Synopsis:
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:
As a lifelong fan of science fiction who also enjoys crime thrillers and mysteries on occasion, Mushroom Blues was the perfect fit for me. Not only does it have a great storyline, but it has some memorable characters and a good dose of original worldbuilding too.
Anyway, let’s talk about the two main characters first. They’re both detectives; Henrietta is human and has a bit of a checkered past, while Koji is a fungal. There is a lot of tension between the humans and fungals, and deep-rooted prejudices on both sides. Needless to say, they’re an unlikely pairing.
Henrietta is the narrator of this book, and I didn’t like her much at first. The humans in this book look down on the fungals, thinking themselves better, when in actuality, they’re just mean-spirited aggressors with too much power. Henrietta is no exception and…sometimes reading her thoughts about them made me cringe. Her attitude is pretty awful—and it extends to her partner, Koji.
I felt bad for Koji. He is in a difficult position as a member of the police force (a traditionally human institution.) His people think he’s sold out, though he joined the force in order to help them—and for other reasons that I won’t go into here. Every single human he encounters is condescending and rude, when they aren’t downright awful. No one wants to work with him, no one listens to him, and he’s only assigned to Henrietta’s case because their superiors demanded it. He has a rough go of it.
I kept hoping Henrietta would realize how she was acting and change. A big part of the storyline revolves around the cultural biases and stigma between humans and fungals, and even though it’s completely fictional, it was tough to read some parts. Her thoughts regarding fungals were pretty awful, especially at the start (but I’m happy to report she does get better later in the book, so just keep reading!)
What I enjoyed most about this book was the worldbuilding. It’s set in a modern-ish world, with many of the same features and technology we have now. The big difference is the incorporation of so many fungal-derived items; buildings comprised of mycelium, lights powered by bioluminescence, guns that fire spore-derived projectiles… It was incredibly creative and pretty damned cool.
The world also felt lived-in, with a number of fascinating aspects that, as a microbiologist, I was really excited to uncover. Some of the features of the fungal people are derived loosely from real-world science, like their sensing ability. Not everything in the story is based in science, but since this is a work of fiction, I didn’t expect it to be. The little details that were though? Those made my day.
I could go on for another page or so, but I think I’ve said enough. Mushroom Blues is a great book, so why not check it out?
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