Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Dead Silence

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Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

39 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

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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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cosmicpanda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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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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brookey8888's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

Omg I really loved this. It was spooky and creepy, but I also feel in love with the characters and felt for them. It made me emotional at one point. Also there’s a bit of a romance and I ate it up, I loved it. This was such an interesting concept and so creepy and intriguing. I didn’t read the comparison and as I was reading I was like it’s like Titanic but in space and everyone losing it. I enjoyed reading this so much that I wanted to read it but I didn’t want it to end and I didn’t want anything to happen to the characters so I would post pone reading it. I’m so happy I read this and loved it.

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mich3ll31221's review against another edition

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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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george_tte's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I love sci-fi horror. This was terrifying… I was up all night reading it and then couldn’t go to sleep. Definitely check it out!

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lefthandlou's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Decently spooky book with an interesting twist and consistent throughout. I liked that this didn’t have the usual drop off in believability 3/4 through that so many horror novels have. The plot was steady and holds up. I found Claire’s character to be very irritating, however, and the “I’m broken and dangerous” schtick to be tiresome. Ultimately satisfied with this read, though.

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