Review: Mushroom Blues (The Hofmann Report #1) by Adrian M. Gibson

Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis

ENTER THE FUNGALVERSE. CONQUER THE WINTERBLUE.

Blade Runner, True Detective and District 9 collide with the strange 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 decades-long Spore War, the island nation of Hōppon and its capital Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. The fungus citizens are in dire straits, ravaged by food shortages, poverty, and an influx of war refugees. Worse still, the corrupt occupiers abuse their power and hunt down the native population.

As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann reluctantly teams up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders of mold and half-breed children. Their investigation takes them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, a city of colonists, criminal gangs, racial divisions and moral decay.

To solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace her moldiness. What she and Nameko discover in this icy wasteland will chill them to their core, but will they survive the storm alive?

Judgement

Wow, what a bloody amazing debut from Adrian M. Gibson. It was such an absolute trip to dive into his fungalverse, a world so dark yet so colorful and fungadelic, I was absolutely captivated and mesmerized by the world he created in this sci-fi detective noir tale.

Mushroom Blues is the first book in a new series, The Hofmann Report, and let me tell you, it’s one of those books that you know you’re going to love from start to finish. From the very first page, you’re gripped by a very dark murder case.

This was such an engaging read and a joy to read. The world building was fantastic. A world literally made up of fungi, molds and fruiting bodies. The characters are amazingly brilliant, a race of fungi oppressed by their human invaders. Homicide detective Henrietta Hofmann, our main character, is such an engaging character put through the mill. You can’t help but feel and experience all her pain and fear throughout the book.

Adrian M. Gibson’s prose is so good and his writing style had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation several times, not knowing what would happen next or what was around the corner. The author is not afraid to deal with everyday obstacles such as racism, hatred, religion, oppression, murder, and war crimes and weaves them beautifully into his story.

In this story, NKPD Detective Henrietta Hofmann is exiled from her homeland to the island of Hōppon and its capital Neo Kinoko, following her divorce and the death of her daughter.

Detective Hofmann is sent to investigate after a mold child is found murdered and mutilated. She is forced to work against her will with a mold agent, Koji. They must both unmask 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 mold spore explosion.

If you like books that are action packed, suspense filled, vividly creepy or just something new to read, look no further than Mushroom Blues. You won’t regret it. I highly recommend it.