Review | The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is the first book in a new fantasy series from Shannon Chakraborty (S.A. Chakraborty). 

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.

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.

10⭐ out of 5.

The reason I most wanted to read The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is because it's a pirate book written by a woman. I had expectations going in, and it far surpassed every single one of them. It checked boxes that I didn't even realize I had.

Amina Al-Sirafi is a retired pirate in her 40s. She's a mother and she's living peacefully with her family after having left the pirating world behind her, but she gets an offer that pulls her back into that world for one last adventure (or so it would seem).

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi had everything for me from plot to adventure to imagination to characters to relationships... It was so skillfully crafted, and I loved every minute of it from the first word to the last. I hadn't savored a book that slowly in so long. I went several days without reading at all because I didn't want it to end.

I haven't read the Daevabad trilogy by Chakraborty yet. I love so much that she has shifted from S.A. Chakraborty to Shannon Chakraborty with The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. I feel like this is a choice, and I support it so hard.

Thankfully The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is not Amina's last adventure. This was such an incredible start to a series, and I cannot wait for the rest. It's set up to be longer than a trilogy so fingers crossed we get several more books. This is now my most anticipated on-going series that will trump all other releases.

I recommend this book for everyone. You don't need to be a pirate-loving, treasure-seeking reader like me to fall for Amina, her crew, or this world. It is such a wonderful book, and I truly can't sing it's praises enough. Hit up your library, order you a copy, and please let me know once you've read it so we can wait in anticipation together for the next one!

5/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book Review | A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

A Lush and Seething Hell combines two tales of cosmic horror by John Hornor Jacobs.

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales—both never-before-published in print—that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.

I just love John Hornor Jacobs' cosmic horror. The two novellas in A Lush and Seething Hell are set in the same world as Southern Gods {my review}, and I really can't get enough of it. You definitely don't need to read Southern Gods before reading A Lush and Seething Hell, but I do recommend you read Southern Gods at some point just because I loved it so.

I read the two novellas in A Lush and Seething Hell separately (a month apart), and even though I really enjoyed The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky, I think I missed something. I was probably my own worst enemy with all of my preconceived Lovecraftian notions and expectations. I want to read this one again.

The second novella - My Heart Struck Sorrow - was my favorite of the two stories. Not only was I in Jacobs' world of cosmic horror, but it turned out to be music horror which is something I always love. My Heart Struck Sorrow was dark and unsettling, and I love when reading a book becomes an experience. I will probably want to reread this novella, too, just because I liked it so much.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*according to the book description, My Heart Struck Sorrow is actually a short novel and not a novella.

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Book Review | To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

To Be Taught, If Fortunate is a stand alone science fiction novella by Becky Chambers.

In her new novella, Sunday Times best-selling author Becky Chambers imagines a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves.

Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does.

Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.

This book is why I love reading. That feeling you get when you are reading a book that is so perfect for you. That feeling so strong it hurts. I'm reading the Fablehaven series with my son right now because he had that feeling in book two and wanted me to join in. I hope you know that feeling! I had that feeling multiple times over in To Be Taught, If Fortunate.

Becky Chambers took me to other worlds. Worlds with different landscapes and different lifeforms. Earlier this year I tried to read A Long Road to a Small, Angry Planet, and I just didn't connect with it right away so I put it down. I'm an idiot. I'm going to go back to that one hopefully before the end of the year. I want to read everything Becky Chambers creates.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review | The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Luminous Dead is a scifi/horror novel by Caitlin Starling.

A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, her control giving way to paranoia and anger, Gyre severs her connection with Em and the outside world. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

I absolutely loved The Luminous Dead. It's so rare for me to pick up a book, be immediately hooked, and stay that way through the entirety of the novel. The Luminous Dead is 432 pages, and I would have had no problem reading it in one sitting if life wasn't in the way. Even with life I was able to knock it out in 2 days. I did not want to put it down.

The Luminous Dead is Caitlin Starling's debut novel. Caitlin Starling is now on my autobuy list. The Luminous Dead only had two characters and one setting for the entire book, and yet I was riveted.

The cave setting was the perfect setup for psychological suspense. It wasn't as horror heavy as I was expecting it to be, but I loved the constant sense of dread.

The Luminous Dead is one of my favorite reads so far this year, and I highly recommend it!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book Review | Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

Sea of Rust is a science fiction novel from C. Robert Cargill.

