SYNOPSIS
ENTER THE FUNGALVERSE. BEAT THE WINTER BLUES. Blade Runner, True Detective and District 9 meld with the weird worlds of Jeff VanderMeer, Philip K. Dick and China Miéville in Adrian M. Gibson’s hallucinatory, fungalpunk noir debut.
Two years after a devastating defeat in the decade-long Spore War, the island nation of Hōppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. Its fungal citizens are in dire straits, wracked by food shortages, poverty and an influx of war refugees. Even worse, the corrupt occupiers exploit their power, hounding the native population.
As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann begrudgingly partners up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders of fungal and half-breed children. Their investigation drags them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, one brimming with colonizers, criminal gangs, racial division and moral decay.
In order to solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace fungal ways. What she and Nameko uncover in the midst of this frigid wasteland will chill them to the core, but will they make it through the storm alive?
REVIEW
Complex, scary, funny and full of twists of turns, Mushroom Blues is an unpredictable mystery set in one of the most unique worlds I’ve ever visited.
The world building in this novel is truly something to behold. Adrian Gibson’s love for mushrooms and his knowledge about them really shows and his imagination is on full display. The story takes place on an island that was originally home to the Hopponese, a race of fungal people, but has been occupied by humans. Like many occupations in our history, tensions are high and racism is rampant. The fungal people are one of the most unique fantasy races I’ve had the pleasure of reading about. The way fungus and mushrooms operate in our world is already borderline magic, incorporating that into a bipedal race makes for a welcome addition to the pantheon of fantasy “creatures”.
People are often afraid of what they don’t understand and our protagonist, Henrietta Hofmann, is terrified of the Hopponese. So when she’s partnered with the first Hopponese to join the police force on a case of murdered fungal children, you can imagine she isn’t exactly pleased. As their partnership goes on, will exposure to this culture soften Hofmann, or only confirm her worst fears?
Hofmann’s personal journey is the heart of this story. A washed up detective with a tragic backstory, Hofmann is at rock bottom. But this case will change everything for her, making her challenge her past and confront her future. We’re with her every step of the way as she grapples with what she thought was true and what she’s witnessed. Are the Hopponese truly evil, or just different? Will she find a way to relate with them and, more importantly, will she accept it? Seeing her grow and learn about this world is one of the best parts of this novel.
But this isn’t all personal journeys and growth. There is a murder to be solved and conspiracy to unravel. The investigation is perfectly paced, giving the reader information slowly and as needed. We see parts of the city Hofmann has never seen before so we get to learn about them right alongside her. The more she learns about the city, the more she learns that this murder case may be much more than that. I was right there with Hofmann trying to solve the case and Gibson threw in just enough clues and red herrings to keep me guessing. When all was revealed I could see all the hints laid out leading to that conclusion, but was never ahead of the narrative. Just like a real investigation, all the clues are there if you’re paying attention, but it’s never obvious until the end.
Fascinating world-building, believable and relatable characters, an intricately crafted mystery and a sprinkle of horror make Mushroom Blues an incredible read and Adrian Gibson an author to watch. A debut written like he’s been doing it for decades, this novel kept me engaged the whole way through and thinking about it long after the final page. Mushroom Blues is an imaginative and gripping entry point to The Fungalverse, and I can’t wait to visit again.
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