My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

LUMINOUS reminds me of Ray Bradbury and Ursula K. LeGuin. It dives into what it means to be human, robots, relationships, and fluidity (both as a society and as a person's sexuality.

It's a complicated book, like much of literary fiction. I would call this literary sci-fi. AND it is definitely a dystopian.

If you like idea books and want to see how other people view and think about the world, this is perfect for you.

Happy reading!

A literary fiction meets science fiction, Luminous explores the lives of three siblings who each approach the robotic future in a different way. Overall, I thought this book was a thoughtful approach to artificial intelligence and how humanity may reckon with an uncontrollable intelligence. At times, the narrative was a bit confusing and I wasn't quite sure where all the plot threads were going or where they were, but it did all come together in the end. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I was interested in reading this book because although I am not typically a sci-fi lover, I do enjoy a good literary fiction mystery. Altogether, though, I didn't connect with this book. Divided into the perspectives of 3 siblings, 2 human and 1 robot (presumed dead), the pacing made sense for the story, I thought. What I noticed however is almost an assumed knowledge of how the world worked and the backstory of the characters. I do think this was a deliberate choice on the part of the author because we do learn more about the characters' backstory at the end, but to me the structure made that very difficult to parse together.

For me, I think this could have been stronger with explaining the world and scenarios a bit better. I did enjoy parts of it, as there were scenes that were interesting to me about the business of robots and how the general public interacted with them, but altogether did not feel it landed for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an impressive debut novel from Park. I was drawn in by the themes of grief and identity, and there were several characters that I truly loved. The writing is fantastic, with sweeping lyricism and imagery. However, there were times when I felt a bit disconnected from the story, and I think that might be because of the many different POVs. I would have loved the book to be split between maybe two of these characters instead of several of them. By far my favorite part of the whole book was the ending; it actually made me tear up a bit. I will definitely be curious to see what Park tackles next.

I've been reading a lot of end-of-the-world books recently but this one was a fresh take that I hadn't considered before. The acceptance of robots and robotic technology in society. I really liked the different viewpoints and it kept my attention until the end.

I'm a little torn on this one. I loved the premise and the theme of the story. I also adore Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun. There were a lot of similarities between this and Klara and the Sun. However, at times I felt the writing style to be convoluted. The story was also very busy at times and I had a hard time keeping track of characters and events.

2.5/5

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed the writing—it was beautifully crafted, at times even poetic, making certain passages feel almost dreamlike. Park has a way with language that draws you in, creating a strong emotional atmosphere that lingers.

The characters were another highlight for me. They felt real and complex, and I appreciated how the novel explored grief, family, and what it means to be human. These themes were woven thoughtfully into the narrative, giving the story emotional depth.

That said, I found myself lost throughout the book more often than I would have liked. The plot was convoluted, and there were moments where I genuinely wasn’t sure what was happening. Some of the bigger plot points seemed to come out of nowhere, which left me feeling disconnected from the story at times.

Overall, Luminous is a beautifully written book with strong themes and compelling characters, but the way the story unfolded didn’t always work for me. If you enjoy lyrical writing and don’t mind a more abstract, unpredictable plot, you might find it more engaging.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC.

I love fiction that confronts a classic question posed by sci fi: what does it mean to be human? Silvia Park’s Luminous lives vibrantly within this question, diving into the lives of characters who are robots, characters who are largely bionic, characters who require robotic support to survive. The question of where the line between robot and human lies is one with which the novel wrestles, a thought-provoking conundrum that becomes less answerable as the book unfolds. More important, the novel confronts whether that line really matters: do we owe compassion and empathy to “mere machines”?

While I often wished that the novel was more propulsive, I was nevertheless fascinated by its array of characters who are wrestling with their place in the world, with what they owe to others and to themselves.

DNF at 17%
I really wanted like this book; however, there are too many characters, human and AI. It gets confusing and bogs down the story. The book could use some heavy editing for clarification.

Robots are incorporated into society as companions, servants, and even ersatz children in a future Korea that is supposedly unified. Three people help us explore this world: Ruijie, a crippled girl who makes friends with an odd robot she finds in a junkyard; his sister Morgan, a programmer for the robot-making company Imagine Friends; and Jun, a detective in the "Robot Crimes" section. The missing, presumed-dead robot brother of Morgan, Jun, and Yoyo connects them all.
I would be lying if I claimed to be able to follow every discussion in Luminous all the time because there is a lot going on there. Though an actual plot ultimately emerges from the tangle (see Grace Chan's Every Version of You), the worldbuilding in this novel is so dense and vibrant that it almost overpowers everything (think Samit Basu's Chosen Spirits). Park does an excellent job of providing the characters with just the right amount of emotional background. Speaking of which, the group of teenage buddies is well-drawn (Mars is the MVP), and Stephen is a fantastic character to explore concerns about personhood. Excellent content: meaty ideas, excellent worldbuilding, and evocative writing.

"Luminous" by Silvia Park offers a captivating glimpse into a futuristic world that is both vibrant and thought-provoking. The novel masterfully blends elements of science fiction with deep philosophical questions about identity and technology. Park's writing is rich and immersive, drawing readers into a world where human and digital existences intertwine seamlessly.

One of the standout aspects of "Luminous" is its world-building. Park has crafted a setting that feels both innovative and hauntingly relevant, making it easy to become fully absorbed in the narrative. The characters are well-developed, each with their unique motivations and struggles, which add depth to the story.

Another ARC I requested just for the cover haha. Absolutely gorgeous cover, and another I would buy a copy of the book just to have on my shelf!

I really wanted to love this book—but there was too much going on for any emotional poignancy. The idea was interesting but didn’t hook me completely unfortunately.

Set in a hypothetically reunified (and futuristically robot-driven) Korea, this novel focuses on the relationship between humans and technology—and what it means to be human.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I so wanted to love this. Dystopian novels are tricky for me. Some I really love, and some are downright confusing. The writing style is what lowered my excitement for this novel. The prose was so meandering and wonky. The characters were much more defined and complex which I appreciate. This is a very ambitious story, and sometimes I felt the author was in over her head. Too many storylines, and not enough clarity or poignancy. It’s a mixed bag for me. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous though.

Luminous (publication day March 11, 2025) by Silvia Park, starts out slowly, but as it picked up speed I was enthralled. Set in a hypothetically reunified Korea, robots have become ubiquitous, so much so that the police have a “robot crimes” unit to investigate crimes against robots. Jun is a detective assigned to the robot crimes unit. He was once a soldier in the “bloodless” unification war and, due to an encounter with an IED that damaged nearly 80% of his body, is mostly bionic. He’s also trans, and the child of a famous roboticist who brought one of his creations home to be a brother for his two children.

Jun’s sister, Morgan, works for Imagine Friends, one of the leading companies designing robots, and the company is about to reveal its newest model, Morgan being one of its primary architects. His name is Yoyo, after Morgan and Jun’s robot brother, who just disappeared one day. Morgan also lives with another robot she created–Stephen–who is supposed to be her boyfriend, but they haven’t done anything beyond friendship yet.

Jun hasn’t talked to Morgan for five years, but he’s investigating a missing robot who belongs to one of Morgan’s neighbors. It’s an older model, a child really, and Morgan’s robot, Stephen, had been friends with the missing robot.

Meanwhile, a group of kids in summer school hang out at a junkyard next door after school and meet a robot not like any other, whose name is Yoyo. One girl has a bionic suit because of her illness, and another, who is from the north and lives for playing soccer, also lives with his uncle, who salvages robots and their parts. Of course, as in all good novels, all of the characters come together at the end.

I really enjoyed it–it will give book groups much to discuss. There are some similarities with Klara and the Sun, but it is truly its own novel. I will call it weight-neutral, as there were few descriptions of body size or shape.

I was torn about this one. Set in a future, unified Korea, this novel explores many of the lines between robots and humans in a world where they are starting to meld. The themes are explored through a dysfunctional family consisting of two robot designers (father and daughter) and one military veteran (son) whose injuries required significant bionic replacement. The third sibling was a robot designed by the father, whose dusappearance has permanently traumatized the family. A separate storyline explores the found family of a group of children who hang out in a local robot junkyard, who find the missing robot sibling. There were interesting concepts, but the prose was so clunky. There were both a series of amazing coincidences and multiple tangents that were distracting. It just was not for me.

Luminous by Silvia Park is a dystopian novel set in a theoretical unified Korea. Here, technological advancements in human-like robots as well as bionic parts have changed the way society functions at its core. Jun, a police officer, navigates life with the aid of bionics, while his sister, Morgan works as a robot designer to create robots for quite literally any purpose.

Jun and Morgan once had a robot companion, Yoyo. However, Yoyo was removed from their home, leaving them with resentment, unease, and heartbreak.

However, Liu, who suffers from a limb illness, utilizes the aid of a bionic suit to manager her condition. Eventually, Yoyo is found in a scrapyard by Liu and they begin to bond. As a result, this then sets the stage for Jun, Morgan, Liu and Yoyo's lives to converge once more.

While I liked the concept of this book, I felt that, at times, it was extremely clunky. It was also trying to combat SO MUCH. Sexism, classism, ableism, sexual assault, trauma, and war. I felt that this book would've been better suited to focusing on maybe three or four, because at times the plot suffered due to how much was trying to be talked about.



However, that aside, Luminous is, for the most part, a wonderfully written debut novel. I would highly reccomend it to lovers of found family, science fiction, dystopia, and combatting darker topics. It definitely leaves a lasting impact.

As someone new to reading about robots, this was a fantastic entry point. I sped through the story and enjoyed how it mixed futuristic themes with reality.

Such a unique book. Near future, AI and robots are main stream. The Koreas are united. Very dystopian.

Lots of characters and sometimes easy to lose track of them. But I loved the family dynamic between Jun and his sister Morgan. Jun is part bionic due to injuries sustained in the war and is now a detective tasked with searching for missing robots. Morgan followed in her father’s footsteps and is a robotic engineer. But everyone is still traumatically tied to their childhood robot, Yoyo.

Some really disturbing imagery with the abuse and neglect of the very human like robots.

Great characters and world building. Will definitely read more from this author.

Luminous by Silvia Park is the story of a dysfunctional family, focusing on three siblings. Set in the future in a unified Korea, Jun is a demoralized detective with a significant amount of bionic hardware. His sister, Morgan, followed in their father’s footsteps and is a robot engineer. The third sibling, Yoyo—a fully automated robot-- disappeared when they were all young. School children find an abandoned robot named Yoyo in a scrapyard and form a found family.

This story covers many themes, exploring the definitions of gender, family, and identity, as well as addressing issues like classism, ableism, environmentalism, and capitalism. It also tackles difficult topics such as sexual abuse and war. Although very well written, with some really lovely sentences, I think the author tried to cover a bit too much here. I lost the plot on occasion trying to keep up with multiple situations and why we were so often chasing rabbits. Still, the characters, both human and robot, were very well characterized and easy to become attached to, particularly the children. I found the relationship between Yoyo and Taekwon (one of the children) to be particularly poignant, and the interactions with Steven (a robot) and Morgan made some interesting points about many of the topics above.

Science fiction is typically not one of my favorite genres, but this novel doesn’t spend a good deal of time with the technical, “science-y” aspect, making it more readable for me, personally. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

A touching, fun read! Usually I dislike and get drawn out when a book has multiple POVs, but in this case it’s the complete opposite. With a readable prose and engaging plot, Park crafted a book that actually CARES about the reader and the experience, which is hard for contemporary authors to do apparently. Sometimes I got a bit discombobulated with the plot, but it got cleared up quickly.