C. Robert Cargill is the author of one of my favorite novels (Dreams and Shadows). I was excited when I heard there was going to be a new Cargill release, and when I heard what Sea of Rust was about, it became one of my most anticipated books of the year.

C. Robert Cargill is also the screenwriter behind Sinister and Marvel's Dr. Strange.

I saw someone on Twitter refer to Sea of Rust as an "eventually true story". I think that's an excellent description. Sea of Rust takes place after the Artificial Intelligence has waged war on the humans and the robots are all that remain. The robots are now creating facets known as OWI (One World Intellengence) and battling against each other.

Even though the law of the land is now to upload to an OWI or shut down, many bots are resisting and fighting to save their individuality.

Brittle is one of the bots who refuses to be absorbed by an OWI. On the run, Brittle hangs out in the Sea of Rust - an expanse of expired and war torn robots - looking for parts.

Along with following Brittle's story, we are treated to the backstory of how AI came to exist and the wars that followed. I had chills reading about the downfall of humans and their robots. It was easy to imagine Sea of Rust as a glimpse into our future.

Sea of Rust is a smart book, and I really enjoyed it.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill

Dreams and Shadows is the debut novel of C. Robert Cargill.

Book Description

There is another world than our own, as close and intimate as a kiss, as terrifying and haunting as nightmares, a realm where fairies and djinns, changelings and angels, all the stuff of which dreams are made is real...and where magic awaits in the shadows, just a hidden step away. Between this realm and that other lies a veil, a gossamer web that muddles the vision of mortal man and keeps him from seeing what is all around him. Sometimes, someone pierces that protective veil. But one glimpse of this world can forever transform lives. Just ask Ewan and Colby...

Once upon the time, the pair were once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, until they left that world behind them. Now, Ewan is a musician living in Austin, and has just met the girl he wants to marry. Colby is still coping with the consequences of an innocent childhood wish that haunts him all these years later. While their time in the Limestone Kingdom is little more than a distant memory, this supernatural world has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies and foul-mouthed wizards argue metaphysics, and monsters in the dark feed on fear, both will learn that fate can never be outrun.

The many fans of Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, and Kim Harrison will love this fabulous debut tale of the magic and monsters in our world...and in ourselves.

I loved Dreams and Shadows. I need to start reading more fantasy. It is always the imaginative reads that blow me away. I must have highlighted and wrote things down about a bajillion times while reading Dreams and Shadows, but I'm still having trouble finding the right words to describe all of my emotions toward this book.

Dreams and Shadows had a beautiful beginning that turned very dark very fast. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt when I laid my head down to sleep that first night I was going to have nightmares about my children. And I did.

There were beautiful moments of childhood innocence, friendship, and what it's like to grow older, but most of Dreams and Shadows remained a pretty dark read. There were a lot of supernatural creatures in this book: fairies, goblins, djinn, angels, tricksters, but you don't need to be a regular reader of folklore to love Dreams and Shadows. A lot of the fairy creatures were new to me, and it was the story of Colby and Ewan - the two human boys who visited the Limestone Kingdom - that had me glued to the pages.

If you love dark, imaginative reads, I highly, highly recommend Dreams and Shadows. It will easily be one of my favorite reads of the year.

10/10: Awesome

Book Review: Ghosts by Gaslight edited by Jack Danin and Nick Gevers

Ghosts by Gaslight is an anthology of steampunk and supernatural suspense edited by Jack Danin and Nick Gevers.

Book Description

Seventeen all-new stories illuminate the steampunk world of fog and fear!

Modern masters of the supernatural weave their magic to revitalize the chilling Victorian and Edwardian ghostly tale: here are haunted houses, arcane inventions, spirits reaching across the centuries, ghosts in the machine, fateful revelations, gaslit streets scarcely keeping the dark at bay, and other twisted variations on the immortal classics that frighten us still.

I've been reading stories from Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense all month, and it is such a gorgeous book. I'm a huge fan of anthologies, especially in October, and there is a certain literary beauty to the Victorian tales in Ghosts by Gaslight.

While every story in Ghosts by Gaslight is supernatural in nature, the steampunk element is subtlety interlaced throughout the anthology. This was perfect for me since I just started getting acquainted with the steampunk genre this past year.

If you love Victorian style ghost stories, Lovecraftian tales, and an eerie side to your steampunk, you are sure to appreciate Ghosts by Gaslight. It's an anthology that will go in my permanent collection.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher