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Luminous
A highly anticipated, sweeping debut set in a unified Korea that tells the story of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood, perfect for fans of Klara and the Sun and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
In a reunified Korea of the future, robots have been integrated into society as surrogates, servants, children, and even lovers. Though boundaries between bionic and organic frequently blur, these robots are decidedly second-class citizens. Jun and Morgan, two siblings estranged for many years, are haunted by the memory of their lost brother, Yoyo, who was warm, sensitive, and very nearly human.
Jun, a war veteran turned detective of the lowly Robot Crimes Unit in Seoul, becomes consumed by an investigation that reconnects him with his sister Morgan, now a prominent robot designer working for a top firm, who is, embarrassingly, dating one of her creations in secret.
On the other side of Seoul in a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scraps looking for robotic parts that might support her failing body. When she discovers a robot boy named Yoyo among the piles of trash, an unlikely bond is formed since Yoyo is so lifelike, he’s unlike anything she’s seen before.
While Morgan prepares to launch the most advanced robot-boy of her career, Jun’s investigation sparks a journey through the underbelly of Seoul, unearthing deeper mysteries about the history of their country and their family. The three siblings must find their way back to each other to reckon with their pasts and the future ahead of them in this poignant and remarkable exploration of what it really means to be human.
In a reunified Korea of the future, robots have been integrated into society as surrogates, servants, children, and even lovers. Though boundaries between bionic and organic frequently blur, these robots are decidedly second-class citizens. Jun and Morgan, two siblings estranged for many years, are haunted by the memory of their lost brother, Yoyo, who was warm, sensitive, and very nearly human.
Jun, a war veteran turned detective of the lowly Robot Crimes Unit in Seoul, becomes consumed by an investigation that reconnects him with his sister Morgan, now a prominent robot designer working for a top firm, who is, embarrassingly, dating one of her creations in secret.
On the other side of Seoul in a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scraps looking for robotic parts that might support her failing body. When she discovers a robot boy named Yoyo among the piles of trash, an unlikely bond is formed since Yoyo is so lifelike, he’s unlike anything she’s seen before.
While Morgan prepares to launch the most advanced robot-boy of her career, Jun’s investigation sparks a journey through the underbelly of Seoul, unearthing deeper mysteries about the history of their country and their family. The three siblings must find their way back to each other to reckon with their pasts and the future ahead of them in this poignant and remarkable exploration of what it really means to be human.
391 pages, Hardcover
First published March 11, 2025
122 people are currently reading
16.2k people want to read
About the author
Silvia Park
5 books62 followersSilvia Park’s stories have been published in Black Warrior Review, Tor, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, and elsewhere. She attended the Clarion Science and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop and Tin House Summer Workshop. They teach fiction at the University of Kansas and split their selves between Lawrence and Seoul.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
March 25, 2025
this book has everything: speculative aspects, childhood trauma, murder, estrangement, forbidden romance, a robot sibling.
(3.5 / review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(3.5 / review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
March 20, 2025
In a future, ostensibly unified Korea, robots are integrated into society as servants, companions and even ersatz children. We explore this world through three characters: Jun, a detective in the ‘Robot Crimes’ division; his sister Morgan, a programmer for robot-making corporation Imagine Friends; and Ruijie, a disabled girl who befriends an unusual robot she meets in a junkyard. Linking them all is Yoyo, Jun and Morgan’s missing-presumed-dead robot sibling. There’s a lot going on in Luminous, and I’d be lying if I said I could follow 100% of its threads 100% of the time. This is a book with such a busy, colourful setting that the worldbuilding threatens to overwhelm everything (think Samit Basu’s Chosen Spirits), although there is, eventually, an actual plot emerging from the tangle (think Grace Chan’s Every Version of You). Park is good at introducing just enough emotional context to ground the characters. Speaking of which, Stephen is a great character through which to explore ideas about personhood, and the group of teen friends is well-drawn (Mars is the MVP). Really good stuff: evocative style, great worldbuilding, chewy themes.
I received an advance review copy of Luminous from the publisher through NetGalley.
I received an advance review copy of Luminous from the publisher through NetGalley.
March 20, 2025
Finished Reading
Which was more deadly, real or not real? The real knew no restraint. p14
Pre-Read notes
This is another arc that drew me right in with the cover. That gorgeous mosaic tiger and all the color really spoke to me. Having read the first third of the book now, I understand all the brightness and variation on the cover.
Final Review
Review summary and recommendations
I'm a little surprised how much I liked this book, but I wrote the words "I love" so many times in this review. The story is about something that interests me. I think stories about robots and AI get at deep ethical questions that become more relevant every day. I like that this book neither sensationalizes the subject nor lets the reader off the hook, like the question of sentience and autonomy.
I'm planning to read this book a second time to grab all the details. I'll share a review for that read in this space as well!
“I don’t know if that’s the right word.” Her gaze roved across the tiles. “Crush. That’s weird, right? English is so weird. Like your heart has already broken.” (6:08:15)
Reading Notes
Five things I loved:
1. This passage makes an important statement about disabled people and their advocates and care providers. Affixed to her legs were battery-powered titanium braces; the latest model, customized circuitry to aid her ability to walk. For she was beloved. p10
2. She decided to be perfect and still. Like a robot. Except a robot wouldn’t need mechanic braces to walk. A robot would be thrown away for needing anything at all. p14 A brilliant statement about both disability and non-humann creatures and their assumed value in a hypercapitalist society.
3. The thirteenth floor, ominous now, but the older apartments were likelier to strike off the number four as unlucky. p21 I love that the narrator points out cultural anomolies. for me it created a setting that was both accessible and mysterious.
4. I love that the main character's cat is named Smaug!
5. Cristina was like an eco-flush toilet, well-intentioned and ineffective. p52 I love when books about serious topics still work in humor.
Two things I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. This book gets at the heart of AI ethics from both sides of the issue. I think this is a critical question to ask about developing AI. “Doesn’t David make you happy?” Morgan said, hating the plea in her voice. “Of course he makes me happy. He was designed to bring me joy. I only ask, Why make him mirror us when he’s capable of being more? How do we know of the long-term impact this will have on us, especially our children?” p201
2. The writing is at times peculiar. For example, a relatively short sentence can be a handful because of how Park arranges the pieces of it. The autumn skies are void and vast, high and cloudless, the bright moon undivided in truth as our heart. p226 This is part of an anthem. Maybe that's why it strikes as difficult to interpret.
Rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️ /5 bright lights
Recommend? definitely
Finished: Mar 15 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🧪 science-fiction stories
📆 near-future stories
🤖 stories about robots and AI
🧗♀️ strong, brave fmc
Thank you to the author Silvia Park, publishers Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an accessible advance digital copy of LUMINOUS. All views are mine.
---------------
Which was more deadly, real or not real? The real knew no restraint. p14
Pre-Read notes
This is another arc that drew me right in with the cover. That gorgeous mosaic tiger and all the color really spoke to me. Having read the first third of the book now, I understand all the brightness and variation on the cover.
Final Review
Review summary and recommendations
I'm a little surprised how much I liked this book, but I wrote the words "I love" so many times in this review. The story is about something that interests me. I think stories about robots and AI get at deep ethical questions that become more relevant every day. I like that this book neither sensationalizes the subject nor lets the reader off the hook, like the question of sentience and autonomy.
I'm planning to read this book a second time to grab all the details. I'll share a review for that read in this space as well!
“I don’t know if that’s the right word.” Her gaze roved across the tiles. “Crush. That’s weird, right? English is so weird. Like your heart has already broken.” (6:08:15)
Reading Notes
Five things I loved:
1. This passage makes an important statement about disabled people and their advocates and care providers. Affixed to her legs were battery-powered titanium braces; the latest model, customized circuitry to aid her ability to walk. For she was beloved. p10
2. She decided to be perfect and still. Like a robot. Except a robot wouldn’t need mechanic braces to walk. A robot would be thrown away for needing anything at all. p14 A brilliant statement about both disability and non-humann creatures and their assumed value in a hypercapitalist society.
3. The thirteenth floor, ominous now, but the older apartments were likelier to strike off the number four as unlucky. p21 I love that the narrator points out cultural anomolies. for me it created a setting that was both accessible and mysterious.
4. I love that the main character's cat is named Smaug!
5. Cristina was like an eco-flush toilet, well-intentioned and ineffective. p52 I love when books about serious topics still work in humor.
Two things I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. This book gets at the heart of AI ethics from both sides of the issue. I think this is a critical question to ask about developing AI. “Doesn’t David make you happy?” Morgan said, hating the plea in her voice. “Of course he makes me happy. He was designed to bring me joy. I only ask, Why make him mirror us when he’s capable of being more? How do we know of the long-term impact this will have on us, especially our children?” p201
2. The writing is at times peculiar. For example, a relatively short sentence can be a handful because of how Park arranges the pieces of it. The autumn skies are void and vast, high and cloudless, the bright moon undivided in truth as our heart. p226 This is part of an anthem. Maybe that's why it strikes as difficult to interpret.
Rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️ /5 bright lights
Recommend? definitely
Finished: Mar 15 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🧪 science-fiction stories
📆 near-future stories
🤖 stories about robots and AI
🧗♀️ strong, brave fmc
Thank you to the author Silvia Park, publishers Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an accessible advance digital copy of LUMINOUS. All views are mine.
---------------
November 10, 2024
Almost a 5 star for me. The prose was a little inconsistent for me, but the story was overall great.
April 3, 2025
It feels as if there have been way too many SF books about humanoid robots with artificial general intelligence set in the near future, because it just isn’t going to happen any time soon. The human form is very difficult to reproduce mechanically, while current AI is a long way from having human-like general intelligence (even if it's quite good at faking it). But, despite that proviso, I enjoyed Silvia Park's novel featuring... humanoid robots with artificial intelligence in the nearish future.
One of the reasons the book is striking is the setting. We are in a post-reunification Korea (after a vicious war), to a degree modelled on Germany in the way that the old communist part is looked down on by the rest. This is a world where human-like robots are commonplace, and what Park does well is explore the interface and boundary between human and artificial, with several of her characters effectively cyborgs to the extent we're not even certain to begin with if one character, Yoyo, is human or robot.
This world is explored in three threads. The first features a group of misfit children, playing and interacting in a robot graveyard, where they encounter the mysterious Yoyo. The second focuses on a police officer, severely wounded in the war, who specialises in robot crime. And the third involves a robot designer for one of the 'big three' robotics companies. These threads are eventually linked together by family ties, bringing together the struggles of a disabled child Ruijie, the hunt for a missing (child) robot and the design of a new child robot. This emphasis on robots as children, ranging from being something close to pets to much darker uses is something that Park deploys impressively to make us think about the nature of robot-human relations - and for that matter current human relations in general. (Having said that, the child-character threads aren't as engaging as the adult ones.)
I did have some issues with the book. It is very slow paced, and over-long. I appreciate it has a 'rich, layered story' as one comment has it, and does so without the pretentiousness that tends to accompany literary novels - but there were times I just wanted the author to get on with the narrative. There are also some odd glitches in the science content. Park assumes robots would have brains in their heads, which has been clearly not a sensible thing to do since Asimov's day. We are told of Ruijie that 'she was going to study astrology... and become the first bionic astronaut.' Astrology? And we are told the head of the linking family 'used to be for neurorobotics what Karl Schwarzschild was for quantum physics.' I assume that means he wasn't of much importance, given Schwarzschild's claim to fame is in general relativity, and had little to do with quantum theory.
As mentioned above, there have been quite a few of these robot books recently, often from the more literary end of fiction. Compared, for example, with Kazuro Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, Luminous gives us a significantly better and more interesting exploration of the human implications of this complex technological concept.
One of the reasons the book is striking is the setting. We are in a post-reunification Korea (after a vicious war), to a degree modelled on Germany in the way that the old communist part is looked down on by the rest. This is a world where human-like robots are commonplace, and what Park does well is explore the interface and boundary between human and artificial, with several of her characters effectively cyborgs to the extent we're not even certain to begin with if one character, Yoyo, is human or robot.
This world is explored in three threads. The first features a group of misfit children, playing and interacting in a robot graveyard, where they encounter the mysterious Yoyo. The second focuses on a police officer, severely wounded in the war, who specialises in robot crime. And the third involves a robot designer for one of the 'big three' robotics companies. These threads are eventually linked together by family ties, bringing together the struggles of a disabled child Ruijie, the hunt for a missing (child) robot and the design of a new child robot. This emphasis on robots as children, ranging from being something close to pets to much darker uses is something that Park deploys impressively to make us think about the nature of robot-human relations - and for that matter current human relations in general. (Having said that, the child-character threads aren't as engaging as the adult ones.)
I did have some issues with the book. It is very slow paced, and over-long. I appreciate it has a 'rich, layered story' as one comment has it, and does so without the pretentiousness that tends to accompany literary novels - but there were times I just wanted the author to get on with the narrative. There are also some odd glitches in the science content. Park assumes robots would have brains in their heads, which has been clearly not a sensible thing to do since Asimov's day. We are told of Ruijie that 'she was going to study astrology... and become the first bionic astronaut.' Astrology? And we are told the head of the linking family 'used to be for neurorobotics what Karl Schwarzschild was for quantum physics.' I assume that means he wasn't of much importance, given Schwarzschild's claim to fame is in general relativity, and had little to do with quantum theory.
As mentioned above, there have been quite a few of these robot books recently, often from the more literary end of fiction. Compared, for example, with Kazuro Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, Luminous gives us a significantly better and more interesting exploration of the human implications of this complex technological concept.
April 13, 2025
I give up. I stuck with it as long as I could. I like to read Korean authors. I grew up where I didn't have access to Korean authors, and being Korean, it would've been amazing to know that we could be successful in creative fields too, instead of just the traditionally respected ones (medicine, engineering, law, or clergy). But alas, while there are clear moments of excitement for me, there just aren't enough to sustain me through the rest of the 260 pages.
February 15, 2025
“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”
this is literally my Klara and the Sun. screw ishiguro this is loadsss better.
this is literally my Klara and the Sun. screw ishiguro this is loadsss better.
April 4, 2025
More like 4.5 stars. This really is a good debut: the complexity of several parallel plots in particular. This book centers on a fictional Unified Korea. Of course, prejudice and bias don't go away overnight. In this new Republic, it's obvious that the South has technologically advanced far beyond the North. In this modern Seoul, biotech has soared, greatly improving scientific capability in bionics for humans and in the creation of human-like androids in robotics.
The author tackles many themes regarding personhood, agency, and ethics, as they relate to these advancements. In addition, the author crafts detailed storylines about the families and relationships of those immersed in this world. Suffice it to say that character traits are often the driving force behind how the characters behave, for good or for ill. The potential for depravity, cruelty, and profit can take some to very dark places. Others have more circumspect attitudes, but there is plenty of selfishness to go around.
I felt invested in the characters, in their struggles, hangups, and screwups. Technological progress does not make it any easier to navigate life.
I was riveted by the story and was pleased to see such wide representation, including disability and chronic illness, so rarely addressed even in the modern novel.
In the Acknowledgements/Afterword, the author explains how their own experience of grief and loss informed the story and gave it structure.
I look forward to the stories they have yet to tell us.
The author tackles many themes regarding personhood, agency, and ethics, as they relate to these advancements. In addition, the author crafts detailed storylines about the families and relationships of those immersed in this world. Suffice it to say that character traits are often the driving force behind how the characters behave, for good or for ill. The potential for depravity, cruelty, and profit can take some to very dark places. Others have more circumspect attitudes, but there is plenty of selfishness to go around.
I felt invested in the characters, in their struggles, hangups, and screwups. Technological progress does not make it any easier to navigate life.
I was riveted by the story and was pleased to see such wide representation, including disability and chronic illness, so rarely addressed even in the modern novel.
In the Acknowledgements/Afterword, the author explains how their own experience of grief and loss informed the story and gave it structure.
I look forward to the stories they have yet to tell us.
March 18, 2025
Park’s debut novel is a sibs story! We follow three storylines in Luminous: eldest brother Yoyo, middle brother Jun, and youngest sister Morgan. Mostly set in southern reunified Korea, the main plot centers on finding a missing robot. In this post-human world, robowear is the miracle of science. Human beings can be composed of matter and robot, a “grace of union.” Ruijie’s robotic braces give her hands and legs mobility, and her friendship with Yoyo advances mutuality across species. Bionic existence changes our understanding of human ontology and ens—essentia, esse, gender, ethics, telos.
While the Angelic Doctor uses angels as a foil to understand human beings, Park uses robots. This is all done with careful intrigue and never feels rote. Issues of the philosophy of memory surface as Park teases the definition of one’s (broadly speaking) memory. Stated as a question, how does the presence or absence of memory ontologically compose a human being? Morgan is 100% human and cannot recall her memories with perfect precision; in fact, her inauthentic memories capture or call to mind untrue events. Steven is 100% robot and possesses the hardware and software to remember facts flawlessly. The fun thing is the debated theories of personal and factual memory undergirding the epistemology of one’s identity. Furthermore, Yoyo’s phenomenological memory passed from one iteration of him to the next, or even from one dying robot to him, prompts inquiry about Yoyo’s selfhood.
Although I found the parts about the war in North Korea and the relationships between Yoseph and his wife and children sometimes harder to follow (I think these aspects needed more development), Luminous was satisfying. Park consistently hits the right register—their writing is refined, the sci-fi doesn’t overwhelm, and the subtle discourse on humanness pushes readers to thoughtfully consider a definition of “human being,” a productive task. I’ve already been telling friends about Park’s speculiterary debut before finishing it, and I can’t wait to reco it more now that I’m done.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC.
While the Angelic Doctor uses angels as a foil to understand human beings, Park uses robots. This is all done with careful intrigue and never feels rote. Issues of the philosophy of memory surface as Park teases the definition of one’s (broadly speaking) memory. Stated as a question, how does the presence or absence of memory ontologically compose a human being? Morgan is 100% human and cannot recall her memories with perfect precision; in fact, her inauthentic memories capture or call to mind untrue events. Steven is 100% robot and possesses the hardware and software to remember facts flawlessly. The fun thing is the debated theories of personal and factual memory undergirding the epistemology of one’s identity. Furthermore, Yoyo’s phenomenological memory passed from one iteration of him to the next, or even from one dying robot to him, prompts inquiry about Yoyo’s selfhood.
Although I found the parts about the war in North Korea and the relationships between Yoseph and his wife and children sometimes harder to follow (I think these aspects needed more development), Luminous was satisfying. Park consistently hits the right register—their writing is refined, the sci-fi doesn’t overwhelm, and the subtle discourse on humanness pushes readers to thoughtfully consider a definition of “human being,” a productive task. I’ve already been telling friends about Park’s speculiterary debut before finishing it, and I can’t wait to reco it more now that I’m done.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC.
April 9, 2025
This was absolutely incredible. The use of ai and cybernetics as a metaphor for personhood was so thought provoking, and I loved the exploration of identity. What does it mean to be human? To experience death? To love and mourn? If I could rate this higher I would, the writing was beautiful and the world building was amazing. I particularly loved how disability and death were explored under the same framework. Instead of framing disability as something to be conquered with technology, we really see how characters still have to mourn their old lives and the dreams they once had. They have to cope and come to terms with pain and death, just as the androids do. 10/10 this is my new favorite and I will not shut up about it. 🍓🤖🐇
March 26, 2025
LUMINOUS is a book that's a step outside of my reading comfort zone, given that it's literary scifi. I knew even before I picked it up that I was going to be taking a chance on something that isn't necessarily 100% my thing... and that turned out to be precisely the case. While I caught glimpses of elements that might work for other readers, and while there are undeniably some interesting themes woven throughout the narrative, LUMINOUS just wasn't a book for me.
LUMINOUS was overall an okay read. I don't think I ever really fully grasped the setting and other worldbuilding elements, nor did I connect with any of the characters. (I do think that the latter might potentially be a stylistic choice, given that we're reading a narrative that grapples with a tech-heavy, tech-occupied world, "human" robots included.) The writing felt a little clunky at times, and I kept getting thrown off with the time skips (between scenes in a chapter and between the actual chapters) too.
The main reason that I persisted in reading the book? The themes. It explores loss, and the accompanying grief and anger that may accompany this kind of trauma. It considers identity, what shapes someone over the course of their lives and what makes one human. It looks into connection, both in terms of personal relationships and societal ones. It examines humanity & technology, the relationship we have with tech and the concept of technology being made human. These are the things that stood out to me in particular, and I found myself considering my own feelings and opinions more frequently than I expected as I read.
LUMINOUS packed a lot into its pages, and unfortunately, the majority of its elements didn't end up being my thing. But I did notice enough interesting themes to keep me reading (and certainly having this one be a buddy read helped too!), and that's ultimately why I ended up finishing the book.
LUMINOUS was overall an okay read. I don't think I ever really fully grasped the setting and other worldbuilding elements, nor did I connect with any of the characters. (I do think that the latter might potentially be a stylistic choice, given that we're reading a narrative that grapples with a tech-heavy, tech-occupied world, "human" robots included.) The writing felt a little clunky at times, and I kept getting thrown off with the time skips (between scenes in a chapter and between the actual chapters) too.
The main reason that I persisted in reading the book? The themes. It explores loss, and the accompanying grief and anger that may accompany this kind of trauma. It considers identity, what shapes someone over the course of their lives and what makes one human. It looks into connection, both in terms of personal relationships and societal ones. It examines humanity & technology, the relationship we have with tech and the concept of technology being made human. These are the things that stood out to me in particular, and I found myself considering my own feelings and opinions more frequently than I expected as I read.
LUMINOUS packed a lot into its pages, and unfortunately, the majority of its elements didn't end up being my thing. But I did notice enough interesting themes to keep me reading (and certainly having this one be a buddy read helped too!), and that's ultimately why I ended up finishing the book.
October 9, 2024
Luminous by Silvia Park begins slowly, at times struggling to cohesively construct the futuristic, robot-driven reunified Korea in which it is set. Juxtaposed against a highly automated and artificial world, Park tackles the incredible human topics of grief, loss, and memory. One dimension of Luminous’ unique appeal is the presence of robotic characters in contrast to humans. Park articulates the foundational philosophical question of what makes humans "human" by exploring what keeps her robot characters distinctly inhuman. Ultimately, I argue that Park put forward the ideas in part articulated by Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto. There is "pleasure in the confusion of boundaries and...responsibility in their construction."
In Luminous, (and in contemporary Western society), technology has rendered borders and neat dichotomies obsolete. North versus South, male versus female, robots versus human– all of these prior divisions collapse into a commingled mess. In Haraway’s language “—the relation between organism and machine has been a border war.” In Luminous, the machines are subservient to humans and the North Koreans are subservient to the Southerners. Set against the more familiar political struggle between the North and South, Park’s society fails to draw clean borders between the cyborgs and the humans. Her characters struggle to determine the social legitimacy of robot-human sexual relationships, raising children around robots, having robots in the home, etc. This border war becomes more extreme in characters like Jun –part human, part robot–and most intense in Yoyo and Stephen, who are entirely robotic but intensely human throughout the narrative arc.
Perhaps most interesting, is the way Park utilizes this border-blurring to explore gender. In some ways, the robots provide a glimpse into a post-gender world. At one point, Jun is described as a percentage male, a percentage female, and a percentage robot, which would be neither male nor female. Similarly, Haraway writes “The cyborg is a creature in a postgender world; it has no truck with bisexuality, pre-oedipal symbiosis, unalienated labor, or other seductions to organic wholeness through a final appropriation of all the powers of the parts into a higher unity.” Robots are free from the human drive toward unity and reclaiming the lost innocence of the Garden of Eden. "The cyborg does not dream of community on the model of the organic family, this time without the oedipal project. The cyborg would not recognize the Garden of Eden; it is not made of mud and cannot dream of returning to dust.
Simultaneously, against these ideas, Park presents robots as a manifestation of humans' deeply entrenched performance of gender norms. The female robots are prettier than any real woman, and the male robots are more competent than any real man could ever be. Human male characters use female robots to confirm their manhood. Female robots often end up being created only to be killed and raped without any kind of legal consequences for the perpetrators. The cyborg is at once both postgender and a manifestation of the deep borders between male and female. This ultimately serves to make the robots more human, beholden as they are the social construction of gender through human systems of capitalism, materialism, and feminism.
September 18, 2024
*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, to be honest. On the one hand, I think there were parts where the writing just really hit that perfect note. I also liked the varied discussions on humanity and grief. Also, the cover is just really visually appealing, which is what initially drew me to the book in the first place.
On the other hand, I think I didn't fully "get" the writing at times. It had a tendency to hop around from point-to-point (which is kind of a hallmark, I've found, of literary fiction--and this reads a lot like literary fiction melded together with a sci-fi) and some bits of the writing were a bit difficult for me to parse their meaning; either because the author employed a style of choppiness or just certain descriptions didn't quite hit the mark for me.
But I don't think this is a bad book at all. I'd highly recommend this if you like literary fiction and discussions on humanity through the lens of both humans and robots. I just think that stylistically the writing didn't really mesh in my brain. Not through the fault of the author, I believe, but just something I've noticed that's become popularized in more literary fiction-type novels. I don't always understand it in the way that other people do, and that's fine. So, while I don't regret reading this, I don't know that I fully came away with any profound impact, even though I kind of recognize what the author was trying to do... I think?
Much like other literary fiction books I've tried, I don't think this one is fully for me. I'll still recommend it to other people, though, because I do think there's a lot here that people will really enjoy.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, to be honest. On the one hand, I think there were parts where the writing just really hit that perfect note. I also liked the varied discussions on humanity and grief. Also, the cover is just really visually appealing, which is what initially drew me to the book in the first place.
On the other hand, I think I didn't fully "get" the writing at times. It had a tendency to hop around from point-to-point (which is kind of a hallmark, I've found, of literary fiction--and this reads a lot like literary fiction melded together with a sci-fi) and some bits of the writing were a bit difficult for me to parse their meaning; either because the author employed a style of choppiness or just certain descriptions didn't quite hit the mark for me.
But I don't think this is a bad book at all. I'd highly recommend this if you like literary fiction and discussions on humanity through the lens of both humans and robots. I just think that stylistically the writing didn't really mesh in my brain. Not through the fault of the author, I believe, but just something I've noticed that's become popularized in more literary fiction-type novels. I don't always understand it in the way that other people do, and that's fine. So, while I don't regret reading this, I don't know that I fully came away with any profound impact, even though I kind of recognize what the author was trying to do... I think?
Much like other literary fiction books I've tried, I don't think this one is fully for me. I'll still recommend it to other people, though, because I do think there's a lot here that people will really enjoy.
March 31, 2025
Hmmm, I must say this was an interesting read for sure. I really struggled with the writing style, and it did take me a lot of effort to get used to it. I don’t really know why per se, it wasn’t difficult to understand or anything like that, I just guess it was scattered a bit, and we were jumping from one point to another, hence the struggle to focus on what was really going on.
The story follows Jun, Morgan, Yoyo and Ruijie, and it has different timelines by diving deep into the meaning of what it is to be human. The setting is in Korea after the South and the North have unified, and it portrays the culture and traditions of this country, which I really appreciate since I am a huge fan of South Korea myself (been there and loved it!).
Jun is a detective who investigates crimes related to robots, there are layers of him that I found intriguing. Morgan, on the other hand, is his sister, and she is designing robots for a big robotic company. They are estranged, but Jun’s most recent case of kidnapping has made them cross paths. Yoyo, well, he is their long-lost brother. Ruijie is just a girl who happens to encounter Yoyo and is dealing with a degenerative disease that forces her to use “robowear” in order to be able to move. Her character was really key to the whole story, I think, and I really liked her resilience and the connection she formed with Yoyo.
This was a very deep dive into a society where robots are everywhere, and they can substitute pretty much every part of our everyday life, from servants to children to lovers to things a bit more sinister. It delves into the ever-pondering moral questions when it comes to sci-fi novels involving robots, but it only scratches the surface here. I really did like the depiction of the dysfunctional family, of the grief and how thought-provoking some parts of this book were.
Without giving too much away, overall, this was a solid sci-fi DEBUT, I did enjoy it, apart from the writing at times that I found hard to get into, as mentioned in the beginning. Some elements were overused, like in any book of this genre, I guess, but regardless, I do recommend this book!
3.5/5
On a side note, there is a rumour that this book will be turned into a TV series, and the author will be directing the production. If this hits the big screen, I would absolutely love to watch it!
The story follows Jun, Morgan, Yoyo and Ruijie, and it has different timelines by diving deep into the meaning of what it is to be human. The setting is in Korea after the South and the North have unified, and it portrays the culture and traditions of this country, which I really appreciate since I am a huge fan of South Korea myself (been there and loved it!).
Jun is a detective who investigates crimes related to robots, there are layers of him that I found intriguing. Morgan, on the other hand, is his sister, and she is designing robots for a big robotic company. They are estranged, but Jun’s most recent case of kidnapping has made them cross paths. Yoyo, well, he is their long-lost brother. Ruijie is just a girl who happens to encounter Yoyo and is dealing with a degenerative disease that forces her to use “robowear” in order to be able to move. Her character was really key to the whole story, I think, and I really liked her resilience and the connection she formed with Yoyo.
This was a very deep dive into a society where robots are everywhere, and they can substitute pretty much every part of our everyday life, from servants to children to lovers to things a bit more sinister. It delves into the ever-pondering moral questions when it comes to sci-fi novels involving robots, but it only scratches the surface here. I really did like the depiction of the dysfunctional family, of the grief and how thought-provoking some parts of this book were.
Without giving too much away, overall, this was a solid sci-fi DEBUT, I did enjoy it, apart from the writing at times that I found hard to get into, as mentioned in the beginning. Some elements were overused, like in any book of this genre, I guess, but regardless, I do recommend this book!
3.5/5
On a side note, there is a rumour that this book will be turned into a TV series, and the author will be directing the production. If this hits the big screen, I would absolutely love to watch it!
March 10, 2025
4.5/5 ARC gifted by the publisher
Set in a reunified Korea, where robots are second-class citizens, LUMINOUS is a stunning exploration of memory & legacy. Park masterfully weaves a missing robot mystery with complex family dynamics, Korean history, and philosophical questions about creation and cruelty.
The unsettling similarities between parenting and programming resonated deeply with me. They made me wonder if the limits of a parent's love or a programmer's coding ability solely contribute to our "creations'" shortcomings. Another fascinating thread is the juxtaposition of humans' error-prone memory and machines' error-proof remembrance. Which one is the bug, and which is the feature? Is one more beneficial for survival and evolution? LUMINOUS doesn't offer easy answers, but it tickled my brain in all the right ways.
Set in a reunified Korea, where robots are second-class citizens, LUMINOUS is a stunning exploration of memory & legacy. Park masterfully weaves a missing robot mystery with complex family dynamics, Korean history, and philosophical questions about creation and cruelty.
The unsettling similarities between parenting and programming resonated deeply with me. They made me wonder if the limits of a parent's love or a programmer's coding ability solely contribute to our "creations'" shortcomings. Another fascinating thread is the juxtaposition of humans' error-prone memory and machines' error-proof remembrance. Which one is the bug, and which is the feature? Is one more beneficial for survival and evolution? LUMINOUS doesn't offer easy answers, but it tickled my brain in all the right ways.
March 14, 2025
super good. & sad!!
March 24, 2025
This was one hell of a debut novel. I'm struggling to find the right words for a review, but suffice to say that it pulled me forward, the robots quickly transforming from Concepts to characters, many kinds of grief giving the story nuance and solidity that never felt too heavy to hold.
February 9, 2025
Never thought one of my favourite scenes in this book would asking a toilet for forgiveness but here we are 😂
A great exploration of grief, self and robots
A great exploration of grief, self and robots
March 12, 2025
LUMINOUS by Silvia Park is a sci-fi literary fiction (heavy on the literary) that is set in a reunified Korea where robots are integrated into humans’ daily lives, as nannies, boyfriends, and even children. The book has a lot of characters, but at the heart of it is Jun, a detective working in Robot Crimes; Ruijie, a disabled eleven-year-old girl who relies on robot technology to power her body; and between the two is Yoyo, a robot boy.
There are a lot interesting themes in the book that examine the complexities and boundaries of identities—what we physically look like, what gender we identify with, where we are from, and who we love—and how they all begin to blur. There is an interesting layers of religion (Christianity/Catholicism) woven throughout the text. And to be clear, this was not proselytizing in any way, but I interpreted those gestures as the author’s exploration of the juxtaposing themes of salvation from humanity and faith in humanity. Robot ethics has been discussed at large as a philosophical topic in a lot of sci-fi media, and Park’s book does the same. And while my sci-fi literacy is pretty low, I did appreciate the various robot identities in the book, and how they integrate with humans and how they/we evolve. Evolution means survival of the fittest, and in the book we see how humans use robots to survive—bionic bodies and even as surrogate family members. But, what about the robots? If surviving for them meant living in a world that treats you like second-class citizens, how would their evolution look like? What does their salvation look like?
There is a lot going on in the book with multiple characters but all with very distinct voices. The pacing was perfect for me (I do love my short chapters), and there was some gorgeous writing in here. I did wish there was more focus on certain relationships (i.e., Yoyo and Ruijie), but overall I really adored this one. What an impressive debut.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted review copy. All opinions are my own.
There are a lot interesting themes in the book that examine the complexities and boundaries of identities—what we physically look like, what gender we identify with, where we are from, and who we love—and how they all begin to blur. There is an interesting layers of religion (Christianity/Catholicism) woven throughout the text. And to be clear, this was not proselytizing in any way, but I interpreted those gestures as the author’s exploration of the juxtaposing themes of salvation from humanity and faith in humanity. Robot ethics has been discussed at large as a philosophical topic in a lot of sci-fi media, and Park’s book does the same. And while my sci-fi literacy is pretty low, I did appreciate the various robot identities in the book, and how they integrate with humans and how they/we evolve. Evolution means survival of the fittest, and in the book we see how humans use robots to survive—bionic bodies and even as surrogate family members. But, what about the robots? If surviving for them meant living in a world that treats you like second-class citizens, how would their evolution look like? What does their salvation look like?
There is a lot going on in the book with multiple characters but all with very distinct voices. The pacing was perfect for me (I do love my short chapters), and there was some gorgeous writing in here. I did wish there was more focus on certain relationships (i.e., Yoyo and Ruijie), but overall I really adored this one. What an impressive debut.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted review copy. All opinions are my own.
April 11, 2025
Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an eARC
2.5 stars
I really thought I was going to love this based off the premise, but the execution just didn't really work for me. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters which made it hard for me to then care about what was going on. The beginning of this was pretty interesting but then the pacing becomes very slow and drags on. The themes are interesting but ultimately have been explored before many times and I don't think this book does anything new. If this wasn't an ARC I most likely would've just DNFed.
2.5 stars
I really thought I was going to love this based off the premise, but the execution just didn't really work for me. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters which made it hard for me to then care about what was going on. The beginning of this was pretty interesting but then the pacing becomes very slow and drags on. The themes are interesting but ultimately have been explored before many times and I don't think this book does anything new. If this wasn't an ARC I most likely would've just DNFed.
April 15, 2025
3.5
parts of this book I loved. I think it's a personal preference of mine rather than a shortcoming of the author but I wish wish wish we learned more about Jun's wartime experiences and that the characters had more of a political life outside of the immediate needs of the story.
parts of this book I loved. I think it's a personal preference of mine rather than a shortcoming of the author but I wish wish wish we learned more about Jun's wartime experiences and that the characters had more of a political life outside of the immediate needs of the story.
March 14, 2025
For some reason my review was deleted, which I find bizarre and annoying. Here is a copy of my previous review from November 11th, 2024:
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I normally finish a book in 1-3 days, so the fact that this took me an entire month to read is kind of wild to me—especially considering it was one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I even preordered the hardcover. I’ve been recommending it to anyone who will listen, showing off the cover to coworkers in an attempt to entice them into preordering alongside me, trying to coax others into signing up for Netgalley so that we can talk about the book…Hell, I even got my therapist to preorder it.
There’s something about Luminous that is utter crack for trans men. Every trans guy I’ve explained the premise to (including myself) has been instantly rabid for the plot. There are multiple protagonists in Luminous, one of which being a queer trans man named Jun. Jun? He’s great. I loved him. You’ll love him too, especially if you’re transmasc.
Luminous is a sci-fi novel set in a unified Korea about three estranged siblings: Morgan, the youngest, an android designer who is about to launch her newest line of child robots and is dating one of her own android creations in secret; Jun, the middle child, a trans man missing 90% of his bionic body after surviving an explosion, putting question into whether trans people can mourn the body they never had a chance to transition into, even though they might now have the cis-passing body of their dreams; and Yoyo, the eldest child, an android so life-like he’s very nearly human, who disappeared when Jun and Morgan were still children. It’s an amazing book with a heavy critique on consumerism. It made me cry.
The writing in this book is gorgeous. The pacing is tight, the characters are multifaceted and have very distinct voices, and the critique on capitalism and consumerism? Stunning. Perfection. I could go on and on about the author’s exploration into consumerism, but I’ll save that for my best friend once they finish the book.
Like I said before, I cried multiple times throughout reading, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m tearing up right now just thinking about it. I’ve read almost a hundred books this year, but Luminous may in fact be my favorite of them all.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I normally finish a book in 1-3 days, so the fact that this took me an entire month to read is kind of wild to me—especially considering it was one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I even preordered the hardcover. I’ve been recommending it to anyone who will listen, showing off the cover to coworkers in an attempt to entice them into preordering alongside me, trying to coax others into signing up for Netgalley so that we can talk about the book…Hell, I even got my therapist to preorder it.
There’s something about Luminous that is utter crack for trans men. Every trans guy I’ve explained the premise to (including myself) has been instantly rabid for the plot. There are multiple protagonists in Luminous, one of which being a queer trans man named Jun. Jun? He’s great. I loved him. You’ll love him too, especially if you’re transmasc.
Luminous is a sci-fi novel set in a unified Korea about three estranged siblings: Morgan, the youngest, an android designer who is about to launch her newest line of child robots and is dating one of her own android creations in secret; Jun, the middle child, a trans man missing 90% of his bionic body after surviving an explosion, putting question into whether trans people can mourn the body they never had a chance to transition into, even though they might now have the cis-passing body of their dreams; and Yoyo, the eldest child, an android so life-like he’s very nearly human, who disappeared when Jun and Morgan were still children. It’s an amazing book with a heavy critique on consumerism. It made me cry.
The writing in this book is gorgeous. The pacing is tight, the characters are multifaceted and have very distinct voices, and the critique on capitalism and consumerism? Stunning. Perfection. I could go on and on about the author’s exploration into consumerism, but I’ll save that for my best friend once they finish the book.
Like I said before, I cried multiple times throughout reading, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m tearing up right now just thinking about it. I’ve read almost a hundred books this year, but Luminous may in fact be my favorite of them all.
March 22, 2025
I very much enjoyed this one
September 25, 2024
4.5/5
In a future where the line between human and robot is blurred, Silvia Parks asks: what makes a person real, and what makes a thing a person? At its core, this book is literary fiction and not hard sci-fi — robotic world building is forgone to focus on identity and the longing for connection; these soft and messy ties that bind us.
Someone in the book summarizes this dichotomy well: “Do you think the lines I say have less value because you can track the input data? What about the lines you say to each other? Aren’t they the same lines you downloaded from thousands of sources?” It comes at a very relevant time, of large AI models that make paintings and write essays that we don’t want to call art. All I know is that in this (very plausible tbh) future, there is everything in between children with robotic limbs, humans that are monsters, and robots that are tender: all bags of flesh that want to feel less alone, and that is at times both cruel and touching.
The writing is beautiful, if a bit slow to start. I am a sucker for a good line, so quotes like "Sometimes the heart can fail without war" really hit the spot.
Thanks to the publisher for the e-arc.
In a future where the line between human and robot is blurred, Silvia Parks asks: what makes a person real, and what makes a thing a person? At its core, this book is literary fiction and not hard sci-fi — robotic world building is forgone to focus on identity and the longing for connection; these soft and messy ties that bind us.
Someone in the book summarizes this dichotomy well: “Do you think the lines I say have less value because you can track the input data? What about the lines you say to each other? Aren’t they the same lines you downloaded from thousands of sources?” It comes at a very relevant time, of large AI models that make paintings and write essays that we don’t want to call art. All I know is that in this (very plausible tbh) future, there is everything in between children with robotic limbs, humans that are monsters, and robots that are tender: all bags of flesh that want to feel less alone, and that is at times both cruel and touching.
The writing is beautiful, if a bit slow to start. I am a sucker for a good line, so quotes like "Sometimes the heart can fail without war" really hit the spot.
Thanks to the publisher for the e-arc.
Want to read
February 15, 2025Elliott Brooks Anticipated New Releases 💧
March 28, 2025
"Accepting death required everyone to act a little bit like a robot."
I received this book yesterday and started reading it right away. As a mood reader, that hasn't happened in years, so you can see how excited I was to be illuminated from this story. And it was everything the premise promised, and some more! I loved how death and loss were described and treated throughout the whole book: "Everywhere, capitalism has become the language of grief." That part was me finally realising how much deeper these humans and robots needed eachother, not just to substitute the loved ones that had died, but to make themselves feel loved, even if they didn't love themselves. I still expected this to be lighter that it turned out to be, the relationship between main characters, siblings, humans and a robot, was what intrigued me when I first learned about this book, that little kid, the robot sibling sometimes gave me the A.I. artificial intelligence movie vibes and the nostalgia this brought was bittersweet. I had tears at times, I got some smiles too, but mostly it was really pulling at my heartstrings. And what a perfect book to read during Trans rights readathon! Gender was discussed and treated mostly beautifully.
There was part about child robots, where they were treated horribly, and I know there's such horrible people who abuse and use and kill kids, so them treating robots same way shouldn't have surprised me, and yet I wasn't prepared to feel so sad for those poor creatures.
"Everytime I'm powered down, I cease to be. I don't dream. I don't sleep. I stop being."
I don't know why I have such strong affection for robots, but I can't stop falling for these characters. This world might be futuristic and more robot friendly than our time, but there's still some robophobia going on and it's not just ones and zeros, these robots are so human sometimes, so real, you can't just read and not feel something.
I received this book yesterday and started reading it right away. As a mood reader, that hasn't happened in years, so you can see how excited I was to be illuminated from this story. And it was everything the premise promised, and some more! I loved how death and loss were described and treated throughout the whole book: "Everywhere, capitalism has become the language of grief." That part was me finally realising how much deeper these humans and robots needed eachother, not just to substitute the loved ones that had died, but to make themselves feel loved, even if they didn't love themselves. I still expected this to be lighter that it turned out to be, the relationship between main characters, siblings, humans and a robot, was what intrigued me when I first learned about this book, that little kid, the robot sibling sometimes gave me the A.I. artificial intelligence movie vibes and the nostalgia this brought was bittersweet. I had tears at times, I got some smiles too, but mostly it was really pulling at my heartstrings. And what a perfect book to read during Trans rights readathon! Gender was discussed and treated mostly beautifully.
There was part about child robots, where they were treated horribly, and I know there's such horrible people who abuse and use and kill kids, so them treating robots same way shouldn't have surprised me, and yet I wasn't prepared to feel so sad for those poor creatures.
"Everytime I'm powered down, I cease to be. I don't dream. I don't sleep. I stop being."
I don't know why I have such strong affection for robots, but I can't stop falling for these characters. This world might be futuristic and more robot friendly than our time, but there's still some robophobia going on and it's not just ones and zeros, these robots are so human sometimes, so real, you can't just read and not feel something.
March 28, 2025
There have been a lot of science fiction books about AI and robots lately. This is one of the best ones I've read.
Unlike society's concern with the Large Language Models (LLMs) that form what is currently referred to as “AI”, That's not the concern of most science fiction. They deal more with the humanistic aspects of robots, questioning whether these can be considered 'people'. Clearly, robots are standing in for the 'other' in fiction.
This story focuses on three points of view, two of whom are brother and sister. Morgan is the brilliant daughter of one of the co-creators of the modern robots who often can't be told from humans. She created a bespoke humanoid robot for a 'boyfriend'. She works for a robot manufacturer about to roll out a revolutionary new model. Jun is Morgan's brother, is transgender, and is a wounded veteran who is largely bionic (the book's term) so that it's unclear how much of his biology is left.
Ruijie has a debilitating illness that requires her to wear 'robowear' if she moves beyond her wheelchair. She hangs around a scrapyard where old robot parts are found. Yoyo is a damaged robot she encounters, and it turns out Yoyo has an important connection to Jun and Morgan who have no idea he still exists.
This sets the stage for a fascinating exploration of how humans might interact with creations that are seen as humanistic by some, and non-human by others. We see abuse and violence of robots (some pretty clear body horror), and well as sexual exploitation. We also see some very funny interactions between human and robot, especially concerning Yoyo. The reader is pulled back and forth over the question of 'am I reading about a person, or an object?'
There's a lot to ponder here, but it's an incredibly intelligent and entertaining package.
This is a debut novel, and puts Silvia Park in contention for major awards next year. It also makes her voice an important one to pay attention to.
Unlike society's concern with the Large Language Models (LLMs) that form what is currently referred to as “AI”, That's not the concern of most science fiction. They deal more with the humanistic aspects of robots, questioning whether these can be considered 'people'. Clearly, robots are standing in for the 'other' in fiction.
This story focuses on three points of view, two of whom are brother and sister. Morgan is the brilliant daughter of one of the co-creators of the modern robots who often can't be told from humans. She created a bespoke humanoid robot for a 'boyfriend'. She works for a robot manufacturer about to roll out a revolutionary new model. Jun is Morgan's brother, is transgender, and is a wounded veteran who is largely bionic (the book's term) so that it's unclear how much of his biology is left.
Ruijie has a debilitating illness that requires her to wear 'robowear' if she moves beyond her wheelchair. She hangs around a scrapyard where old robot parts are found. Yoyo is a damaged robot she encounters, and it turns out Yoyo has an important connection to Jun and Morgan who have no idea he still exists.
This sets the stage for a fascinating exploration of how humans might interact with creations that are seen as humanistic by some, and non-human by others. We see abuse and violence of robots (some pretty clear body horror), and well as sexual exploitation. We also see some very funny interactions between human and robot, especially concerning Yoyo. The reader is pulled back and forth over the question of 'am I reading about a person, or an object?'
There's a lot to ponder here, but it's an incredibly intelligent and entertaining package.
This is a debut novel, and puts Silvia Park in contention for major awards next year. It also makes her voice an important one to pay attention to.
February 14, 2025
Set in a reunified Korea of the future where humans and robots live side-by-side, Luminous follows three siblings and a young girl. Jun is a member of the Robot Crimes Unit tasked with finding an elderly woman's missing robot companion. His sister Morgan is a personality programmer whose company is about to launch her newest line of robots. Ruijie is a young student with a body that is beginning to betray her who scavenges in a tech junkyard with school friends and befriends a robot named YoYo. YoYo is the key to all these threads, as he is the older sibling of Jun and Morgan who they haven't seen since childhood.
Luminous explores many themes around what it means t0 be human, to live in a body, to be part of a family. Among other subthreads, you also have the ideal robot boyfriend that Morgan has created and modeled after her celebrity crush, the legacy of their father who has shifted to working with bionic/robotic animals after a contentious split with a friend, and a ring of toxic men who prove that their cruelty is not limited to humans. Both Jun and Ruijie are dealing with what it means to live in their bodies: Jun is a trans man whose body is also full of bionic parts after a military explosion. Ruijie is dealing with the limitations of her failing body and her uneasy relationship with the technology she relies on to compensate.
I initially picked this up because it had been compared in a couple of place to Kazuo Ishiguro, which makes sense both in themes and writing style.
Luminous explores many themes around what it means t0 be human, to live in a body, to be part of a family. Among other subthreads, you also have the ideal robot boyfriend that Morgan has created and modeled after her celebrity crush, the legacy of their father who has shifted to working with bionic/robotic animals after a contentious split with a friend, and a ring of toxic men who prove that their cruelty is not limited to humans. Both Jun and Ruijie are dealing with what it means to live in their bodies: Jun is a trans man whose body is also full of bionic parts after a military explosion. Ruijie is dealing with the limitations of her failing body and her uneasy relationship with the technology she relies on to compensate.
I initially picked this up because it had been compared in a couple of place to Kazuo Ishiguro, which makes sense both in themes and writing style.
January 20, 2025
A little bit In the Lives of Puppets, a sprinkling of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, a generous helping of Klara and the Sun with a hint of Titanium Noir, this book will definitely have wide appeal.
Silvia Park has taken robotic fiction to a future, unified Korea and leads us on a part detective investigation, part Shakespearean family drama, part sci-fi romp that tackles ethics, politics and philosophy in a thrilling page turner.
Trans, or even postgender, war veteran Jun, now part bionic after being exploded during the unification war, is on the case to find a missing daughter of the robot persuasion. The hunt thrusts him back into the life of his estranged sister Morgan, meaning they must face their tragic past and the loss of their brother Yoyo, a humanoid created by his maverick engineer father.
We follow Jun, Morgan and a rag tag group of school children through the underbelly of Seoul in a world where robots are the subject of every human urge - love, desire, rage and violence - and are used in all the ways humans use eachother.
Jumping back and forth through differing perspectives and timelines, I found it a little hard to keep up with the plot of this story and ultimately I think Park might have taken on a little too much in one book. But I really enjoyed its ambition and particularly the deep dives into the idea “self-feeling” robots, the social and political commentary woven throughout, and the unnerving repercussions of unlimited technical advances.
Silvia Park has taken robotic fiction to a future, unified Korea and leads us on a part detective investigation, part Shakespearean family drama, part sci-fi romp that tackles ethics, politics and philosophy in a thrilling page turner.
Trans, or even postgender, war veteran Jun, now part bionic after being exploded during the unification war, is on the case to find a missing daughter of the robot persuasion. The hunt thrusts him back into the life of his estranged sister Morgan, meaning they must face their tragic past and the loss of their brother Yoyo, a humanoid created by his maverick engineer father.
We follow Jun, Morgan and a rag tag group of school children through the underbelly of Seoul in a world where robots are the subject of every human urge - love, desire, rage and violence - and are used in all the ways humans use eachother.
Jumping back and forth through differing perspectives and timelines, I found it a little hard to keep up with the plot of this story and ultimately I think Park might have taken on a little too much in one book. But I really enjoyed its ambition and particularly the deep dives into the idea “self-feeling” robots, the social and political commentary woven throughout, and the unnerving repercussions of unlimited technical advances.
March 17, 2025
If you loved the AI: Artificial Intelligence movie (Jude Law & Haley Joel Osment) and Blade Runner 2049, then you should absolutely pick this book up. The vibes are there-what constitutes life when it comes to AI and robots, replacing humans and things you love with robots, religion in this context, grief in this context, family ties and how robotics can drive a wedge in there, you get the picture. So if your vibe is media centering around those topics, hit Luminous up!
Now for a small critique. For a book centering around these topics, I don't know that I would consider any of the themes fully fleshed out. Like, we get storylines galore, but not much of any wrap-ups or thoughtful conclusions. Things do conclude for the most part, but not in a way that made me go, wow, that was an insightful critique on (insert topic here). I wanted more. I'm a greedy reader!
I still would recommend to sci-fi lovers! It has a lot going for it and I look forward to what Park will write in the future! 3.5ish stars!
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the e-ARC!
Now for a small critique. For a book centering around these topics, I don't know that I would consider any of the themes fully fleshed out. Like, we get storylines galore, but not much of any wrap-ups or thoughtful conclusions. Things do conclude for the most part, but not in a way that made me go, wow, that was an insightful critique on (insert topic here). I wanted more. I'm a greedy reader!
I still would recommend to sci-fi lovers! It has a lot going for it and I look forward to what Park will write in the future! 3.5ish stars!
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the e-ARC!
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