The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Harper Voyager. 2019

ISBN-13: 978-0062846907

Available: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook, audio CD

Claustrophobic horror has always been a thrilling subgenre, and while this offering leans much more towards science fiction than pure frights, it’s a strong candidate for the Bram Stoker award for first novel.

It has been compared to several titles by the publisher, including Andy Weir’s The Martian and Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, although this reviewer would call it an underwater Gravity. Most of the interaction in the story occurs between the two main characters, with a strong dose of inner monologues that suggests this would also be a great option for a Hugo Award. The sheer atmosphere of the novel is what turns what could be a literary musing on character motivation into a powerful tale that is a worthy addition into the scifi-horror library.

Gyre Price is a caver, miner and excavation worker who takes on the job of a lifetime. It’s a great paycheck, and could change her life- if she survives it. A few tangles in her story warp her reality. She shouldn’t even be down there in the bowels of a strange, dangerous planet. In addition, as in other novels of its kind, Gyre has quite a few skeletons in her closet. She lied to get the job, and hoped it would be a cake assignment. Well, cake besides the preparation that forced her to undergo some physical alterations to adapt to the alien environment.

Why does everyone else die who takes the job?

She finds herself deep (pun intended) in the mire of the water, caverns, and mystery, before she realizes her biggest threat might be the one person who can also keep her alive. Em controls much of Gyre’s fate, even her body; she feeds her, sometimes with drugs, and other times with misinformation. It becomes a strange symbiotic relationship that is reminiscent of the astronauts’ relationship with HAL in 2001, except for Em being human. The manipulation turns dark, with Em sometimes a distant voice from another realm, whose motives and goals are opaque to Gyre.

As she sinks deeper, Gyre finds she might not be alone. Think back to some of the underwater/alien planet films of the 80s and 90s. such as Leviathan and Planet Mars. What Gyre may be facing could be all of that- or none of it. Is her terror merely  a psychological manifestation brought on by the foreign depths and Em’s ploys? Or is it something Gyre’s brain simply cannot handle?

The point of view and mood created by Starling elevates this book into an interesting read, pushing it sideways into the dark tendrils of the horror realm. Recommended.

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: The Luminous Dead was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel.