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!

This isn't really my kind of book but I had heard good things. It's not bad but not my thing. I will stick to books I generally like even though my opinion doesn't matter anyway.

An absolutely incredible story of what it truly means to be a family. And even more, what it means to be a person.

I loved these characters, each so unique. If you truly want a character-driven scifi, this is the perfect choice.

I've recently been watching a lot of anime with my son, and this story would adapt perfectly to that medium.

Ruijie's discovery of Yoyo at the story's beginning is possibly one of the best scenes I've read in quite some time. Beautiful.

"Bionic. Transhuman. Posthuman. The world made a promise to her: death is a problem that can be solved."

As someone who rarely reads Sci-Fi books, this book was the right one to get me into the genre. Park follows the stories several people and robots in a reunified Korea. She throws you into a world that is at the same time unbeliveable and incredibly realistic. Luminous is a read that will leave you questioning your own morals and philosphies by the very end.

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.

DNF 48%

Luminous is a beautifully written book with an intriguing premise, but it is failing to hold my interest. The writing style can be quite lyrical at times, and I find myself getting lost. I think I am but the right reader for this book.

Books like this are absolutely everything I love about speculative fiction. I am so impressed with how well Park executed this very ambitious undertaking. On the surface this might seem like a mystery with some family dynamics and sci-fi elements but Park managed to pack so much more into this. There is a lot to consider in this one and I suspect each reader might find different aspects worth pondering on. The amount of worldbuilding here was balanced perfectly with the plot, the focus is on specific characters but there is just enough to figure out the broader world with Korean history making appearances.

I very much dug how Park explored various meanings of personhood, sentience and consciousness. Park’s look at societies’ willingness to discard anyone that doesn’t conform to ableist and ageist values through the lens of roboethics definitely stuck with me. Memory and why we are selective with it and what that means for reality also made an appearance here and it’s a topic I enjoy thinking about a lot. Give me all the variations of the Ship of Theseus basically.

This had comparable aspects to Ishiguro's novels, and you can see where they inspired Park. The writing was strong, especially the dynamics between the siblings. I wish there had been more sci-fi aspects. The prose at times was strong and other times was weak.

Luminous is at its heart an inquiry into what it means to be human and what it means to be “real.” The inquiry is sharpened and focused by being set in a world populated by robots who are almost human and by humans who can be “repaired” by becoming part robot themselves. It’s hard enough to tell them apart that in some circumstances robots are required to wear identifying marks, which resonates eerily with our human history that includes the forced wearing of yellow stars and pink triangles. So do the scenes of staged robot-fights that seem a combination of cock-fighting and Roman gladiator contests.

This is a dark world, filled with violence, in which there seems to be no room for joy. The main characters struggle with their own relationships—human to human, human to robot, and robot to robot—which provides a context for considering and appreciating the larger philosophical questions. Those questions are interesting, but the narrative framework wasn’t always successful in drawing the questions out. I had some trouble following the several storylines (or maybe the characters—especially the humans—were distasteful enough that I didn’t have the incentive to try). The narrative also seemed prolonged more than necessary. Even though there were many individually compelling scenes, and some very intriguing dialogue, I felt that I was often waiting too long to get to those moments. I can’t say that I fully enjoyed the read, or that I always understood the purpose or intended effect of the scenes, but the book led me to think about the political and technological present and future in new ways.

Thanks to Net Galley and to Simon & Schuster for providing me the opportunity to read this book before publication, in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this one—especially with the comparisons to Klara and the Sun and since Hum by Helen Phillips was easily my favorite book of 2024. The writing is undeniably pretty, and there were moments where I could see what it was trying to do… but I just didn’t feel anything.

I couldn’t connect to the characters at all (like… at all), and despite the lovely prose, I found myself zoning out while reading, and kept having to really try to focus. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it? I honestly can’t even pinpoint what didn’t work—it just left me feeling meh.

This might be a “wrong book, wrong mood” situation, but either way, it wasn’t for me.

Luminous is the debut novel by Silvia Park about humans and robots cohabitating in the same world, set in a futuristic unified Korea. This story follows the story of two adult human siblings who had a rather unique robot sibling growing up. Years later as adults, their worlds collide again over a missing robot investigation as one sibling is a veteran of war and now the detective on the investigation, and the other is a developer of a new line of child robots. The story explores their behaviors and choices, and how their rather complicated childhood and individual relationships with the robot sibling their father created.

Silvia Park does an amazing job in her debut novel. I am truly floored by this novel. It is reminiscent of I, Robot, so if that is your thing, I would HIGHLY recommend this book. Luminous explores humanity and the exploration of having artificial intelligence mimicking us to the best of our ability to program. Its characters explore gender identity, sexuality, societal norms, and how humans are looking to humanize artificial intelligence and the ethics that goes behind it. Silvia Parks made me cry. She had me in the emotional and mental olympics, and kept me on my toes throughout this book. Luminous is truly a light upon our humanity and what makes us tick, and speaks about the possibilities of future technology. I CANNOT stress how much I loved this book and recommend it to all. Again, this story and its characters had me feeling, thinking and crying. I did not want it to end. There is not the book you want to read for a happy ending, but if you want to question your world and what it holds.

Thank you Negalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

Wrong time for me. There was nothing wrong with this book at all, I just struggled to get into it. Will probably come back at a different time.