#nakhudha

[mossillustra]

invented motherism tbh

[doodlesnoff]

"let us delight in the adventures of the nakhudha Amina al-Sirafi" and all the hot tea she's spilling

y'all this is THE book if you're like me & love queer thieves getting back together for 'one last job' where stakes are suddenly raised and the real prize is the family you made along the way

[ben-trickey]

The Myth-Making Marketing of Amina al-Sirafi

Shannon Chakraborty’s 2023 novel The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi thrives off the tension between the focus on accuracy in historical narratives and the embellished storytelling of myth and legend. The plot of the novel features the notorious former-pirate and nakhudha (shipmaster) Amina al-Sirafi telling the story, in her own words (“even if they’re rude”), of how she was lured out of retirement for one final life-changing opportunity. The story itself takes place in and around the medieval Indian Ocean and directly discusses the interwoven cultures of the countries of northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. While most of the book is directly from Amina’s perspective, Chakraborty frames the narrative by including the character of a scribe named Jamal, who is writing down Amina’s accounts of the novel’s events. Jamal opens and closes the novel as well as including interludes throughout that provide collected folktales and historical documents that add context and weight to Amina’s adventure. This deliberate attention to the myth-making present alongside historical evidence is highlighted best by the end of Jamal’s introduction: “But for the sake of honesty, another truth will be confessed. Her adventures are not only being told as evidence of God’s marvels. They are being told to entertain.” Chakraborty, a self-described “lover of history,” is intentionally leaning into the historical conventions of the storytelling present in fantastical collections of tales like One Thousand and One Nights, and the marketing and design of the book emphasizes Amina and Jamal’s connection to this storytelling tradition.

After the success of her first series of books The Daevabad Trilogy, it’s clear that Harper Voyager (the fantasy and sci-fi imprint for HarperCollins) went all in on the marketing of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, the first book in a potential new trilogy. Helped by Chakraborty’s active social media presence on Twitter and Instagram, the marketing campaign for the novel officially began in September 2022 (six months before the novel’s release) with a cover reveal posted on social media by Chakraborty, Harper Voyager, and Tor.com (a prominent online publisher of Fantasy and Science Fiction), though it’s worth noting that Chakraborty had been posting about her process of writing and publishing the novel for months prior (such as the “page passes” I’ve included below).

While the cover already evoked the kind of legendary pirate story readers might be looking for with its giant tentacled sea creature attacking a pirate ship, Chakraborty and Harper Voyager UK utilized the release of the UK cover, an allusion to the Islamic illuminated manuscripts of the medieval Middle East, to emphasize the historical fantasy narrative of the novel. October also began Harper Voyager and Harper Voyager UK’s giveaways to advertise the novel, including foil proofs with the illuminated UK cover.

In January 2023, Chakraborty and Harper Voyager began to advertise pre-orders for the book, including some copies that came with dagger-shaped, wooden bookmarks somewhat resembling Amina’s khanjar, which she received from her pirate grandfather. This limited offer of bookmarks played into the aesthetics of the pirate fantasy of the book while also encouraging readers to pre-order for a chance to get a gift unique to the book that any reader could use.

In February, alongside an excerpt of the book, free to read on Tor.com, Chakraborty released the image of “The Map of the Great Indian Ocean” showing the setting of the novel, while also incorporating historical references as easter eggs in the illustration. And on February 28, a brief book trailer was shared on Chakraborty’s social media alongside the book’s release.

With the benefit of one successful trilogy under her belt and the marketing team at Harper Voyager, Chakraborty was able to create an aesthetic and narrative for her medieval pirate, historical fantasy novel months in advance of the book’s release. The marketing’s emphasis on visual posts and artifacts that readers could look at, win, and potentially buy provided a clear sense of anticipation for the story that inspired readers to learn more, discuss online, and pre-order the novel. Chakraborty had a clear intention with the structure and design of the storytelling, alluding to medieval Islamic folktales and pirate legends, and the marketing reflected and effectively built upon that intention with the design of its six-month social media plan.  

[al-sirafi]

       WE TRIED NOT TO DOCK THE MARAWATI IN SUCH CLEAR VIEW OF THE PORT  ;       we had not wanted to draw attention.      But watching the ship’s steady buoying from the shimmering sand of the beach,     the gentle waves crashing along the walnut hull      &       the sunlight nestled behind the golden sails  —       bleeding through the needlework of tapestry in acicular beams of pure gold  —       the marawati’s splendor was incontrovertible.      It was not by any means a large ship,     nor a ship of riches ;      rather,     a great love for the ship had kept it afloat three generations now.

       So naturally the marawati drew the attentions of many a sailor      &       wanderers alike,          &       to the female nakhudha that approached with a short number of her crew.

       The plan was to be quick.      They would speak to who they must      &       leave before whisper got into the city  —       however,     it wouldn’t be a flawless attempt.      The first lesson any newly aspiring sailor should learn :      if something can go wrong,     it will,     especially once out at sea.

       —      now,     she insists I tell you with what great attempt  —       yes,     truly,     with what will she had after a myriad of exhausting days at sea  —       she had tried to turn down the request of the young woman negotiating with her at the shore      (  —       " money,     I tell you it talks,     as veritable a tempter as a bottle of palm wine off the coast of the Maldives "  —       )      only to surrender with a sigh      &       little argument.      She saw Majed approaching on the ship’s dunij and he’d be on the beach in a few minutes,     most.      This would have to be quick.        ❛       I don’t deal with formal papers or contracts.      You’ll have to go off my word.      You can buy passage on my boat or you could work  —       but,     sister,     you do not look like an experienced sailor.      ❜

@thriev liked for a starter . . . ♥ !!

[iklees]

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi / Shannon Chakraborty

Amina al-Sirafi was kapitein, nakhudha, van de Marawati, het schip van haar familie van smokkelaars. Tien jaar geleden heeft ze zich teruggetrokken, omdat ze teveel vijanden had en omdat haar dochter Marjana werd geboren. Als een rijke vrouw, Salima, haar vraagt om haar kleindochter Dunya te zoeken, die is ontvoerd door een Frank (= westeuropeaan), Falco Palamenestra, stemt ze toe omdat Dunya de dochter is van een overleden vriend en omdat haar een groot vermogen als beloning in het vooruitzicht wordt gesteld, waarmee ze Marjana's toekomst kan verzekeren. Amina brengt haar oude bemanning bij elkaar, en gaat op weg, eerst om meer uit te vinden over haar opdracht. Ze ontdekt dat Falco een gevaarlijke tovenaar is en dat Dunya -- in elk geval in eerste instantie -- vrijwillig met hem mee is gegaan. Amina probeert de opdracht terug te geven, maar Salima bedreigt Marjana, dus Amina zet door. Ze kan ook niet helemaal ontkennen dat het avontuur lonkt, al zal ze meer dan eens haar besluit vervloeken, want zij en haar bemanning zien zich al gesteld voor grote beproevingen.

A messy end. Is that what you call it? I remembered Asif wailing for his mother and God's forgiveness as his soul was blotted out of existence, consumed by a void I will never unsee. "So you have truly no remorse over hurting the humans you partner with?" "I neither seek harm not take pleasure in it. But I am a creature of ambition, and it is rarely bloodless." "Then you are a demon." Raksh put his cup down. "That is your word. You do not --" "Yes, yes, so I've been told. My people don't have a word for you. But from where I'm sitting, demon fits well enough." He stared at me for a long moment, his eerie eyes going black and impenetrable as a shark's. "What would you call yourself to a person whoh had no concept of water?" Baffled by the question, I drew up. "What do you mean?" "Imagine for a moment a people who have no concept of water. No understanding of liquid or rain, let alone vast oceans. How would you begin to describe your profession? How you sail? The currents you travel? The way that the ocean created an entire world of trade and transportation, stories and diasporas that made you you? Would you spend centuries trotting our useless comparisons? Or would you finally give up when they keep calling you a 'cow' and say, 'Yes, that works.'" It was a strange analogy, an imperfect one, I suppose, but one that hinted at a far wider gulf between myself and the creature beside me.

Een vrouwelijke tegenhanger van Sinbad! Graag meer!!!

[jojotier]

alrighty folks i have so many books so

summaries under the cut!

White Horse | Erika T. Wurth | Horror | Heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and the occasional beer at the White Horse have defined urban Indian Kari James' life so far. But when her cousin Debbie finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari's mother, it inadvertently calls up her mother's ghost and a monstrous entity, and Kari's willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable...

First Paragraph: "There was something strange, mysterious even, about the White Horse tonight. Normally, it was merely an Indian bar. My Indian bar. But there was a milky, dreamy quality to the red lights swinging over the pool tables, like the wind from the open doors was bringing them something new, something I'd pushed away for as long as I could remember."

Trouble the Saints | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Historical Fantasy | Amind the whir of city life, a young woman from Harlem is drawn into the glittering underworld of Manhattan, where she's hired to use her knives to strike fear among its most dangerous denizens...

First Paragraph: Seven. "That's what we're starting with. I woke with the dream late on a Thursday night, sometime in July. It's a good one, as far as sevens go. The angel joker for the zero, plus seven of spades, that's seven, clean as the air you breathe. Well, cleaner, if you breathing in Harlem."

Lone Women | Victor LaValle | Historical Horror Western | Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It's locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear...

First Paragraph: "There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live with shame, and those who die from it. On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry would've called herself the former, but by Wednesday she wasn't as sure. If she was trying to live, then why would she be walking through her family's farmhouse carrying an Atlas jar of gasoline, pouring that gasoline on the kitchen floor, the dining table, dousing the settee in the den? And after she emptied the first Atlas jar, why go back to the kitchen for the other jar, then climb the stairs to the second floor, listening to the splash of gasoline on every step? Was she planning to live, or trying to die?"

The Wishing Game | Meg Shaffer | Magical Realism | Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one of a kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner's life...

First Paragraph: "Every night, Hugo went for a walk on the Five-O'-Clock Beach, but tonight was the first time in five years his wandering feet spelled out an SOS in the sand."

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi | Shanon Chakraborty | Historical Fantasy | 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....

First Paragraph: "In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Blessings upon His honored Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers. Praise be to God, who in his glory created the earth and its diversity of lands and languages, peoples and tonuges. In these vast marvels, so numerous a human eye cannot gaze upon more than a sliver, is there not proof of His Magnificence? And when it comes to marvels... let us delight in the adventures of the nakhudha Amina al-Sirafi."