Publication Date: September 2nd, 2025
Paperback. 384 pages.
I see something out there, in the woods. It does not have a face.
They call it the King's Breakfast. One bite and you can understand the full scope of the universe; one bite and you can commune with forgotten gods beyond human comprehension. And it only grows deep in the Pamogo forest, where the trees crowd so tight that the forest floor is pitch black day and night, where rumors of strange cults and disappearing hikers abound. Sarah makes her living growing mushrooms. When a bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix, the lure of the King's Breakfast has her journeying into those vast uncharted woods. Her only guide is the most annoying man in the world, and he's convinced there's no danger. But as they descend deeper, they realize they're not alone. Something is luring them into the heart of the forest, and they must answer its call."
This was weird and f*cked up and messy and occasionally a bit gross and also, somehow, incredibly addicting and a story that I ended up enjoying immensely. It's hard to say exactly why or how I enjoyed this as much as I did, but since that's the entire point of a review, I'll try to describe it to the best of my abilities. Moonflow is a really unique experience that I'm not sure I can adequately prepare you for in one review, but I'll do my best to share some of my thoughts on it.
I am always, always up for a trek through some weird as f*ck forests, so I was on board with Moonflow the minute I read about a trek through the Pamogo Forest in the blurb. There really isn't as much time spent traversing the forest's unnerving depths as I expected, but I was sufficiently satisfied with our experience in the forest. We are specifically following Sarah and her unexpected guide through the forest as Sarah attempts to locate the King's Breakfast, a magic mushroom that has been requested by one of Sarah's clients--one she's sure will lead to a much-needed payday. If it hasn't been mentioned, Sarah's livelihood is built upon harvesting mushrooms and she is exceedingly good at it.
There are a few characters we follow, but I would call Sarah our main protagonist and I genuinely liked her. She's easily relatable and felt very real in how she processed the decidedly strange things she encountered. She also has a great sense of humor that I felt kept things grounded and entertaining, while still allowing for seriousness to run through the story when needed.
We also follow two characters known as the Hell Slut and Skillet, and these were two incredibly unique and unexpected characters, and also two truly fascinating characters. I couldn't look away from their strange journeys and perspectives on things. Skillet is honestly such a ride in herself and I actually felt for her at times with her weird place in her world, though she also has some, uh, very, very questionable aspects of her character that I don't think I could quite get behind. Hell Slut as well had some interesting challenges to grapple with, and I'd say she felt a bit more grounded in reality than Skillet so therefore will likely be more appealing to readers, but it's still an unusual one. I was really fascinated by these characters and how they experienced their own world and interacted with the people around them.
It's a very trippy book, and I, admittedly, don't tend to love reading drug induced experiences because they often feel far too jumbled and disjointed and usually detract from a story's narrative (in my opinion), but Moonflow actually handled the drug aspects incredibly well. I actually found myself intrigued during some of these moments, both with where the symbols lay or what different things could mean (or not mean). There's a surrealness to this book that worked with the at-times dreamlike structure.
The themes are fairly overt overall in this book, but I found that there was some nuance explored that I think made it feel very thought-provoking and well-written. There are obviously themes around cults in this one, and I wouldn't say other themes are spoilers, but I think I'd rather leave the rest of them for readers to explore on their own, as there are some very surprising and interesting aspects to this story that I think are better left explored without prior knowledge.
The author has done an excellent job of creating a world that is startlingly familiar--as it is indeed set in our own real world--and also something that makes you sometimes feel like you're in some other world, albeit a world that feels decidedly drug-induced. It's very crass and therefore this book is absolutely not for the fainthearted, but I think the right reader will be absolutely captivated by this rather grisly tale and find all of its quirks--both the charming and the downright disturbing--something to revel in.
As I've said, I don't think this is going to be a book for everybody, but I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of a trip and who isn't afraid for things to get a bit splatterpunk and disconcerting. There's some shock and repulsive qualities to some areas of this book, but there's also a surprising amount of heart and compelling elements to ponder that I think make it a fantastic read. Be sure to read content warnings before going in, but otherwise I definitely recommend it!
You've definitely made me curious, but I don't think this book would be for me. Great review!
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