It’s not a gentle rain that falleth from the heavens here, and it definitely isn’t merciful. Fireman Jim Noble in St. Johns, Newfoundland finds that out when he comes across an accident scene where a car plowed into a building. The driver’s skull is oddly deformed, his bloody is watery and brown colored. His bones are an odd color, his skin covered by red welts.

In many ways, this is a similar story to Meikle’s The Creeping Kelp. Both use Lovecraftian elements. Both feature a biological menace that threatens human life on Earth though here far more of the ecosystem is in danger than just homo sapiens. In both, Meikle uses material from others of his stories though here that is only a bit from one of Meikle’s Carnacki pasiches that I haven’t read.

Meikle describes this as a “wee homage” to John Wyndam, H. P. Lovecraft, and William Hope Hodgson.

The ChiComs have been genetically experimenting on turning some of the mushrooms from the “high plains of Leng” into a food source. But a decidedly unserendipitous combining of that with nuclear weapon testing produced a fungal menace that threatens the world. That combination brings to mind John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids whose killer plants also resulted from weapons testing and biological experimentation.

And both feature a heroic scientist, here the Pakistani mycologist working in St. John’s Newfoundland, the main setting and near Meikle’s current home. Meikle trained as a botanist and did archaeological research involving fungi, so he puts that to good use in giving us details on how that mysterious kingdom of life works.

Both books feature compulsions imposed on characters infested by the menace. Here, those touched by the fungus speak of the Blue Hills, and Jim Noble does want to dance under its influence, but Meikle tones that down from his usual use of that motif.

This book is slightly longer, and Meikle uses the extra space well. Both books feature scenes of widescale death and destruction, but here most of them are not experienced by any of the viewpoint characters (however briefly they’re around) but heard on news reports.

We begin with Noble, a fireman in St. John’s, Newfoundland. (Yes, Scottish ex-pat Meikle has trashed his new Canadian home,) That accident he comes across is not the first in the city, and it won’t be the last. The fungoid menace is going to evolve to far more bizarre manifestations, most plausible.

There are four viewpoint characters: Noble; Rebecca Lovatt, mother of two boys and wife of Shaun; Shaun, a logger out in British Columbia; and Rohit, that mycologist. He’ll develop a relationship with Irene, a woman working in the university cafeteria, since both are trapped inside by the fungal rain and the infected people outside. Noble deals with the chaos and death that follows the fungus showing up in St. Johns but becomes infected himself. Shaun has to make his way back from British Columbia. He finds the earth and forests blighted and human society coming apart.

We end on not quite as triumphant a note as in The Creeping Kelp. Knowledge of how to defeat the menace is gained, but it’s hard won, and not all the characters are going to survive this story.

Generally, I liked this one even better than The Creeping Kelp except I had a quibble with an obvious feature of the fungal menace not playing a crucial role until the end. ( )

I received an advance review copy of this from the publisher Darkfuse in exchange for an impartial review.

I have read quite a few works by William Meikle and I anticipated wrongly on this one. He is a very versatile writer and ranges from serious and thoughtful noir and sci-fi to intentionally campy and fun B-Movie style monster romps, with some really well done homage pieces thrown in for good measure. With the title Fungoid I was expecting something like Quattermass crossed with Nature Gone Wild 60’s or 70’s Sci-Fi Horror.

Well I was partially correct. Fungoid is certainly scary Sci-Fi Horror but it is hardly a romp. Dead serious. Quite scary. I found myself believing the story could happen and I will remember those sinister spore spitting flowers for a long time. Reading it I felt like I did with Shute’s “On The Beach”—namely, that I like these people and they are clearly doomed. Much more about the people than the monsters or even the end of the world,—and this clearly is an apocalyse, this is about what we are willing to do to be with the people that we care about when the world is falling apart even if only for a few minutes.

I found this dark story to be moving and compelling and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys well written sci-fi.

5 stars. ( )

With a pace so rapid it's hard to catch your breath, William Meikle's Fungoid destroys society.

Starting with an oily rain and ending with spore-releasing creatures it's hard to describe, mankind is suddenly struggling to survive. Even though that sounds far-fetched here in my review, in this book it is all too real. That could partly be due to Meikle's history as a biologist. I'm not sure where to attribute the credit, but I can verify the science-y bits in Fungoid sounded plausible to me and they didn't bog down the pace with a bunch of big scientific words.

There were a lot of characters here for such a short novel, but I found myself invested in them and had no trouble following each one to their destiny. I think the changing points of view were a great way to show all the different aspects of the fungi as well as the experiences of different citizens across the country.

Fungoid was a lot of fun and had the fastest pace of anything I've read this year. It moved along and carried this reader right along with it. I may as well have been a spore released from a big fuzzball and blown into the wind for all the control I had putting this book down. Christmas? Who cares? The spores are spreading!

Recommended for fans of fast paced, plague spreading, biological menaces!

You can get your copy here:Fungoid

*Thanks to NetGalley and to Darkfuse for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*



( )

It started with the rain...
How do you escape a biologic, especially one that seems to have a mind of its own?
Beginning from page one, this book takes you through an apocalyptic event that transforms everything. This is a short novel but enjoyable. With a great combination of horror and sci-fi, Dark Fuse rarely disappoints with its choices and this is another to add to your read list with 3.5 of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this from Dark Fuse as part of the readers group program in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Actual rating: 4.5 Stars

Post-apocalyptic stories are, by far, among my favorites to read, perhaps because it's a hypothetical possibility that could still occur in our future. From zombies to biological warfare, many stories offer a new perspective on the end of the world and William Meikle's Fungoid is no different.

Fungoid takes place in Canada and encompasses a wide range of characters and their interactions with one another and other individuals after the apocalypse falls upon the world in the form of a fungal outbreak, only in this case, the fungal epidemic appears to have a mind of its own as it voraciously consumes humanity. Those who manage to survive are left to fend for themselves as they search for a way to overcome their fates when all odds are against them.

Sometimes, a wide range of characters works. Other times, it doesn't. In this case, it does, when says a lot for Meikle's talent as a writer: his characters are well-developed and each possess their own distinct personalities. None of these characters are perfect: they have their own flaws and faults, and, in the true nature of horror, they aren't all good. The portrayal of a villainous character's decline from normality to the ultimate evil is often skipped over in favor of shining the spotlight on the heroes of a story. Meikle's unfortunate villain is spared no detail, and as a reader I was glad to find myself not only bewildered and frustrated by this character, but also found myself feeling sadness and sympathy for them.

The story is extremely fast paced, leaving little room for breathing as you flip through the pages. Given that the book is actually fairly short, it serves as a perfect read for a rainy afternoon inside. There's no shortage of action which is a necessity in a world where many people simply do not have the time to divulge to reading a thick, slower paced book. Meikle's writing is filled with twists and turns, where his characters are given a plausible route of escape or survival, only to find themselves forced to overcome obstacles that threaten to end their very lives.

Fungoid is a definite, must-read for fans of the horror genre, especially if you're looking for a new way of approaching the end of the world.

I would like to thank DarkFuse, William Meikle, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. ( )