a lot of good fun with it, particularly the first half or so. The main character is a fun narrator, with a strong sense of voice, and there are lots of laugh-out-loud hijinks as she outwits her enemies, moving from place to place, and tries to come to terms with a past that she's attempting to put behind her.
I also really appreciated how the book forces a western reader to reorient their perspective. I'm used to thinking of the world and its history in terms of landmasses: European history, North American history, African history, Asian history, and so on. But Adventures centers the ocean: if you think of the key geographic area as being the Indian Ocean, then Madagascar, Aden, India, and China are all part of the same, incredibly cosmopolitan, region. It's a real place but I for one got to explore it like it was a new realm.
That said, I found the ending of the book kind of disappointing. It seemed to me that surely the climax would revolve around some daring sailing, some nautical cleverness from Amina and her crew... but things go in a different direction. Not bad, but I think a book that had stuck the landing more could have really won me over. That said, this is evidently the first of three planned books, and I would happily pick up further installments.
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