Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Dead Silence

➽ 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!

Content Warnings

elwyn_k's review against another edition

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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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georgiaaa's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.0

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_forestofpages's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The writing, atmosphere and slow pacing were great. However, the characters themselves lacked proper motivation, I did not like the ending as it was a wasted opportunity in my opinion and the ending was actually too hopeful and convenient. I also thought the addition of a romantic subplot was strange in a book like this. I found that unnecessary personally.

I would read this author again. But this was not what I expected or wanted from a Ghost Ship kind of story.

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raychelbennet's review against another edition

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challenging 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

Holy. Shit. I'm at a loss for words over this. This book has been sitting in my NetGalley TBR for a hot minute and I’ve been anxiously awaiting it the entire time. It did not disappoint but I do wish I had read it sooner.

Dead Silence follows Claire and her team on a sniffer (some sort of small rocket for exploration) in the far reaches of space. When they are done with their assignment and about to return, they pick up on a faint distress signal. Claire, who will be essentially deemed insignificant to the space exploration company she works for at the end of this mission, says that it is their responsibility to investigate. They go off track and find the Aurora—society’s only attempt at a luxury space-liner that disappeared during its maiden voyage 20 years prior. Everyone on board was presumed dead as the ship was never found. Will Claire and her team be able to give everyone answers to this mystery? Or were the causes of death on board more nefarious than they once assumed?

I could not put this book down. I was in love with all of the characters and desperately anxious to see how the plot was going to be resolved. I will admit—it did not end up going anywhere near I thought it would. That being said, I still enjoyed it tremendously despite my preconceived notions. I cannot wait to see if S. A. Barnes writes anything else like this. I also think this would make a fabulous movie. 5/5 shining stars.
**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

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