The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling

The Luminous Dead

By Caitlin Starling

  • Release Date: 2019-04-02
  • Genre: Science Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 157 Ratings

Description

Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best First Novel!

"This claustrophobic, horror-leaning tour de force is highly recommended for fans of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation and Andy Weir’s The Martian." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The thrilling, atmospheric debut from the author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, a novel with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

Reviews

  • Harrowing, claustrophobic and masterfully built.

    5
    By Playin hard to get them coins
    You think you would get bored of reading about someone’s internal monologue in a cave…but this book hooks right into you from the start and drags you in by inch down into the caves of impoverished Cassandra V along with Gyra and Em. The slow burn of paranoia is layered superbly around the already horrifying claustrophobia and builds this book into a masterpiece. My heart was In my throat so many times! The character development was excellent and I loved them both to bits even as I rooted for and against them.
  • Absolutely Fantastic

    5
    By noscopehardcoreXXX360
    I was hooked before the first chapter ended. I went into this book expecting something akin to The Descent, but it was so, so much more. It takes a very talented author to make a story about two characters and a cave not only interesting, but compelling. Starling’s done that and more. Not only is the tone consistent, but the way she’s portrayed mental breakdowns, hallucinations and desperation are believable and frightening.I thoroughly recommend this title to anyone who loves science fiction, horror, thrillers, and, oh yeah, a F/F romance built upon mutual hate. 5 stars isn’t enough, in my opinion.
  • Decent Read

    3
    By SJ8o
    Well where to begin. This book was a decent read. The author developed two really flawed characters that meshed well together and also had their differences that created a really toxic dynamic. This novel was about developing these characters relationship through experience. Would I recommend this to someone, I’d say maybe. It wasn’t a bad read, but a lot of the book was an internalized dialogue with the main character. As the story progresses the protagonist becomes less comprehensive. As she deals with isolation. This book talks about isolation and how it can affect our psyches. For the most part this was well written. Some parts of the book dragged on. Hope this review helps.
  • A Good Thriller!

    5
    By Ccclaireee
    Definitely kept me interested and intrigued during its read! I wish in the end, we could have explored into the relationships with Gyre but maybe that will cause a sequel.
  • Time / money waster

    1
    By VastOzone
    I really wanted this to live up to the comparisons made by the publisher, but alas, it fell exceedingly short. This story consists of the inner dialog and regurgitation of self doubt and fear of betrayal of the main character repeated to the point of distraction and filling 95% of the story content. Please read a sample of the book and leave it at that, because the entire book is just a rehashing of the sample.
  • A gripping sci-fi thriller

    5
    By J. Chrighton
    The Luminous Dead is a gripping sci-fi thriller, a taught, psychological battle, which plays out over a treacherous and frightening expedition through the caves of a alien planet. Starling’s prose is breathtakingly cinematic and creates a claustrophobic alien world of extreme danger and mystery. This book will drag you into its dark and twisting depths.

Comments