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yrc's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the humor in this book greatly, the epic and larger than life adventures against both wicked men and sea monsters alike. I also felt that the swashbuckling tone was sourly needed as a scratch to my itch. Life can't be taken seriously every second of each day.
Amina is a wonderous character and actually goes through the hardships of being separated from family, limitations of age and biases towards women, which was a refreshing character arc often not seen enough in fantasy.
The rest of the crew was terrific as well, especially Dalila and Mahjed. The historical touches were fun to encounter and the narrators did a magnificent job with this text. 4 starts and recommended if you are looking for a fun book, that doesn't shy away from dark situations but does it with style and purpose.
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, and Blood
julian7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I only have two complaints about the book. First, I wish we had gotten more of the side characters! I feel like there was so much focus on them in the first part of the story, when Amina was “getting the band back together,” only for them to disappear into the background once Raksh showed up. I enjoyed Raksh, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to learn more about the other characters, like Tinbu and Majed, who seemed so interesting.
My other complaint is that the first third of the book went by very slowly, and the last two thirds felt much more fast-paced and a little too busy. A medium pacing throughout the whole book would have felt more cohesive.
I’ll probably read the sequels, and I hope we get to learn more about the side characters and Raksh returns eventually. 🤭
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, and War
kristenreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
keelirae113's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Slavery, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Genocide
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Islamophobia
yuripiano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I think part of why I liked it so much is that while a lot of it is familiar and feel-good, there's a lot that's fresh, interesting, and otherwise inspired. I'm a sucker for the-gang-gets-back-together-again-to-pull-one-last-job, and it's great seeing the characters as real people with actual families and lives and that they're old.
Well. Like. Older than the typical anime protagonist where life ends after high school or whatever - it's a narrative that I've grown more and more disgruntled with, and the fact that Amina is a mother on top of all of this?
It goes against the grain on a lot of expectations, which is also why I really found it fascinating with how much culture is put into it. The interwoven folk tales, the language, the food, the customs, the clothing, and if you were lucky enough to listen to the honestly fantastic audio book, the language is so refreshing and interesting, especially with how Amina fits into it (or doesn't, as is one of the driving themes throughout the book). There's a mix of reverence for tradition, faith, and family juxtaposed with individuality, progressiveness, and staying true to oneself. I really loved Amina's character, and Raksh was also a fun foil that had a surprising amount of depth.
Sadly, I can't say the same for all of the characters - while I said Amina wasn't like the typical anime protagonist, the same couldn't be said for the other characters in my opinion.
Overall, I really liked the book - it was fun and while it had points of familiarity, it featured a world and culture that I don't often get to see represented with so much detail and care put in, and that really set it apart for me.
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
cleo_reads's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I love fantasy adventures with middle aged protagonists and Amina is delightful. This is a rollicking pirate fantasy that is also a meditation on motherhood and sacrifice, regrets and middle age.
There’s no romance and unlike 98% of the fiction I read, the protagonist is cis and straight. There are queer supporting characters though and found family. Be warned, there’s a fair bit of violence and descriptions of atrocities. And some body horror.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
questingnotcoasting's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Rape and Slavery
catherinedsharp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Violence, Gore, Confinement, Islamophobia, Death, and Grief
cadimy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing