Luminous

* A Guardian pick: Top 5 Science Fiction Book of 2025 *'WILDLY AND, YES, LUMINOUSLY EMOTIONAL' MATT HAIG, author of The Midnight Library'AN INSTANT CLASSIC' GUARDIAN 'IT'S UTTERLY BEAUTIFUL' RAVEN LEILANI, author of LusterThree siblings. Two human, one robot. The spectacular new debut about what it means to be alive.In a recently reunified Korea, robots have integrated seamlessly into society. They are our teachers, our bus drivers and policemen. They are our lovers. They are even our children.Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through scrap metal in a Seoul junkyard, searching for anything that might repair her failing body. There amongst the piles of junk she happens across a robot boy: lifelike, strange and unlike anything she's seen before.Across the city, estranged siblings Jun and Morgan Cho haven't spoken since the abrupt disappearance of their robot brother Yoyo, which shattered their childhoods and left a gaping hole in their lives. But Ruijie's discovery is about to bring the lives of brother and sister hurtling back together, forcing them to confront the reality of Yoyo's true nature, and the dark purpose their father never revealed.At once a dazzling work of speculative fiction and a poignant family drama, Luminous is a timely, unforgettable story about what it really means to be human.

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction<BR><BR>This sweeping debut novel set in a unified Korea tells the story of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood.<BR><BR>“I once had a family. At least, the earliest version of me had a family.”<BR> <BR>In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.<BR> <BR>Siblings Jun and Morgan haven’t spoken for years. When they were children, their brother Yoyo disappeared suddenly, leaving behind only distant memories of his laughter and near-human warmth. Yoyo—an early prototype of a humanoid robot designed by their father—was always bound for something darker and more complex. Now Morgan makes robots for a living and is on the verge of losing control of her most important creation. Jun is a detective with the Robot Crimes Unit whose investigation is digging up truths that want to stay buried. And whether they like it or not, Ruijie’s discovery will thrust their family back together in ways they could have never imagined.<BR> <BR>At once a thrilling work of speculative fiction and a “bold exploration of what it means to have a mind, a body, a self, and even a soul” (Charles Yu, author of National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown), Luminous is a prescient yet timeless and unforgettably brilliant debut.