TW that is very lightly spoiler-ish for few first chapters of the book:

Spoiler

If I remember correctly, in between the 2nd and 4th chapter, there’s a r*pe scene, though it is aborted before anyone is harmed (well… sorta). The aggressor has very disturbing behavior from the moment he’s introduced as well. But it’s quickly over and he doesn’t show up after this tiny part of the story is done.

—

This is the story of a little mushroom who shapeshifts into a human and tries to find back his spore, which has been stolen. And even though it is dark and bleak, because you’re mainly getting An Zhe POV, who’s just a very kind and somewhat innocent little mushroom, it balances things out a bit.

I didn’t know much about the book except that it was scifi, danmei and about a mushroom. I read about it a very tiny bit while browsing around for other chinese light novel danmei on Goodreads and Novel Updates. I knew it was well beloved and highly praised, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it since I’m not a big scifi girl and the premise seems odd. But it wasn’t super expensive and I’m always there to throw money at chinese official licensing of novel that are not “classics” or “literary”. And from the moment I got it, it was always looking at me like “READ ME, READ ME”.

Very early on, I realized I was completely hooked, to the point where I considered getting the fanslation just to continue reading after I was done with volume 1. Yeah, it was going to be a 5 stars, I had very little doubt about that, even though I don’t hand out these very often. And I bet if you try it, you’ll get obsessed with this story as well.

I haven’t seen many people talk about this book, almost none at all in the book community. And that’s a shame. This book is SO GOOD. I want to scream at everyone to read it. I might get out of my YouTube big unplanned hiatus to do a video on this, even though I have a very very small reach on there.


As for the writing, it’s always a bit hard to judge when it’s a translation of a language you don’t speak. But, for what it’s worth, I think it’s a good translation. There only was one sentence I wasn’t sure about, that might have been overlooked, but it doesn’t hinder the understanding of the whole paragraph, so I’m fine with that in a book of 400 pages. The style is very simple, but it fits with the portrayal of the main character well, which is the main POV.

The romance is a slow burn, but the pace of the story, the action that takes place around the romance part, isn’t slow, at least not in my opinion (but to be fair, I’m usually very tolerant towards slowness, if it fits with the overall vibe of the story).

One thing I will say is that, even though it’s supposed to be in a setting of one of the last bases of humanity, the characters you meet are not necessarily diverse, or it’s not written in a way to make it obvious. There’s one black character in the first few chapters, and that’s about it. That being said, through the names of the characters, one could say it’s not entirely 100% asians either. Except for the 2 main characters, there’s not a whole lot of physical description either, so you can only guess. But there seems to be a whole lot of gayness in this world, or at least, it’s implied in the first half of the book.

As for character development, I would say that maybe An Zhe gets a little less naive the further the plot unfurls, but it takes a very long time, and even at the end, it’s not super clear how aware he is of his own thoughts and feelings towards humans, the base and Lu Feng. But I would say that Lu Feng, even though he’s this super cold and stoic character, has a more notable evolution that is mainly conveyed through his microexpressions, mostly the ones that are detailed whenever An Zhe is involved. He gets somewhat warmer. I would say he even becomes a little less… ruthless.

And I’m a sucker for that. I don’t know what’s so attractive to me in cold, heartless, dangerous characters that somehow, hidden very deep down, have a softness to them, but I dig it so much. So yeah, I like An Zhe and his naivete, but Lu Feng is ma boi.

And what makes these characters so lovable is how perfectly they embodied the trope they represents. Yet An Zhe is not just this innocent, fragile, naive cutie, he’s also a little mushroom. And his mushroom self is not exactly the same as his human self, as the mushroom part of him is craftier, more knowledgeable in a way, and has determination. Lu Feng is cold and detached, but from very early on, you see his softer side in the little things. And I feel like there’s going to be a massive shift in him in the second volume (AND I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IT).

Even though I’m not a big scifi aficionado, here’s what I can still say about it. The book is set on Earth, in a post-apocalyptic human base surrounded by dangerous wilderness where plants, insects and animals have evolved into monsters that can infect human beings. One could say it’s a very typical setting, and it is, but I feel like the whole “magnetic field/solar radiation/mutation of genetic” thing is very clever and so well thought out for this universe the author created.

The scifi part of the book is very thorough, yet it’s never too deep into big science to get someone completely bored out of their mind. It’s just enough to hold the inner coherence and explain why the world is as it is, why the things are set the way they are.

And I would say that the way the world is built (dangerous and unpredictable) drives and informs a lot of the plot twists. But since everything is well constructed and believable, it doesn’t feel forced or like the author is playing God all the time to advance the story (ok, maybe just this one time I’m thinking of, but I was fine with it at that point in the story).

Other than the romance, I would say the main theme of the book is how one copes with very strict rules for the common good, and how individuality is important yet difficult to manage in this kind of setting. I’m pretty sure it’s something that will bloom even more in the second volume. It also deals with personal goals, interpersonal attachment, duty, etc.

I think the second volume might make a more thorough commentary regarding one’s duty, given by some higher power or through a higher goal, and how you can somehow lose your humanity through that even though you still might be doing the “right thing”. It’s been hinted very lightly here and there so far. Under it all, I think there might be a whole “what is really right, what is really wrong” theme as well, somewhat like Heaven Official’s Blessing.

I’m a very political and opinionated person, so I’m interested in this theme somewhat, but it’s not something I seek out much. I’m mainly here for the angst I think, whatever the theme might be. But I’m interested to see where it’s going to go.


All in all, even if you’re not necessarily feeling the premise, the genre, the theme or whatever, I urge you to try it. At least until An Zhe goes to the human base. This book is surprising. I was there for the archetype, “that gay shit” and the vibes. And I think I’m not an easy 5 stars giver, so when I’m saying “READ THIS BOOK”, I mean it girlies!!!

Is this book unique? I think yes and no : it’s archetypes of cinnamon bun and cold yet caring love interest, it’s survival scifi with human bases vs dangerous wilderness etc etc. However, it’s also kinda unpredictable, and I feel like the author takes risks over and over again, and it pays off.

You will enjoy this book if you’re into slow burn romance, apathetic protagonist, cold love interests, devoted love interests, naive protagonist and I bet you might enjoy it as well if you’re into survival, dystopian scifi that deal with genetic mutation and all.