We Speak Through the Mountain

The enlivening follow-up to the award-winning sensation The Annual Migration of Clouds

Traveling alone through the climate-crisis-ravaged wilds of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, 19-year-old Reid Graham battles the elements and her lifelong chronic illness to reach the utopia of Howse University. But life in one of the storied “domes” — the last remnants of pre-collapse society — isn’t what she expected. Reid tries to excel in her classes and make connections with other students, but still grapples with guilt over what happened just before she left her community. And as she learns more about life at Howse, she begins to realize she can’t stand idly by as the people of the dome purposely withhold needed resources from the rest of humanity. When the worst of news comes from back home, Reid must make a choice between herself, her family, and the broken new world.

In this powerful follow-up to her award-winning novella The Annual Migration of Clouds, Premee Mohamed is at the top of her game as she explores the conflicts and complexities of this post-apocalyptic society and asks whether humanity is doomed to forever recreate its worst mistakes.

Premee Mohamed is a Nebula-, World Fantasy–, and Aurora Award–winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is the author of the Beneath the Rising series of novels as well as several novellas, and her short fiction has appeared in many venues.

ISBN: 9781770417335
Format: Paperback
Pages: 152
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: June 18, 2024

“We Speak Through the Mountain is a gorgeous climate-focused novella that provides a frightening and realistic look at what our world might become as a backdrop to a satisfying speculative fiction tale. Mohamed asks not only what happens after the world ends, but what it means for the world to end — an apocalypse for who? This sharp, incisive novella confronts uncomfortable truths and shows the stark lines painted between who has access to survival post-collapse and who does not. This is climate fiction at its best, showing us the humanity at the heart of the crisis.” — A.C. Wise, Nebula and World Fantasy Award finalist and author of Wendy, Darling“At its heart, this is a story about eating from the Tree of Knowledge and being thrown out of paradise as a result. Readers of hopepunk that asks difficult questions will find plenty to think about in Mohamed’s follow-up to The Annual Migration of Clouds.” — Library Journal“Tavares grows with the heroine as her eyes open to the new environment, thoughtfully fusing with the character … not distancing herself from emotionally charged passages.” —Booklist“This complex, fascinating follow-up to the award-winning novella The Annual Migration of Clouds is an immersive listening experience, thanks to Tavares. Her narration provides suitable aural variation and draws the listener into the story and its world.” — AudioFile Magazine“In exacting prose, Mohamed questions the extent of our responsibility to family, community, and personal survival.” — Alberta Views