I found this to be an extraordinary, unique take on the Titanic in an outer space world.
Rating: 4.5/5
Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes’ Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended.
A GHOST SHIP.
A SALVAGE CREW.
UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.
Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.
What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.
Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.
Release Date: February 8, 2022
I received an ARC of Dead Silence through Tor Nightfire Publishing. Thank you so much for this opportunity! I really enjoyed this one!
Immediately after seeing this cover, I knew I needed to read this one. Then, when I saw the premise, I really needed to read this one! And this did not disappoint!
The whole premise was simply amazing. Inspired by the Titanic, Dead Silence follows a salvage crew who discovers the ghost ship of the first ever luxury space-liner that had disappeared during its 12-month voyage through space. Set on claiming this find the crew decide to board the ship to bring back proof of their find only to discover an unsettling horror on board.
From the start, this had me captivated, starting us off with seeing our main character being haunted by the dead and what she saw out there in the edges of space. This abrupt start really sets the tone for the rest of the book. And I couldn’t wait to keep reading.
From the start, this had me captivated...
All the way through, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat. And while I had my guesses, I never knew what to expect as I made my way through the pages.
It vaguely reminded me of an old indie steam game I used to play in high school, where you were alone in space in a haunted crew ship. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the game to share with you. But it was definitely a great deja vu moment. Bringing me back to playing that game as I read this.
Another similarity was definitely The Shining, I mean it’s even in the summary ~ Titanic meets The Shining. But it rang true! I got so many creepy hotel vibes as we followed our crew exploring the ghost ship. I absolutely loved all the haunts we got to see.
I absolutely loved all the haunts we got to see.
My only bug was for me, the big twist was not what I had hoped for. But I did enjoy the fact that the twist shocked me. It fit perfectly and I truly did not see it coming.
Overall, I really enjoyed this sci-fi horror. I found this to be an extraordinary, unique take on the Titanic in an outer space world. I think anyone who enjoys science fiction and psychological horrors would enjoy this one! I highly recommend it!