My last read of the year comes from a new author, who makes a striking first impression. Silvia Park’s Luminous (2025) takes place in a reunited Korea in the near future, where lifelike robots have become ubiquitous companions, often as stand-ins for children or lovers. Morgan is a robot designer, and her brother Jun — practically half-robot himself after catastrophic injuries sustained in the war — is a detective for the Seoul police force, specializing in robot-related crimes. Both of them were shaped, and in some ways broken, by their brilliant father, who created a prototype robot sibling for them named Yoyo who still haunts their memories. Yoyo, meanwhile, ended up on the scrap heap, where he is discovered and befriended by a disabled girl named Ruijie. Each of them appear to be on different trajectories — Jun pursuing a missing robot, Morgan attempting to advance her career, and Yoyo getting adopted into Ruijie’s friend group — but it seems the trio may be destined to reunite.
Luminous is a slow, thoughtful novel, lacking propulsive plot but reading effortlessly nonetheless. Park layers familiar skiffy tropes and what-is-human philosophical musings — familiar from shows like Real Humans or Westworld — over a unique near-future backdrop, giving the scenario depth and accessibility through its’ characters nuanced inner struggles. For a debut novel, it’s remarkably assured work from an intriguing new voice.
