The Annual Migration of Clouds

Mohamed, Premee

$13.99
  • AURORA AWARD WINNER

    “This packs a punch.” — Publishers Weekly

    “One of the most unique and engaging voices in genre fiction.” — Booklist

    “In this rich and nuanced universe, Mohamed offers an emotionally fierce and human story that takes the time and space to personalize apocalypse.” — STARRED review, Quill & Quire

    A novella set in post–climate disaster Alberta; a woman infected with a mysterious parasite must choose whether to pursue a rare opportunity far from home or stay and help rebuild her community

    The world is nothing like it once was: climate disasters have wracked the continent, causing food shortages, ending industry, and leaving little behind. Then came Cad, mysterious mind-altering fungi that invade the bodies of the now scattered citizenry. Reid, a young woman who carries this parasite, has been given a chance to get away — to move to one of the last remnants of pre-disaster society — but she can’t bring herself to abandon her mother and the community that relies on her. When she’s offered a coveted place on a dangerous and profitable mission, she jumps at the opportunity to set her family up for life, but how can Reid ask people to put their trust in her when she can’t even trust her own mind?

    With keen insight and biting prose, Premee Mohamed delivers a deeply personal tale in this post-apocalyptic hopepunk novella that reflects on the meaning of community and asks what we owe to those who have lifted us up.

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  • Premee Mohamed is an Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. Her short fiction has appeared in a number of venues. Her debut novel, Beneath the Rising, is out now from Solaris Books, with the sequel A Broken Darkness due out in 2021.

  • Published: September 2021

    ISBN: 9781770415935

    Dimensions: 5 x 8 in.

    Pages: 168

Reviews

“In gorgeous prose, Mohamed (Beneath the Rising) conjures a post-climate apocalypse future … Mohamed grounds her complex, chilling vision of the future in accessible human drama, keeping a tight focus on Reid’s difficult decision and the tension it creates in her relationships. It’s an impressive feat of worldbuilding made stronger by the sensitive, nuanced characters and urgent questions about what people owe to each other. This packs a punch.” — Publishers Weekly

“Through Mohamed’s breathtaking prose, this post-apocalyptic story unravels meditations on community building, adaptation, and collective survival … In this rich and nuanced universe, Mohamed offers an emotionally fierce and human story that takes the time and space to personalize apocalypse.” — Quill & Quire, starred review

“A dark, strange tale of the future that elegantly balances existential horror against necessary hope. Premee Mohamed is astonishingly good, and if we’re lucky, will be writing books for us for a good long time.” — Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author

“A novella for people who want to see the post-apocalypse as more than simply bleak or hopeful. The Annual Migration of Clouds shows us how we can adapt, and hurt, and heal, all in one swoop.” — John Wiswell, Nebula Award–winning author

“Highly recommended … I’ll be thinking about it for quite a while.” — Templeton Gate blog

“I don’t often say this in my reviews, but I truly wish this book was longer because I would have loved to follow these characters for hundreds of more pages … I am dying to know how things work out for [Reid], and how the author would create this exciting new world that hints of astonishing technological advances.” — I’ve Read This blog

The Annual Migration of Clouds succeeds on all levels … A unique work of fiction written in a voice that is by turns poetic and gutwrenching, humorous, and tragic.” — The Miramichi Reader

“Mohamed’s writing bubbles and flows like a crystal-clear brook uninterrupted by dams. Both poetic and precise, this is language that truly adds to the story … This book is a lot of things, and one of those things is ‘just right’.” — Inquisitrix blog

“A perfect storm and excellent — but emotional — read … If you’ve read Mohamed before, you know that her work is evocative, scary, and beautiful, often all at the same time. She has a way of constructing sentences that create this rush and flow of words, all-powerful and impactful without losing the story or its emotion. The tension and relationships rise in her work in a way that demands to be engaged with. That style made the world clear, distinct and all the moments in the book feel full, heavy.” — Lightspeed

“I'm fascinated by the conflict between personal dreams versus duty to one’s community, especially in a post-apocalypse world where community is vital to survival. It also caught my attention because the cover is gorgeous.” — All Lit Up blog

“The novella is unwilling either to over-promise or to despair about its narrator’s fate: it is, in other words, a very fitting text for its time.” — Strange Horizons

“A compelling interrogation of the heroic “call to adventure” and its costs, Reid’s debate on whether to leave her community introduces a vibrant cast of characters and various small but affecting moments of survival, generosity, fear, and anger. Reid’s complicated relationship with her mother, who shares her illness, is particularly well rendered. More than simply an absorbing speculative story, The Annual Migration of Clouds is a prescient page-turner about the strength required to turn from cynicism to hope.” — NUVO Magazine

“[An] interesting story with moments that cut like glass.” — Locus Magazine

“One of the most unique and engaging voices in genre fiction … Science-fiction and horror readers alike will enjoy Mohamed’s novel, which will appeal to fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Kameron Hurley, and Tochi Onyebuchi.” — Booklist

“Premee Mohamed’s graceful storytelling transports us to a future that is both brilliantly imagined and utterly believable. I devoured this gorgeous gift of a novella, and it will stay with me.” — Kate Heartfield, award-winning author of Armed in Her Fashion and Alice Payne Arrives

The Annual Migration of Clouds is a riveting look at a dire future that doesn’t feel too far away. Premee Mohamed has created an ominous world ravaged by climate change and a mysterious virus in a profoundly concise and captivating novel. The story expertly executes what all good dystopian fiction is meant to do: show us just how bad things could get if we don’t correct our course in the present day. The climate crisis is real, and The Annual Migration of Clouds is must-read fiction for a glimpse into a potential future.” — Waubgeshig Rice, bestselling author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

“To say a story is ripped from the headlines implies clumsiness. Premee’s work is infinitely finer than that. This is a story of personal apocalypses and what they make when we all have them and of the gnawing realization that the world ending is the easy option. Identity and duty, horror and awe, all wielded with the expert hand of one of the best new talents there is.” — Alasdair Stuart, award-winning author, podcaster, and critic

“Beautifully written, poignant, and bittersweet it is a gorgeous read and one perfect to give us hope in dark times. Mohamed is again proving that they are one of the most interesting authors in today’s science fiction. Strongly recommended.” — Run Along the Shelves blog

“This beautifully-written novella-length book takes hold of the imagination and leaves you with lots to think about.” — Consumed by Ink blog

“Beautifully-written in its exploration of environmental disaster, community, and complicated family relationships.” — A. C. Wise blog

The Annual Migration of Clouds is a complex story told in a few pages … Mohamed’s prose is etched with a diamond-sharp precision, swooping into heartbreaking moments and moments of strange, weird beauty, making us laugh, and making us hold our breath in terror during a crucial part of the book.” — FantasyLiterature.com

“A moving blend of apocalyptic darkness and human resilience, the kind that imagines and believes in a future that the present says should not be idly dreamed of, The Annual Migration of Clouds is a stunningly good piece of storytelling that accomplishes more in its 155-page, all-too-short length than many novels manage in hundreds of pages.” — Sparkly Pretty Briiiight blog

“At around 160 pages, the book earns a depth of character and world-building usually enjoyed by doorstopper fantasy tomes. Mohamed’s prose is gorgeous and lush.” — The Tyee

“I would recommend this book to others. This was a wonderful shorter listen set in a very interesting dystopian world. I would not hesitate to read more of this author’s work in the future.” — Carole’s Random Life blog

“Hopeful even in the darkest moments, Mohamed’s latest work speaks to the family we carry with us always.” — Redlands Daily Facts