RogerBW's Blog

2023 fantasy, first of a planned trilogy. Back in the day, Amina al-Sirafi was a pirate captain, a terror of the waves. Now she just wants to raise her daughter and see the rest of her family prosper. But the mother of an old crewmate comes to her with a generous offer for one last job…

"You seem to have the singular accomplishment of making an enemy not only of every other pirate cartel, but of merchants and sultans from Sofala to Malabar. Why, the emir of Hormuz still has a bounty on your head for the horses you stole—"

"I did not steal anything. I recovered merchandise for a client."

"And the incident at the customshouse in Basrah?"

"Fires start all the time. Nothing to do with me."

"And I don't imagine you were the one who poisoned the feast at the trade talks in Mombasa to rob the attendees while they were stuck at the latrines?"

"Never been to Mombasa. Is it nice?"

It's a romp, first of all. The setting is the 12th century, around the shores of the Indian Ocean, and there are ports of verying degrees of wealth and safety, not to mention supernatural creatures and influences galore. Of course, none of that should matter when it's just a matter of tracking down the Frank who kidnapped the old crewmate's daughter… right?

Of course, complications pile on complications, and the old gang has to be sought out for advice, and introduced by showing us what they've been up to lately.

"Pharmaceuticals."

Pharmaceuticals. I choked. "I did not think you had any… training in that."

"Oh, I don't. But it is largely the same principle as poisoning, no? Just in reverse." Dalila winked. "The ladies here love me. So many terrible husbands dying in their sleep. It must be something in the water."

God preserve me. "I am, ah, happy you are finding your place in the world."

But although magic is a common component of the life of the mind here, that doesn't mean Amina is prepared to go up against something that can casually kill people, at a distance, with no obvious countermeasure. She and the crew get in over their heads, and then have to try to get out again.

Pacing is inconsistent, though: the first half is mostly slow and carefuly hunting for information and people, and the second is faster-moving fantastical action (reminding me of the largely-forgotten not-Warhammer book A Spell of Empire, which similarly does a fine job of weaving real-world legendry into something like a cohesive mythos). It's all enjoyable, but in quite different ways.

Tinbu cackled in delight. "Oh, this is wonderful!" He pulled Majed and me into a hug, making an unsuccessful grab for Dalila. "The gang all back together… we should rob something!"

Dalila's eyes lit up. "That big jahazi headed for Kilwa looked promising.

"No," I said firmly. "We are not robbing anyone. We are not smuggling. We are not criminals anymore. Or at least… not all of us are. Not on this trip anyway.

I'm not looking for great depth here, but I do like the research into the historical setting before the functional magic has been placed tn top of it. And it's good to see a story set in Islamic culture where women aren't just plot tokens. Mostly, though, I didn't notice how long the book was until I was runnning up against the end of it. Great fun. I haven't read Charkraborty's Daevabad series but I find myself distinctly tempted.