Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

179 reviews

spaghettii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

This will spoil the entire fucking plot so do NOT read the rest before finishing the book 🗣📢‼️

Immediately you have to question the validity of what the narrator says, which was actually well written for this book. At first I thought that she was having hallucinations, but when she described Reed's grandfather I slowly warmed up to the idea that she could see the dead. It hurt to go in knowing (or at least under the impression) that all the crew dies and trying not to get attached. I very much got attached and subsequently emotionally destroyed.  When Kane was scared to give her the screwdriver, I think that was my breaking point. This also implied that he knew he was talking to a hallucination of Nysus and chose to speak to him anyways. I love scifi horror and confined horror and this was so fun. My favorite characters were unfortunately Voller and later Reed before the murder incident. Idk what that says about me but I don't want to think about it too much,,,, I also loved Nysus but we didn't get to see too much of him. I always think I want a book where main characters die but then when it happens I regret wishing for it. I've actually been waiting for a book that uses the out of hearing range sound-induced hallucinations. I learned about it a while ago and thought it was pretty useful to know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Bullying, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

figsofpeach's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Vomit

paronomaniac's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence

ottercorg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was...spectacular.

I initially went to the library to pick up a different book on my list by Barnes, but it was unavailable. This one caught my eye, though, and I wanted some spooky books for October. I am so glad I did, and now I can't wait to read more from her.

From start to finish, I was engrossed, trying to figure out what was going on. I clung to what little romance was available. I devoured all the horrors, forcing myself to slow down so as to not miss anything. I wanted to savor every moment.

For such dark material, Barnes writes in a way that is still so light and consumable. I really appreciate that the story took no time to take off. I didn't mind the initial back and forth between past and present because I was just as interested in the interrogation as I was in what really happened. I loved the sprinkling of Claire's past throughout the story as we piece together what happened to her before this. 

It's not a full 5 star read - I wanted a liiiiiittle more from the ending - but it's damn close.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

amaranthineee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

michellewords's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

So many reviews of Ghost Station said this I've was better, but I highly disagree. 
Dead Silence, like Ghost Station, is science fiction horror. It's a story about Claire Kovalik, on her way back with her crew from some mission on the edges of space. They run into this super old traveling space cruise ship sending a distress signal. Claire has struggled as a child with severe PTSD hallucinations, but when they board the "Aurora" cruise ship, there are some things that show up that she can't explain. 
There's a slight theme here of: is this mental illness or is this ship haunted? But it's pretty predictable for me from the start. 
Also the main character is absolutely terrible. For a mission commander, she's super whiny and super unprofessional throughout the book, but maybe that's the point? Anyway, I really hoped she was going to die at the end. You'll have to read to find out if my wish was fulfilled. 
The action scenes in the last third were with the read. Her interactions with the living and the dead were so interesting and well flushed out here, it almost made up for an annoying main character.... Almost. 
I don't know if I would recommend it. It's an interesting premise, but I have a feeling I'll forget about it pretty soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent

jlswitchblades's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.5

big shout out to me locking in and reading this during my commute because the

angle grabber ghost

was something I could Not read about at home after the sun had set HSDFGHKL 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent

em1_5's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

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

madzsmiled's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

Dead Silence was a unique take on the space ghost story, and one that was so gruesomely well done. It's reminiscent of Alien, but spins a unique tale of corporate greed and experimentation. 

The characters are well fleshed out, even those we don't storms much time with. The DINA crew is entertaining together with just enough drama to keep it realistic. Claire has a lot going on, and though I wish her inclination towards the supernatural was explored a tad sooner, her trauma doesn't feel gratuitous on top of the horror within the timeline of the book. She's the next ghost hunter Ripley. 

However, I did hope for a bit more science in my fiction. The introduction of technology crucial to the story feels a bit rushed and there is a lot of potential there to explore. But for the length, I understand wanting to prioritize the characters and the imagery. 

And what vivid imagery!! This book was so cinematic and gross in the best way horror can offer. I never thought how horrifying anti-gravity murder scenes would be, but now I'm thoroughly disgusted and delighted. 

All in all, a great space read! (And at the perfect time, during our Alien rewatch).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail