Oh man. So much good material to work with here. Great ideas. Unfortunately, this was too many good ideas all forced into one book. There is ghosts, insanity, space, pandemic, conspiracy, hallucinations and a touch of romance. Too many paths were taken in this story. Which means none of them ever fully developed. Like a taste test for ice cream. You end up liking every flavor and can't pick just one.

*Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire via NetGalley for the digital reader copy.

He points a trembling finger to the far side of the room, and all of us look.
The space is empty.

So, sci-fi isn’t really my thing…Unless it’s horror, which is why I was really intrigued when I received a copy of this book from Nightfire for an honest review.

Dead Silence follows our main character Claire and her four crew mates who are aboard the ship LINA. It’s Claire’s last rodeo, that is until one of the crew mates picks up an emergency signal from AURORA, a long lost ship. What starts off as a small mission to make themselves rich, soon fogs into things appearing at the corner of their eyes, loud noises echoing across the ship and events they can’t begin to explain.

This book was a mixed bag for me, I really loved the first half of the book because it was creepy, there was moments that were making me nope the hell out, it felt like i was watching a top notch horror film, but the second half really fell flat for me. I started to lose interest as things became more known. There were some points throughout the novel that took me out of how stressful and scary the situation was, and I sometimes found it hard to root for Claire in certain circumstances.

However, I do think Dead Silence is a solid sci-fi horror novel, it’s full of frightening passages, it’s well written and the visuals Barnes gave were haunting, especially during the first half of the book.

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes is an enthralling and engrossing read with a great plot and characters! Well worth the read

Dead Silence is the perfect blend of sci-fi and horror, and I read it in one sitting. The Aurora was a luxury space-liner that has been missing for 20 years. Passengers included celebrities, influencers, government officials, and tech giants. Everyone disappeared without a trace. While finishing up a job, Claire’s ship picks up a mysterious distress signal. Upon finding the vessel, Claire’s crew decide to salvage what they can.

This book was super creepy and I loved the atmosphere. It reminded me of Dead Space, a video game I love dearly. The jump between past and present was well done and the pacing kept my heart pounding.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This scratched every horror itch I had. It was right up my alley. I LOVE the whole premise of an abandoned ship, house, spaceship or whatever and this was so well done with the unreliable narrator, who unlike other horrors was believable and well thought out.

The perfect mix of horror and sci-fi, Dead Silence is unputdownable from the first chapter. I found myself compulsively reading a chapter whenever I could just to know more. Counting down the days until I can get my own copy.

Loved, loved, loved this. Fans of the films Event Horizon or Ghost Ship are sure to enjoy this one, as well as sci-fi horror fans. I was initially intrigued by the premise, and by chapter four I knew this would be a cover-to-cover read for me. I enjoyed the characters, the dread filled atmosphere, and chilling imagery. 10/10 would recommend this one.

It has been a long time since a horror book gave me the creeps, but this one delivered. Throughout the whole first half of the book I was constantly feeling a chill in the pit of my stomach, like I was being watched. The fear the characters felt was easy to relate to and feel myself.
I loved the pacing of this book and I think it really just added to the creep factor with the alteration between now and the past. I finished it in basically 24 hours total
I did not see the ending coming at all, we went from full on horror to a sci-fi battle for business feel, but I actually love how we got there. This had a great balance of horror and space opera that reminds me of The Expanse.

A story unlike any other. Dead Silence presents itself like many space horror but in its depths, you will find a tale of love, trauma, mystery, and self-discovery. One of the best books you'll read all year.

Dead Silence is a sci-fi horror mystery with an eerie atmosphere. A small space crew finds a lost luxury space-liner filled with riches and corpses. The characters are realistic and Barnes does a great job building the suspense as the story unfolds. There is a dual timeline as the main character reflects on past events and attempts to prevent disaster.

Special thanks to NetGalley, S. A. Barnes and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advanced copy of Dead Silence. #DeadSilence #NetGalley

When Claire and her crew respond to an emergency signal, they find the Aurora - a luxury space cruise ship that's been missing for twenty years. Hoping to cash in on the discovery, the crew hops aboard and discovers unimaginable horrors. Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the early eARC. This will be available on January 25th!

I have some mixed feelings on Dead Silence. It's a bit like The Shining meets the Titanic with a far bloodier ending. Which sounds amazing and is everything I could ever ask for as a setting! But, I really did not care for the dual timeline used. I found myself not particularly caring about certain characters as I already knew their fate. Overall, though, I thought it was a pretty entertaining read with some good twists.

If you're looking for an eerie setting and some paranormal activity - then this is the book for you.

