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pichetteemmons's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.25
It’s like if Colleen Hoover wrote lesbian thrillers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
applesodaperson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was genuinely incredible. I mean it definitely made me want to never step foot in a cave again, because so many of the scenes, especially when Gyre was underwater, made me feel so icky and claustrophobic.
I think this book did such a good job of having consistent suspense. There were a couple small mysteries woven in that I found myself theorizing about. It also had so many times when Gyre got so close to succeeding, but then failed, which left me feeling so stressed out for her.
So this book only has two characters really, but yet it does such a good job of staying interesting. Gyre and Em are deeply complex people and also very flawed, which felt realistic and made me root for them.
I also liked the sci-fi setting. It wasn’t too complex, which was nice and easy to understand, but it also explained things well.
I also of course liked the romance.But even though I liked it, I will say that I do not think they should have ended up together. I think they should have just ended as friends. Because despite how close they feel, the majority of it came from trauma bonding, not from naturally building up romance.
Another thing this book did great was having Gyre go slowly crazy. I loved the slow build up and her constantly doubting herself. She was a perfect example of an unreliable narrator that kept me guessing at what was real constantly.
Loved this book! And it also had great representation!
Listened to on Libby.
I think this book did such a good job of having consistent suspense. There were a couple small mysteries woven in that I found myself theorizing about. It also had so many times when Gyre got so close to succeeding, but then failed, which left me feeling so stressed out for her.
So this book only has two characters really, but yet it does such a good job of staying interesting. Gyre and Em are deeply complex people and also very flawed, which felt realistic and made me root for them.
I also liked the sci-fi setting. It wasn’t too complex, which was nice and easy to understand, but it also explained things well.
I also of course liked the romance.
Another thing this book did great was having Gyre go slowly crazy. I loved the slow build up and her constantly doubting herself. She was a perfect example of an unreliable narrator that kept me guessing at what was real constantly.
Loved this book! And it also had great representation!
Listened to on Libby.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
disnelyse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
smarzipan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Drug use, Medical trauma, Vomit, Death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, and Grief
shh_fbi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Minor: Vomit
marleens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the setting of the story. Despite the detailed descriptions of the spaces, I did have some trouble properly picturing everything, but I liked the overall sense of darkness and isolation and small spaces to squeeze through. The survival element of dwindling resources was well done. The tension was high throughout, mainly because of all the emotions of main character Gyre. I was let down by the end though. In the second half the scary creepy vibes increased, and that got my hopes up for a satisfying ending but I didn’t really feel like we got that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, Vomit, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am fine and definitely not afraid
*checks over shoulder*
*checks over shoulder*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
kaiju_krispies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I told storygraph that I was interested in dark stories involving unreliable narrators, complicated power dynamics between women, in dystopian settings, with a side of horror, grief, and hurt/comfort. Proving that their algorithm fucking works, it suggested The Luminous Dead.
Truthfully, the book suffers a little for want of a slightly more experienced author. The pacing of the overall story comes out all right, but the pacing of individual scenes often isn't. This mostly came through in feeling that a particular scene could very easily have been much scarier or horrifying than it actually was. The theme is set up so well to touch on extremely common fears, yet flies through descriptions of those scenarios so fast that there isn't time to build up those feelings to their full extent. Describe the sensation of being trapped by your own horrific exoskeleton in a fat man squeeze! or the fear of falling and wedging headfirst into a narrow hole! There are so many true stories of actual cavers and cave divers dying in the saddest, scariest ways to have drawn inspiration from; my hands are sweatier from reading the Nutty Putty Cave Wikipedia page than they ever were from The Luminous Dead. It also wouldn't be the worst thing to include a little more exposition for those who don't know much about climbing in general--I do happen to know the difference between a cam and a bolt and the pros/cons of each, but not every reader will, and there's again some benefit in building up tension this way.
The author does get this right with the body horror aspects. So much description of the stomach cannula and the horror of being trapped in goo and unable to even scratch your own nose!
The characters are not completely believable. Their motives feel a little flimsy and tend to change at opportune moments to justify the plot continuing. There are points at which the characters--Gyre especially--act so stupidly that it felt like a letdown.Starting a fire in the graveyard sump springs to mind, as does purposefully fighting the Tunneler--maybe the Tunneler is just a symptom of the cave's desire to keep Gyre, but the fire felt like recklessness for no reason. Ah and wading through the spores too, and doing the water exchange in moldy water.
All that said, I devoured the book. I looked forward every time to reading more and was genuinely invested in these broken characters, their awful emotions, and their ultimate conclusion. It was an enjoyable, interesting read, and I think this is why some of my criticisms feel harsher than they are meant to. The premise is so good, and the themes so specifically of interest to me in particular, that I wanted it to live up to its fullest potential. It didn't quite, and that's all right! I hope the author has more books left in her, and that they have equally degenerate premises but with the weight of more experience and lessons learned behind them. Linger on the things that make your readers sweat!
Truthfully, the book suffers a little for want of a slightly more experienced author. The pacing of the overall story comes out all right, but the pacing of individual scenes often isn't. This mostly came through in feeling that a particular scene could very easily have been much scarier or horrifying than it actually was. The theme is set up so well to touch on extremely common fears, yet flies through descriptions of those scenarios so fast that there isn't time to build up those feelings to their full extent. Describe the sensation of being trapped by your own horrific exoskeleton in a fat man squeeze! or the fear of falling and wedging headfirst into a narrow hole! There are so many true stories of actual cavers and cave divers dying in the saddest, scariest ways to have drawn inspiration from; my hands are sweatier from reading the Nutty Putty Cave Wikipedia page than they ever were from The Luminous Dead. It also wouldn't be the worst thing to include a little more exposition for those who don't know much about climbing in general--I do happen to know the difference between a cam and a bolt and the pros/cons of each, but not every reader will, and there's again some benefit in building up tension this way.
The author does get this right with the body horror aspects. So much description of the stomach cannula and the horror of being trapped in goo and unable to even scratch your own nose!
The characters are not completely believable. Their motives feel a little flimsy and tend to change at opportune moments to justify the plot continuing. There are points at which the characters--Gyre especially--act so stupidly that it felt like a letdown.
All that said, I devoured the book. I looked forward every time to reading more and was genuinely invested in these broken characters, their awful emotions, and their ultimate conclusion. It was an enjoyable, interesting read, and I think this is why some of my criticisms feel harsher than they are meant to. The premise is so good, and the themes so specifically of interest to me in particular, that I wanted it to live up to its fullest potential. It didn't quite, and that's all right! I hope the author has more books left in her, and that they have equally degenerate premises but with the weight of more experience and lessons learned behind them. Linger on the things that make your readers sweat!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, and Confinement
Minor: Vomit
yuyuv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts