Robot siblings, family drama, murder, forbidden love, What’s not to like? I did feel like there was a little too much going on at times and some threads were not as explored as they could have been but the world building was solid, I thought the teens were a standout.

This was the book I'd wanted KLARA AND THE SUN to be. I really felt like Park provides a much more nuanced approach to AI and androids, and the setting was far more interesting than that of Ishiguro's novel. I felt like I was watching a near-future Korean drama on TV. Interesting characters, interesting moral issues raised. Highly recommend.

An interesting debut novel set in a future unified Korea where robots have become commonplace whether as domestics or adopted children. Parents even strive to increase the capabilities of their children by fitting them with robot parts. The story centres around three characters: Jun, a cop in the Robot Crimes division, his sister Morgan who works in one of the top three robot manufacturing companies and a differently abled child called Ruijie. The three characters are linked through Yoyo, a robot Ruijee befriends in a robot scrap yard. Yoyo is the long lost presumed dead brother of Jun and Morgan. The premise of the novel is very promising and it deals with myriad thought provoking issues like the demographics of a world populated by humans and robots, social class, the parental quest for the perfect child and so on. Overall, I found the book too long and the story too slow paced. The writing is not easy to skim over. I plan to re-read this when I have enough time to savour every line of the story. Recommend for anybody who is interested in AI, a robot populated word and social commentary on class.

Well, that was a book. Not one I particularly enjoyed though. I had such high hopes for it, maybe that was the problem? It has high ratings on both Goodreads and StoryGraph, so maybe I’m the problem. It started off fairly strong, and ended decently enough, but the middle? Snoozefest. I couldn’t have cared less. It was a slog for me to finish, but I put so many days in, I couldn’t just DNF.

Luminous is the debut novel for Silvia Park, and as such evinces some of the issues that sometimes crop up in first books in areas such as structure and pace. Those issues, however, are more than eclipsed by the book’s shimmering prose, frequently moving moments, and thoughtful exploration of a number of themes, all circling around the question of what it means to be “human.”

Park sets her novel in a unified Korea, roughly twenty years after the war that ended their separation. In this not-too-distant future, robots are nearly as ubiquitous as today’s smartphones, appearing in all facets of life and shaped into form based on function, with many of them androids (humanoid form). Major/important characters in the world of Luminous include:

• Morgan, a high-up “personality programmer” for Imagine Friends, the largest, most advanced manufacturer of humanoid robots in Korea, which is about to launch a huge new model (Boy X). Already anxious over the launch, Morgan is also stressed out over her relationship with Stephen, her own live-in robot that despite being designed/programmed by her seems unable to meet her desires, whether romantic or carnal.

• Jun, Morgan’s brother and an injured war veteran who now works in law enforcement in Robot Crimes, mostly dealing with missing, stolen, or abused robots. He himself is part-mechanical following a post-injury surgery that “repaired him by attaching not the bionic to his body but his body to the bionic.” Being trans adds another layer to his view of his own identify (when he is confused for a robot, a not-uncommon event, he compares it to how he used to be misgendered). His storyline involves a search for a missing robot girl.

• Ruiije, a tween girl suffering from a degenerative illness — “the doctors lobbed acronyms like ALS, PMA, an MMA” — that has her needing a robotic exoskeleton and that will eventually require major bionic surgery. After scavenging in the robot salvage yard and finding an old, abandoned robot (Yoyo) in the form of a young boy, she and several classmates form an attachment to him, trying to help him repair himself while protecting him from the “scrappers” who break up found robots for parts. As they interact with Yoyo, it quickly becomes clear he is a wildly different sort of robot than any of them have ever seen or heard about.

• Taewon: one of Ruiije’s above schoolmates who lives with his scrapper uncle

• Stephen: Morgan’s robot who wrestles with his failure to please her (particularly the balance between subservience and challenging stimulation), religion, and his own sense of self-identity

• Morgan and Jun’s dad, who is mostly absent but whose impact is felt throughout, as he and his colleague made the breakthrough that led to the modern robot (his work in “neurobiotics” underpins Morgan’s), though shortly afterward he abandoned humanoid robots to work on “zoobots.” He also, when Morgan and Jun were young, brought home a boy robot that became their brother for some years until he mysteriously disappeared, leaving an emotional scar that both Morgan and Jun are still trying to deal with in their own ways.

The storylines — Morgan’s big launch, Jun’s investigation into the missing girl robot, Ruiije’s new robot friend, and Stephen’s quest for a sense of self — eventually converge, as might be expected. Thankfully though, this doesn’t happen in any sort of neatly tied off and contrived fashion as can sometimes be the case with these structures. Instead, the plots come together messily, chaotically, as is often the case in real, unscripted life, and the book is better for that decision.

Park explores all the familiar themes one expects in this sort of work. What is consciousness? What defines being “human”? Can robots be “human”? What is the line between human, augmented human, cyborgs, and robots? Does a line even exist? How will the permeation of robots into society affect our society and culture? Affect how we view the world, each other, the sentient beings we now share it with? What will be the impact of robots in warfare? Can robots have feelings? Do they “die” like humans or like an old toy? Can humans and robots form “real” relationships? Fall in love? While these ideas have been explored in sci-fi through countless works (particularly Dick’s classic and highly influential Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), Luminous reminded me most strongly of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, and both Brian Aldiss’ “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” and Spielberg’s subsequent adaptation/expansion, AI, works that focus as much (if not more) on character and society as on technology, often in mournful, bittersweet fashion.

As familiar as these themes are, they don’t feel overly familiar or trite, presented in a way that reads original and individualized to this particular story. Park brings us face to face with these questions immediately in the opening paragraph:

That summer was immortal. July was especially savage with thirty heat deaths in Seoul, punctuated by the spectacular fizzing breakdown of a GS-100 security android when it crumpled knees-first outside a United Korea Bank. A cleaner broomed away the remains. The head was left grinning on the pavement, chirping at passersby to warn them of today’s heat.

We get the subtle information about the unified Korea via the bank. The key themes of immortality and death. The ubiquity of the robots (specific models, specific tasks, the way no one takes notice of them). And that wonderfully unclear use of “punctuated by” — is the robot interrupting the enumeration of human (i.e. “real” deaths) or is it part of the enumeration? And what does it mean that the head is left? Is this the robotic promise of immortality — it’s not truly dead? Or is it a mark of the callous disregard with which robots are held? It’s a great opening.

These questions continue throughout. With regard to how humans view robots, Jun’s department often investigates the missing robots as more akin to property damage/theft in the somewhat cursory investigations: not a lot of time, not a lot of resources, just some fines even for total destruction (child robot crime is treated a bit more harshly). This perspective comes across as well when one of his co-workers reminisces about a case where he went to inform the “parents” of what had happened to their robot/”child” and how when he rang their doorbell, “”the same boy answered. That couple couldn’t wait two weeks before replacing their son with the same model … If you need a coffee machine, you get a new coffee machine.” On the other hand, Jun muses how he “had seen people mourn robots like they were beloved pets or lovers, or even children.” Meanwhile, the Church places “no robots” signs outside their doors, noting on them that “Robots, not having a soul, are unable to worship God and have no place in the Church.” Though that doesn’t stop Stephen from arguing that “I’d like to think in the end God would be merciful” as he and Jun debate souls and the afterlife.

Which brings us to the idea of death and immortality which, like questions of identity and humanity, run throughout. Sometimes it is overt, as when Yoyo tells Ruiije he will live forever, or she thinks about how this new technological work “make a promise to her: Death is a problem than can be solved.” Sometimes it arrives via analogy, say through a group of robot rabbits or Ruiije’s pet cat that died when she was young, or through allusion, via multiple references to Peter Pan, famous as the boy who never ages, which makes him the perfect vehicle as a symbol for robots who themselves, seemingly at least, are frozen at their programmed age.

