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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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:
No
Review originally published at Cemetery Dance Online:
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/review-dead-silence/
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/review-dead-silence/
I absolutely loved this. While reading it I had all the same emotions as when I watched Alien for the first time. Really well developed characters, tons of suspense, and such a creepy atmosphere. I wasn't expecting the author to throw in some action for good measure but I'm sure not complaining. Most entertaining read I've had in a while.
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Clare is out in the LINA for one last mission repairing the outer regions of the Commweb when the comms expert on board picks up a strange emergency signal operating out of an outdated channel. Deciding they can't very well leave people in trouble (and Clare hoping to prolong the end of the career she loves), they travel towards the signal, leaving known space, to discover something no one thought would ever be seen again; the Aurora, first and last luxury space liner, that went dark 6 months into its yearlong cruise, 20 years ago. Seeing a new future for herself, Clare and her crew entire the Aurora in an attempt to claim the discovery, with various motivations. But perhaps a ship missing for two decades should have remained missing.
Dead Silence was my most anticipated release of 2022 (guess I need to find a new one now, huh) and I loved it as much as I hoped I would. It was a perfect combination of eerie space exploration and unsettling ghostly activity for me. In fact, recommending it to my sister I told her that Dead Silence is what would happen if the films Event Horizon and Ghost Ship met at a bar, had a few drinks, hit it off, went home, and had a book baby. So, if that sounds appealing to you, then might I suggest picking up this book?
Clare was a great character to follow throughout this story. She is the team leader of her crew, so already she carries a great deal of responsibility. Then add on top of that a secret from her past that still impacts upon her today, and the possibility of losing the only thing in her life she enjoys, and you have a driven, flawed, complex human being of a main character. She is clever enough to follow what is going on, while ignorant about some aspects, so that we can discover what is happening along with her the entire journey, which I found to help put myself into her shoes and live in this world.
This world is a fascinating one. Dead Silence takes place in the future, where it seems that much of Earth is different, or perhaps uninhabitable. Humans, once mastering space travel moved onto the next logical step; space living. There are habitations on Mars, and it seems other planets as well. The Aurora herself, where the majority of the story takes place, was an experiment in living off world, in an actual space craft. And while most of the story does occur here, the world certainly seems to expand beyond. The history between our present and Clare's present is filled in where necessary, and lends a great sense of reality to the story. We know that space is the 'final frontier' for many a dreamer, so this future doesn't seem totally out of the way.
As for the horror element, I personally would classify it as eerie, rather than outright scary. You may think differently of course. As stated in previous reviews, I don't actually scare when reading or watching horror. People ask me what the fun is without that primal reaction, and sometimes I wish I could feel what they feel. However, horror is still my favourite genre, because I love exploring the darker aspects of humanity and the world we created. And that is very easy to do with Dead Silence. You have corporations running civilisation (giving me Outer Worlds vibes for sure), rich people benefiting from this and poorer people often suffering, with the horrible consequences of all this playing out in the horror, and what Clare discovers aboard the Aurora.
I have a personal soft spot for settings that are haunted obviously. But I also love the fusion of future technology, which seems to have a starkness to it that clashes with the warmer, if not rose tinted, nostalgic elements it melds with in retrofuturism. That is all very much to be found in Dead Silence, and it was truly an enjoyable experience for my imagination.
Ok, this review is starting to get a little long, so I'm going to wrap it up. But before I go, I would love to recommend this book to people who enjoy a good haunting, mixed with some fascinating sci-fi elements, and great characters (even the unlikeable ones). If that sounds like you, please give Dead Silence a read, and if you're interested, why not check out S.A. Barnes' article for Tor Nightfire about horror in space!
Dead Silence was my most anticipated release of 2022 (guess I need to find a new one now, huh) and I loved it as much as I hoped I would. It was a perfect combination of eerie space exploration and unsettling ghostly activity for me. In fact, recommending it to my sister I told her that Dead Silence is what would happen if the films Event Horizon and Ghost Ship met at a bar, had a few drinks, hit it off, went home, and had a book baby. So, if that sounds appealing to you, then might I suggest picking up this book?
Clare was a great character to follow throughout this story. She is the team leader of her crew, so already she carries a great deal of responsibility. Then add on top of that a secret from her past that still impacts upon her today, and the possibility of losing the only thing in her life she enjoys, and you have a driven, flawed, complex human being of a main character. She is clever enough to follow what is going on, while ignorant about some aspects, so that we can discover what is happening along with her the entire journey, which I found to help put myself into her shoes and live in this world.
This world is a fascinating one. Dead Silence takes place in the future, where it seems that much of Earth is different, or perhaps uninhabitable. Humans, once mastering space travel moved onto the next logical step; space living. There are habitations on Mars, and it seems other planets as well. The Aurora herself, where the majority of the story takes place, was an experiment in living off world, in an actual space craft. And while most of the story does occur here, the world certainly seems to expand beyond. The history between our present and Clare's present is filled in where necessary, and lends a great sense of reality to the story. We know that space is the 'final frontier' for many a dreamer, so this future doesn't seem totally out of the way.
As for the horror element, I personally would classify it as eerie, rather than outright scary. You may think differently of course. As stated in previous reviews, I don't actually scare when reading or watching horror. People ask me what the fun is without that primal reaction, and sometimes I wish I could feel what they feel. However, horror is still my favourite genre, because I love exploring the darker aspects of humanity and the world we created. And that is very easy to do with Dead Silence. You have corporations running civilisation (giving me Outer Worlds vibes for sure), rich people benefiting from this and poorer people often suffering, with the horrible consequences of all this playing out in the horror, and what Clare discovers aboard the Aurora.
I have a personal soft spot for settings that are haunted obviously. But I also love the fusion of future technology, which seems to have a starkness to it that clashes with the warmer, if not rose tinted, nostalgic elements it melds with in retrofuturism. That is all very much to be found in Dead Silence, and it was truly an enjoyable experience for my imagination.
Ok, this review is starting to get a little long, so I'm going to wrap it up. But before I go, I would love to recommend this book to people who enjoy a good haunting, mixed with some fascinating sci-fi elements, and great characters (even the unlikeable ones). If that sounds like you, please give Dead Silence a read, and if you're interested, why not check out S.A. Barnes' article for Tor Nightfire about horror in space!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abandonment
WOW. This was so much fun. It was so eerie at times that I had to shut the audiobook off—maybe I shouldn’t have been listening before bed
dark
tense