The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling
The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling
7 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Luminous Dead
A Novel

Author: Caitlin Starling

Narrator: Adenrele Ojo

Unabridged: 14 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 04/02/2019


Synopsis

""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)***A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane. Instead, she got Em. Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . . 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.But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

About Caitlin Starling

Caitlin Starling is the nationally bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence and the Bram Stoker-nominated The Luminous Dead. Her newest novels, The Starving Saints and The Graceview Patient, epitomize her love of genre-hopping horror; her bibliography spans besieged castles, alien caves, and haunted hospitals. Her short fiction has been published by GrimDark Magazine and Neon Hemlock, and her nonfiction has appeared in Nightmare, Uncanny, and Nightfire. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid to invent body parts. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to inflict insomnia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Riley on October 19, 2019

scary and gay what more could i want......more

Goodreads review by Ɗẳɳ 2.☊ on December 07, 2022

"A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation . . . " Nah, I beg to differ. Only two characters appear in the entire story: a spelunker in an alien cavern and her guide and handler along the surface. Both young women have si......more

Goodreads review by Sumit on June 19, 2019

Set in a remote dystopic future, The Luminous Dead is the story of Gyre Price, a young woman raised on a mining colony on a distant backwater planet. Gyre obtains a solo cavern expedition job that promises an enormous payout. Almost immediately, she realizes the job is much more dangerous and compli......more

Goodreads review by Cece on October 09, 2019

This was BONE CHILLING and absolutely impossible to put down. I made the wrong choice when I decided to finish reading this alone in my room at 3 am. Besides being ridiculously creepy and engaging from page one, this also has a super complex queer girl main character and the potential for an equally......more

Goodreads review by Amy on October 05, 2020

4.5 stars What an unexpected find! Technically a science fiction novel, The Luminous Dead reads like a mystery/thriller diverse survivalist tale with doses of speculative elements and psychological intrigue. Also, lots of caves. Caves on caves. Concept: ★★★★★ Spook Factor: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Characters: ★......more