Though that becomes one of the overriding questions of the book: can these robots, in fact, age? I.e. develop and mature into something other than what they began as? I won’t spoil that by giving the answer but will simply say that all these questions provide for some deeply poignant, moving moments conveyed via lovely language. On a prose level, the beauty is sharply, often gorgeously written. Park shows an equally deft hand with the worldbuilding, which is rich, detailed, but also economically presented.

As for those issues I mentioned at the outset. The pacing sometimes bogs down, some characters and scenes feel like they either wanted to be expanded or cut, I’m not quite sure Park nailed the balance between offering up too much information and holding back information, and there sometimes seems an awkward stylistic and narrative tension between the older characters’ storyline and Ruiije’s, always as if a YA story was being grafted onto a more adult one, though I’d say that overstates the case and its impact (I just can’t think of a better way to describe it).
But while those issues were noticeable, as noted in the introduction, they are more than outweighed by the book’s many, many strengths: the rich worldbuilding, the beautiful prose, the poignant emotions, and the delving into some deeply thoughtful and topical philosophical questions. Highly recommended.

*Luminous* by Silvia Park is a beautifully written, enchanting journey that blends fantasy and heart. The story follows a young protagonist discovering their inner light while navigating a world filled with mystery and magic. Park’s writing sparkles with vivid descriptions and emotional depth, drawing readers into a world where self-discovery and courage shine through. The characters are wonderfully relatable, and the plot is both captivating and heartwarming, with just the right balance of adventure and reflection. Whether you’re looking for a story of personal growth or simply love a touch of whimsy, *Luminous* offers both in spades. It’s the kind of book that leaves you feeling uplifted and inspired, with a sense that anything is possible if you follow your own light. A delightful read that’s perfect for fans of imaginative fiction and anyone in need of a little brightness!

Luminous by Silvia Park

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Taking place in a near-future unified Korea, Luminous has robots that are commonplace and people who seem to be more disconnected than ever. We follow three human characters, and each storyline feels a bit like its own subgenre until the stories weave together into the final tapestry. Morgan is a tech designer who longs for someone to love her, craving the companionship she lacked for much of her life. Jun, an investigator of crime against robots, struggles with parts of his past that include war related trauma and transitioning. Ruijie is a young woman who relies on robowear due to disability complications that she knows will likely shorten her life. As the stories continue, they begin to overlap and converge

Read this if you enjoy:

✨ Speculative fiction that examines humanity juxtaposed with other forms of life (in this case, considering whether robotic life is, in fact, life)

✨ Complicated family situations that feel realistically painful

✨ Beautiful prose that will stop and make you think

✨ Discourse on disability, autonomy, and transitioning


The book is dark and gritty and doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations and situations. There is violence toward nonhumans under the guise of robots being objects, even as the robot characters in the book exemplified humanity again and again. It’s not an easy book to read, but it is thought-provoking and contemplative in a really relevant way.

Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy!

Luminous is a compelling read that beautifully weaves themes of hope, resilience, and self-discovery. The characters feel authentic and relatable, and the story’s emotional depth keeps you engaged. Some moments are a bit predictable, but Park’s heartfelt writing makes up for it.

Overall, a solid 4-star. Ideal for those looking for a heartfelt story with a touch of luminosity.

Sibling love is deep and yet wounding like almost no other. From AI to gender roles, militarism and class conditions to ableism, Luminous weaves together big ideas around a stunning exploration of identity and acceptance, where near-sentient robots take center stage in unified Korea.

Jun and Morgan, the surviving siblings, aren't quite sure how to act around each other, nor around their father, the brilliant roboticist, after their younger brother - Yoyo, a robot - was removed from their childhood home.

Yoyo befriends school-aged kids in a robot scrapyard, forming a found family. The yard is the epicenter of of a tragedy that informs the second half of the book.

