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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.
Publication Year: 2025
It's been a long time since I loved a book so much I genuinely didn't want to reach the end and have it all be over.
0Is this going to be my new favorite book? It's making a strong bid for the spot. I think this one has absolutely flown under the radar — it's so beautifully written and has incredibly complex characters but I haven't really seen anyone talking about it
1the subversion of misgendering vs mistaking for a robot is SO good
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LUMINOUS by Silvia Park is a beautifully written, literary sci-fi/spec fic masterpiece. While the book itself is crime-focused, most of the story, to me, is a meditation on what makes a human a human, and what makes a robot a robot. These are themes often explored in cyberpunk/sci-fi, but I think Park navigates the nuances and complexities with an extra thread of depth I have not seen before. The worldbuilding in this book hooked me right away, particularly how it affects Jun, a trans male character, who has had to navigate being trans in a AFAB body, then - by the time the story starts - becoming a hugely bionic person after suffering extreme injuries in the military. I'd read an entire series about Jun. Seriously. He's awesome - and not with out his flaws, either. He can be bratty, especially how he treats his sister, Morgan. Morgan, too, is flawed, and her relationship with her personalized and created robot boyfriend, Stephen, reveals a lot of her self-centeredness and the ramifications it has on Stephen's development. Speaking of development - who knew robots could be so complex? The first robots I remember caring about in fiction were C-3PO and R2D2 in Star Wars, but even they weren't this diverse and complex. I LOVED how Park humanized robots while still making it clear they are robots and are NOT humans. This shines with Stephen and Yoyo's portrayals. However, the very fact that Robo-Crimes exist as a unit in the police force make it clear that Robots may not be human, but they're not undeserving of justice, either. Taewon and Ruijie had great POVs too, though perhaps not as much screen time as Jun and Morgan. Ruijie is a young girl with MS who wants a robot companion as her care taker. Taewon is a wry, cynical, troubled kid who has been alienated from his peers - no different from how many of the population alienates robots. Man, Taewon was such an unlikeable character at first, but Park really changed my mind about him. I feel for him. I really do. I do feel like there's a touch more story to be told, like the ending is missing 30 or so pages to wrap up these stories gracefully. But y'know what, for a debut, this was phenomenal. Looking forward to reading more of Park's work. 4.75/5 stars
0Speechless. I'll be back to write a proper review later, but wow. What an intense celebration of grief, memory, and what it means to be human.
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