A review by vasha
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A book for October? The Luminous Dead has ghosts, sort of (their exact nature is unclear), and they are definitely the scary sort, not ones you could have a romance with — nor, friendly ancestors in the tradition of Dia de los Muertos. This is a science-fiction suspense/horror novel about a weeks-long solo descent into a cave that has already killed many — but although dangers and discomforts take a toll on Gyre, the explorer, she’s ultimately less threatened by those than by the mental pressure of having no one to talk to but her one remote-linked handler (one! when it’s normally a team — and why? that turns out to be an important question). Gyre has past issues with abandonment and isolation, and it turns out her employer/handler, Em, is even more emotionally damaged, and has made bad choices that got people killed — they have their figurative ghosts to deal with… is Gyre seeing literal ones too? Em and Gyre struggle with each other, and bond strongly, and it feels like romantic love to them. It’d take a dedicated romance believer to think they’d really be good for each other as a couple after the end of the book. I have seen a remarkable number of long and meaty reviews for this novel, meaning it makes people want to ponder, and write about their ponderings. I'm personally not sure it's as deep as all that; could have been sharpened up with more psychological and sociopolitical acuity (and also would have benefited from being a hundred pages shorter). But worth reading, absolutely.
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