Do robots make their own choices, from their own motivations? What makes a "person"? What changes memories as we revisit them?

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Luminous by Silvia Park from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley. This book should already be available for purchase.

Luminous by Silvia Park has a lot going on. If you like robots and/or thinking about sentience in non-human beings, give this book a read. It is an issue worth exploring in the current world where people treat "other" with cruelty. It also makes you think about the definition of family. Set in Korea, it is a world of the future but not all that dissimilar from our own. There is also a mystery if robots wasn't enough to hook you.

This book was so much and it was so good. In a Korea somewhere in the future, robots are very lifelike and very common. Estranged siblings Morgan and Jun are both wrapped up with robots. Jun is a veteran of the next Korean War, torn apart in an explosion and put back together more robot than human, and he's a detective on the robot crimes unit. Morgan is a robot designer working on the next great child robot, and living and attempting to romance one of her creations. When they were young, there was a third sibling, the incredibly ahead of his time robot Yoyo, who disappeared suddenly when they were teenagers. Meanwhile elsewhere in town, a terminally ill young girl looking for parts to fix up her robowear comes across a unique robot named Yoyo and sets out to try and repair him/save him from scrappers.
This is such a good piece of literary sci-fi. It had so many questions and so many unhinged characters and so much. What does it mean to be human? What should the rights of AIs be? How do you recover from weird childhood traumas? I loved this book so much I have a hard time explaining it. It's very good and very worth it.

I really tried…… I mean I REALLY tried. I put this book down at 50%, and then picked it back up thinking there would be some payoff. Then at 73% I just gave up. It not only felt like a chore to read, but it felt as if nothing was happening intentionally. I’m sure they’ll be others who enjoy this story, but this was a miss for me.

I can say, regardless of my enjoyment level, the surface concept was really fascinating. I think this would be great material for a limited series or film. As a book, there was very little momentum and all the potential interesting moments were dragged out.

Huge Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley.

Although the concepts in play were interesting, and the insight into Korean culture was fascinating, I just never felt connected enough to the characters to see this one through . DNF at about 50% in. Take the star rating with a grain of salt.

This was wonderful! I loved the writing style, the characters, the world-building…everything about it was top-notch. I will definitely be recommending this book!

In an uncharacteristic-for-me move, I am putting this arc down at 30%, not as a DNF, but because I want to buddy-read this book with friends without knowing the ending. This is a fantastic sci-fi novel, almost certainly in my top 20 books for this year, and it had better be nominated for prizes. I will most definitely be getting my own physical copy of this book when I can and encouraging my friends to read this book with me. An easy 5-star book, and I hope to read more books by Silvia Park..

"We were made to replace what you love."

Luminous is an ambitious, vivid debut novel that ties together the story of three siblings—two estranged, one presumed lost—in a near-future world where robots have been integrated into daily life and Korea has been reunited, though it is far from whole. One half of the narrative follows half-bionic Jun and robot designer Morgan, siblings who endure a difficult relationship with each other and their infamous father, as Jun tries to track down a missing robot and Morgan prepares for a deeply personal new robot launch. The other half follows Ruijie, a young girl whose physical disability requires the assistance of robotic parts, and a group of friends from summer school. Bridging these two stories is Yoyo, Jun and Morgan's one-time robot brother who now resides in the robot junkyard next to Ruijie's school and befriends them; there's also Stephen, Morgan's self-designed robot boyfriend whose forays into autonomy might make him the most intriguing character in the entire book.

The two halves don't meet so much as brush up against each other in the narrative, both in the past and the present, but the author weaves together those storylines in an intriguing, often visceral exploration of some big, complicated themes: artificial intelligence, obviously, but also the nature of love and grief and memory and humanity; the setting itself is as fascinating as the plot, as the reader pieces together hints about how reunification actually came about, and the role robots played in that struggle, and how reunification both did and didn't change the Korea we know now. There is still violence, misogyny, abuse, and discrimination, and the existence/assimilation of robots adds several layers of social and ethical considerations.

