Dead Silence

Nice and fast read, with just enough tension to keep the reader glued to their seat and turning pages. The theme of corporate greed being the reason for the entire mess is also timely and appropriate. Also: sadly true in real life.

3.5

This cover and blurbs gave me Ghost Ship vibes which is a movie that I enjoyed, however the story was nothing like it to me. The beginning of the book had me hooked and I needed to know what was going on. I was speeding through the first 200 pages of the book and then I skidded to almost a stop the last 150 pages. The ending and the reason for the chaos was not what I was expecting and somewhat underwhelming for me. I would also not classify this as Sci-Fi/Horror, it is more a thriller set in space. If you go into it with that mind set you will be much better for what is going on.

The beginning and middle were enjoyable enough for me to rate this a 3 stars. I just wish the ending and whole reason would have been different. 

Okay yes, this did fit the ‘Ghost Ship in space' bill everyone was assigning it, and did a great job at it. Dead Space follows Claire Kovalik and her crew as they find a seemingly abandoned luxury spacecraft that had gone missing two decades prior. As expected, spookiness ensues. Sidenote, do not read this if you have an issue with body horror or gore. It's not on every page but it's certainly prominent enough.

I did really enjoy this, the vibes were immaculate and I found myself putting it down for a minute every couple chapters to breathe. But then I would pick it right back up again and keep chugging along. Barnes really succeeded in creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere and an intriguing mystery. I fully did not see that plot twist coming!

It did have a couple weaknesses, though. Claire is supposed to be in her mid-thirties, but I found her somewhat juvenile. I know that's probably because of her PTSD, but that's another thing that bothered me. I felt like her backstory was pushed a little too hard. This might just be me, but I get really bored with books where the MC has a ~tragic backstory~ that is CONSTANTLY alluded to. I found her really frustrating to read at times because of this.

The romance subplot also seemed completely unnecessary to me. I did like Kane, but I was just like [shrug] we're in a ghost ship in space! Why are we talking about romance! I think if this had been removed, the book could have leaned in a little farther with developing the creep factor.

All in all, though, I really enjoyed this and found it to be a unique reading experience. If anyone has recs for books similar to this, I am ALL ears. I am definitely going to be recommending this to horror fans and hope to see more from Barnes in this genre!

Any story where people investigate a missing spaceship with no one left alive on board is right up my alley. This book had a bit of an Event Horizon (movie) feel. I enjoyed the creepiness of the mystery. My one compliant was that the main character was a little annoying. Her insistence that everything bad that happens to everyone is always her fault made me want to slap her. Besides that I liked this book quite a bit.

I'll admit that Sci-Fi is not my go to genre, but the horror/sci-fi collaboration worked. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and there were suspenseful moments that kept me on the edge of my seat. Dead Silence is written well, bringing the reader a story that throws you into an action packed adventure full of space, ghosts and surprises.

I must say I didn't particularly like the anxious, worry-wart main character, but characters are strong. If romance is your thing, there's a cute little love story between two of the main characters.

The ending is my favorite part of the book. I like how the author added a twist showcasing the greed of major corporations. It's much like the world we live in today. There's a nice lesson in there if you read between the lines.

Overall I did enjoy the story and there were a few moments that caught me off-guard. I would totally read more from this author.


Thank you TorNightfire and NetGalley for the ARC