Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

27 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Titanic meets Event Horizon in this atmospheric space horror. 

A crew working on the edges of the known space picks up a distress signal from a luxury space liner Aurora that disappeared 20 years ago. They can't pass the opportunity to lay claim on the ship. When they board the Aurora, they soon discover that something is very wrong. 

We follow Claire Kovalik, a team leader of a five member beacon-repair crew. Even though the characters have their own personalities, I still feel that they need a little bit of work. Even though Claire is the main character, she seems to be keeping the reader at arm's length, and it's hard to feel connected to her somehow. Claire is a deeply traumatised person and that can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. Also there was a slight romance subplot that didn't really add to the story. 

Spoilers! 

The main strength of this book is definitely the imaginative, atmospheric horror elements. The first ⅔ of this book builds uneasiness and the horror elements nicely. However, the last ⅓, though still intense and pretty horrible, somehow ends up feeling almost like a Scooby Doo villain reveal. The style seemed a bit different, almost like I was reading a thriller instead of a horror story. I know it's difficult to come up with a satisfying ending to a story such as this, but still somehow I feel like the ending was a bit lacking. And in my opinion, the epilogue was a bit unnecessary, I could have done without it.

Still, good horror that makes the reader uneasy is hard to find. The author certainly manages to set up the scene and keep the reader guessing what horrors lie ahead. Despite the shortcomings, I would still recommend giving this book a go. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Confinement, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

csecen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Abandonment

billyjepma's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

First half is killer suspense and growing dread, while the second half is much more mechanical and makes some strange structural choices that I think were intended to make things less predictable but inadvertently bypass the stuff I was most interested in seeing more of. Still, a very fun read I would’ve torn through far quicker had other favors (i.e., I got COVID, lol) got in the way. As shaky (and occasionally pedestrian) as the writing can be, this absolutely scratched the itch I had for “scary spaceship vibes,” so consider it a 4-star read if you ever find yourself with a similar craving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Self harm, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Alcohol

babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book wasn't for me and that's okay. I highly recommend checking out the content warnings before embarking on this book as it has the potential to be triggers ahoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

opheliasdaisies'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What an incredible sci-fi horror! It definitely gave me strong vibes reminiscent of the fantastic video games Prey and Dead Space. The book had me there right alongside the crew as they explored the ghost ship and found the horrors within.  I found it incredibly satisfying throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

haleybre's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mich3ll31221's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Vomit, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

elwyn_k'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

Minor: Chronic illness and Medical content

emilycruz1016's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eyan_birt's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am a fan of the ambiguous ending, as in, we never get a true answer about why our protagonist is different. It adds to the creepy appeal without undoing what the reveal risks ruining. The reveal was set up along the way if you've read similar style mysteries before, but was done smoothly and cleverly so that even though I guessed what was going on, I didn't feel upset that I figured it out. 

The world feels developed without having to spend too much time giving background details,which is a credit to the author's creative control of her world. 

I wish the implied romantic angle wasn't present, is the only thing. I'm not sure why healing from c-ptsd looks like "hey now I know how to romantically love" instead of literally any other kind of love or human connection, but that's really my only major gripe.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail