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The Fungus

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The Fungus

By: Harry Adam Knight
Narrated by: Ian Pringle
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About this listen

When a brilliant scientist seeking to solve the problem of world hunger tries to create giant mushrooms through genetic manipulation, what could possibly go wrong?

The mutated spores escape the lab and spread across all of England. Toadstools grow to 20 feet tall, and a case of athlete's foot can mean a grisly and horrible death.

But those who die quickly are the lucky ones. Those who survive infection by the fungus will be transformed into something unthinkably monstrous...

With a perfect mix of nightmarish horror and black humor, Harry Adam Knight's cult classic The Fungus (1985) will grow on you.

©2018 Harry Adam Knight (P)2019 Valancourt Books LLC Horror Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Scary Fiction Witty

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Critic reviews

"A spectacularly gruesome nasty, written with inventiveness, grisly wit, and considerably more intelligence than almost any of its competitors." - (Ramsey Campbell"

"Loud, scary, silly, sick fun ... you will never again go near mushroom soup." (Kirkus Reviews)

"A first-rate and vivid thriller." (Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant  
So, it’s a good listen. Schlocky, irreverent and packed with enough body-horror to keep anyone entertained, but it’s ruined by some of the worst narration I’ve ever heard. Firstly Ian Pringle speaks so quickly I had to reduce the speed to be able to understand him. He also emphasises the wrong words in sentences as he runs out of breath. And don’t get me started on his regional accents- all of them are awful. Especially his Scouse which sounds like a cat getting tortured underwater. Want my advice? Buy the book and read it yourself, I guarantee you’ll read it better in your own head! This stuff needs to be quality controlled!!

Great pulpy novel ruined by amateur narration!

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Listener received this title free

Classic '80s horror. So glad this book got a audiobook release. The narrator did a great job.

Fungus Gone Wild

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Rediscovered this book recently, having read it for the first time many years ago. A fun, sick and eerie story that picks up a steady, relentless pace and shows the true horror of just what could go wrong. Easy to read and easy to listen too, A good story!

A great read!!

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Listener received this title free

Mycological body-horror adventure rooted in Thatcher-era Britain. With an ichor-stained tongue poked firmly into an ulcerated cheek, this recently disinterred pulp novel from 1985 spans the gaps between the catastrophe fiction of John Wyndham, the sexually-explicit shocker staples of the '70s and '80s, and the post-Apocalyptic neo-zombie fare of '28 Days Later' and 'The Girl With All The Gifts' (the latter even shares the same climactic locale of a tumescently fungoid BT Tower). Credited to Harry Adam Knight, this book was actually one of several co-written by the late John Brosnan and Leroy Kettle. Brosnan was a well-known film critic of the era and this background is evident in the lurid B-movie thrills and cinematic narrative structure to be found here. A more ambitious book might have made clever play on the implicit political satire, but instead this rattles along with the gimlet-eyed efficiency of a John Carpenter flick. Despite the schlocky grindhouse stylings, the book is entertainingly written, with the pseudo-science well-handled and plenty of vivid imagery throughout; just don't expect consistent characterisation or contemporary sensitivities to be spared.
All said, what really elevates this is Ian Pringle's top-notch narration. For those that care about such things, his intonation is similar to Julian Rhind-Tutt, which suits the novel perfectly; he even makes the frequent, gratuitous sex scenes far less cringeworthy than they deserve. Excellent work that man!
Oh, and fantastic cover art.

The Day Of The Truffles

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Far better narrator than his other book which was ruined by the guy reading it. Enjoyed this story, i'm presuming it was written in the 1980's and as a consequence doesn't have much political correctnes in it. I found this quite refeshing but i imagine younger listeners would be annoyed by it. Holy crap i just added a trigger warning to something, i'm not as old and crusty as i thought!

Good listen

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This was good! Trying to end world hunger,a scidntist invents mushrooms,until it is found to be sentient and shows its own agenda. Ian Pringle was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

The Fungus

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Back in the days when scientists were referred to as 'boffins', and science could be relied upon to save the day; when you still had to look up the word 'pandemic' in the dictionary, and the general public hadn't yet heard of Swine flu, or Bird flu, H1N1, Sars, Ebola or Marberg... This gave me the same creepy-crawly nasty feeling as James Herbert's "The Rats" but with a lighter touch, and more humour. Would highly recommend spending one of your precious credits for a really enjoyable and satisfying trip back in time...

Good clean fun(gi)

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Great to listen to a good story I read many years ago, it still holds up today. It's also well read & would happily enjoy listening to the narrator in other works.

Outstanding.

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I had heard about The Fungus for some time before I discovered it on Audible, and I’m glad I got to experience it. The story wastes no time in establishing London being overtaken by the titular fungus, and the shifting points of view work in showcasing this and the main cast, who are a good range of character types and have fairly well handled arcs. The plot’s simple and doesn’t feel dragged out, making it all the easier to enjoy. I liked the dark humour, which I feel was particularly effective at the beginning, it stops the book from being totally grim. The ending is strong and doesn’t leave the reader or listener with a sense of dread that wastes their investment. Ian Pringle does a solid job of voicing the characters, such as the reluctant protagonist and author Barry Wilson and the violent booze-loving Sergeant Terence Slocock, both at odds with each other.
This would probably have made a good 80s horror flick back, especially with all the body horror involved. I’d recommend it to fellow fans of body horror works, whether it’s literature of film.

A Good Body Horror Romp

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A mutated fungus is released and affects all mushrooms, fungus, and mold in London. Affecting everyone from gruesome deaths to madness to transforming into something not human.

I really got into this book, the pacing was great, and the detailing of the various growths got me really interested in where the story was going. It slowed down about halfway in as I didn't really like any of the main characters and they seemed to just switch roles randomly before the end.

I wasn't a fan of the performance, not that he did it bad but there were a few mistakes of repeating lines and stumbling over words and a couple of the accents were cringy.

However, this has just sparked my love for 70s/80s pulp horror and I can't wait to read another.

Read for fans of 70s/80s horror.

Great 70s pulp horror

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