A review by morebedsidebooks
Little Mushroom: Judgment Day by Shisi

dark emotional sad
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

 At least when God judged the common people, good and evil were His basis for doing so. In front of the Trial Court, however, some people had done nothing at all but had to face death.

The night deepened, and the boundless sound of wind came from afar, resembling distant ocean tides.



Little Mushroom by Shisi had me at the words: human doppelganger sentient little mushroom. 

This dark dystopian danmei sci-fi novel series follows one xenogenic little mushroom on a quest while humanity precariously hangs in the balance. Over a hundred years since the Earth’s magnetic poles collapsed in 2020 throwing the world in to devastation, humanity clings to life in two great base cities protected from the savage Abyss of the outside. In the nightmare landscape of deadly monstrous mutations one little mushroom after absorbing the DNA and memories of a dying young man named An Ze becomes An Zhe. A mutation that allows An Zhe to go to the human’s Northern Base in search of his lost spore that was collected as a sample. Still, he must adapt quickly to the unfamiliar environment and society as militarian rule and justice prevails. And one of the most powerful and deadly men, Arbiter Colonel Lu Feng from the moment An Zhe arrives at the base gates takes a special interest. 

First serialized in 2019 on JJWXC and the Silver Award Winner at the 12th Chinese Nebula (Xingyun) Awards for Best Novel, Little Mushroom reflects both the brutality of nature and humankind. With a tagline “Until the day humanity falls” it is not a series for the faint of heart. Or the entomophobic. Although a title that can absolutely make one’s heart fall for it in little details and as characters cling to something amongst the lugubrious upending chaos. 

The series translated to English by Xiao with the two volumes’ secondary titles Judgement Day and Revelations marks the fourth release by Peach Flower House. The latter a Californian indie publisher to watch as the danmei genre garners growing official attention overseas. If you’re already familiar with Little Mushroom’s author, Yīshísì Zhōu requested for the English edition to shorten the pen name to Shisi and gave short interview too. Do check out the first chapter sample from the English publisher’s website as well. 

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