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 dark, 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
Wow, what a bloody amazing debut by Adrian M. Gibson. It was such an absolute trip delving into his fungalverse, a world so dark yet so colourful and fungadelic, I was absolutely captivated and mesmerised by the world he has created in this sci-fi detective noir story.
Mushroom Blues is the first book in a new series, The Hofmann Report, and let me tell you, it is one of those books that you know you are going love from start to finish, from the very first page you are grabbed by the scruff of the neck into very dark murder case.
This was such a captivating read and a pleasure to read . The world-building was fantastic. A world literally made of fungal mushrooms, mould, and fruiting bodies. The characters are astonishingly brilliant, a fungal race oppressed by their human invaders. Homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann, our main protagonist, is such a captivating character who is put through the mill. You can’t help but feel and experience all her pain anguish with her throughout the book.
Adrian M. Gibson’s prose are so good and his writing left me on the edge of my seat multiple times with anticipation, not knowing what would happen next or what was around the corner. The author is not afraid to deal with everyday life hurdles such as racism, hate, religion, oppression, murder and war atrocities and has intertwined them into his story beautifully.
In this story, NKPD Homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann has been exiled from her home country to the island nation of Hōppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko after her divorce and the death of her daughter.
Detective Hofmann is put on case after a fungal child is found murdered and mutilated. Teamed up against her will with a fungal cop Koji. They both must uncover the killer, which will lead them down a dark rabbit hole of unimaginable darkness and depravity. The oppressed have had enough, and the city of Neo Kinoko is on the verge of a fungal spore explosion.
If you love your books, action-packed, filled with suspense, vividly creepy, or just something new to read, then look no further than Mushroom Blues. You will not regret it. I very highly recommended.
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