This review was originally posted on Sincerely Soulful on November 7, 2019

The one was an… interesting one for me. I am not the biggest Science Fiction fan, so stepping into this read was a bit out of my comfort zone. I don’t typically enjoy sci-fi, something about it just doesn’t catch me (even though I love sci-fi films). The Luminous Dead, however, called to me in terms of its other genre cross-over: horror. We all know I love that good, good horror. So, this one felt like it could be right up my alley.

It really wasn’t a monster horror, BUT the complete isolation, deprivation, and loss of self type horror that was going on in there was real good. For one, I loved how the pacing played out. It was slow where it needed to be and fast paced where it counted. There was definitely a lot of sci-fi elements, it was on an alien planet with futuristic tech and systems, so yeah not for the people who hate that hardcore sci-fi. Surprisingly, I was totally happy with the amount of sci-fi that was in this. It was the perfect amount for someone like me. Enough to understand what was happening and the background, but not too much to completely lose me.

There were some things I didn’t like, but that also made me like the book more, if that makes sense. I loved that the characters were unlikeable, but realistic and had some redeeming qualities. I also liked how very real it felt. I feel like if I was trapped in a mine, lost and needing another human to guide me I would probably feel the same way Gyre did throughout this book. There was some definite creepy reliance and manipulation happening.

Overall, I totally enjoyed this. It isn’t going to push out any of my top favourites but it was creepy, dark, and unsettling! All things I totally love!