"A triumph: bleak, corrupt, visceral. One of the most engaging and affecting reads of 2025."
Marie Adams, Goodreads review
Book One of Inflorescence
The Mycelic Verge
Ellandria has been dying for a century. A fungal plague has hollowed its forests and twisted its creatures, while the last flickers of civilisation are crushed under Warden rule.
Available as Kindle eBook and paperback. Free to read with Kindle Unlimited in supported regions.
Find the book on Amazon in Kindle eBook and paperback.
For readers who want
Dark fantasy with rot under its fingernails.
- Fungal plague, corrupted forests, and creature-horror imagery.
- A survival journey through a hostile, decaying wilderness.
- Emotionally weighted fantasy about guilt, grief, and stubborn hope.
- A heroine who has learned to endure by keeping everyone at a distance.
Synopsis
Into the Hollowed Forest.
Maren survives by keeping her distance from people, from hope, from anything that might break. But when a desperate mother offers her an amulet identical to the one her brother wore the day she last saw him, Maren agrees to lead her and her infected child through the decayed wilderness toward a forgotten temple said to hold a cure.
Their path winds deep into the Hollowed Forest, where spores reshape beasts into nightmares and the land itself recoils at their presence. As the child weakens and the mother's resolve hardens, Maren must decide whether to reclaim what remains of her humanity or surrender to the rot that threatens to consume them all.
Reader response
What readers are saying.
"A compelling read for anyone drawn to dark fantasy with emotional weight. Blackmoore paints the fungal-choked world with unsettling detail."
The Book Below Editorial Review"This is a grimdark fantasy that honestly blew me away with how descriptive someone can get describing mould and fungus."
DeathReye, Goodreads review