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One Message Remains
Pageantry, pomp, pretense, and peril—"The General's Turn,” originally published in The Deadlands, drew readers into the dark world of a ceremony where Death herself might choose to join the audience... or step onto the stage.
Award-winning author Premee Mohamed presents three brand new stories set in this morally ambiguous world of war and magic. In “One Message Remains,” Major Lyell Tzajos leads his team on a charity mission through the post-armistice world of East Seudast, exhuming the bones and souls of dead foes for repatriation. But the buried fighters may have one more fight left in them—and they have chosen their weapons well.
In “The Weight of What is Hollow,” Taya is the latest apprentice of a long-honored tradition: building the bone-gallows for prisoners of war. But her very first commission will pit her skills against both her family and her oppressor.
Finally, in “Forsaking All Others,” ex-soldier Rostyn must travel the little-known ways by night to avoid his pursuers, for desertion is punishable by death. As he flees to the hoped-for sanctuary of his grandmother's village, he is joined by a fellow deserter—and, it seems, the truth of a myth older than the land itself.
“Premee Mohamed is one of Canada's most exciting thinkers and writers of speculative fiction. Her stories bravely go where few dare to, each employing a deftness of language and surety of form that offers a fresh experience each time. One Message Remains and the stories within are no exception, each tale different from the other, yet all very much quintessential Premee stories. Readers of her works, long and short both, will find much to love here.” — Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of Son of the Storm and Lost Ark Dreaming
Award-winning author Premee Mohamed presents three brand new stories set in this morally ambiguous world of war and magic. In “One Message Remains,” Major Lyell Tzajos leads his team on a charity mission through the post-armistice world of East Seudast, exhuming the bones and souls of dead foes for repatriation. But the buried fighters may have one more fight left in them—and they have chosen their weapons well.
In “The Weight of What is Hollow,” Taya is the latest apprentice of a long-honored tradition: building the bone-gallows for prisoners of war. But her very first commission will pit her skills against both her family and her oppressor.
Finally, in “Forsaking All Others,” ex-soldier Rostyn must travel the little-known ways by night to avoid his pursuers, for desertion is punishable by death. As he flees to the hoped-for sanctuary of his grandmother's village, he is joined by a fellow deserter—and, it seems, the truth of a myth older than the land itself.
“Premee Mohamed is one of Canada's most exciting thinkers and writers of speculative fiction. Her stories bravely go where few dare to, each employing a deftness of language and surety of form that offers a fresh experience each time. One Message Remains and the stories within are no exception, each tale different from the other, yet all very much quintessential Premee stories. Readers of her works, long and short both, will find much to love here.” — Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of Son of the Storm and Lost Ark Dreaming
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2025
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409 people want to read
About the author
Premee Mohamed
79 books721 followersPremee Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is an Assistant Editor at the short fiction audio venue Escape Pod and the author of the 'Beneath the Rising' series of novels as well as several novellas. Her short fiction has appeared in many venues and she can be found on Twitter at @premeesaurus and on her website at www.premeemohamed.com.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 24, 2025
Review originally on JamReads
One Message Remains is a dark fantasy short story collection written by Premee Mohamed, and published by Psychopomp. An unsettling and thought-provoking set of four stories, that, together, create a tapestry about the Treotan Empire, touching themes such as how war is framed, the nature of evil, how a villain would see itself, and who needs to fight and who decides that.
The central piece of this collection, One Message Remains, follows Major Tzajos of the Treotan Army, who has been assigned to what he deems as a job to get a promotion, finding the bodies of the enemies to get them a proper burial. While this can be seen as a kindness gesture from the conqueror, we also experience how the unbalance of power can lead towards erasure; interestingly, with Tzajos we don't have an evil character or anything, just a man that is blindly following orders without questioning them. An excellent story by the quill of Mohamed outlining the consequences of imperialism over the conquered.
The Weight of What Is Hollow was also an impactful and creepy novelette; it explores the Treotan's tradition of the bone gallows, a vicious cycle where bones are used to get more bones. A family of gallows builders are used as the way to explore the dilemma between acting under threat or resistance, and how violence and blood are perpetuated in cycles unless somebody breaks it.
