Seasons of glass and iron Stories

From Nebula award winner El-Mohtar (The River Has Roots) comes a collection of 14 stories and four poems that shine both individually and as a whole. Blending fantasy, magical realism, and speculative fiction, and often rooted in history, myth, or legend, these tales range widely across time and place but are connected, as El-Mohtar writes in her introduction, by her love of women: "I love women talking to each other. I love women... offering up the stories of themselves to each other's tender scrutiny. I love women being friends and being lovers, in all of their shapes, across the breadth and depth of their lives." Indeed, her wonderfully unique heroines are drawn with depth and compassion. In "Madeleine," the eponymous heroine, grieving the death of her mother, who had Alzheimer's, participates in an experimental anti-dementia drug trial and begins to have intense flashbacks in which an unfamiliar figure becomes a new friend. "Florilegia; or, Some Lies About Flowers," follows a Blodeuwedd, a woman constructed out of vegetation drawn from Welsh mythology, who has been brought into existence by magic to be an ideal wife. Meanwhile, the poetry, presented in both English and Arabic, delves into real-world struggles while still showcasing El-Mohtar's characteristic lyricism and striking imagery. There's not a false note here. (Mar.)

This collection of 18 stories and poems from award-winning El-Mohtar (The River Has Roots) explores the relationships of women and encompasses love, friendship, separation, loss, and more. It spans 15 years of published writing, with works such as the story of needing to lose what, or who, is most important to find what one desires in "A Hollow Play," and a story of what happens when one dancer is not there to raise the sun in "And Their Lips Rang with the Sun." In "Wing," the stories one reads and carries can bring connection between people. In the title story, two women who are forced into their roles by men but dream of another fairy tale take their own steps to break the cycle. El-Mohtar's poetic, dreamy writing lingers long past the last words, showcasing various stylistic choices that utilize letters, poetry, folk tales, and more. VERDICT An essential collection of work from one of today's most poignant speculative writers. El-Mohtar creates immersive worlds with beautiful language.--Kristi Chadwick