Mushroom Blues

"A fascinating merging of oppressive imperialism and disconcerting alienation."--Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of Children of Time, Alien Clay & Shards of Earth

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 award-winning fungalpunk noir debut, now with a foreword from acclaimed author Nicholas Eames and six pieces of original interior artwork in this ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION.

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?

Winner of the FanFiAddict Award for Best Indie Debut and the Literary Titan Gold Book Award. SPFBO X, Indie Ink Award, American Writing Award and Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist.

"This is like nothing I've read before. Its premise is cool, creepy, and incredibly unique, bolstered by prose as savvy and knife-sharp as the detectives of the NKPD."--Nicholas Eames, award-winning author of Kings of the Wyld & Bloody Rose

"This is more than a full-throttle, mushroom-and-blood-drenched adventure. At its heart, Gibson's story is one of acceptance: of hard truths, of others, and, perhaps most critically, of oneself."--M. J. Kuhn, internationally bestselling author of Among Thieves & Thick as Thieves

"Dark, dank, and deeply fungal. Gibson tackles the hard topics of xenophobia, oppression, and heinous crimes against society's most vulnerable with unflinching prose."--Julia Vee, co-author of Ebony Gate & Blood Jade

"Mushroom Blues is a brilliant debut that encapsulates all I love about the noir mystery genre."--R.R. Virdi, bestselling author of The First Binding & The Doors of Midnight

"The imagination on display in Mushroom Blues is immense. Prepare to enter a fantasy world unlike anything you've ever seen, one that surprises, delights, and grosses the fuck out."--Moses Ose Utomi, award-winning author of The Lies of the Ajungo & The Truth of the Aleke