Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did reading a fantasy adventure with a middle-aged mother as the hero affect your experience of the story? In what ways did Amina’s age and parental anxieties make her more or less heroic in your eyes?

2. The novel draws from stories like One Thousand and One Nights to create the character of Queen Lab. How did this connection to classic folklore shape your perception of Lab as a villain? Did knowing her literary origins make her more complex or perhaps more predictable for you?

3. What part of Amina’s journey will stick with you the most?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Do you think Amina made the right choice by continuing her life of adventure after becoming a mother? How do you balance personal passions or duties with family responsibilities in your own life?

2. Dalila’s fierce loyalty drives her to betray Amina’s trust by hiding the truth about the poison. Thinking about your own relationships, where do you draw the line between protecting someone and being dishonest with them?

3. What does the idea of a “found family,” like the crew of the Marawati, mean to you? 

4. Queen Lab’s utopia is born from a desire to protect her son from the dangers of the outside world, but it becomes a prison. Think about a time when your own good intentions, or those of someone you know, led to unexpected or negative outcomes.

5. When Amina unleashes her full power against the griffins, the level of violence she is capable of horrifies her. Have you ever been surprised by your own capacity for something, whether it was strength, creativity, or resolve, in a challenging situation?

6. The novel ends with the stunning revelation that 10 years have passed in the few weeks Amina perceived at Khatti Ugal. If you were to lose a decade of time with the people you love, what would be your greatest fear or regret upon returning?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How did learning that the Banu Sasan are based on a real, historical underclass of rogues from the medieval Islamic world impact your reading? Does this grounding in history make the fantasy world feel more tangible?

2. The kingdom of Khatti Ugal is a perfect society achieved by erasing free will and history. What commentary do you think the novel is making about the dangers of utopian ideals? Where might you see similar impulses to sacrifice individuality for perceived harmony in the world today?

3. By retelling the story of Queen Lab, the novel gives a complex, tragic history to a female villain from classic folklore. In what ways does this reimagining challenge or subvert traditional portrayals of powerful women in mythology and fantasy?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What significance does Amina’s age and physical struggles have in subverting the fantasy genre? 

2. How does the recurring motif of storytelling shape the narrative? Consider how the different versions of Queen Lab’s story, from Jamal’s folklore to the interludes, influence your understanding of her character and the novel’s ideas about truth.

3. The spindle is a central symbol of vengeance. How does its origin story, revealed through the interludes, demonstrate the theme that the pursuit of revenge is a corrupting and self-perpetuating cycle?

4. What do the novel’s two main underworlds, the chaotic floating city of Sarilaglag and the orderly “paradise” of Khatti Ugal, suggest about the nature of society and control?

5. Did Khatti Ugal’s idyllic façade remind you of other fictional utopias with dark secrets, such as the city in Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”? How does Chakraborty’s exploration of this theme compare?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to design another magical “Transgression” artifact, what everyday object would it be based on? What dangerous power would it possess, and what kind of story would be attached to it?

2. If you were a shipwreck survivor who washed ashore on Khatti Ugal, what would you have done? Would you have accepted Queen Lab’s offer of a peaceful life, tried to escape, or plotted to rebel from within?

3. Picture the scene of Amina’s reunion with Marjana after 10 years have passed. What do you imagine they would say to each other in that first, long-awaited conversation?