GRAVEYARD SHIFT - M.L. Rio

3.5 stars

Divorce yourself from the idea that this author is the same one who wrote If We Were Villains—the writing feels like her, but that constant comparison is going to make you dislike this slim novella.

I enjoyed this micro slice-of-life into 5 interesting peoples’ lives and their weird crossed paths. Extremely well written, wry, and emotionally complex while maintaining a distanced third person POV in a way that I always personally appreciate.

It was with less enjoyment that I came to terms with the fact that we’re still, for some reason, culturally stuck on the mycelium horror landscape that has been so thoroughly covered by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, T Kingfisher, and others. I am tired of that concept and wish it was done with more nuance / new elements.

Already anticipating the next from ML Rio. (But please, let’s retire the fungus for a bit.)