I received a digital ARC from Tor Nightfire via NetGalley. This book started off SO promising with Team Leader Claire and her space crew finding the long lost space liner, Aurora. This felt like Titanic meets Alien, which are two blockbusters. The story was very atmospheric and their travels through the luxury spacecraft of dead bodies and detritus was very alluring. The crew soon realizes something caused everyone on board to kill each other and now strange hallucinations are effecting them. However, about halfway the story transitioned off the Aurora and the characters couldn't maintain the second half of the book through to the epic shoot 'em up conclusion. This just didn't hit the spot for me, but it was interesting enough that I finished the story.

Dead Silence was a wickedly fun book. Sci-fi isn’t typically my go to genre, but the horror elements of an abandoned ghost ship pulled me in and kept me hooked. I thought the characters were great and unique in their own ways. I loved Claire’s character and really thought she was believable. The scattered timeline worked and the whole book was fast paced. If anything, I would have loved a bit more exploring on the ghost ship, but otherwise, this was a solid read. Can’t wait to see what Barnes writes next.

This is a story about the ghost in the machine.

This is a horror story on a massive scale: Ghost Ship, meets Event Horizon, meets The Sixth Sense. Ghosts, capitalism & a luxury liner in space! The creeping sense of pervasive dread & atmospheric terror are expertly created- I enjoyed every frightening minute!

Thank you so much Netgalley &
Macmillan-Tor/Forge. for this e-Arc!

I had HIGH hopes for this book. There isn't enough Sci-Fi/Horror out there. While the book didn't meet my expectations it was still a very good story. I was actually all ready to give the book 5 stars until the "horror" aspect turned into human greed/manufactured horror. I still finished the book very quickly and enjoyed it, just not for the reasons I was expecting to. I loved the "romance" and all the different crew members, even the jerky one.

Thank you so much S.A.Barnes for sending me a free ARC copy of Dead Silence. I've heard nothing but great things about this book. if you like books that are very spooky and filled with mystery then I would definitely recommend you read this book. it has everything you could want in a spooky book.

I received a copy of this novel through netgalley in exchange for an honest review…

So here goes…

Dead Silence has now become one of my top 10 reads this year. From the second I saw the cover, to reading the copy about the book I knew this would hook me from the start.

It’s a little bit Event Horizon, a little bit Pandorum and a whole lot of fun. The story ebbs and flows just like the inhale and exhale of the main characters. The imagery the authors words gives to your brain makes you feel like you are right there with the Crew of the LINA, and the twist… the twist will leave you questioning all the way until the end.

Absolutely fabulous read. Highly recommend.

Great science fiction horror! One of my favourite sub-genres, and this one did not disappoint. Lots of great action, mystery and enough scares and chills to satisfy.

Welcome aboard the Aurora, the Titanic of space travelling! We have luxurious suites, fancy restaurants, famous guests, even royalty! Treat yourself to an amazing one in a lifetime experience… and stay for when death breaks havoc and ghosts start driving you insane.
When Claire and her crewmates discover the hollow shell of the once grandiose Aurora deep in space, they can’t possibly imagine they are about to open the very gates of Hell. What happened to the passengers? Why is there blood everywhere? And what is that elusive shadow that lingers just the enough amount of time to mess with their heads?

I deeply enjoy ghost stories, so it was simply impossible to me to resist to such a trip. S.A. Barnes’ rhythm got me from the slow-paced beginning, when the reader gets to meet, not only Claire, but also Kane, Voller, Lourdes and Nysus in a way that it makes it impossible not to fear for them when they decide to board the Aurora to just see what happened.
I do not want to enter spoiler territory, so I will simply say that the show might be grittier to what one should expect for a cruise type vacation. The descriptions are direct, detailed and amazing. The point of view, from Claire’s perspective, makes the whole experience a traumatic and claustrophobic one, with instances where I was just shredding through the pages to try to catch a gasp of air.
A new, fabulous recommendation to my space horror list.
***Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the editor for the ARC***

The blurb for this touts "Titanic meets The Shining!" but mentions nothing about the Alien franchise. It totally should have. The corporate sleaze underlying that space series has a match in Dead Silence. Claire has already been a Company victim once, as a child, when her settlement didn't get needed supplies and consequently perished. She also carries a secret shame from that ordeal, and she never learned to play well with others. But her Company job is almost at an end, and they're going to put her out to pasture. On her last voyage, though, she and the crew pick up a distress beacon. From a long-lost luxury vessel. Which they can claim for salvage. They juuuuust need to go aboard and get some evidence...Claire can't account for what happens next, and then, she's sent back into the fray. A ghost ship, corporate greed, and shallow consumerism make a lethal combination. Will anyone survive? Ooh, this is a shivery and delicious read, even if one of the underlying culprits is pretty obvious early on.