The Luminous Dead: A Novel

Product Information

What’s more, I feel the publisher description has done the book a great disservice by comparing it to The Martian and Gravity, because the reality, as I found out, was much different. For one thing, the “intensive drive” that was promised was virtually non-existent. A heart-pounding thriller this was not, so don’t be expecting anything like The Descent. I just can’t emphasize enough the slowness of this book, even though, in all fairness, I have no doubt the measured pacing here was entirely intentional. The plot featured here is the kind that relies heavily on character development and relationship building, a process that understandably cannot be rushed. 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 Survival and cosmic horror collide in this new series, perfect for fans of LOST and House of Leaves. I don't know what I expected. Perhaps a bunch of undead at the bottom of the pit? But no, this is entirely a survival novel with tons of scares, mistrust, insane amounts of bravery, accidents, and misgivings. Interestingly, it's also a kind of a f***ed-up love story. Abusive, sure, but also rich and honest and desperate.

The Luminous Dead: A gripping thriller - Fantasy Literature The Luminous Dead: A gripping thriller - Fantasy Literature

Starling, Caitlin (2 April 2019). The luminous dead: a novel (Firsted.). New York. ISBN 978-0-06-284690-7. OCLC 1090731632. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) speaking of those scary parts: going into this, i 100% expected the claustrophobia to be ramped up to a hundred. i mean, cramped caves, so deep underground? sounds perfect! At least, for now. Language: English Words: 3,826 Chapters: 1/1 Collections: 1 Comments: 4 Kudos: 12 Bookmarks: 1 Hits: 103I'm pretty sure I promised someone my firstborn chi Still, I did mention the book had its moments. First of all, kudos to the author for pulling off what is essentially a novel featuring an extremely limited setting and only two characters. And while at no point did I personally find this “horror” novel scary or disturbing, Starling nevertheless did a fantastic job evoking an atmosphere of isolation and claustrophobia, especially in the sections with the sumps. At times, the hopelessness of Gyre’s situation really got to me, not to mention how all the uncertainties had a way of messing with your head. Scenes of breathless action were few and far between, but whenever they cropped up, they were also well written and suspenseful. Plus, the tunnelers were pretty cool, though we didn’t get to see nearly as much of them as I would have liked. 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.

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

A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down. Is technology a tool of history or its product on the long march to advanced civilization? Is this terror less horrifying than the straightforward story of colonial exploitation and oppressive desire simply through the machinations of computer and code? 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. 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 contours of horror in the novel are uncanny valleys, figural resemblances that arouse unease in the protagonist. Monsters of technology, technology that belongs to the monsters. There’s a tautology to the representations within these reaches; a repetitive insistence. A traumatic memory, as it must, repeats itself. In each iteration, it is a horrific representation that makes Em/Gyre anew. Sometimes it is ghostly in its presence, sometimes it haunts through absences. Sometimes it keeps each iteration bound within their contractual agreement, within law.

the catch? nothing is as it seems. as gyre descends further and further beneath the surface, both she and em discover just how far they can push each other -- with devastating consequences. Occupational hazards are common enough to be calculated into the cost of mining explorations—a quantifiable number is all that Gyre’s life will amount to if she doesn’t make it out alive. Technological advancement affords her some safety: an impenetrable suit that feeds and nourishes her with relative ease, and a support and maintenance team that guides her through the circuitry of her suit. But the technology is invasive, causes dissociation, and is optimized to make the most of her labor. Gyre is trapped within a suit that is physically controlled by her employers: she is moved at will and injected with serotonin, adrenaline, and poison. Her ears register the disembodied voice of her employer, goading and manipulating her to finish the job she set out to do. A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation . . . " Nah, I beg to differ. Em is a handler. That means being a completely useless, unprofessional head of ops who is prone to emotional outbursts, yelling, and convenient bouts of absence when things get tough.