A review by shiny_
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

This really didn't do it for me. It started out with tons of potential, but then seemed content to settle into a very repetitive structure of bickering dialog and sump diving scenes that blurred together into a muddy, poorly described silt out. 

It tried to tease out its most interesting questions until answering them in extremely flat and unsatisfactory ways. The romantic elements have potential at first, but
their relationship dynamic never truly evolves beyond a toxic, back and forth blame game and gives no indication this has changed by the end
.

The most horrifying about things this book were the maturity level of the characters, the continuous bad decision making that stemmed from that, and the absurd gaslighting they put each other through. These are, ostensibly, two professional women in their 20s -
one of whom has been running and innovating a massive business for a decade at this point
- but they act like angsty teens plucked straight out of a YA novel.

It's not a complete wash up, and I'm sure lands better with some people than it did me. But it's far from the same league as The Martian or Annihilation, like the description implies.
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