The Luminous Dead is a 2019 Sci-Fi Horror novel by Caitlin Starling. It follows Gyre Price, a young cave diver who seems to have hit the jackpot in finding a huge solo first job mapping out a partially underwater cave system. Armed with her Voice with an Internet Connection, Em, and a powered suit that protects her from the underground creatures, "Tunnelers", that have already killed countless other cavers, she quickly discovers that she may have gotten in over her head.
"The Luminous Dead" contains examples of:
- Almost Out of Oxygen: Gyre's battery powered suit nearly runs out of power after a few mishaps leave her with no other functional batteries on her to swap out.
- Due to the Dead: After learning more about the history of the cave, a source of personal motivation for Gyre is to find and bring closure to the dead that haunt the cave.
- Mysterious Backer: While this truth is revealed fairly early, Em originally hides that she is not just the only handler, when there is typically a team for the caver's safety, but also the owner of this cave system and is funding the expedition.
- Subterranean Sanity Failure: Much of the plot revolves around Gyre trying to maintain her sanity and keeping track of what's real and true in the cave. She often does not succeed.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Em is able to talk to Gyre from the surface and analyze her surroundings through the suit's readings. One of Gyre's breaking points comes from losing this connection.
- You Didn't Ask: Much of Em's lies fall under this. While it seems to genuinely be to keep Gyre safe and focused on her task, the manipulation only adds to the paranoia.
