Dead Silence
Ratings178
Average rating3.8
3 1/2 stars
The good:
- creepy atmosphere
- the main character (although the typical everything is always my fault) tries to rationalize situations and follow certain logic (even if she makes bad choices)
- her growth
- not a terrible ending
The bad
- it's all my fault MC (mind you, at times it really is)
- ran a bit long
- side characters didn't get enough development
- the world building, supernatural, space aspects didn't get enough room to expand on.
Overall, this was a good space horror, one of those that convinces you we're probably better earthbound. There were the classic politics troupes, a touch of supernatural, a touch of OMG space can kill you in a thousand ways so why even go. A lot of oh whyyy would you do that, and yet, fun to watch it unfold. The ending wasn't awful, and really, it was a difficult story to satisfyingly end, so i won't blame them.
If you like space horror, event horizon sort of vibes, and don't mind a bit of pacing issues and underdevelopment, it should work for you. The main character is really traumatized, but knows it and although she makes stupid choices, does try to ammend them and by the end of it, she comes to accept herself and grows. I do think event horizon was better, but this does read like a movie.
3.75
Not that scary, but entertaining! I had a good time reading this. Good way to start off the new year!
I loved this from the beginning! We know that the Team Leader is the only one to come back, so we have expectations right off the bat. Some of those come to pass and some don't. So that suspense of how our expectations will turn out was enjoyable.
I loved the way that the Aurora was reminiscent of the Titanic. That also got our expectations going as well. The gore was so well done. I never saw the twist coming either. This was so much better than I expected!
It was enjoyable and kept me on my toes, though I wish some plot points hadn't been revealed so early on - when we finally get to the narrator's explanation of those plot points, it's kind of glossed over since we knew it was going to happen after the 3rd chapter.
I got a little bored at parts but the concept was interesting enough to keep me reading. I also didn't mind the romance but it was a little out of place. 3.5 stars.
Rating: 4 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3.5/5 -Cover: 4.5/5-Story: 3.5/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Scifi-Horror: 2/5-Paranormal: 4/5-Mystery: 4.5/5-Thriller: 5/5-Scifi: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YesHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedThis was actually pretty good. Really, if you liked Ghost Ship then you will like this book. I did liked the explanation for this book a lot more than the one for Ghost Ship. The whole time I was engaged in the story and wanting to know what was next and how things were going to go.I won't lie though. In the beginning I really hated the FMC! She kinda grows on ya.
It was a pretty entertaining read, but I felt like I just wanted more from it. The horror wasn't as dark as I expected or as the story was giving room for. There were times when I wished the author went a bit further. I also wanted more from the relationships of the crew.
The ending also left more to desire, like if there were any lasting consequences on the characters. Things kinda wrapped up too quickly considering we never found out what really happened.
This was my first trip into sci-fi horror and I loved it! I loved the spooky atmosphere. One of my fears was that it would tip so far into supernatural that it wouldn't be very sci-if or vice versa, but I found it was perfect mix of a classic ghost like story and sci-fi. I really think that we stayed with one character really suited the whole story. And though the character felt a bit like “tropes” I thought it was done so well that it didn't bother me in the slightest. I cannot wait for S.A. Barnes to write more.
Contains spoilers
TL;DR
I really enjoyed this book, a great science fiction horror in my opinion. I was constantly saying to myself, just another chapter, just one more...until I had to force myself to put it down in order to get some rest for work. Great atmosphere, great story (for the most part) and good characters.
My Scoring System
I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:
✓ - Main Story: Great story up until the end where things are revealed, it's not a bad reveal but after that it isn't scary anymore.
X - Side Stories (if it applies): The side stuff with our main protagonist and what's going through her mind isn't as interesting as the current mission. It's not too much filler and it's just sprinkled in every now and then but still, not that interesting.
✓ - Characters: I like all characters except one, Kate. The rest of the crew were really interesting and I liked their personalities.
✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The best part of the book, the ambience of being in a old forgotten that housed five hundred passengers ship that supposedly exploded. It's scary and the book makes sure you feel it.
X - Ending: Weakest part of the book in my opinion, mainly because it's spoiled in the first few paragraphs of chapter one. You see that our main protagonist made it out alive. Did not like that approach.
Extensive Review
I find the premise of this book amazing, a crew of five people are on the edge of the communication hub, as far and remote as you can be when the navigator suddenly sees that an S.O.S signal is being broadcasted from further out of their location, on a very old frequency. After debating on what action to take, they decide to check it out. They come across a very old luxury cruiser that supposedly dissapeared twenty years ago in an explosion...or so the news said.
