Mountains Cleaved, Sky Asunder

by Samiha Hoque

On a dying continent, shapeshifting dragons known as Darkhan reign supreme.

Zahra's life is defined by Mahj, the darkhan who helped raise her after her parents' death, and Kamar, her older brother, who maintains their farm and resents the darkhan's control.

Everything Zahra knows is upended when two darkhan ransack the farm, and Kamar goes missing in a town fire. Mahj offers her the choice to become a paladin for the darkhan, knowing her older brother despises them, or join the rebels for a cause she doesn't believe in.

As she grapples with the loss of her brother, Zahra unravels the truth of the world—the civil war, her parents' death, the dying planet—but only if she can survive it first.

304 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 2, 2027

About the author

Samiha Hoque is a Bangladeshi American author, environmentalist, and co-founder of the independent press, Shaherazad Shelves. She is a two time Climate Justice Fellow for the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CEEJH) and holds a B.S. in the Earth and Environmental Sciences with an English minor. Samiha is the author of the picture books A Country of Beautiful People (2023) and Brave Is the Tiger (2026), both of which are inspired by her Muslim Bengali upbringing. Her debut novel, Slums of Paradise, was selected as a She Writes Press STEP winner and explores the intertwining nature of immigration, marriage, and politics in Bangladesh. Samiha's essays have won the Dean Myrtle Saxon-Jacobson Award in Expository Prose and were nominated for the 2021 Brooklyn Non Fiction Prize.

She is the sixth of seven children and thanks God for the kind neighbors, dedicated relatives, and the hard work of her imperfect hafiz father and flawed salihin mother for having gotten her this far. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she now lives with her extremely outdoorsy and romantic husband in Delaware.

Samiha considers herself one hundred percent Bangladeshi, despite not being born there, and equally American.

Reviews

[Arlo Quinn]

I actually really enjoyed this book. Everything about it was written really well. There were a few typos, but it wasn't anything bad that would detract from the overall pleasure of reading the story. The character development and interactions I really liked. Was initially displeased with Velare's attitude to start with but he mellowed out pretty quickly and I grew to like him.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kaitlyn Raasveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. This was such a good read. Zahra is wonderful. She’s brave and strong and she’s been though so much and even after losing her brother she still goes on. I adore everything about this, and i am so glad that i tried it out. Definitely a must read.