monagle's reviews
13 reviews

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

dark mysterious tense medium-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

The tagline says The Shining and Titanic, and those are decent touch points, but I feel that Dead Silence is more indebted to that weird rush of late-90s salvage horror found in films like Virus, Deep Rising, and Ghost Ship. Regardless, it threads the needle to my absolute favorite genres of horror: Corporations in Space. I loved every second of this and hope very much that Barnes continues in the horror genre.

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

dark emotional 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

3.75

It’s like someone tried to make a ‘woke’ Charles Bronson movie, in the best possible way. Moves with the same blend of violence and blue collar humor that makes Joe Lansdale’s books great, but leans into what those kind of characters mean in a modern world. But also, lots and lots of violence. Did I mention the violence?

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

A truly staggering work of narrative nonfiction. Keefe masterfully explores both sides of The Troubles while neither condoning nor condemning its participants - atrocities were committed on all sides - and demonstrating how this period in Irish history is still an open wound in the 21st Century. And since the country is so small, Keefe is able to reduce the decades-long conflict to a few key figures without feeling reductive in his reporting. Don't go into the book looking for easy answers; there are none to be had.