เจ้าเห็ดน้อย เล่ม 1

Little Mushroom (Novel) #1

by Yi Shi Si Zhou, 一十四洲, อีสือซื่อโจว

เจ้าเห็ดน้อย คือผลงานจากนักเขียนที่ได้รับรางวัลจากสมาคมวรรณกรรมไซไฟจีน เรื่องราวของเจ้าเห็ดน้อยนี้จะพาทุกคนอึ้งและลุ้นไปพร้อมกับสิ่งมหัศจรรย์มากมาย พร้อมเสิร์ฟความแฟนตาซีล้ำยุคถึงมือคุณแล้ววันนี้

Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Dystopia, Queer, Fiction

380 pages, ebook

First published April 21, 2022

About the author

Associated Names:
* 一十四洲 (Chinese)
* Nhất Thập Tứ Châu (Vietnamese)
* อีสือซื่อโจว (Thai)

Reviews

[chai ♡]

I inhaled all 27 chapters of this book in something of a daze and I am now a changed person.

Little Mushroom: Judgment Day, the 1st book in the Little Mushroom duology, follows the story of a sentient little mushroom that gains human form and journeys undetected through a dystopian world in search for his stolen spore—and into the path of the one human who can discover the truth of what he is and kill him for it.

If this sounds unlike anything you’ve ever read—it’s probably because it is. Shisi offers a fearlessly inventive and deliciously bonkers spin on the post-apocalyptic novel that is also downright endearing and a lot of fun along the way. But don’t let the cute exterior fool you—Little Mushroom: Judgment Day packs a hefty punch, achieving more levels of complexity, imagination, and depth than a surface-reading might give it credit for.

This is a story about what it means to survive in a world that perpetually flickers towards extinction. It asks questions central to our very species: what does it do to a person to understand, acutely and with pain, the world’s capacity for violence? Who are we after enduring, when all that’s left of us is so ruthless to survive even when we don’t have the stomach for it?

Dystopia is about things carried to extremes, and Shisi is unafraid to push past the hold of even our most uncomfortable imaginings. The novel’s resounding theme—should human interests be put above all else?—haunts the pages, reminding us that we are all-too-often sustained and consoled by the knowledge that science will always prevail, that survival is inevitable, that collapse is something that happens to other people in far away places. Or that, at the very least, we can always reassemble ourselves in the aftermath of collapse.

It is against this monumental reality of cataclysm that An Zhe’s innocent search for his spore unfolds, and because he’s a literal mushroom, with a rudimentary and naive understanding of good and evil or of what propels humans to do the things they do, there is very little space for the endless self-justifying impulse of “human interest.” In a little mushroom’s rendering of the world, the ugliness—that is to say, all the details of struggle and survival—is stark and unflinching, with nothing to hide behind. What we are ultimately left with is a haunted and haunting portrait of what we do to one another in our desperate grasping to unmake our undoing.

Oh, and this is also a queer love story!

All in all, I’m grateful for the enthusiasm of the several people who suggested this book to me. I signed up for a whipcrack sci-fi romp and got much more than I bargained for—and my reading experience was definitely all the better for it.

[usagi ☆ミ]

Hi everyone!

I served as editor on Little Mushroom V1. I really hope you all enjoy it, as it's become one of my favorite projects of my career so far. He's just a little mushroom, after all.

[ana]

‘I'll just sometimes think about... the choices I made. Just what am I judging, and who will judge me in the end?’

first, a warm and entirely sincere acknowledgment to my buddy reads, who committed to reading this with me and then simply didn’t, and to whom i extend full peace and love from the other side of a completed novel they have yet to open

this is going directly into my top danmei novels. i was turning pages like someone had a gun to my head and experiencing at least twice what can only be described as a minor cardiovascular event in response to plot developments, which i consider a glowing recommendation.

𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

the apocalypse this novel builds is not the standard-issue end-of-the-world backdrop that exists primarily to make the romance feel more urgent. it is a fully realized, internally coherent catastrophe with its own grim logic and a kind of bleak poetry to it, a world where death has stopped being subtle and simply moved in permanently, setting up residence in the wastelands, the supposedly safe zones, the institutional violence of the Arbiters, and the general population of mutated horrors that have replaced the previous ecosystem, every forward movement carrying the reasonable probability of being your last one, the whole atmosphere saturated with despair and stubborn survival instinct and the particular quiet of people who have begun making their peace with things. what makes the novel genuinely distinctive is its choice of perspective, rather than filtering all of this through a seasoned survivor with the appropriate emotional calluses, we experience the apocalypse through An Zhe, a small mushroom, who arrives as the most improbable protagonist imaginable and somehow ends up being the most affecting one, starting out as a largely unbothered observer of human tragedy and gradually, through contact and accumulation, becoming someone who understands things, cares about things, and finds himself entangled in the wreckage of humanity in a way that his original fungal worldview did not remotely prepare him for, which is both very funny in concept and genuinely moving.

𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

Lu Feng, the cold and institutionally feared Arbiter who becomes central to An Zhe’s experience of the world, is the novel’s most carefully maintained ambiguity. a man who has accepted without apparent distress that he is widely regarded as a monster, and yet who keeps doing things that complicate that reading, the novel returning again and again to the question of what he actually is: a villain draped in authority, a person trapped inside a role they didn’t entirely choose, an enforcer so absorbed into a merciless system that the distinction between the man and the machine has genuinely blurred, or simply someone who has been denied the language for wanting connection for so long that he no longer recognizes the wanting.

‘What does he look like?’

‘Like... the aurora, I suppose.’

𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

the relationship between them develops with the patience of something that knows it doesn’t need to rush, built through mistrust and proximity and small moments of unexpected gentleness, each layer complicated by the dynamic between them. the impulse to harm sitting alongside the impulse to protect, cruelty and tenderness sharing the same space without either canceling the other out, producing a love story that feels genuinely precarious in a way that suits the world it inhabits, fragile and desperate and uncertain in exactly the right proportion. the sadness running through the novel is strangely not a heavy one. there is something almost gentle about it, which i partly attribute to An Zhe’s perspective permanently recalibrating the emotional register of everything around him, and partly to the fact that even in a world methodically dismantling any reason for optimism, the novel keeps placing small, real moments of warmth against the darkness, not as cheap consolation but as evidence that the thing people keep reaching for might still be worth reaching for, which is either quietly hopeful or the cruelest thing the novel does.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

overall, the novel is very delightful, and it also has a wonderfully beautiful manhua, which would be bold of you to assume i haven't read already

pre-read:
buddy read with komy, ada, starry and riki :3

[el]

brain chemistry: altered. to unravel such a morally complex homoerotic slowburn against a backdrop of ecological collapse and political strife.....................absolutely delicious. the "non-human experiencing humanity for the first time and learning what it means to love" trope never not hits (and hits HARD) and it is even more stellar and gut-wrenching when that non-human is just a tiny little mushroom intent on honoring the owner of his human body 😭😭😭😭 lu feng is extremely annoying and soooooo hot and cold in book one, however—though i grew to love him nonetheless. MY emotionally repressed serial murdering little meow meow

[Linh]

Re-read 03/23 & 10/23: (Still) One of the best danmei I've had the pleasure of reading. I'd highly recommend Little Mushroom to those who are newer to the genre or maybe getting tired of re-reading the same MXTX series. 😂 I'd also recommend this book to people who like post-apocalyptic settings (for instance, if you enjoyed Fallocaust or Swan Song).

An Zhe = best mushroom. 🍄🍄🍄

Original review 12/22: My thoughts are all over the place, and I'm also halfway through the next book so I don't really feel like stopping to write a review. 😅

I will probably write something more cohesive when I re-read this (which I definitely will).

For now, all I'll say about Little Mushroom is that it is one of the best things I've ever read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[kay! ☾]

If little mushroom has million numbers of fan i am one of them. if little mushroom has ten fans i am one of them. if little mushroom have only one fan and that is me. if little mushroom has no fans, that means i am no more on the earth. if world against the little mushroom, i am against the world.

i love u my little mushroom i love u an zhe i love u an zhe’s spore i love you lu feng i love u all the characters who took one look at lu feng & an zhe and immediately went “…bffr you guys love each other just get together already 🙄”

anyways!! off to go read the second book!! can’t wait for the inevitable heartache to kick in

[noah]

an zhe

i would forfeit all my mortal possessions for an zhe

i give this novel 5 stars purely because i love him.

[hare]

Do not go gentle into that good night

yeah... the book sure did not go gentle on me

My rating is for Xiao's fantastic translation in PFH edition. Do not confuse with any other translations/editions please.

[Laura]

Which version is best: PBH or 7 seas?

I preferred the PBH translation. A lot of fans were upset with 7 seas changing the name of An Zhe to Anzhe but my mind was able to ignore that and treat it as a typo.

However, what I find less forgivable is the fact that 7 seas have chosen to use 'aberrations' instead of the PBH choice of 'xenogenic'. It doesn't sound as cool nor as sci-fi.

Respect for 7 seas though for producing a gorgeous hardcover edition. I'm still obsessed with the sprayed edges. I don't regret purchasing it.

Lu Feng will always be my favourite character. The illustrations in the 7 seas version are truly some of their best.

This is still the best sci-fi danmei I've ever read and a definite must- read.

[Alexandra]

It took me 8 days to finish this book.
First of all, don’t let the cover trick you, this book is dark, dystopian setting, non human MC, monsters, lot of killing, less romance and zero heat. In the other hand it’s not that angsty and mostly sweet with the naive narration of the main character.
The writing was strange for me, the book felt dragged sometimes, and sometimes the side stories are over detailed. I had hard time to connect with the main character. There wasn’t much dialogues and those was awkward sometimes. ButTHE WORLD BUILDING IS PHENOMENAL!! I was ready to dnf but can’t bc I haven’t read anything like this. It is unique and clever and I can see the humanity would react this was in a similar situation. It got 4 stars by me because the the level of the author imagination is outstanding I’m deeply impressed with it.

[Brenda Waworga]

Don’t let the title and cover fool you.. THIS IS NOT A CUTE BOOK OKAY (even tho yes the main character is cute AF) it’s actually quite dark full of monsters and crazy mutant human-plant or human-arthropod and the world is in the edge of ending 😨🫣

Post apocalyptic story is one of the story that I actually love to read and happy to started this book without knowing anything other than it’s danmei and found this book own that story and A REALLY GOOD ONE *heart eyes*

Our main character is a mushroom… yessss a mushroom 🍄 and then he became human because of the blood contamination, An Zhe still has memory and knowledge from his human blood but most of his memory is lost, all he knew he needs to find his spore, something that really important for a mushroom… he then traveled to The Base, the protected cities. To enter one of the city they need to scan everyone so they knew this person is not mutant or infected.. they have this Trial Court with judges who will judge you if you can enter the city or not and also maintain peace in the city, these Judges can kill you immediately if they found out you are infected or a mutant, so our Little Mushroom need to survive this trial in order to get his spore back

We got a lot of action (some even brutal) and crazy adventures in this book and of course that angsty romance between our main lead and main interest Lu Feng… ughhh the feels!! 🥰😍 the plot is really fast and keep you in the edge of your sit!!!! I truly enjoyed my time reading this book it’s a perfect balance between great worldbuilding, plot and romance 😍👍🏼

I highly recommend this book if you love Dystopia genre, M/M angsty cute romance with grumpy sunshine trope, MONSTERS (a lot of Monsters) and fast plot! I personally cannot wait for the second book!!!

You can buy the official English translation from here: https://www.peachflowerhouse.com/mush...

[Brigi]

This book gave me the top tier dystopia I've been craving for years.

It's 2120 and there's few humans left after the Earth's magnetic field failed a hundred years before, leading to terrifying mutations in the flora and fauna. In the Abyss, one of the most affected areas, a little mushroom has been nourished on An Ze, a human who passed away there. This little mushroom takes his shape and gains his knowledge and memories, and is named An Zhe by the human. The little mushroom did that so he could go to the human base and find out what happened to his spore, which had been taken from him.

However, entering the human base is not an easy task: everyone needs to be checked by the Judges, and deemed whether they are truly human. This is where An Zhe meets Lu Feng, the most feared man who is called the Arbiter, and who can kill anyone on sight if he judges them a xenogenetic. Although Lu Feng suspects An Zhe, the genetic tests disprove him, so he has to let An Zhe go.

From then on, I'd describe the book as "An Zhe can't get a break". Everything that can go wrong, it does. And yet, it is not bleak and depressing? I think it's because An Zhe is such a gentle soul. He's just a little mushroom!!! Trying to find his spore!!! and in the meantime acquiring a boyfriend, whom everyone thinks is a hardass but who has such a soft spot of him that it can be seen from space!!! And I think that's the biggest charm of this book, just that there can be gentle, soft feelings in a world that is falling apart.

I cannot wait to read the next book! I just need to know what happens to my little mushroom guy ;__:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

2025 reread: An Zhe... he's just a little mushroom! Reread this so I can finally go for vol 2!

[aria ✧]

“You're just a tiny… little mushroom.”

In the year 2020, Earth's magnetic poles disappeared and humankind was nearly wiped out by cosmic radiation. Within the span of a hundred years, living creatures began to mutate and devour each other while the remaining humans, numbering in the tens of thousands, struggled bitterly in their man-made bases.

In the Abyss, home to the mutated xenogenics, there lived a sentient little mushroom. Because it had been nourished by the blood and flesh of the deceased human An Ze, not only did it take on a similar-looking human form, but a similar name as well: An Zhe.

An Zhe had gained consciousness quite a while back but now with a human appearance, he can go in search of his beloved spore which was taken from him some time ago. But when he arrives at the human base, he gets the attention of the Arbiter, Lu Feng

He was the master of the Trial Court, determining whether each person entering the city was human or xenogenic. He could decide anyone's fate no matter who they were, needing no justification. Now it was his own turn to stand trial.

What follows is An Zhe’s struggle to find his spore against Lu Feng’s attention all while humanity continues to struggle to survive. “Humankind's interests take precedence over all else” and An Zhe bears witness to this as he watches countless people die. Judgement Day has arrived and the Arbiter must bear that weight.

Lu Feng doesn’t have an easy job. In fact, all of his predecessors have gone mad or killed themselves from the enormity of it all. But Lu Feng has held. For seven years he has done it all to keep humanity safe but along the way he lost his family and friends. And then he met An Zhe. His training tells him there’s something off about him but all scientific tests prove otherwise.

An Zhe is just a little mushroom so he must use An Ze’s memories to get by. This means he is not as socially aware as he should be. There are nuances in human relationships and he can’t quite understand when he is being teased (or bullied as he loves to say). It makes for adorable situations, especially with Lu Feng whom he struggles to understand.

Lu Feng reached out with his right hand and ruffled An Zhe's hair.

An Zhe lowered his eyes slightly. The feeling of being patted on the head by the Arbiter was very wondrous. He felt that Lu Feng was now very soft. If it was because his previous words comforted this man, he would feel rather happy.

Thus, he smiled at Lu Feng.

Then he saw Lu Feng's gaze turn malicious, and the fingers that had been patting his head moved downwards and pinched his face.

An Zhe felt that it was better when this man was in a worse mood, because at least then he wouldn't randomly bully others.

They’re so cute.

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. I thought this would be a cute story of a mushroom trying to find his baby but from the first page it was nothing but pain and violence. There’s something about post-apocalyptic stories that scares me. I try to avoid them as it is in these stories that the worst of humankind is displayed but I realised it’s also where the best of humankind can be found.

“Humankind's interests take precedence over all else. It's not kindness to a single person, it's kindness to the fate of all of humankind. This is the source of unwavering conviction.”

[Izabella 🪐]

He had never paid attention to anyone's pleas before, but that one time, he lifted the white cloth covering the corpse to reveal that person's wound.

A person's wavering starts from the first time their heart softens.

Please excuse me while I scream over how wonderful this book was. I’ve legit been reading all day and my eyes are crying for a reprieve but I persevered for An Zhe and Lu Feng.

First of all, the setting. Amazing of course. I am always down for a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting. You know, the type of book that makes me feel dumb as fuck in a way that I love. But the lore, the mutations, the history were all so fascinating.

Then, the plot. Cut the book down to its basic premise; a sentient mushroom takes the form of a human to get his spore back?? Got me giggling it sounds so ridiculous. But no. It’s so much more than that. It’s got adventure. It’s got heartbreaking stories. It’s got learning the nuances and complexities of humanity.

Which leads me into the characters. An Zhe was a great main character. His naïveté, his intelligence, his calm, his curiosity (all because he’s, you know, a mushroom). All makes him so enjoyable to read. And he’s also just so fundamentally good. The mushroom has more decency and humanity than anyone, in the book and in real life. And he’s, you know, a goddamn mushroom.

And Lu Feng was a nice second lead. I’m a sucker for his whole persona of putting on a facade of a cold, heartless guy. When in reality the guy is just trying to protect people and do his job. And he’s actually a ruthless, annoying little brat (towards An Zhe) in an affectionate way, which I love.

And so of course, the romance. Slow burn and secondary to the plot? Oh yeah, that’s my jam. It’s so adorable. And all those little moments make me wanna die, because. It’s. Just. So. Cute. The way An Zhe was the only person (mushroom?) to see Lu Feng in any capacity other than the cruel Colonel, and is the only one to not blame him? Perfect. The fact that An Zhe is the only one to make Lu Feng’s heart soften and waver? Amazing.

They. Are. Everything.

"When the aurora lights up again, the Colonel will return.”

~~~

Reread:

Typically, when I reread something I once enjoyed, I have that lingering fear that the book will not feel the same as the first time. But rereading Little Mushroom I felt no such fears, and I was right to have none because this book still hits. Goodness, my love and enjoyment of this book knows no bounds.

[DesertSkyCacti]

Our main character An Zhe is a mushroom, and he loves to eat mushroom soup. So would that be considered cannibalism?

[hiba]

first of all, this is such a wonderful unique premise - a story about a sentient little mushroom who gains human form amidst an ecological apocalypse and has to learn what it means to be human while watching humankind lose their humanity in a bid to save the world.

i love the themes the author is exploring here - not just the essence of humanity (which is a given for a story with a non-human protagonist) but also what is worth losing in service of the greater good, and what is worth saving: individual people or the collective society? it's so interesting to see how this story unfolds with humankind sacrificing individuals in order to preserve society while slowly losing what makes life worth living in a society in the first place.

and this is all manifested in lu feng, the love interest and the character who embodies the concept of sacrificing for the greater good. not only is he constantly forced to kill people, he seems less human than our mushroom protagonist, an zhe, in that he appears to have killed all emotions within himself too. so of course, it's an zhe who starts to revive the humanity within him (a trope i do love to see in romance).

unfortunately, while i love the themes and find the two main characters fascinating, i can't look past the glaring faults of this book. the translation is just not good - and i'm wording this politely. full of odd, choppy sentences and dialogues that don't flow well at all - it made for a difficult reading experience that sadly hampered my enjoyment of the story. with sentences like "an zhe astutely picked up on the opportunity and seized the opportunity to ask...", it's obvious this book desperately needed several more rounds of editing. it's a shame because it's not the original author's fault and i wish i could properly experience this story like it was meant to be (also i've liked lower quality fan translated works before, i just had higher expectations from an officially published translation).

plus, i felt that this volume is severely lacking in emotions. not to say you can't have two emotionally repressed main characters, but then the writing needs to be skilled enough to really draw out the underlying emotional subtleties in a way that impacts the reader, the lack of which could be due to the poor translation. i was also disappointed by the absence of prominent side characters - so far the side characters in this volume are just plot devices rather than actual characters. all this resulted in me only being distantly interested in the story and not really emotionally connecting to it. hopefully this changes in the second volume.

[Nel]

At first I was like a mushroom with only one spore?? This doesn't make sense. But then I was like, that's also kinda cute, I guess.
For a setting where individual human life is not worth much and people get shot dead on a regular basis, this story is strangely wholesome. I think it deserves all the accolades.

ps if lu feng ever writes his memoirs it should be called how i met my MILF: the mushroom i'd like to f-

[reverie]

i was going to eat mushrooms with my dinner tonight but now i don't think i can do it

[Reads With Rachel]

VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/733VaQzvJWg

[Queens Love Books]

“I always forget that safety is fleeting, while danger is eternal. We are not entitled to live—the chance is a blessing.”

Before I even get into the story, I have to talk about how much I looove the physical book! I already have the PFH version of Little Mushroom, and honestly, I never loved that cover. This one is so much more my style. Ruthie absolutely killed it with the cover art, and I love the dust jacket and the interior too. Everything about the design just looks so good to me. I also want to say something about the translation discussion that happened before this was released. I know some danmei fans decided not to buy this edition because of the translation choices, and I think that’s completely fair. Some things are going to be a really big deal for some people and not as big of a deal for others. I don’t think either side needs to be judged for their decision. I don’t speak or read Chinese, and I’m not someone who follows Chinese language discussions closely, so I can only talk about this from my experience reading the English editions. I saw some of the discussions before release, and I was honestly a little skeptical going into this. I still decided to buy it, and I ended up not regretting it.

