Hardcover, 400 pages
English language
Published March 11, 2025 by Simon & Schuster.
This sweeping debut novel set in a unified Korea 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.
“I once had a family. At least, the earliest version of me had a family.”
In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.
Siblings Jun and Morgan haven’t spoken for years. When they were children, their brother Yoyo disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only distant memories of his laughter and near-human warmth. Yoyo—an early prototype of …
This sweeping debut novel set in a unified Korea 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.
“I once had a family. At least, the earliest version of me had a family.”
In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.
Siblings Jun and Morgan haven’t spoken for years. When they were children, their brother Yoyo disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only distant memories of his laughter and near-human warmth. Yoyo—an early prototype of a humanoid robot designed by their father—was always bound for something darker and more complex. Now Morgan makes robots for a living and is on the verge of losing control of her most important creation. Jun is a detective with the Robot Crimes Unit whose investigation is digging up truths that want to stay buried. And whether they like it or not, Ruijie’s discovery will thrust their family back together in ways they could have never imagined.
A messy but enjoyable book about robots, grief, and memory set in a post-war unified Korea.
The plot, pacing, and characters meandered a bit too much for my taste, but it was made up for by the texture in the world and its threads of philosophy. I do also love a story that is engaging with both disability and transness through the lens of robots and robotics.
Luminous: 100/100
Luminous is a book about death, loss, and self-loathing, told via the universal medium of robots.
I love the way the connections between the lives of the different characters are gradually revealed as the story unfolds. I also really appreciate the complexity and depth of the characters, even when they seen stereotypical seen from one angle.
The author wrote in the acknowledgements that she started out to write a children's book and kind of got derailed by personal circumstances into this thing that is much darker and more complex, but I'm very glad she did, Luminous is extremely good.
Luminous: 100/100
Luminous is a book about death, loss, and self-loathing, told via the universal medium of robots.
I love the way the connections between the lives of the different characters are gradually revealed as the story unfolds. I also really appreciate the complexity and depth of the characters, even when they seen stereotypical seen from one angle.
The author wrote in the acknowledgements that she started out to write a children's book and kind of got derailed by personal circumstances into this thing that is much darker and more complex, but I'm very glad she did, Luminous is extremely good.
