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”There was, and was not, a nakhudha named Amina al-Sirafi who sailed with a cunning crew all over the Indian Ocean, dashing after magical treasures and talismans, outwitting cruel sorcerers and battling incomprehensibly powerful creatures from legend. This is her story.��

This is a fascinating historical fantasy, set in the maritime world of the Indian Ocean in the early twelfth century. Though festooned with fantasy elements, this setting is well researched, and creates an alluring picture of this rich, medieval world. The tale is told in the first person voice of Amina al-Sirafi herself, a long retired pirate/smuggler coaxed out of retirement to take on a final adventure.

This book is a light entertainment, as insubstantial as ocean foam, yet a fast and fun read. The narrator/hero portrays herself as extremely human and flawed, yet is able to competently rise to fantastical challenges, including sea monsters, evil, Frankish wizards, supernatural avian bureaucrats, legendary, enchanted chamber pots, and even an infuriating estranged demon husband. The book also introduces several interesting members of her crew, yet fails to develop any of them as fully as the narrator.

I really enjoyed this book �� it is a solid 3.5 star effort. It appears to be setting up a continuing series, and if another book appears, I will certainly read it. Yet there are several reasons why I’ve rounded my rating down rather than up. The book’s premise �� the old rogue coming out of retirement and putting the old crew back together for one, last, rich job —works here, but is still incredibly hackneyed. The primary villain is completely one dimensional, and is supernaturally unbeatable until it becomes necessary for him not to be. As previously mentioned, Amina al-Sirafi’s primary crew appear to be interesting characters, yet are underutilized in favor of developing the narrator protagonist. These things do not ruin the story, which remains fun and recommend, but they did keep me from rating it higher.