The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed Published by ECW Press on September 28, 2021
Pages: 168
Goodreads
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?
Before I begin my review, I quickly have to thank ECW Press for sending me a copy of the book.
I have to admit that when I received The Annual Migration of Clouds in the mail I knew nothing about the book and I didn’t read the synopsis. I wanted to go in knowing nothing about it. This was a new to me title and Premee Mohamed was a new to me author but after reading this I definitely want to check out her previous books.
Her previous books are, The Apple Tree Throne, Beneath the Rising (bk 1), A Broken Darkness (bk 2), These Lifeless Things (novella), And What Can We Offer You Tonight (novella). The Void Ascendant (bk 3) is coming out in 2022.
I should also mention that Premee Mohamed is an Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta.
I have to mention that I think the cover is gorgeous and it was one of the things that drew me to want to read this instantly.
I thought this was going to be a pretty quick read since it’s a novella but once I started to read it, I knew that this wouldn’t be the case.
The story takes place in a post-climate disaster town in Alberta. The story begins with our main character Reid, receiving a letter from Howse University. Howse University is a mysterious place where getting accepted is very limited and getting to the university is tough. Reid is excited she got accepted because they promise a better life for their students. The only thing it seems none of the students return home. When she tells her mother about this, she thought she would be thrilled but instantly she starts to put doubt into Reid’s head. Her mother thinks this is a scam. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading it. Was this legit or was there something sinister behind it? Getting there is tough, would she be able to make it even if she goes?
Reid is struggling with what to do, should she stay and help her community or should she leave in hopes of making this a better place. You can see this throughout the book where she is wondering what the best thing to do is. Will she stay or will she go?
I definitely need to stop there because I will end up giving it all away. If you are curious then I highly recommend you pick this up to read.
The world is gloomy and you can sense that as you read. Premee did a fantastic job of world-building. Just by reading this, you can tell that this is a gloomy place and not like the world we have today. I would say that this was like a wasteland. The people are struggling to survive daily. There is food storage and from reading the way the land was you wonder how can anyone survive. Even the animals are starving. Everyone has CAD which is a mysterious fungus parasite that is mind-altering to protect its host and then when they no longer need to host they die a painful death.
I definitely hope that there will be a book 2 because I am curious about what happens to Reid. There were so many unanswered questions such as was that university real, would there ever find a cure for CAD and so much more.