A review by ekcd_
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

The one line reviews make it seem like it’s going to be this gritty juicy horror book, but aside from very detailed gore and body horror / injury descriptions the plot wasn’t actually scary. I think the author tried to make it a psychological thriller but made the MC so uniquely and extravagantly insane that you could see right through to the end. The world building was meh, the prose wasn’t distracting. It’s like a less vibrant version of a fan fiction mash up of 2001, Firefly and Levithan Wakes. It did them all a disservice. That’s said, not my worst read this year 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail