I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling Published by Harper Voyager on April 2 2019
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A mixed bag of both thrilling tension and a slow, ponderous beginning, The Luminous Dead worked on some levels but failed on others.
This is a hard review to write. On one hand there are things about The Luminous Dead that I loved, elements that the author did really well. But on the other hand, there are a lot of problems with this story, so it’s hard for me to fully endorse it. In the end I decided to give this three stars, which I feel is a good rating based on the mix of both good and bad elements.
(And strangely, every time I saw the word “caver” my brain read it as “cadaver.” Not sure what that means!)
Gyre is an experienced caver and makes her living joining dangerous caving expeditions on an off world planet. Corporations hire cavers and send them on missions to find precious ores, forging paths deep in the caves for future mining operations. She’s just signed on for a solo job which will give her enough money to quit caving altogether, and enough money to find her missing mother. But upon entering the cave, decked out in a high-tech suit that will keep her alive for the next month or so in the caves, she discovers that instead of the expected team of experts, monitoring her from the surface through a sophisticated computer system, there is just one woman at the controls. Em is terse and combative and seems to have an ulterior motive, although Gyre at first can’t figure out what that might be.
As she makes her descent, the dangers of caving become more and more real as things start to go wrong. Crucial supplies that are stashed away in various “camps” throughout the cave system have gone missing. Water levels inside the cave have risen, creating dangerous pools of water that Gyre will have to swim through. And then there’s the ever-present threat of the Tunnelers, unseen creatures who burrow through rock and leave destruction in their paths. Gyre is tough and determined to finish the mission, but can she even trust Em to keep her alive?
Let’s start with the positives. The Luminous Dead is actually pretty scary at times, and I thought Starling did a great job creating and then ratcheting up the tension. This is a survival story, and at no time while reading it was I convinced that Gyre would make it out alive. In the beginning of the story we learn that Em has sent down thirty-five other cavers before Gyre, and of those, twenty-seven did not make it back. So you know right away that Gyre’s odds at surviving are not very good. She has all sorts of things to contend with: the inherent dangers of rappelling down walls; the possibility that her suit or equipment might malfunction; the constant worry that she’ll run out of replacement batteries which are necessary for her suit to maintain life support; getting lost; running into a Tunneler; injury—the list goes on and on. In short, this is a dangerous—one might say foolhardy—mission, and Starling conveys that danger really well.
I also loved the cave setting. I thought the author did a pretty good job of describing the cave, with its dank air, slick walls and floors, the ever present darkness, penetrated only by the glow of Gyre’s headlamp or her equipment. The whole story had a claustrophobic feeling to it, as Gyre moves through tight spaces and is forced to traverse some areas under water. I did get a little confused about the logistics, though, and I would have loved a map in the beginning of the book for reference, as Gyre moves from Camp One to Camp Four and then back to Camp Two, etc. I did see mention of a “map to come” on my Kindle version, so if you’ve seen a finished copy and can verify a map, I’d love to know.
But for such a thrilling sounding story, The Luminous Dead is actually quite slow-paced, at least until you hit the halfway point. Up until then there is a lot of repetitious action, while Gyre makes her way slowly through the caves, backtracking when she runs into obstacles, arguing with Em about what her next move will be, etc. There are several mysteries going on, and I never got sufficient answers to those mysteries, which was disappointing. We hear Em and Gyre talking about the Tunnelers early on, but it isn’t until about the 90% point that we actually see a Tunneler. Gyre is also seeing strange things in the caves, and you aren’t really sure whether they’re real or not. I did love the way Starling drew that element out for such a long time, although it sort of petered out at the end and the explanation just didn’t satisfy me.
I also had issues with the characters. Gyre seems like she’s going to be a tough-as-nails woman, athletic and experienced with caving, yet at some of the most critical moments in the story, her brain seems to shut down completely and she makes some awful decisions. One moment in particular actually made me laugh out loud, even though it was quite horrific! And I really didn’t like Em at all. First of all, her motivation for sending so many cavers to their deaths was frankly, ridiculous. What this story really needed was higher stakes, something that made Gyre’s suffering worth while, but every reveal felt like a cop-out to me. Em also lies a lot to Gyre, and then admits that she was lying. That makes Gyre hate her even more, except then it feels like they’re starting to have feelings for each other? It made no sense to me at all, and I got the feeling that the author was just trying to shoehorn some queer rep into her story for the sake of being able to say “Hey, I have queer rep in my story!”
A lot of things about this story didn’t make sense, in fact, and I had so many questions. When Gyre is in dire straits, why doesn’t Em send in a rescue team? If Em’s never actually been caving herself, why does she seem to know every nook and cranny of the caves? Gyre has several opportunities to abort her mission and return to safety, yet each time she decides to keep going—for very stupid reasons. I found myself wanting to rewrite the story in many places, which isn’t a good sign.
Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself. I know plenty of bloggers who really loved this book, but if you’re like me and you need solid reasoning behind characters’ motivations, then proceed with caution.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
hmm, I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages and I’ve just got my hands on it and was super excited to start. I’m glad I read your review beforehand so I can adjust my expectations accordingly – nothing worse than going in thinking it’s going to be a 5-star read and then being disappointed! at least if I have lower expectations, I’m more likely to enjoy myself.
I’m glad that this DOES live up to the spooky scary vibe that it’s giving me (that cover!!!), but the problems you’ve outlined are just…sigh. there needed to be a good reason for Em to throw away so many lives, that should’ve been thought out a bit better. and I’m okay with characters lying for reasons that make sense even if only to themselves, but ADMITTING to it?? like why?? that accomplishes nothing…
bit disappointed the queer rep isn’t anything major, but I gotta say, if any romance is gonna be shoe-horned in, having it be f/f makes it go down easier for me than the usual heteronormative nonsense, lol.
Honestly, whether or not the “romance” was queer or not doesn’t really matter. It just didn’t work at all. The characters are so horrible to each other it didn’t make sense. But there are lots of 4 and 5 star reviews of this book on Goodreads so you may like it more than I did! It would have easily been a 4 star read for me if some of the characters’ actions hadn’t been so ridiculous:-)
Oh darn. I was looking forward to this too. I hate when character actions are inconsistent with their motivations/personality.
Sarah recently posted…Book Review: Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Yeah, I was a bit disappointed, especially since the author really nailed the creepy atmosphere of the cave setting.
For me it’s one of those unforgivable sins in a book. Like I can read about a character I hate, I can read about a character I love, I just need them to be consistent (or for their growth to make sense).
The inconsistency was jarring for sure!
I still plan on reading this but you’ve knocked it down on the priority list. I love diversity in books but not when it feels like authors are just going along, checking off boxes, and including things for the sake of just including them. And I don’t know what it says that you kept reading cadaver – maybe that you’ve read too much horror lately or maybe that you need to read more.
Ha ha, really you should try reading “caver” and let me know if it trips you up too. I literally stumbled over that word every time!!
Nope, nope, nope … can’t read it! Inconsistent characters? And caving? *shudder* – thank you for reading it so I don’t have to!! 😀
Ha ha, yes caving is really scary, it turns out! I will NEVER go down in a cave, thank you very much:-)
The mixed reviews I keep reading about this (and the balance seems to lean more toward the cons rather than the pros) my initial enthusiasm about the novel has cooled somewhat, and the fact that the main character is presented as a strong one, only to keep making silly choices or acting contrary to her apparent psychological makeup does not sound very encouraging…
Thank you so much for sharing this! 🙂
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE OUTSIDER, by Stephen King
It was such a weird combination of really good and not so good, and one of the reasons I’m struggling to recommend it.
I appreciate your thoughtful and well-balanced review of this one, Tammy.
Thanks Jennifer:-)
I definitely need solid reasoning behind character motivations so I think this probably wouldn’t be the best fit for me. I appreciate your honest thoughts on the book, Tammy.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Review: DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He
They made some terrible decisions that I just couldn’t get behind, so if that bothers you I would definitely advise against reading this.
Nice review! I think you and I were bothered by many of the same things, and I agree there are both positives and negatives but for me I think the bad outweighed the good just a tad more 🙂 I had huge issues with the characters too! Gyre couldn’t seem to stop screwing herself over, for one. And the romance was so forced and unhealthy!
Yeah, and why even have romance at all? Leaving that out would have made this so much better.
Fantastic review! You nailed my exact thoughts. It’s really too bad, but I’m definitely to pick up whatever Starling puts out next.
I agree, I love her ideas and her writing, and I’ll definitely check out her next book:-)
Oh dear, this book doesn’t seem to be quite hitting the mark for people. It’s a shame.
Definitely removed from the wishlist.
Lynn 😀
Yeah, it’s too bad, because there are a lot of good things about it.
Sorry this one didn’t completely work for you. I think for me pacing is one of the most important things because in order for slower parts to hold the attention of the reader there has to be something else captivating about the book and so a slower pace can really expose the flaws.
I didn’t even mind the pacing so much, but you’re right, the slow parts seemed to make the issues I had stick out more.
It sucks that something that sounded like it had so much potential fell so flat in the end, Tammy 🙁
I’m kinda glad I didn’t request this one now. It sounded really good but seems to be getting mixed/disappointed reviews like this
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Really insightful review <3 I'm still planning to read this, but will keep in mind the unlikeable character 😀 Ever since i'm reading more and more reviews, i somehow ended up thinking 3 is not such a good score. But actually it is also not bad. Aaaand, i'm still pretty much mesmerized by the cover 😀
This sounds a little bit like that caving horror movie I saw. I enjoyed both the first film and the sequel as well. I personally would never go caving, even without hideous monsters around, but I am happy to read about others facing monsters.
I love the cover and the claustrophobic cave setting which is really scary for me. I love reading about places I’d never personally go. It’s too bad it fell a bit short.
Awesome review, I’m sorry this one was a bit slow paced.