Review | The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Set in a dystopian future, Gyre is tasked with mapping an intricate cave system. Her suit is surgically attached to her body, and she relies on a team to monitor her stats. But she soon realises there is only a woman named Em keeping her alive. And Em is hiding her own secrets.

The only sounds were her breathing inside her helmet, the soft pulsing of the alert system displayed in front of her face, and the groan of her suit against rock as she contorted her spine and pressed through another few centimeters.

The Luminous Dead is a survival horror taking place entirely inside a cave with a cast of only two characters. The book is claustrophobic, spine-chilling and has some intense moments. I liked that the reader is kept in the dark as much as Gyre as she goes deeper inside the cave. She discovers disturbing new information and has to decide whether she can trust Em. I thought her motivations are believable and the scenes where things go wrong are pretty terrifying. The book dwells in the lasting impact of trauma and shows the psychological effects of a solo expedition. As Gyre begins to doubt her sanity, the reader is also pulled into questioning the realities of her situation.

However, I had an issue with the repetitiveness of the scenes. There’s a map of the cave system and I found myself frequently having to refer to it so that tainted my enjoyment. While I appreciate the representation of LGBTQ+ characters, I was not wholly convinced of Gyre and Em’s relationship as it progresses. The book doesn’t explicitly describe the dystopian world it is set in but I thought the brief mentions are intriguing. I wish there is an epilogue to show the fate of the characters.

Still, The Luminous Dead is a commendable debut and a unique survival horror story. Give this a go but it might make you think twice about exploring caves in the future!

About the author: Caitlin Starling

Photo by Sergey Nikolaev