The Luminous Dead: A Novel

Product Information

I love good caving stories. Love them. This didn’t hit me that way, I’m sorry to say. It didn’t scare me either. I might have rolled my eyes. A lot. That’s all. 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.

The Luminous Dead: A Novel - Caitlin Starling - Google Books

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) Gyre reluctantly agrees to continue on when she finds this out, only because she has her own motivations to find her own Mother. What follows is an epic and terrifying journey through this barely explored cave system. Some time ago, I read a novel that promised to combine a man-vs.-nature survival narrative with a ghost story. It disappointed me, not delivering enough of either. When reading Caitlin Starling’s The Luminous Dead, I couldn’t help thinking that this book was what I wanted that one to be. The Luminous Dead succeeds at both the (wo)man-vs.-nature stuff and the eerie goings-on — not to mention a character study of two complicated, damaged people — and it all adds up to a truly gripping thriller. The Luminous Dead is a very creepy read, especially as Gyre starts her solo expedition exploring the cave. Gyre only has one line of communication and that’s through Em, her monitor. Em is a woman who has a lot of power over Gyre-she is her only source of communication, is able to control her suit and even give injections remotely. As equipment is found missing, routes suddenly changed and dead cavers bodies found throughout the cave-Gyre starts to wonder what her mission is. Both women are hiding important information but they must rely on each other to get what they each want so desperately. When Starling does write about labor, it is an embodied practice as much as it is a social relationship. The suit Gyre is fitted with offers her employer a chance at better resource extraction from a dying colony; here, novel technology only augments necessary human labor. It does not rescue its workers from the demands of time, efficiency, and authority. Instead, the laboring body can be controlled by the employer’s will—stopped and moved, injected and manipulated from afar. Starling imagines a future of work which is closer to Gavin Mueller’s persuasive argument that technology and its optimization serve as a “political tool to subvert worker power” and undermine an already limited agency within the workplace. In TLD, technological determinism offers no escape from the crises of capital. The mining companies require technology, which in turn leads to Gyre and Em depending on each other to fuel a nightmarish obsession.It took reading to around the 61 percent mark for anything decent to happen and even then, it was lame. This novel is full of fluff and events that are flat-out boring. I thought this was supposed to be a horror novel? There is absolutely nothing scary, creepy, or horrific in “The Luminous Dead” at all as I’m not even sure how this was even classified as a part of the horror genre in the first place. The overall writing and dialogue between Gyre and Em are very repetitive and stagnant throughout this novel. In case you’re trapped, and cut off from me, there are . . . kill switches built into the suit. In case there’s no way out.” (c) Gyre: “Well shit, I guess that really WAS stupid. I might have just doomed myself with my stupidity. Dammit Em, why didn’t you stop me?”

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling | Goodreads The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling | Goodreads

But Em will never let her go. Language: English Words: 2,002 Chapters: 2/2 Comments: 9 Kudos: 43 Bookmarks: 4 Hits: 222

Trending Posts

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling is a sci-fi horror nightmare! Think The Descent meets Prometheus vibes, only two characters, and a terrifyingly complex and evil cave system. When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

The Luminous Dead – HarperCollins The Luminous Dead – HarperCollins

Like The Children of Time, it could have played on fundamental fears--in this case, claustrophobia--but somehow, through the writing, I was only riveted. Except for the water scenes. Those were scary. In some ways, it is like The Martian, only with a main character who is far less well-adjusted and funny. I'd say character-building is the clear strength of this book. A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation . . . " Nah, I beg to differ. who is really guiding who? what secrets do these two queer women have to hide? and to what lengths are they willing to go to achieve their goals? For those who like to blend their mystery/thriller with the speculative, it's an almost pitch-perfect entry into the niche.

Sheehan, Jason (April 7, 2019). "Monsters Imaginary And Real Haunt The Caves Of 'The Luminous Dead' ". NPR.org . Retrieved 2020-12-24. Warning! Do not attempt to read this book if you are claustrophobic. Do not attempt to read it if your skin crawls in terror from being trapped in small places. Both in its setting and thematically, the Luminous Dead is a narrowly-focused tightly-drawn Story. From Jules Verne to Burroughs to numerous modern writers, there has been an endless fascination with tunneling into the center of the earth, a focus on what lies within the labyrinth of underground spaces. Luminous Dead, with its beautiful cover art and image-provoking title, continues that tradition. At least, for now. Language: English Words: 3,826 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 1 Comments: 4 Kudos: 12 Bookmarks: 1 Hits: 103

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling | Goodreads

Survival and cosmic horror collide in this new series, perfect for fans of LOST and House of Leaves. but instead starling chooses to underline the horror of isolation and loneliness even more; being left behind in a place where no one can hear you scream or reach you in case of an emergency. and that was a smart choice. i can see the comparisons with books like the martian and gravity (according to the blurb) more clearly in that regard. Em is trapped and motivated by grief and the gnawing of her traumas, shape-shifting things that take all kinds of forms: “Gyre couldn’t fight the feeling of Em’s grief being a living thing, as inexorable as a Tunneler.” Gyre knows just how far she can push her suit. It's what's keeping her alive. In the sump between Camp Five and Camp Six, instead of rushing out to fall short of the cache, she drops the line. She knows how far she can push her suit and this is too much. I confused Caitlin Starling with Caitlin Kiernan, who also has a effed up book I want to read ( The Drowning Girl).This story only had three characters, Gyre, an intrepid and daring caver, her boss and handler, cold reserved Em, and a monstrous cave, peopled with the dead. If you enjoy a story about human versus nature or what it takes to survive in the worst of circumstances, you will enjoy The Luminous Dead. Gyre might have left the cave and be leaving the planet with Em, but that does not mean the cave has left her. Language: English Words: 1,579 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 1 Comments: 2 Kudos: 4 Hits: 36 Overall, The Luminous Dead is a dark and terrifying novel that explores the dark and unexplained – including the dark recesses of the human mind. – really well. The Luminous Dead is definitely worth reading for Starling’s excellent atmospheric writing and character development. 3.5/5 Gyre suffers lasting neurological effects from her sojourn into the caves; even worlds away, she feels the depths calling her.