Forsaking All Others smartly plays with a double narrative, from the perspective of a Treotan deserter and an old woman that calls herself Nana; it offers us a peak into how the forced recruitment has created a resistance, but also the exhaustion of the lower class that are basically deemed cheap meat for the powerful.
And honestly, I can only define The General Turns as brilliant and macabre; how this mockery of a play is conducted by a general, a tradition that shows how rotten to the core the Empire is. We have an exceptional window that shows the heart of the Treotan Empire, making clear how, in reality, only death and bloodlust matters.
An excellent collection which also showcases Mohamed's excellent prose, a haunting proposal perfect if you are looking for a thought-provoking collection woven around a rotten to the core empire. A memorable read!
One Message Remains is a dark fantasy short story collection written by Premee Mohamed, and published by Psychopomp. An unsettling and thought-provoking set of four stories, that, together, create a tapestry about the Treotan Empire, touching themes such as how war is framed, the nature of evil, how a villain would see itself, and who needs to fight and who decides that.
The central piece of this collection, One Message Remains, follows Major Tzajos of the Treotan Army, who has been assigned to what he deems as a job to get a promotion, finding the bodies of the enemies to get them a proper burial. While this can be seen as a kindness gesture from the conqueror, we also experience how the unbalance of power can lead towards erasure; interestingly, with Tzajos we don't have an evil character or anything, just a man that is blindly following orders without questioning them. An excellent story by the quill of Mohamed outlining the consequences of imperialism over the conquered.
The Weight of What Is Hollow was also an impactful and creepy novelette; it explores the Treotan's tradition of the bone gallows, a vicious cycle where bones are used to get more bones. A family of gallows builders are used as the way to explore the dilemma between acting under threat or resistance, and how violence and blood are perpetuated in cycles unless somebody breaks it.
Forsaking All Others smartly plays with a double narrative, from the perspective of a Treotan deserter and an old woman that calls herself Nana; it offers us a peak into how the forced recruitment has created a resistance, but also the exhaustion of the lower class that are basically deemed cheap meat for the powerful.
And honestly, I can only define The General Turns as brilliant and macabre; how this mockery of a play is conducted by a general, a tradition that shows how rotten to the core the Empire is. We have an exceptional window that shows the heart of the Treotan Empire, making clear how, in reality, only death and bloodlust matters.
An excellent collection which also showcases Mohamed's excellent prose, a haunting proposal perfect if you are looking for a thought-provoking collection woven around a rotten to the core empire. A memorable read!
September 6, 2025
Gosh, I love these stories SO MUCH. 4.5 stars, rounded up.
May 14, 2025
The more I read Premee Mohamed's work, the more I enjoy it. She has a light/hard touch – her humor can be light, but her themes and outcomes can be hard. She risks being stereotyped as a horror writer, but that's not a tradition she's really following.
This collection of stories is an example. It's a 'story suite', a set of related stories built around a place or set of characters. In this case, a colonialist empire that runs roughshod over every society it encounters.
The first story (and half the book) sets it up with an officer of that empire who does everything by the book. He also has a massive inferiority complex not helped by the lack of respect by his men. His epiphany comes after he is captured by the natives. His last letter in “One Message Remains” is poignant.
The other stories look at different aspects of the empire's conflicts, from different points of view. They are all uniformly good and effective at what Mohamed seeks to do.
Despite the literal figure of Death making appearances, this is not a horror book. Well, it is, but the horror is the relentless subjugation of cultures by the empire and their self-serving justifications.
Going back to “One Message Remains”, being captured the officer is still trying to understand the society they destroyed. Their interpreter, a native, finally has had enough:
“I am done lecturing you”, Calamuk said bleakly. “Nothing gets through. What do they do to you people over there...The way you see the world, you think it's not just your right but your duty to take anything you think isn't being used to its full extent, that doesn't have every penny squeezed out of it.”
“You see a man leading a horse along the road and you don't ask him why he's doing it, you are profoundly dead to the idea that maybe the horse is lame, or new to the saddle, or the man has just purchased it, or if he feels like walking – The idea of asking never even occurs to you. Why would it? All you see is a man and a horse and you think, 'He's doing it wrong! Horses are for riding!' You don't say to him 'In my country we ride horses'. You don't even say 'You should be riding that horse.' You just snatch away the lead and kick him into the ditch, and you say 'If you can't use the horse properly, you don't deserve it. I will take it and put it to work. And maybe someday if you do as I tell you, and never disobey me, and swear you'll never, ever lead it, that you'll never waste a horse, you can have a horse again.'
“And you do that to the WHOLE WORLD. I give up on you.”
And that's the colonialist mindset right there. That's the overarching theme of the set of stories in this gentle, harsh, thoughtful book.
This collection of stories is an example. It's a 'story suite', a set of related stories built around a place or set of characters. In this case, a colonialist empire that runs roughshod over every society it encounters.
The first story (and half the book) sets it up with an officer of that empire who does everything by the book. He also has a massive inferiority complex not helped by the lack of respect by his men. His epiphany comes after he is captured by the natives. His last letter in “One Message Remains” is poignant.
The other stories look at different aspects of the empire's conflicts, from different points of view. They are all uniformly good and effective at what Mohamed seeks to do.
Despite the literal figure of Death making appearances, this is not a horror book. Well, it is, but the horror is the relentless subjugation of cultures by the empire and their self-serving justifications.
Going back to “One Message Remains”, being captured the officer is still trying to understand the society they destroyed. Their interpreter, a native, finally has had enough:
“I am done lecturing you”, Calamuk said bleakly. “Nothing gets through. What do they do to you people over there...The way you see the world, you think it's not just your right but your duty to take anything you think isn't being used to its full extent, that doesn't have every penny squeezed out of it.”
“You see a man leading a horse along the road and you don't ask him why he's doing it, you are profoundly dead to the idea that maybe the horse is lame, or new to the saddle, or the man has just purchased it, or if he feels like walking – The idea of asking never even occurs to you. Why would it? All you see is a man and a horse and you think, 'He's doing it wrong! Horses are for riding!' You don't say to him 'In my country we ride horses'. You don't even say 'You should be riding that horse.' You just snatch away the lead and kick him into the ditch, and you say 'If you can't use the horse properly, you don't deserve it. I will take it and put it to work. And maybe someday if you do as I tell you, and never disobey me, and swear you'll never, ever lead it, that you'll never waste a horse, you can have a horse again.'
“And you do that to the WHOLE WORLD. I give up on you.”
And that's the colonialist mindset right there. That's the overarching theme of the set of stories in this gentle, harsh, thoughtful book.
August 27, 2025
With rich, eloquent prose, striking imagery, and piercing insight, Premee Mohamed delivers a message about the cycles of war and those caught in its wheels. Never shying from the horror or the utter inanity of violence against one another, these stories offer moments of remarkable tenderness and understanding.
This is a book to read with care (and tissues), to savour, and above all, to remember.
Simply brilliant.
This is a book to read with care (and tissues), to savour, and above all, to remember.
Simply brilliant.
February 21, 2025
I picked up this collection because I found several of the author’s previous works compelling, particularly The Annual Migration of Clouds, We Speak Through the Mountain, and especially The Butcher of the Forest. (I keep finding more and more books that remind me of Butcher, including yesterday’s book!)
It might look like all of the above are novellas – only because they are. The stories in this collection are as well – or toe up to that line from the novelette side. In other words, none of these are terribly long – and they don’t need to be.
Together, they make a fractured whole. Fractured because they are loosely centered around a fractured place, the conquered province of East Seudast by the conquering country of Treotan. The individual stories, three of which are new for this collection, revolve around the states of conquering and being conquered. Of what it means to see every country in the world as ‘lesser’ and ‘barbaric’ and ‘incapable of using their resources properly’, as though that gives another country the right to roll right over them.
And all of those are mere excuses for overweening cupidity and above all, hubris.
On the other side, there’s the cost of all of that rapaciousness. That seeing everyone and everything else on the face of the map as beneath their notice means that the conquerors learn nothing about those they conquer, learn nothing about the land, and learn nothing about the beliefs that bind those who resist.
Not even the dead.
“One Message Remains”
Major Lyell Tzajos believes that he has been assigned an important duty by the Treotan military, a task that will result in promotions all around once he – and the team whose names he can’t even manage to remember – completes their task. A task which Tzajos considers a humanitarian mission towards the people of their newly conquered province.
But Tzajos is a small man in a job that is still much too big for him, assigned to this command because, on paper at least, it suits his punctilious, meticulous, duty-bound, bean-counting nature down to the literal ground. Which is, in fact, the literal bedrock of the duty. Digging up the graves of the enemy, identifying each and every one of their bodies, and repatriating those bodies and their effects to families who must still be looking for closure in regards to the fate of their family members.
Of course, the Treotans didn’t ask the Dastians what they thought about this mission, because from their perspective, including Tzajos’ obedient, practically slavish devotion to the standards of his homeland, the Dastians are ‘barbarians’ and their beliefs about corpses and spirits and Death are unscientific and illogical.
Even though, as it turns out, those beliefs are entirely true.
There is a LOT to unpack in this story, so it is fitting that it is the longest one in the collection. We’re inside Tzajos’ head – and the man is a hot mess from the beginning. He is truly a small man, trying to pretend that he is bigger, failing, knowing that he’s failing, and still not seeing the ways in which he is. He IS, after all, trying to do his best. It’s just that his beliefs about what constitutes best are so deeply ingrained in his own culture that he is WAY off course. He’s not actually evil, he’s just so brainwashed that he can’t see that what his country is doing IS evil. He starts out lost and gets even more so and doesn’t take any control of anything at all until his end, and even then he only gets glimmers of understanding. That I could easily map Tzajos onto any overworked, underqualified functionary in any rapacious empire, fictional or historical, made this story even more compelling and more thought provoking than the premise hinted at. Escape Rating A
“The Weight of What Is Hollow”
This is the story that should have been the creepiest – and it is – but not in any of the ways that one might think going into it. Because it’s not really about the truly creepy idea of building a gallows out of human bones for the purpose of hanging a criminal which will provide more human bones. Because the bones may be the creep but they’re not the point.
The point is about creepy humans with power, and quiet resistance to that power. The local Treotan commander thinks he can overpower a female apprentice boneworker through might, intimidation and threats. Her family is afraid, and begs her to submit – because they fear for their own necks and they are right to do so. So she appears to step on the path the commander wants, knowing the end. But she only appears to, and appearance as it turns out, is everything.
I liked this a lot. OTOH, at its heart the story could fit into pretty much any fantasy world, and I adored the way that Taya subverted the narrative that was planned for her. Very much on the other hand, the details of their traditions added depth to the worldbuilding and pulled me in hard and well and truly. I also enjoyed the way that this story was about the war without being buried neck deep in the war. It’s a much subtler way of fighting back that was needed in this collection. Taya’s the one character in all of the stories that I would LOVE to see more of. Escape Rating A+
“Forsaking All Others”
This one didn’t quite stick for me. I was into it while I was reading it, but it didn’t catch at my memory the same way that the other three stories did in their different ways. At first, it’s a story about two deserters trying to find a place to lay low where the Treotans won’t find them. But then the story changes into something that’s more about the traditions and beliefs of the conquered land – and that they are still alive and well and may have deadly consequences for anyone who believes that they’ve won. Escape Rating B
“The General’s Turn”
This is the one story in this collection that has been previously published, in this particular case in The Deadlands, Issue 3, July 2021 as well as The Long List Anthology Volume 8: More Stories from the Hugo Award Nomination List because this story was on the long list for the Hugos in 2022. It’s also the one story in this collection that leaned the furthest into horror AND the one story out of the four that didn’t work for me, although not because of the horror.
The story here feels like it’s about exploring the rot at the heart of the Treotan ‘empire’. On the one hand, it’s VERY creepy, all about an elaborate murder machine operated by a bunch of supposed elites who claim to be carrying out a grand, old, ritual but are really just there for the humiliation of the chosen victim and the inevitable carnage as that victim is toyed with and then literally ground into a bloody pulp.
We’re in the head of the ‘general’ controlling this whole affair, someone who believes in the spirit of what this ceremony used to be, and who is tired – possibly unto death – of all the inevitabilities baked into it. In a fit of ennui – he decides to change the script. It’s not mercy, it’s not enlightenment, it’s just another and different way of turning the screws.
It’s probably intended as a play on the idea that the ‘empire’ is really a gigantic clockworks that is intended to grind everyone, friends and enemies alike, under the wheels of its so-called ‘progress’ and ‘efficiency’. I may have needed to message to be a bit more explicit if that is the case. Escape Rating C
Overall Escape Rating B
Originally published at Reading Reality
It might look like all of the above are novellas – only because they are. The stories in this collection are as well – or toe up to that line from the novelette side. In other words, none of these are terribly long – and they don’t need to be.
Together, they make a fractured whole. Fractured because they are loosely centered around a fractured place, the conquered province of East Seudast by the conquering country of Treotan. The individual stories, three of which are new for this collection, revolve around the states of conquering and being conquered. Of what it means to see every country in the world as ‘lesser’ and ‘barbaric’ and ‘incapable of using their resources properly’, as though that gives another country the right to roll right over them.
And all of those are mere excuses for overweening cupidity and above all, hubris.
On the other side, there’s the cost of all of that rapaciousness. That seeing everyone and everything else on the face of the map as beneath their notice means that the conquerors learn nothing about those they conquer, learn nothing about the land, and learn nothing about the beliefs that bind those who resist.
Not even the dead.
“One Message Remains”
Major Lyell Tzajos believes that he has been assigned an important duty by the Treotan military, a task that will result in promotions all around once he – and the team whose names he can’t even manage to remember – completes their task. A task which Tzajos considers a humanitarian mission towards the people of their newly conquered province.
But Tzajos is a small man in a job that is still much too big for him, assigned to this command because, on paper at least, it suits his punctilious, meticulous, duty-bound, bean-counting nature down to the literal ground. Which is, in fact, the literal bedrock of the duty. Digging up the graves of the enemy, identifying each and every one of their bodies, and repatriating those bodies and their effects to families who must still be looking for closure in regards to the fate of their family members.
Of course, the Treotans didn’t ask the Dastians what they thought about this mission, because from their perspective, including Tzajos’ obedient, practically slavish devotion to the standards of his homeland, the Dastians are ‘barbarians’ and their beliefs about corpses and spirits and Death are unscientific and illogical.
Even though, as it turns out, those beliefs are entirely true.
There is a LOT to unpack in this story, so it is fitting that it is the longest one in the collection. We’re inside Tzajos’ head – and the man is a hot mess from the beginning. He is truly a small man, trying to pretend that he is bigger, failing, knowing that he’s failing, and still not seeing the ways in which he is. He IS, after all, trying to do his best. It’s just that his beliefs about what constitutes best are so deeply ingrained in his own culture that he is WAY off course. He’s not actually evil, he’s just so brainwashed that he can’t see that what his country is doing IS evil. He starts out lost and gets even more so and doesn’t take any control of anything at all until his end, and even then he only gets glimmers of understanding. That I could easily map Tzajos onto any overworked, underqualified functionary in any rapacious empire, fictional or historical, made this story even more compelling and more thought provoking than the premise hinted at. Escape Rating A
“The Weight of What Is Hollow”
This is the story that should have been the creepiest – and it is – but not in any of the ways that one might think going into it. Because it’s not really about the truly creepy idea of building a gallows out of human bones for the purpose of hanging a criminal which will provide more human bones. Because the bones may be the creep but they’re not the point.
The point is about creepy humans with power, and quiet resistance to that power. The local Treotan commander thinks he can overpower a female apprentice boneworker through might, intimidation and threats. Her family is afraid, and begs her to submit – because they fear for their own necks and they are right to do so. So she appears to step on the path the commander wants, knowing the end. But she only appears to, and appearance as it turns out, is everything.
I liked this a lot. OTOH, at its heart the story could fit into pretty much any fantasy world, and I adored the way that Taya subverted the narrative that was planned for her. Very much on the other hand, the details of their traditions added depth to the worldbuilding and pulled me in hard and well and truly. I also enjoyed the way that this story was about the war without being buried neck deep in the war. It’s a much subtler way of fighting back that was needed in this collection. Taya’s the one character in all of the stories that I would LOVE to see more of. Escape Rating A+
“Forsaking All Others”
This one didn’t quite stick for me. I was into it while I was reading it, but it didn’t catch at my memory the same way that the other three stories did in their different ways. At first, it’s a story about two deserters trying to find a place to lay low where the Treotans won’t find them. But then the story changes into something that’s more about the traditions and beliefs of the conquered land – and that they are still alive and well and may have deadly consequences for anyone who believes that they’ve won. Escape Rating B
“The General’s Turn”
This is the one story in this collection that has been previously published, in this particular case in The Deadlands, Issue 3, July 2021 as well as The Long List Anthology Volume 8: More Stories from the Hugo Award Nomination List because this story was on the long list for the Hugos in 2022. It’s also the one story in this collection that leaned the furthest into horror AND the one story out of the four that didn’t work for me, although not because of the horror.
The story here feels like it’s about exploring the rot at the heart of the Treotan ‘empire’. On the one hand, it’s VERY creepy, all about an elaborate murder machine operated by a bunch of supposed elites who claim to be carrying out a grand, old, ritual but are really just there for the humiliation of the chosen victim and the inevitable carnage as that victim is toyed with and then literally ground into a bloody pulp.
We’re in the head of the ‘general’ controlling this whole affair, someone who believes in the spirit of what this ceremony used to be, and who is tired – possibly unto death – of all the inevitabilities baked into it. In a fit of ennui – he decides to change the script. It’s not mercy, it’s not enlightenment, it’s just another and different way of turning the screws.
It’s probably intended as a play on the idea that the ‘empire’ is really a gigantic clockworks that is intended to grind everyone, friends and enemies alike, under the wheels of its so-called ‘progress’ and ‘efficiency’. I may have needed to message to be a bit more explicit if that is the case. Escape Rating C
Overall Escape Rating B
Originally published at Reading Reality
January 12, 2025
Full disclosure: I emailed the publisher, Psychopomp, to request an ARC of this collection. Thus, I am reviewing it. I have no affiliation with Psychopomp nor any incentive to provide unduly favorable reviews.
For starters, I emailed Psychopomp about the possibility of reviewing One Message Remains because Premee Mohamed has had a consistent track record of writing some of my favorite books. She has not broken this streak with this collection, far from it.
The shared setting across the stories in this collection comes the closest I've seen to a setting that is believably, compellingly, immersively grimdark. (Or it comes very close to this, though protagonists can at least try to claw hope away from their oppressors and overlords.) I find much grimdark fiction to be overdone, to the point that its horrible elements dilute each other and desensitize the reader. Yet in the world of One Message Remains, the imperial logic of a state that seems to be permanently at war is skillfully substantiated through everything from characters' backstories and motives to the material culture seen in their daily lives. Indeed, Mohamed has once again written a master class in world-building—not inundating her stories with world-building, but writing a world and stories that support and elevate each other.
I won't review individual stories in much depth seeing as I'm reviewing a pre-release, but here's a brief run-down:
• The eponymous novelette (or novella?) starts slow but builds narrative momentum with its strange hauntings; the characterization here is a real object lesson in how imperialism is a detriment both to those who assent to it and to those who would prefer to live according to their traditions.
• "The Weight of What Is Hollow" masters narrative voice through contrast, alternating between emotional and macabre elements and almost dry technical writing to demonstrate .
• "Forsaking All Others" in particular is a master class in well-contained world-building. The exposition that excessively explains so many fantasy and sci-fi settings is put to limited and effective use here, and the few bits of world-building that feel somewhat indulgent still don't bother me at all because they're so interesting.
• The aforementioned novelette/novella, "The Weight of What is Hollow," and "Forsaking All Others" are all creative experiments with voice; the former two both use a partially epistolary format, but in quite different ways that don't take us out of the action/plot too much.
• "The General's Turn" is a reprint of what might still be my favorite short story from the magazine The Deadlands. Here, Mohamed demonstrates how a story can be made better, not worse, by taking time to flesh out its setting and letting readers luxuriate in the (darkly gorgeous) details rather than rush through plot points at full speed. I've rarely seen Death, culture, or a culture of death portrayed so well in fiction.
One Message Remains, to be released on February 11 this year, is one of LitHub.com’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025—and rightly so. There's no better time for thoughtful writing on imperialism and colonialism, and there's no bad time to immerse oneself in excellently crafted worlds and writing. I unreservedly give this collection a full five stars and will continue to look forward to more releases from Mohamed. I'll publish a more in-depth analysis shortly after this collection is released.
For starters, I emailed Psychopomp about the possibility of reviewing One Message Remains because Premee Mohamed has had a consistent track record of writing some of my favorite books. She has not broken this streak with this collection, far from it.
The shared setting across the stories in this collection comes the closest I've seen to a setting that is believably, compellingly, immersively grimdark. (Or it comes very close to this, though protagonists can at least try to claw hope away from their oppressors and overlords.) I find much grimdark fiction to be overdone, to the point that its horrible elements dilute each other and desensitize the reader. Yet in the world of One Message Remains, the imperial logic of a state that seems to be permanently at war is skillfully substantiated through everything from characters' backstories and motives to the material culture seen in their daily lives. Indeed, Mohamed has once again written a master class in world-building—not inundating her stories with world-building, but writing a world and stories that support and elevate each other.
I won't review individual stories in much depth seeing as I'm reviewing a pre-release, but here's a brief run-down:
• The eponymous novelette (or novella?) starts slow but builds narrative momentum with its strange hauntings; the characterization here is a real object lesson in how imperialism is a detriment both to those who assent to it and to those who would prefer to live according to their traditions.
• "The Weight of What Is Hollow" masters narrative voice through contrast, alternating between emotional and macabre elements and almost dry technical writing to demonstrate .
• "Forsaking All Others" in particular is a master class in well-contained world-building. The exposition that excessively explains so many fantasy and sci-fi settings is put to limited and effective use here, and the few bits of world-building that feel somewhat indulgent still don't bother me at all because they're so interesting.
• The aforementioned novelette/novella, "The Weight of What is Hollow," and "Forsaking All Others" are all creative experiments with voice; the former two both use a partially epistolary format, but in quite different ways that don't take us out of the action/plot too much.
• "The General's Turn" is a reprint of what might still be my favorite short story from the magazine The Deadlands. Here, Mohamed demonstrates how a story can be made better, not worse, by taking time to flesh out its setting and letting readers luxuriate in the (darkly gorgeous) details rather than rush through plot points at full speed. I've rarely seen Death, culture, or a culture of death portrayed so well in fiction.
One Message Remains, to be released on February 11 this year, is one of LitHub.com’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025—and rightly so. There's no better time for thoughtful writing on imperialism and colonialism, and there's no bad time to immerse oneself in excellently crafted worlds and writing. I unreservedly give this collection a full five stars and will continue to look forward to more releases from Mohamed. I'll publish a more in-depth analysis shortly after this collection is released.
February 16, 2025
I’ve been looking forward to this collection since Alix E Harrow listed it on her “books to look forward to in 2025” and oh my goodness it didn’t disappoint. The atmosphere of each story, the creeping dread, the hinted at magics and glimpsed lores… they were all so excellently done. I love the concept of collections like these, too, where each story takes place in the same world with some of the same story elements, but entirely different characters and styles and perspectives.
The CWs are pretty intense and these stories do, at their core, depict a war zone. But the author does such an incredible job of bringing humanity and faces and names and backstories to that term; the war is omnipresent, and it is actively discussed, but ultimately it’s the individuals and their stories that remain the most memorable.
And I don’t think I’ve ever been as thoroughly drawn in to the world of a short story as I was with the last story in this collection. It left me literally speechless. It was as if all the instruments that had been tuning the entire previous 175 pages began to play all at once and I just sat there at the edge of my seat, riveted by the spectacle. The entire collection is excellent, but the final story is an absolute masterpiece and well worth reading the others to shed light on other aspects of this world.
The CWs are pretty intense and these stories do, at their core, depict a war zone. But the author does such an incredible job of bringing humanity and faces and names and backstories to that term; the war is omnipresent, and it is actively discussed, but ultimately it’s the individuals and their stories that remain the most memorable.
