Catherynne M. Valente

"Severin Unck's father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father's films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction, in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe"--Dust jacket flap.

A Novel

Radiance

Sandrin

Felt like I was in a fever dream filled with milk and tits.

So. I like descriptive writing, I love rich, imaginative worlds BUT the author went over the top with the descriptions, which really messed up the pacing of the story. It was at times annoying af to go through all the descriptions of food, clothes, animals, colors, nature, people, film and so on and so forth just to arrive at a crumb of vital information. But I cant say that I hated every moment of it. 

It was kinda boring, kinda sad, but charming?

Gillian Rose

A bit slow but it is gorgeous. I loved reading about filmmaking in an alternate universe.

juno

oh my god this book. this is such a lovely gorgeous book. its so beautifully written and constructed, i was always engaged and the story unfolds and interweaves with itself in such a delightful way. the character voices are always so distinct and enjoyable to read - stumbling upon a new one once a new chapter starts is delightful, and the return of ones previously introduced is never disappoing. theres always a few strands of things and people happening but it never feels too much and there is always the trust that the author will make it work. also the worldbuilding is so stellar and so fun to read about, conceptually but also visually - it has a whimsical and flexible nature. valente layers the characters and stories and building blocks of this world so artfully and without providing many answers still says so much about the way we grieve and love and mourn and exist with each other. this was such a great start to the year.

Pam Sartain

really didn't get on with this, I had to force myself to read it

Ben Nathan

This felt like watching a movie comprised of a number of short films. Brilliant idea. The execution was wonderful often but it did leave me feeling listless occasionally.

Severin Unck's father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father's films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe. But her latest film, which investigates the disappearance of a diving colony on a watery Venus populated by island-sized alien creatures, will be her last. Though her crew limps home to earth and her story is preserved by the colony's last survivor, Severin will never return.

Sarah 

DNF this book it was so boring. There was absolutely nothing there to hold my interest.

Julia <3

Nora 

Didi Chanoch

KW Tan

Kwan Ann Tan

Alexia

Greg Park

Radiance is a decopunk pulp SF alt-history space opera mystery set in a Hollywood-and solar system-very different from our own, from Catherynne M. Valente, the phenomenal talent behind the New York Times bestselling The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Severin Unck's father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father's films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe. But her latest film, which investigates the disappearance of a diving colony on a watery Venus populated by island-sized alien creatures, will be her last. Though her crew limps home to earth and her story is preserved by the colony's last survivor, Severin will never return. Told using techniques from reality TV, classic film, gossip magazines, and meta-fictional narrative, Radiance is a solar system-spanning story of love, exploration, family, loss, quantum physics, and silent film.

Radiance A Novel

Reviews