Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

11 reviews

cassie7e's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Just the mix of sci fi and thriller I needed this week! Imagine living on a downtrodden mining planet, being so desperate for money that you take on a solo spelunking job, risking not only the usual threats (cave ins, sensory deprivation, isolation), but also alien contaminants, and a creature like the sandworms of Arrakis but under caves. 

This book plops you right into the story without messing about with backstory or context; those are all added as you go. The plot is long and dark and as monotonous as caving and being stuck underground actually would be. It's not the kind of sci fi that has a lot of worldbuilding or depth. It's tightly focused on the caves and the elements of technology and economic context that are relevant to the caving. 

There are a ton of uncomfortable and unsettling circumstances that didnt actually scare me, but fictional media doesn't scare me easily.

Critiques: 

I didn't find the initial antagonism between Gyre and Em compelling, as it felt a bit over-intense for a pair who've JUST started an expedition, but it feels more justified later once the stakes are raised. I then didn't find the change in their relationship compelling, though trauma bonding is a thing. 

The book could have done some really interesting things with leaning more into mycological horror or the supernatural, but chooses to leave it all ambiguous enough that it's very easily explained away. It also could have more heavily expanded on the lure of the deeps (which Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt does very successfully with mountains), being watched, the bodily discomfort of being in the suit (eg itches, phantom limb or phantom touch), or others having external access to Gyre's suit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

mcbadger's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

A harrowing and yet beautiful depiction of grief and fear. This is everything I love about horror.
Also love the casually queer protagonist and deeply flawed but lovable characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit and Classism

spaghettii's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

The ending was an interesting choice

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hzamrzla's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

3.0

I loved the premise and voice of this book, but the pacing and actual plot were so hard to stick with. There is only one REAL conflict: whether or not Gyre trusts Em, and we revisit it about 8 times with no real resolution. Reluctant trust, big betrayal, insistence on doing it alone, horrible failure due to the decision to do it alone, rinse, repeat. 

Specifically, I got so frustrated with Gyre by the end because of her

constantly refusing to let Em guide/medicate/STOP her, doing something stupid, and then being in a rage that Em didn’t guide/medicate/STOP her

. This happening once or twice seemed reasonable, and then for it to KEEP happening, as the only source of action in the book, felt contrived. 

Also, I hate

“turns out it was all in your head”

books. 

It got old, which is sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eldritch_archivist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Gave me real life anxiety reading this, absolutely shitting myself during the back half. I'm now much more afraid to read more books by this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Suicide, Gaslighting, and Classism

draconicdetective's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking, Abandonment, and Classism

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Suicide and Excrement

Nonconsensual drugging, loss of bodily autonomy. Overdose. Hallucinations, paranoia, surveillance, unreality. Descriptions of bodies in various states of decay. Limb loss.

sargasso_c's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.0

The writing was very good, but as a whole the book rambled. It would start threads, abandon them for chapters and chapters, and then hurriedly try to tie them up when the main character was nearing the natural end of their journey. Contradictingly, some major plot points were not foreshadowed properly.

Even so - the writing style was quite enjoyable and this isn't at all bad for a debut novel.

The wlw representation was extremely satisfying to read, and I'm delighted that none of the conflicts centered around the queerness of the main characters.

I'm interested in reading more work from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gaslighting

rtaire's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really interesting characters. Loved the risk the author took in writing a book that was literally two people and the setting. Forced the characters and their flaws and their growth to be in the unrelenting spotlight. There is almost no plot to fall back on, the characters had to carry the story, and I think they did phenomenally. Also, this book is just further proof that I will never ever go underwater caving. Fuck that shit. Perfect for a horror story as a result.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Classism