Amina al-Sirafi Adventures

by Shannon Chakraborty

Middle-aged Muslim pirate mother. One last job. Ancient magic, demon husband, kidnapped teen. Chakraborty's Indian Ocean adventure: Hugo finalist, NYT bestseller. Set 600 years before Daevabad. Swashbuckling puts Sinbad to shame.

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 novel was a finalist for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. In a frame story, pirate captain Amina al-Sirafi narrates her tale to the scribe Jamal. Set in the 12th century medieval Indian Ocean world, the series takes place in the same universe as Chakraborty's beloved Daevabad Trilogy, though six hundred years earlier and fully accessible to new readers. The trilogy comprises The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (2023) and the forthcoming The Tapestry of Fate (2026), with a third book planned.

Kirkus praised it with a starred review: "Sheer joy, with quirky characters, spooky monsters, sprightly banter, and swashbuckling that puts Sindbad to shame." Critics celebrated Chakraborty's decision to use a middle-aged mother as a protagonist as opposed to the more common "young, inexperienced hero or grizzled loner veteran." Amina "exists in a society where women are expected to stay home and tend to family", and must balance her love for her daughter and her love for adventure.

R.F. Kuang called it "A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised–Chakraborty's storytelling is fantasy at its best," while Fonda Lee declared "Amina al-Sarafi is now my favorite pirate captain." The novel won a New York Times Bestseller spot and features meticulous historical research about medieval maritime trade, authentic Muslim representation exploring faith journeys, LGBTQ+ themes through Dunya/Jamal's gender identity exploration, and Chakraborty's signature blend of political intrigue with magical peril.

What sets this series apart is Amina herself - a forty-something divorced mother with a "tricky knee," a demon ex-husband named Raksh, and genuine religious struggles balancing piety with piracy. The oral storytelling framing device creates intimacy, while the crew dynamics provide found family warmth amid dangerous heists for forbidden magical artifacts that could doom humanity.

Perfect for readers seeking middle-aged protagonists proving adventuring doesn't end at thirty, Muslim representation showing faith as lived experience not exotic window dressing, pirate adventures grounded in actual medieval Indian Ocean history, and fantasy celebrating mothers who refuse to choose between loving their children and loving their lives.