2020 Locus Award for Best First Novel (nominee)
2019 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel (nominee)
Praise for this book
"The Luminous Dead dives into the human psyche and our ability for cruelty alongside compassion. Starling crafts a plot tight and gripping, weaves scenes dripping with wonder and terror, and keeps you wondering what's real and what's not until the very last page. Both beautiful and brutal, I loved it." - K A Doore
"A harrowing, merciless descent into the human psyche. Starling's prose is breathtakingly cinematic and left me without a molecule of spare oxygen. This book will catch you by the ankles and drag you backwards into a terrifying and inescapable reality. Read this one with all the lights on." - Sarah Gailey
"An electric mix of The Descent and Gravity, Starling's debut gives us an exciting and terrifying sf adventure set in the dangerous bowels of a distant planet. This story has hidden depths, secrets and mysteries to reveal. Highly recommended from start to finish." - John Hornor Jacobs
"A startling debut. I was truly spooked." - Kelly Robson
"Ghostly, mysterious, and terrifying, The Luminous Dead will have you rooted to the spot until the very last page." - Peng Shepherd
"The Luminous Dead is a gripping scifi thriller with an eerie, claustrophobic setting that held me captive until I finished it. I think part of me was left behind forever in Starling's cave. This book will drag you into its dark, twisting depths and will not let you go." - Emily Suvada
"With The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling gives us a confident debut, an imaginative future thriller that barely lets up the tension and claustrophobia. Mistrust and paranoia abound all the way to the end, and Gyre feels every moment of it, widening along with the events, as the poet said." - Tade Thompson
"A tense psychological thriller and a gripping survival story that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It's a dark ride that's worth every step." - Martha Wells
"A harrowing, merciless descent into the human psyche. Starling's prose is breathtakingly cinematic and left me without a molecule of spare oxygen. This book will catch you by the ankles and drag you backwards into a terrifying and inescapable reality. Read this one with all the lights on." - Sarah Gailey
"An electric mix of The Descent and Gravity, Starling's debut gives us an exciting and terrifying sf adventure set in the dangerous bowels of a distant planet. This story has hidden depths, secrets and mysteries to reveal. Highly recommended from start to finish." - John Hornor Jacobs
"A startling debut. I was truly spooked." - Kelly Robson
"Ghostly, mysterious, and terrifying, The Luminous Dead will have you rooted to the spot until the very last page." - Peng Shepherd
"The Luminous Dead is a gripping scifi thriller with an eerie, claustrophobic setting that held me captive until I finished it. I think part of me was left behind forever in Starling's cave. This book will drag you into its dark, twisting depths and will not let you go." - Emily Suvada
"With The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling gives us a confident debut, an imaginative future thriller that barely lets up the tension and claustrophobia. Mistrust and paranoia abound all the way to the end, and Gyre feels every moment of it, widening along with the events, as the poet said." - Tade Thompson
"A tense psychological thriller and a gripping survival story that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It's a dark ride that's worth every step." - Martha Wells
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Used availability for Caitlin Starling's The Luminous Dead