That alone has potential and I'm happy to say it didn't let me down. The beginning of the book is strong, once they board the ship and try to find out what is going on and what happened to it and it's passengers is filled with tension and atmosphere, I really liked the first few days on the ship and seeing the characters go through that experience.
The characters were really good and enjoyable I like all of them except one. Kane is the most boring thing ever put to paper, he's just perfect, always doing the right thing, always caring for everyone. Keeping the peace and making sure everyone is okay...get him the hell out of my ship. Compare him to Voller who's the complete opposite and that's what makes him great, he's openly confrontational and disrespectful to the main protagonist who is his captain. Doesn't like her and he let's her know it but at the end of the day he will do what the captain says which is why I respect him. The other are also great, each with their own personality and complementing eachother. The whole crew just felt natural and I enjoyed their banter.
Things I did not like:
- Once you learn about what truly happened to the ship the mystery is gone. It's not a bad reveal and it makes sense it's just that it isn't scary anymore and at that point the book becomes a thriller.
- There is a romantic relationship going on between the main protagonist and a crew member, I didn't care for it at all, thankfully it's not very intrusive and I didn't bother me that much.
- Probably the biggest one, (Spoiler? but it's literally the first thing your eyes read on the first chapter) the book starts with an interview of the main character being acused of killing her crewmates and making it out alive of the mysterious ship. That just spoils the fact that she made it out okay and her crew didn't. I hate this trope of starting from the present, telling the story of the past.
This is a book I was excited about due to the hype around it. A haunted house in space? Sounds good!
The background of the main character was interesting to learn about, especially in relationship to the main situation she found herself in, but I think there could have been more exploration of the psychology of the initial experience. The setup and worldbuilding were strong, and the ship they found was a very interesting construct and setting for the main plot.
The structure of the book was used effectively to create intrigue, and I think the plot is the highlight of the book. It occurs in essentially two acts, so it does build the tension effectively. The climax of the book was exciting with several twists and a clever resolution.
The characters were kind of predictable and while the other crew members were somewhat three-dimensional, they were a rather standard array of personalities. The investigators, however were not very deep and were very cliché, as were all the other supporting characters.
I'm not sure how I feel about the romantic element of the book. One the one hand, it is interesting to hear it from a woman's POV, and it isn't unrealistic for there to be feelings between co-workers which provide conflicting thoughts, so I did enjoy that aspect of it. On the other hand, it just felt mildly clumsy and not at all necessary. It isn't that it felt false, so like I said, I'm unsure how I feel about it.
Overall I did enjoy it and it was only on reflection for this review that I was able to find things to nitpick. It was a pretty quick read that I looked forward to getting back to whenever I could.
I loved this! I'm not a fan of horror but love scifi, and this had just the right amount of atmospheric dread to keep me on my toes without making my imagination run wild at night.
The combination of trauma, supernatural elements and survival instinct was spot on.
The idea of this book was good - sort of a Titanic meets Event Horizon thing where the main characters find a ghost ship that messes with their perceptions - but the execution did not work for me. The MC's specific non ghost ship related mental health problems were all over the place, but not in a way that was interesting or compelling. The dual timeline thing that only happens for like half the book did not work. The pacing was so slow until about the 70% mark. Most of the actually interesting things happen off screen. The thing that is causing the problem is immediately obvious but no one figures it out. The characters are very vague stereotypes and the romance is deeply stupid. For some reason the same things that were just shown are reiterated over and over like you might not notice (like the character will see a gold faucet and be like “wow! Ostentatious displays of wealth bad!” every single time). I did like the way they solved the problem at the end though.
The first time I have read a book based on it's similarities with a videogame, in this case Dead Space, and I have to say I really enjoyed
It!
One of my favorite tropes/scenarios is the spooky empty-but-maybe-not spaceship. Or a ship floating in space with everyone on board dead. It's the premise of some of my favorite Star Trek episodes. For some reason, this one didn't quite resonate (heh) with me. I liked it but didn't love it. I think Claire's character could have been a bit stronger and something about the epilogue seemed too settled for me.
But! You will keep reading because you want to solve the mystery so if you're looking for that, I would recommend it!
I really wish GR let you do half ratings -_- anyway 3.5 from me! I liked the spoopiness but couldn't stand the protagonist most of the time, and her abilities weren't explained, meanwhile the rest of the ship going batshit crazy was because of...vibrations. Wasn't crazy about that lol, was hoping for something COOLER
Man that main character was insufferable. The amount of “everything is my fault,” from the first page to the last, really ruined what was otherwise a fairly fun (for horror) time. The explanation of things near the end, the cause of the tragedy, was kind of thin for me, but whatever. I still had fun. But my god that main character...
This is SO creepy!! I was reading this in the night and had to stop coz it was creeping the shit out of me. And every time I was close to falling asleep, I saw the shadows in my room out of the corner of my eye and I was wide awake again. I am not even kidding this happened throughout the entire night and I got only about 3 hrs of sleep lol.
This was so well written and it felt like watching a movie or smthg which made it that much more creepy!
It felt like a 5 star until the part where it explained how these stuff was caused and that made me lower my rating to a 4.5 star coz that reason was; unexpected? yes, but very underwhelming.
But other than this it was overall an amazing read and highly recommend!
If anyone has any recs for similar books please lmk coz I am craving more space horror:) TIA!
I had been seeing this book all over the place and I just absolutely loved the cover. I was on a book buying ban though (still am) so I waited months of being “good” before finally caving for me.
I have to be candid with this one. Reading this hit me at the perfect time in many ways. My fiancé Priscilla was traveling for work at a new job. I went to bed at midnight and she woke me up at 4:30AM to bring her to the airport. I thought I'd get to go back to sleep but then the puppy was whining so I didn't. I then preceded to do 7 hours of house and yard work, so exhaustion doesn't really begin to explain it. I did the majority of my reading after that and the following day. I think because of the prior lack of sleep I worked myself up into a migraine for the next day. Didn't stop me though, I just continued reading with it.
The first 160ish pages nothing happens. I kept thinking like why is this so boring? Is it just written poorly? Why can't I seem to sit still and get through it? Then I realized that I had been kind of sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen since page one. So it wasn't poor writing, it was purposeful. It was building suspense. That cabin-fever feeling, that paranoia. What I noticed around this point was that I was actually feeling genuine paranoia while reading. I've only ever felt this way while reading a single time before. It was while reading Dracula, a Signet classic version with font so small I legitimately wished for a magnifying glass. Same thing though, I was sick with a migraine while reading it, and I felt heightened paranoia while reading it the entire time. Now, much older, I was feeling the same again with Dead Silence. Just a very continuous, creeping suspicion that someone was watching. I felt like I kept seeing things out of the corner of my eye or if I'd turn around too quickly I'd catch a glimpse of something. I mean, the kind of have-to-force-yourself-to-go-to-the-basement-laundry-room creepy.
This may not work for everyone, this might not hit at all for some. For me though, this was just a perfect storm of things. Priscilla and I haven't really been apart at all in the last two+ years due to Covid. The over-tiredness, the migraine, the being alone. It all just worked really well for me. I think this'll be my new creepy suggestion from now on for people.
With all that being said, there are still some things I didn't particularly like. The story is first person and the main character says a great amount of things over and over and over. This certainly adds to the cabin fever-y, “is anything real” side of the story, but I do firmly believe that some of it was a little too repetitive. The story also has a ‘now' and ‘then' where the character is being interviewed about what happened (kind of Annihilation style) and they just straight up talk about deaths before they happen. That's kind of overdone for me and it didn't work as well here as it was intended. I also didn't particularly like any of the characters. That doesn't make the story less spooky or horrifying, it just would have hit home more if I cared about them each personally.
The second half of the book breaks away from the ultimate horror side and becomes more of an action-y climax. This includes an explanation of what's causing the events on the ship. For me, a nice and neat ending, with explanation included, kind of kills the overall feel of the novel. I don't mind when horror is ambiguous, I kind of prefer it. With that being said, the second half of the novel is certainly still quite enjoyable!
In space no one can hear you scream...from frustration and subpar audiobook narration. Dead Space by S.A. Barnes was billed as The Shining meets The Titanic in space, and I had very high hopes for this story. Claire is a space ship team lead on a mission that accidentally discovers a luxury (space) cruise ship that has been missing for decades. Motivated by the lucrative claim they can make by recovering the vessel Claire and her crew board the ship, but soon creepy stuff starts happening. The reader is left to wonder: is the ship haunted? Has the crew gone insane? Is something else at work?
Cool concept, but ultimately I didn't love how it turned out. This was a fun book (especially for the first 2/3rds of so), but I just found it a bit disappointing overall. Some elements seemed unbelievable or just kinda lame. Additionally the audiobook is marred by a performance that at times borders on melodrama, and features some character voices I didn't care for.
Overall I think this book was just ok. If you really like space horror you might be into it, but there's probably better books out there. This might be one that's better to read visually than to listen to though.
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