Since this is the second official English publication, I couldn’t help comparing it to my PFH copy while I was reading. The actual story, character actions, and themes are the same, but the reading experience feels slightly different enough that I noticed it pretty quickly. The Seven Seas version has 44 chapters in this volume, while the PFH version has 27. My guess is that PFH condensed some of the shorter chapters while Seven Seas kept more of the original chapter structure, but I haven’t had time to actually look into that, so take that as just my observation. There are also a lot of little terms and name changes. “Arbiter” and “Judge” are used differently, Lu Feng is called “The Judge,” “Xenogenics” becomes “Aberrations,” and the PFH line “Humankind’s interests take precedence over all else” becomes “Humankind First.” And then there’s An Zhe becoming Anzhe, which I know caused a lot of discussion. I was also caught off guard by some of the other name changes, like Hosen to Hawthorne, Josh to George, and Seraing to Seran. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read two English translations of the same story where some character names changed this much. When I compared the actual writing, I noticed that PFH feels more direct and straightforward to me, while Seven Seas has longer and more elaborate sentences. PFH feels more restrained, while Seven Seas feels like it is trying harder to pull me into the setting and make everything feel bigger and more vivid.

And honestly, I ended up really liking this translation. I can’t speak for how accurate it is to the Chinese because I simply don’t have that knowledge, and I completely understand why someone who does might feel differently about some of the choices. I’m only talking about how it felt for me as I was actually sitting down and reading it. Once I got into it, I really like the way Seven Seas handled the bleakness of this world. Anzhe is such a strange and lovable protagonist because he sees things with this innocent, almost uncomplicated perspective, while everything around him is so harsh and terrifying. I really enjoyed that contrast, especially with Lu Feng, because there’s this constant feeling that Anzhe is standing next to someone who could completely destroy him if he wanted to. The story takes its time getting everything in place, so I definitely had moments where I felt the pacing was a little slow, but I still enjoyed being back in this world. I’ve read multiple versions of Little Mushroom, so there wasn’t really anything here that surprised me, but I still found myself enjoying the differences between editions. It actually made this feel like a different reading experience instead of just reading the exact same book again. I think that’s probably why I’m rating it the way I do. I was worried I wouldn’t like the translation as much as I liked PFH, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It’s different, but for me, different worked this time which is completely different from my experience with Golden Terrace (I like the PFH version better).

Date Read: 2024.08.21 (PFH Version)
Re-read: 2026.08.22

[K.C. ·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·]

Oh my god. Where do I even start!!! I loved this. Like absolutely LOVED THIS.

An Zheeee… he’s so fucking adorable man. I got such severe cuteness aggression the whole time. I just wanted to squeeze him. I was so enthralled reading about him learning how to be human 😭 I want the absolute best for my boy.

I’m also suupeerr intrigued by Lu Feng, I’m really looking forward to learning more about him. I have some vague ideas about why he’s this way, but I’m still looking forward to actually getting the full story behind him.

And oh my god, the development of their relationship is just TOO GOOD.

And the ENDING!!!!



Finally!!! I was so fucking happy An Zhe got his little spire back. I was kicking my feet throughout that whole scene. It was absolutely perfect! The best reunion by far. I’m starting the next one immediately. I’ve officially unlocked a new obsession

[灰]

"When the aurora lights up again, the Colonel will return."

IM NOT SOBBING YOU ARE ♡o(╥﹏╥)o ♥♡

Please come back Lu Feng…

[Kate]

This might be the best Danmei I’ve ever read. I’m gnawing on the bars of my enclosure OVER A LITERAL MUSHROOM.

THE PREMISE: a sentient mushroom absorbs the life force of a human, and travels through a dystopian land of monsters and mutants to get to the human base and get his spore back. But he keeps finding himself in the orbit of the base’s most merciless protector, the same person his spore keeps trying to get to.

TROPES & VIBES:
- Dystopian future sci-fi
- Two autistic bbs
- Beautiful writing
- Character experiencing humanity for the first time
- One bed trope
- Slowwwwburn. It’s all *I have an urge to protect you* and *for some reason I keep reaching out to grab your sleeve for comfort*

[ada ✮]

buddy read with gang 🙏🙏

[彡]

the world *literally collapsing*
humanity *dying and getting infected*
an zhe: PERFECT TIME TO GET MY SPORE!!

[daph pink ♡]

3 little mushrooms

"Humankind's interests take precedence over all else. It's not kindness to a single person, it's kindness to the fate of all of humankind. This is the source of unwavering conviction"

First of all, the concept is really original and captivating. This cute little mushroom has taken on human form and is now exploring this post-apocalyptic planet to discover the purpose of life and how people adapt to survive.

This is entirely my fault; although I'm not a huge lover of science fiction, I wanted to give it a shot because I adore Damei and it had a great rating. Nevertheless, I wasn't happy with the outcome.

I'm relieved that the pace is quick and simple to follow because I was feeling disconnected at times. I just couldn't get into this book.

However, I really want to discuss the incredible worldbuilding and the attention to detail that went into the post-apocalyptic world and how everything works. It's as though our MC An Zhe and we, the readers, are going through this together.

I don't want to say too much about the characters because I didn't find it interesting or have a connection to any of them. An Zhe is incredibly sweet and pure, while Lu Feng is a highly interesting character. Even though I'm not a huge science fiction lover, I feel like this one has truly given me a whole new perspective.

Looking forward to the next volume.

[Ray]

YALL THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. RAAAAAAR. In Robert's words, mhm love gay dystopian scifi. And while, historically, I've not been a scifi lover, THIS ONE WAS SO GOOD. I love how the story was driven and i felt really connected to An Zhe. I'm so curious to see where we go next based on the events of the ending and I'm curious to see how seven seas handles this title when they release their version.

[Teru]

This is probably the strangest, most unique story I've ever read. It's a sci-fi dystopian danmei novel following An Zhe, a little mushroom that took on a human form to go to one of the last human bases to find his stolen spore. Now tell me that doesn't sound utterly bizarre 👀

The writing is nothing spectacular. I don't know if the translation makes it so clunky and weird, but it took me a while to get used to. Even the constant use of exclamation marks outside the dialogue was throwing me off. On the other hand, it's strangely cinematic - I could easily picture everything (it was almost like I was watching an anime version in my mind). And some passages were so beautifully written that they took me by surprise. The pacing was all over the place at times but I didn't feel confused and I count that as a victory 😅

The worldbuilding is the strongest aspect, it was captivating. Even though I'm not usually a fan of sci-fi dystopian stories, I was hooked from the start, and it kept getting better and better. Yes, there are plot holes but you know what, I was happily jumping right over them 🐸

An Zhe himself...awwww 🥰🥰 I've come to adore our little mushroom, he's so damn precious. Since we follow the story through his eyes, most things seem to be happening at an emotional distance because An Zhe isn't inherently human, he isn't burdened by a myriad of deep emotions or society's moral codes. As a result, he seems so very pure and naive and I love him for it.

And then there is Lu Feng 😳 Our talk, dark and handsome Colonel, one of the top dogs in the human base. Of course, he's the coldest son of a bitch out there. And of course, he's a bit taken with our little mushroom, his cold exterior melting juuust a tiny little bit at times 🤭 I'm a basic bitch because I ate this dynamic up, all those small interactions made me giggle so much.

By no means should you go into this purely for the romance plot, though! Because it really doesn't feel romantic, there are just hints and crumbs of fondness and gentleness between An Zhe and Lu Feng. It's just that I love going feral over such crumbs 😅🥰

Can't wait to read the sequel ❤️

[rory (jess' version)]

09/14/23:

"6.19: Judgement Day, countless dead."

i devoted the whole day to devouring this book, and it did not disappoint me! 

i've been wanting to read this since forever, and the moment the desire to read this occurred to me, i immediately grabbed it and looked where it got me—finishing it within a day LMAO

this is my first time (i think?) that i've read an interspecies romance between an unusually calm, kindhearted simpleton mushroom (he's just a tiny little mushroom !!) which can shapeshift into a human, and an aloof, dreaded judge, the arbriter, who has the blood of a thousand people on his hands. it's actually really intriguing to read from an zhe's pov because of his indifference, his out-of-touch empathy towards his environment, and his slow adaptation to being a human, especially the human feelings foreign to a mushroom like him (the only thing he knows that seems closer to feelings is the instinct for survival of himself and his spore). i also liked the fact that he seemed like a bystander watching the destruction of the earth unfold in front of him, like what dr. ji said. well, given that he's not human after all, he will definitely feel that he's not part of the present and will just go with the flow.

on the other hand, I LOVE HOW LU FENG ALWAYS TEASES AN ZHENG ! and the way they both got closer and unofficially deemed each other "friends". i can't wait for their romance to bloom <3

01/28/25: still one of the best danmei i've ever read

[grayi ♡]

This book is everything I've been looking for.

A dystopian world, action packed from the very first page till the last one. An interesting plot, full of twists and turns. Endearing and well-build characters, the genuine sweet moments they share.

And An Zhe. I would do anything for An Zhe. Someone needs to give him all the potato soup of the world right now.