Synopsis:

In the eternal darkness of the fungal realm of Ūmfalla, two women from different worlds form an unlikely bond and use their newfound powers to try and topple an empire.

In Ümfalla, only those with dark-bright eyes can see the way. A Wanderer with a forgotten past and a mechanical-arm named, MĒNA, is one of those few. When she rescues a woman named, RUTHY, who has fallen from Sky Tracer—an abysmal machine that transports stolen children over the dark land to be sacrificed—she is thrust into a fight against the warrior Reapers and magical Weirs for the very existence of the realm. The world-tree of the sunlit realm of Avernus looms large over the Spore Cloud that shrouds Ümfalla in eternal darkness. Through secrets and deception, RUTHY reveals that she is actually ARETHŪSA, the new Ruler of Avernus who can speak through the mycelium beneath the earth and directly to the Goddess who sleeps within the world-tree.

Review:

When I heard this book was a fantasy tale with a realm of mushrooms, my ecology brain was very excited. The entire world that the author created for this book was so unique, unlike anything I’ve read before (and that’s including places we saw other than Ūmfalla too). I don’t want to explain it too much, because half of the joy of reading this book is in discovering and experiencing the setting for yourself.

When the story opens we are introduced to our two main characters. We have Mēna, a lone warrior with a very cool mechanical arm, and Ruthy, who has fallen from the sky into the fungal realm below. Sometimes you love these women, and sometimes you don’t and I think that is a good marker of well-realised characters.
As they progress through the story we learn that they and everyone they meet keep many secrets and these are revealed to us as we go. There were many twists and turns and the stakes mount higher with each one. I never knew what was going to happen next – I couldn’t even fathom guesses, but it was a wild ride in the best way.

The plot, as you could probably guess, is complex, layered and twisty. The writing style can be described as Tolkienesque – it’s very descriptive and combined with the complexity of the plot can leave you confused at times. But the more you read, the clearer things become as certain facts come to light, and I ended up flying through the second half of the story as things really heated up!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was so unique, and the characters were very strongly written. The plot progressed in a really satisfying way and I am very eager to see where the story goes next.

My thanks to the author for providing me with a copy for review.