Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

56 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

efortier's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

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.

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

han_pear's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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

4.5

I absolutely LOVED this book, I was hooked from the first chapter and I was telling everyone I knew about it, I even told a customer at work about (I work at a doggie daycare lol). The story is interesting and I think the direction the author went in was interesting regarding Claire. I LOVED the twist. In all honesty I put this book down for a bit because of life and work, but the twist sucked me right back in and held on tight until I was done. I was a bit disappointed the book ended where it did, and honestly I would devour an entire book about the Aurora’s voyage, the ship is so fascinating. HUGE RECOMMEND!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

cait's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dattmay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Overall this was a fun enough sci-fi story that was a quick read. If you're looking for horror, though, this is not the place. While there are a few moments that can be considered 'creepy' and some gruesome imagery used, the story is much more toned down than I expected coming in. 

Bad future super corporations doing bad things and screwing over the little people is the name of the game here, and even the haunted ship of the dead idea doesn't really overcome what we've seen in the past. The framing used in the book, that of the main character relating what happened in the past to her interviewers, robs the story of a lot of its surprise as she frequently reveals outcomes of events before we even know they happen. 

To dip a bit into spoiler territory,

the eventual reveal of what's causing the spookiness on the ship fell entirely flat for me. From that point on, it was really just a wrote sci-fi adventure with quite a few loose ends (why was Claire seeing what she did? What/where were the actual device? Why did Lourdes gouge out her eyes when everyone else seemed to go for their hearing?).

So while I had a decent time with the book, I don't think it'll stick with me in the long run. I mainly just wish it was a bit more horror focused than it ended up being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Alcohol

zerogames's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail