This month, I read The Luminous Dead, the debut novel by award-winning author Caitlin Starling. This sci-fi horror novel was published in 2019, and follows a young woman into the depths of an alien planet. This book takes place entirely within an underground cave system, one that contains barely any light and holds the constant threat of attack from aggressive and mysterious creatures. I knew this book would be scary, but what I didn’t expect was the way the unique (and sometimes disturbing) dynamic evolved between the two central characters.
The protagonist, Gyre Price, has sacrificed everything to go on this particular caving expedition. She lied about her past, left her only family behind, and even paid for an invasive surgery to prepare her body for the high-tech caving suit that will help her survive miles below the planet’s surface. But with everything she’s put herself through so far, she still has no idea what she’s just signed up for.
Throughout the book, Gyre communicates with a one-woman surface team through a microphone in her caving suit. The woman leading the expedition from the surface, Em, is not only extremely knowledgeable in contrast to Gyre’s lack of experience, she also has complete and total power over Gyre’s body while she wears the caving suit. She can remotely control the suit’s movements, hide or distort things in Gyre’s field of vision, and even inject Gyre with various drugs to keep her moving or slow her down. This premise leads to some horrifying moments in which Gyre is forced to acknowledge her total lack of control, relying on Em to keep her safe as much as she despises her for the constant manipulation. But over the course of the book, as Gyre begins to learn more about the cave and Em’s emotional obsession with it, their relationship evolves in curious and surprising ways.
I would recommend this book for horror fans who are looking for a uniquely terrifying setting, as this alien cave was the perfect place to explore the terror of complete isolation. I would also recommend this for general fiction readers who enjoy stories with queer longing and unconventional relationships between women. I enjoyed this book quite a lot and have already recommended it to several friends personally, 10/10 read for sure.
-Artemis Asbury, Co-Owner of Epic Quest Books