Luminous by Silvia Park
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a lover of SF (duh) and I almost always appreciate it when the writing is as elevated as the concepts, pushing the genre to new heights.

This one attempts to do just that, focusing on beautiful language and complex themes surrounding relationships, death, memory, and obvious moral quandaries. As should be obvious for any novel dealing with robots and people.

However, while there is some mystery in this novel, it's not Asimov. And while there are some fairly big concepts being explored, they aren't precisely the focus of the tale. Indeed, there's quite a bit of circuitous plotting that, while jumping between PoVs, tends to laser in on bad choices and desires that ultimately conflict with happiness--and hell, isn't that just about everything in life?

So, yes, it is, absolutely, a decent Lit-SF entry. It checks all the boxes for a rich piece on perception and expectation and the injustices that come from both.

But did I fall in love with it?

No, unfortunately. Sometimes, less is more. And sometimes, more is more. And the balance in this one just feels off, even under-baked. If we're to come away with something more than, "oh, that's rather depressing," then it failed. Otherwise, well done. And, at least to me, that's not precisely well-done.

It's me, not you, Luminous. You tried hard to be my perfect significant other, but the failing is mine alone.

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