And I don’t think I’ve ever been as thoroughly drawn in to the world of a short story as I was with the last story in this collection. It left me literally speechless. It was as if all the instruments that had been tuning the entire previous 175 pages began to play all at once and I just sat there at the edge of my seat, riveted by the spectacle. The entire collection is excellent, but the final story is an absolute masterpiece and well worth reading the others to shed light on other aspects of this world.
May 29, 2025
I received a free copy of this book as part of a Strong Women, Strange Worlds giveaway. This did not affect my review.
One Message Remains is a series of short stories, along with the title novella, set around an empire constantly at war. Mohamed examines colonialism and PTSD directly alongside mercy, holding onto culture and tradition, and humans forming bonds in the face of all of it.
It would be easy for these stories to sink into pure horror and despair. And there is horror in the traditional and human level. The empire is a monster in the normal sense, but there’s also possession and gallows made of bones.
But somehow there’s hope in each story and it feels earned, which is a stunning accomplishment. There’s a slow sense of defiance and the characters make choices in the micro level which may eventually have a macro effect.
It’s a stunning read and I’ll be thinking on this collection for a long time.
One Message Remains is a series of short stories, along with the title novella, set around an empire constantly at war. Mohamed examines colonialism and PTSD directly alongside mercy, holding onto culture and tradition, and humans forming bonds in the face of all of it.
It would be easy for these stories to sink into pure horror and despair. And there is horror in the traditional and human level. The empire is a monster in the normal sense, but there’s also possession and gallows made of bones.
But somehow there’s hope in each story and it feels earned, which is a stunning accomplishment. There’s a slow sense of defiance and the characters make choices in the micro level which may eventually have a macro effect.
It’s a stunning read and I’ll be thinking on this collection for a long time.
May 18, 2025
Damn. This collection started off REALLY strong - the first story of 4, which is also the longest about 50% of the book, was impeccable. The creeping dread as our protagonist is taken over by the ghosts of people he's "recovered" kept me glued to the page.
Unfortunately, each successive story was worse than the previous. They became less concrete, less detailed, and less compelling. The family that makes executioner platforms made of bones was an interesting idea with only a little follow through. From there I was left reading the last two stories and wondering if they'd been included by mistake.
Premee Mohamed is a very strong writer, but this collection was definitely a let down. Still would highly recommend the first story in it though.
Unfortunately, each successive story was worse than the previous. They became less concrete, less detailed, and less compelling. The family that makes executioner platforms made of bones was an interesting idea with only a little follow through. From there I was left reading the last two stories and wondering if they'd been included by mistake.
Premee Mohamed is a very strong writer, but this collection was definitely a let down. Still would highly recommend the first story in it though.
February 11, 2025
An excellent collection with one novella and three short stories all based around the ever expanding and ruthless Treotan empire. It’s explored themes of colonisation, resistance and morality and each story holds it own but together create something special and something to say for this age as well
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
April 28, 2025
Admittedly, I am a huge sucker for just about everything that Ms. Mohamed writes these days, but this collection of four intertwined (I believe in the same setting and the same general timeline) stories really gets to fuck with the funness of a given culture assuming that their way is the right way, harm reduction while sticking to horrific guidelines, and death in general. Eerie, and a gorgeous read over a weekend.
October 5, 2025
Dark and gritty, but with a sly sense of humor, and a cutting social critique of Colonialism and militarism. The authors ability to deftly draw multifaceted characters saves the stories from being didactic, and a deep sense of the untold history of the lands resonates throughout.
July 4, 2025
Gorgeous, provocative, and evocative as Ms. Mohamed's work always is. One Message Remains is my favorite piece in this collection, but they're all lovely.
February 10, 2025
This is collection of Novellas and Novelettes that take place in the same world but don’t necessarily overlap in events or characters. It is Fantasy that is sort of written like a thriller and I’m living for it. The suspense, the eerie vibes, and the unpredictable magic system just sucked me in. Premee Mohamed is an incredible author. I knew after reading her book A Butcher in the Forest but this absolutely solidified it.
I also really enjoyed the commentary on “Us versus Them” and how we ‘other’ different cultures and beliefs than our own. Really makes you think about your beliefs an why you think the way you do.
I also really enjoyed the commentary on “Us versus Them” and how we ‘other’ different cultures and beliefs than our own. Really makes you think about your beliefs an why you think the way you do.
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