The writing was quite enjoyable to me—it was lyrical and there was a certain rhythm and immediacy to the way Sylvia Park describes the robots in particular that gave them an extra tactile dimension. But this is also a book dense with ideas and imagination and imagery, and that denseness was keenly felt at certain parts. It's certainly not a breezy read, nor is it easy to digest, but to me it was worth the challenge.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an e-ARC of this book.

Off-beat, ambitious, and deeply thought provoking, Luminous was a book unlike any other that I've read before.

At some point in the future, Korea has been unified and sophisticated robots have entrenched themselves in society, everywhere from the military to homes as companions. As technology has advanced, the line between human and robot becomes blurred as humans start to become "bionic". We follow the stories of three siblings, two human and one robot - Jun, Morgan, and Yoyo - as their lives intersect again for the first time in many years.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book at first - I flt intimidated by the combination of literary and science fiction. It takes a bit to get familiar with the uncanny world that Park is created, and the threads of the story feel disparate at first. But trust me when I say it's worth it - it's a slow burn but I was absolutely consumed by the end, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The theme at the heart of this book is the question of what it means to be human. Park does a beautiful and fascinating job exploring the intricacies of this question.

This is a slow, layered book, but it was deeply satisfying to watch it come together. It would be a great choice for a book club, because there's definitely so many possible avenues to discuss. If you like genre-bending, thought-provoking books, I would recommend this.

This story was definitely outside of my comfort zone, and I'm glad I stuck with it! I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved the idea of a murder mystery story centered around robots. Thank you so much to the publisher for gifting me this copy! However, this was a bit slow for me and hard to follow, but that's because I'm not used to reading stories like these. Overall, it was a good book and the themes really solidified the story. As a sci-fi debut, it was solid.

This is a beautifully written novel that takes its time finding its footing, but rewards patient readers with an engaging, emotional story. I’ll admit, the beginning felt a little slow and detached for me. Around the 40% mark, the characters deepened, the stakes became clearer, and I found myself unable to put the book down. The emotional complexity and the way Park weaves in themes of identity, longing, and connection are truly compelling.

If you can survive slow-burning start, Luminous turns into one of those books that sneaks up on you and lingers in the best way.

3.5

In a future reunified Korea, robots live alongside humans but remain second class citizens. Estranged siblings Jun, a detective in the Robot Crimes Unit, and Morgan, a leading robot designer, are both haunted by their missing brother. When eleven‑year‑old Ruijie discovers a lifelike robot boy named Yoyo in a junkyard, their paths collide. Jun’s murder investigation and Morgan’s latest robot launch force all three to confront buried family secrets and redefine what it means to be human.

This story brings to life a future Korea where humans and robots coexist. The world feels authentic from high technology crime labs in the city to a junkyard full of discarded automatons waiting for a second chance. I appreciated the cultural nuances and the way the robowear technology gives a young girl renewed mobility and hope.

Each main character offers a distinct viewpoint on what it means to be alive. Following the detective’s robot crime investigations raises real moral questions. The designer’s struggle to build machines that can take the place of children shows how thin the line can be between a tool and a family member. And the girl’s fight to regain control over her own body brings a powerful emotional core.

At times the story’s shifts between timelines and perspectives felt abrupt and I struggled to stay connected to the characters. New narrators appear without warning and some of the dialogue reads unexpectedly modern for the setting. By the halfway point the many themes such as robot rights, family trauma and political intrigue almost threatened to overwhelm the plot.

Still when everything came together the final chapters delivered. The various threads merged in a satisfying ending and the quieter scenes of shared grief or a child’s wonder at an awakened robot will stay with me. If you enjoy literary science fiction that explores ideas and do not mind a deliberate slow pace this is for you.

Thank you Saga Press and NetGalley for this early ARC!