Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

13 reviews

purcellapple's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

marbleharbor's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I didn't like the audiobook as much, but still very good. Just the right amount of spooky and I enjoyed the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

I wasn't entirely sure about what conent warnings to put on this. Read with caution.

ladylothlorien's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was AMAZING. It was described as "Titanic meets Event Horizon" and I think that is a better description than "Titanic meets The Shining" although there are definitely elements of The Shining present. I appreciated that the narrative device of the split timelines didn't last for the entire book (it's a good device, but it does sort of "spoil" the fate of the character(s) who are telling the story if it lasts for the whole book). I also appreciated that there are some unanswered questions, but all the crucial questions are answered. And some of the unanswered questions are related to character development. The way that the tension was ramped up slowly but surely throughout was so good. It became harder to put down the book the closer I was to the end, in part because I wanted to know what happened but in large part because the tension and terror were so constant that it was like being rapids leading to a waterfall. As for the "why is this happening" solution:

part of me was a little disappointed at first that it wasn't a supernatural/paranormal/alien reason that everyone was driven crazy. But the more that I thought about it, the more I was okay with it. Even if it was a literal device, it's more realistic and something that could (and probably has) happen in real life. Which is so terrifying to think: the human brain being thrown into chaos but trying to make sense of it with hallucinations, paranoia, and aggression.

I will definitely read this one again and the author is now an insta-buy for me (which is great timing since she recently released a new book).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Pandemic/Epidemic

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that everyone on board the ship lost their minds and hurt themselves and/or others. And the main character writes in first person about her experiences, both on the ship and as a child during an outbreak of an illness. I didn't find the descriptions of dead bodies and injuries to be excessively graphic, but it's disturbing to think about/picture in your mind so I've called it graphic.

drtsh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kristinescorner's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic

emilyspex's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Things I liked:

• The horror elements were excellent
• The mystery was compelling up until the reveal

Things I didn't love:

• The reveal was a monologue, which I loathe
• The main character is very pessimistic and constantly blames herself for things that are obviously not her fault. This actually makes sense with her backstory, but it's just not something that I love to read in first person.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol

50shadesofrae's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I wanted to like this book. I love horror, love sci-fi, love mystery. 
I loved the atmosphere, and the descriptions of the cruise ship were cinematic and beautifully horrifying. 
But the main character well and truly sucked. Brutal case of telling not showing all of her issues, and none of her relationships with other characters felt real or earned.

Killer setting and concept, unbearable protagonist. I only stuck it out for the murder mystery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Pandemic/Epidemic

breckenthereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

 “Somehow I suspect that “third time’s a charm” does not apply to narrow escapes from death.” 

➽ Dead Silence reminded me that I should check out more Sci-Fi Horror, as it works for me so well! The story follows Claire Kovalik and her beacon repair crew who are on their last mission before being made obsolete. Claire's ship might be tiny and old, but she's proud of it and has complicated feelings about having to quit her job. When they pick up a distress signal from the Aurora, a luxury space-liner that went missing decades ago, Claire decides to put off retirement and investigate the wreck. I loved the setting and premise, it definitely feels like Titanic in space with a dash of Horror. I immediately wanted to know more about the Aurora and the more the crew investigated the ship, the more questions came up. Why did the ship disappear? What happened to the passengers? The crew hopes to make some money with the salvage of the ship, but it has other things in store for them! The story itself is so creepy and the Horror was definitely chilling!

➽ Claire's a complicated protagonist and I loved her! The story is told in two timelines, the present when Claire is locked up in a mental facility and the past which follows the crew's exploration of the Aurora. I loved the suspense, as we're left to figure out what happened to everyone and why Claire's the only one who made it back. The corporates are investigating her, so she's forced to relive what happened on the Aurora and figure out why it leaves her with such an ominous feeling. Claire struggles with her memory and mental health, so it's a very twisty story where you can't trust your perception. Claire's got a dark past that ties into her struggles and her seeing things that shouldn't be there. I liked how her mental health and trauma were explored! I was invested in her story from start to finish. The only complaint I have is that the past chapters left off so abruptly. I wanted the exploration of the Aurora to last longer!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic