Do you talk to your Roomba? Ever apologize to your phone when you drop it? Have you ever killed a Tamagotchi and cried over it?
Luminous takes place after a war. Robots are advanced. Jun is a human detective who investigates crimes involving robots. Jun's sister developes robots. If you like Irobot (the movie) or The Secret Life of Puppets (the book) you will like this. I was deeply moved. I took one star off because the ending bothered me.
This book provides so much introspection into humanity and what it means to love. There was so much to examine and question and then....it just ended. I will probably be thinking about this book for a while.

The publisher reached out via email offering an EPUB of this book, and I’m glad they did. While AI-themed books often blend together for me, this one stood out with its unique flair and Korean cultural setting. Set in a future where Korea is united and robots are integrated into every aspect of life, it explores themes of class and human-robot relationships. The story of estranged siblings, Morgan and Jun, and their missing robot sibling, Yoyo, is both intriguing and heartfelt. It’s a refreshing take on the genre, making it a must-read for those seeking something distinct in the realm of futuristic AI literature.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. The book is set in the future, when not only is Korea united, but robots have become integrated into our lives in the form of not only servants or customer service roles, but also family and personal relationships. Even so, the robots remain "beneath" humans in the class hierarchy. In particular, one family of three siblings is focused on: humans Morgan and Jun, and their robot sibling Yoyo. Years later, Morgan and Jun are estranged and Yoyo has gone missing. Jun now investigates in the robot division of the police, and Morgan makes state of the art robots. The human siblings reconnect during an investigation. On the other side of Seoul, a child sifts through the junkyard looking for robot parts to help herself survive. She comes across Yoyo.

The three siblings do come back to each other, but it also means they need to come to terms with their past, as well as their own family - which is not easy. This is a great book to read if you want to read about the future, but also want to learn about the human element and what that means exactly. The future may be more streamlined, but the human is a complex species.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.