Publication Date: March 24th, 2026
Hardcover. 208 pages.
With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose.
Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Stories includes "Seasons of Glass and Iron," "The Green Book," "Madeleine," "The Lonely Sea in the Sky," "And Their Lips Rang with the Sun," "The Truth About Owls," "A Hollow Play," "Anabasis," "To Follow the Waves," "John Hollowback and the Witch," "Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers," "Pockets," and more."
Seasons of Glass and Iron is a beautiful collection of stories and poems collected from Amal El-Mohtar's short fiction and writing over many years. As such, the content and style varied a lot from story to story, which provided plenty of diversity and ideas to explore. I didn’t love every single one, but I couldn’t help but admire El-Mohtar’s truly stunning prose in each piece. I have still yet to read This is How You Lose the Time War or The River Has Roots, which I hear about all the time, and this collection may have just convinced me. Also, before I dive into the review, I just have to note that I am in love with this cover--props to the designers/artists on this one!
Amal El-Mohtar's writing really embodies elements of fairy tale, magical realism, and a sense of beauty and magic, yet they are at the same time not here to ignore or disregard reality, pain, the dark/difficult things that are present. There is a lot of strength and enduring going on in these stories, as well as power and hope, love and trauma, and transformation. I liked that these stories sort of tell a larger story of El-Mohtar’s writing as it spans quite a lot of time in her career (from what I understand), so you can see different topics and themes and styles explored while still feeling very much like they were all written by the same voice.
There were some stories in here that really didn’t work for me at all, so I’d say this collection was heavily hit or miss for me. But as I've I said, El-Mohtar's writing at least makes everything pleasing to read, even if the content doesn't work for me. There are beautiful, thoughtful lines in every piece. But the ones that stood out really stood out, and the ones that didn't felt forgettable. Not everything makes sense in every story, and I feel like sometimes that worked and sometimes it didn’t. I don't read a lot of poetry regularly, but I do enjoy some of it here and there, and I found the poems in this collection also very hit or miss, though I did really appreciate that they were presented in both English and Arabic.
The opening and titular story, "Seasons of Iron and Glass", remains my favorite of this entire collection. I really loved this story about two women who happen upon one another and the conversations and events that follow. Additional ones I enjoyed most were:
"The Green Book": This is about a woman who is basically trapped within a book. There's something about this one that really captivated me, and I've found that stories about these types of deep gradual obsessions always captivate (perhaps I, too, also develop my own deep obsession? I kid... somewhat).
"Madeleine": This had a really great concept that kept me intrigued, but the ending was a bit off for me.
"A Tale of Ash in Seven Birds": This was such a neat concept and I really liked going through all the birds. I didn’t necessarily follow everything, but the writing is lovely and I was absolutely hooked.
Most of these works aren’t really straightforward stories, but are instead ones that really make you think and try to understand or interpret on your own. This is definitely a collection that demands you to sit and consider them after you finish them, so patience is needed.
Overall, I think it's well worth the read for Amal El-Mohtar's gorgeous writing alone, but also because there are some wonderful stories in here. Whether you're already a fan or new to her work, I'd definitely recommend this collection.
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