A review by samohtj
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This book had a lot of promise: slow-burn, dark, creepy, body-horror sci-fi, gay angst, it definitely had a lot going for it. But unfortunately, I just did not enjoy the experience. I heard some people compare this to The Martian (which I also did not like), and that should have been my first clue. Much like that book, it focuses a lot on the technical details of the situation – navigating the cave, maintaining the suit, managing resources – at the cost of style and reflection. The route Gyre takes is so convoluted, branching in three dimensions, looping and doubling back, that I hope to God the print version comes with a map – it was absolutely impossible to follow as an audiobook. The blurb also lists it as for fans of Annihilation, which I also just recently read, and I would firmly disagree. This is a book where a hundred things happen, and so few of them have any meaning. (As opposed to Annihilation, where maybe three things happen, and they're all monumentallly significant). I found a lot of the conflict between Em and Gyre to be, for lack of better terms, lame and contrived, and didn't enjoy the constant mistrust and self-sabotage that only served to send the main character deeper into the cave for a few more pages. This book is much too long for the story it's telling, and says little besides, and does not make use of the science fiction setting in a way that I found interesting. Sad to say I didn't like it, and doubt I'll read more by this author.