Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of thriller and horror blended seamlessly together, than this is the audiobook for you.
Clare Kovalik is on a team mission in their spaceship when they receive a distress signal. When they looked further into who was sending out the distress signal, they couldn't fully believe what they were seeing. The Aurora is a ship that disappeared nearly twenty years prior. Bickering crew mates and secrets worm their way into the teams decision to help the now reappeared luxury ship. This book is being described as Titanic meets The Shining and it delivers!

I thought this book was intriguing from the start. The bickering between crew members made it drag a little for me but I enjoyed how they built up the story and wove the interview about what happened after.

Clare Kovalik and her team are on a mission in space when they notice an unusual distress signal. They decide as a group to go check it out. When they go to investigate they are amazed that it is none other than the Aurora, a well known luxury space cruiser that disappeared twenty years ago on its first trip of the solar system.

A discovery like this could be monumental to Clare and her team. Upon entering the ship, the crew immediately gets the feeling all is not what it seems. Strange words written in blood, strange sightings. Clare must keep her team together as they fight to get back to earth.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review

Remember the old tag line; "In space no one can hear you scream"? Dead Silence takes that idea and then hits you over the head with a sledgehammer.

The publishers description is ; 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.

If only it were that simple. I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and the narration by Lauren Ezzo, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

It begins a little like Alien, a distress signal from far out in space. Claire Kovalik is days away from being 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.

They find, well out past the reaches of explored territory, the lost luxury ship The Aurora. Assumed to be lost when it disappeared on its virgin voyage.

Hoping for salvage rights and a percentage of the ships immense value, Kovalik and her crew board the dead ship. They find bloody warnings and lots of dead bodies on the ship, and that's when things get stranger and stranger. Could not put this down.

Highly recommended

B.A. Barnes did an awesome job with this. Its scifi, but also blood curdling horror. Prepare to be unable to turn away, no matter how scared or grossed out you get. This is a winner!

Thanks to @netgalley, MacMillan Audio, and B.A. Barnes for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

First of all, I love the audiobook narrator. I felt like she perfectly captured the tone and intensity of the story.

Reading Dead Silence was an eye opening experience for me. I now know that SciFi horror is a genre I need to explore. I don't have a lot of knowledge in the genre, so I don't have anything to compare Dead Silence to, but I loved this. Some great stakes and I thought the author did a good job at explaining how and why Claire is an unreliable character. The affects of trauma are no joke.

I could have done without the romance, but I think it was included to add some lightness to the story. It may have been too overwhelming otherwise!

Dead Silence is the sci-fi horror I needed. Filled with creepy scenes that will keep you up at night, this book is SCARY. Think The Shining meets Titanic meets the most terrifying episode of Star-trek you’ve ever seen.

I highly recommend the audio for Dead Silence. Lauren Ezzo ratchets up the terror. She gives life to the characters and reads the anxiety inducing scenes so well. She 💯 made this book even scarier.

I need more horror from S.A. Barnes ASAP. There were characters to root for. There was mystery. There were twists. There’s one particular scene that will haunt me for eternity. I can’t say enough good thing about Dead Silence. Thank you to @macmillan.audio for my review copy.

If you are a fan of anything set in space you need to pick DEAD SILENCE by S.A. Barnes up!

I don’t get spooked easily by books, but this one really did get me! The book follows Claire Kovalik and her crew as they are on an exploratory mission in space. They come accross a ship that has been MIA for twenty years and decide to board and check it out. What they find is absolutely horrifying. The luxury liner, which can be compared as the Titanic of space voyages, is littered with death and decay. The crew tries to piece together what could have caused things to unravel and how the ship actually got stranded when things begin turning south for them too….

This story not only brought horrifying visuals, but it also touched on the horrors of capitalism and the lengths people and businesses will go at the sacrifices of others. This ended up being a 4⭐️ read for me. My only con is that it felt a little long and drawn out but it is still very worth the read!

Super Creepy Space Saga!

Claire is a headstrong fragile and angry astronaut. She is about to be unemployed and obsolete by her space company and slowly making her way back when an SOS is picked up from far away. Her crew follows the signal and finds the Aurora - a famous luxury ship that has been lost for many years. Claire and her crew realise that claiming stake to this lost ship would set them up for life. But once they step foot on the Aurora things begin to go wrong...

Whispers, flickers, shadows..everyone seems to be seeing things. Except these things could be real.
And they could be in real danger! If you like horror, space adventure and just a thrilling creepy tale, #DeadSilence is for you#Macmillan #MacmillanAudio#TorNightfire

The front cover of this book is what grabbed me and reeled me in....I had to read this story! I love Sci-Fi horror. Space is mesmerizing, exciting.....and scary. Beautiful and completely inhospitable for human life. Great set up for horror!

Clarie is the lead technician for a Salvage Crew. But won't be for long....they are being replaced by machines. Made redundant. The last beacon. The last mission. Then...the crew picks up a strange signal and finds a ghost ship. This discovery might just be the last everything for her crew....

I started out reading a digital arc of this book....and loving every word of it! I became engaged with the characters and the story immediately. Work and adulting kept me from finishing before release day, so I snatched up the audio book and started the story over again. There's just something about having a horror story read to me that makes the tale even more suspenseful!

The audio is narrated by Lauren Ezzo and runs nearly 13 hours. Ezzo reads at a nice pace and does a superb job of voice acting. She really brought the story to life!

This is the first book by S.A. Barnes that I've read. She also publishes under the name Stacey Kade (YA and romance genres). I can't wait to read the next horror novel she publishes!

**I voluntarily read a digital arc of this book from Macmillan/Tor-Forge, and also purchased the audio book (Macmillan Audio) because I loved the story! All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Not necessarily my favorite piece I've read this year. I liked it enough. I would like to read more by this author as the writing itself was great.

Whoever said that this is "Titanic meets The Shining" is absolutely correct! This story is atmospheric and creepy, and takes place in space where safety is always a factor. The characters were interesting, and the protagonist has a questionable history which is always fun to navigate. There are some surprises along the way as well. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys some thrills and chills and a thoroughly interesting story. The narrator did an excellent job as well. Bravo!

My husband and I were going on a road trip and needed something to keep our attention. I saw the synopsis and right away I knew we would love it. Titanic meets The Shining!?!

From the very beginning of this audiobook we were drawn in. We would pause and discuss theories on what was happening and why. Each new chapter kept us at the edge of our seats. Dead Silence is full of complex characters in a very interesting a tense setting. I could definitely see this book being adapted onscreen.

The narration was wonderful with an easy flow. The narrator really brought the characters alive and kept us captivated the whole time. I will be checking out more from this author and narrator.

I want to thank NetGalley, S.A. Barnes and Macmillan Audio for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

This book was amazing! It was terrifying, gritty and makes me feel all the feels. The narrator for the audiobook did an excellent job at bringing not only the characters to life but also the emotions. You could feel the terror that Claire went through just by the inflection of her voice.
I am ordering a signed book as soon as I can!!

I gave this book 4 stars. The concept of Dead Silence I really enjoyed. I do wish we got more of what happened on the Aurora. I would love a prequel to this book where we get more of that. I can always appreciate a book where the main character does struggle with some type of mental illness but it isn't villianized, infact in this book it is used to he advantage at the end. When this book was advertised to me it really reminded me of the movie Ghost Ship so.immediately was sold and had to read it.

Claire and her crew pick up on an old distress signal and are immediately intrigued when they realise how out of date the signal is. They then stumbled upon the Aurora a luxury cruiseliner that disappeared more than 20 years ago. The crew decides to board the ship and take it home so they can reap the fortunes of the mystery of the Aurora. Once they board the mystery of what happened on the Aurora becomes clear.

I was immediately drawn to this title because of the title, cover art, and comparison to the Titanic meets The Shining . The whole time I listened to this audiobook I kept thinking how well it would adapt into a movie. Perfect for sci-fi and horror fans!

**4.5-stars**

Claire Kovalik, and her crew of communication beacon repair specialists, are out at the very edge of the system on their final mission together, when they pick up an odd distress signal coming from outside of 'civilized' space. They're surprised to find that the signal is being sent from the famous luxury liner, Aurora, missing since its maiden voyage more than 20-years ago.

Without much to lose, they collectively decide to investigate. After all, being able to make a salvage claim on such a luxurious and famous ship could literally change all of their lives for the better. Maybe Claire would finally be able to start her own business. She needs this. Admittedly, it's dangerous. A huge risk, but no risk, no reward. Boarding the ship, it quickly becomes evident that something had gone horribly wrong aboard the Aurora.

Trying to piece it all together, while also trying to figure out how best to prove their claim, Claire and her crew struggle. It's hard to determine what is real and what is not. They are hearing things, seeing things; it is disturbing to say the least. Some major decisions need to be made. They need to get out of there, but is the Aurora herself sabotaging them?

Y'all, I had so much fun reading Dead Silence. I definitely recommend it to any SF Horror fans. Barnes dealt up everything that was promised in the publisher's synopsis. We love to see it. The comp to Titanic and The Shining is quite apt.

I especially loved the Titanic influence. The way the ship was described, as well as the composition of the original passengers. I could just picture Jack and Rose gracing the beautiful main ballroom. The wealth and opulence on full display, just a staircase or two away from the working class.

This story definitely got under my skin. It's cold and dark. There are unexplainable things happening. As the characters began to panic, I felt my own heart rate rising as well. It felt claustrophobic, like there was no safe way out. This is the perfect example of why I would never choose to go to space. Decisions there are so final. One wrong move and it is literally the end of your life. There's no second chances.

The end got a little wild, with the action definitely increasing in the second half. At the end of the day though, I can't imagine this story going any other way. It was great. Really well imagined and brought to the page. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This story is going to stick with me for a long time!!

*40% of the way through*
Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC copy of the audiobook for Dead Silence. Let me just say, the narration of this novel is STUNNING. My ARC copy archives tomorrow so I wanted to make sure I got a review in. I will absolutely be buying a copy of this book to finish. Space horror is new for me, but let me just say I am hooked. The main character, Claire, I feel so deeply for; I am going to miss her until I can buy a physical copy.

As a huge fan of space horror, I was eager to pick up this book. From the premise, this certainly sounded like a mashup of movies like Aliens and Event Horizon. However, the tone of the story was decidedly different than I expected. What the marketing called space horror, I would personally describe as a psychology thriller set in space. Yes, it hit some of the tropes of science fiction, but really in tone and theme, it was not horror.

I actually thought it was a decent piece of suspense (aside from the unnecessary romance), but my expectations due to the marketing really left me underwhelmed. 

I would recommend this to fans of sci fi thrillers as long as they go into the story with an idea of what they getting themselves into.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Well, I seem to have discovered my new favorite brand of horror - and it’s Sci-Fi thrillers set in the endless expanse of outer space. S.A. Barnes is a new author that has immediately solidified her spot as one I will watch like a hawk for new releases after her debut novel Dead Space. Equal parts horror and thriller, this novel tells the story of a small crew of repair techs that discover the Titanic-like remains of a long missing luxury space vessel - the Aurora. Much in the same way the Titanic has fascinated the world for years since it sunk to a watery grave, this premise totally gripped me. There’s something that's just so haunting about a ship designed for comfort, opulence, and frivolity meeting such a cold and uncertain demise floating in the darkest reaches of space.

The environment of deep space and Zero-G lends itself perfectly to some of the most disturbing imagery that can come out of a horror novel. And that’s because Claire Kovalik and her team stumble across an entire ship that is essentially a completely preserved crime scene. So there’s this aspect of a mass casualty event wrapped in decades of mysteries while also simultaneously being as fresh to Claire’s eyes as the day it all happened. That is something that is totally unique to Sci-Fi horror and S.A. Barnes uses this to its fullest potential.

Claire herself as a character is plagued by her own past trauma from living on a devastated space colony that is slowly revealed as the novel progresses. And this has the added benefit of making her an unreliable narrator in some of the hallucinations she sees that could either be a function of the tragedy of her past or whatever disturbance on the Aurora that resulted in the death of all of the passengers onboard years prior. There’s also a very unexpected and not entirely resolved element of the paranormal here that was never completely answered by the end. And in all honesty, I don’t think it needed to be. This isn’t a book that gives you all the answers, and its lingering horror is all the more striking for it.

What could have pushed this from a 4-star to a perfect read for me was more time in the “before” part of the story building to the demise of Claire’s crew on the Aurora. I would have preferred a slower build here on this ghost ship and more time with this crew of distinct personalities before things unraveled. Instead, we spend more than half the novel with Claire as she travels back to the ship under the orders of the corporation that seeks to take advantage of her standing as the last survivor to salvage its remains. This devolves very quickly into a more action-packed, quick moving series of violent events that I could easily see being adapted onscreen. But it was the awful, simmering uneasiness of the first part of Dead Silence that really made this story so grotesquely fascinating to me.

A fair warning to anyone who is sensitive to heavy illustrated violence or suicide - this novel may not be for you. But S.A. Barnes has made her mark in the genre of Sci-Fi horror with as much finesse as I’ve ever seen a debut author do, and I’ll be haunted by her visions of decrepit luxury floating in the far reaches of space in the best way possible.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

First off I would like to mention how wonderfully done this audiobook is! At times I was genuinely creeped out by the eerily atmospheric setting, and could imagine myself walking through the ghost ship halls with them.

As for the story itself, the first half had me totally sucked in, buckled up and ready for a wild ride. The second half lost me a little bit with the pretty much complete dropping of the alternating timelines, something that I found really kept me turning pages in the first half. At times the second half felt super drawn out and I was listening at a faster speed just so I could find out what happened. Overall I enjoyed this one and will definitely recommend it to my fellow sci fi horror lovers!

Thank you NetGalley and TorNightfire for this ARC in exchange for my review!

That first line of the Goodreads synopsis is exactly the vibe I got through the whole damn book! The spaceship they board, The Aurora, is a cruise ship through the ocean of stars. The way that Barnes describes the luxurious interior, gave me extreme Titanic flashbacks. While they explored the ship, it felt eerily similar to how I imagine the divers that got to swim through the Titanic. I was in awe, purely from the beautiful descriptions created from Barnes mind.
The Shining kept popping into my mind with the creepy ghosts, hallucinations that wait patiently to be seen in their rooms. I think it’s safe to say that the main character, Claire, has the Shining. She is losing her mind on a floating coffin, seeing dead people and being hunted. It’s insane and very suspenseful.
The whole story is pretty intense. At first it jumps between finding The Aurora, and being the sole survivor. I had a hard time following it at first, but towards the middle of the book I got a grip on it. Maybe it was because I listened to the book rather then reading it. But the audiobook was incredible. The way that the fear was expressed through the narrators voice was creepy. I could feel the hairs in my arms stand every time Claire saw a ghost. It was like she was whispering her terror in my ear.
I am not usually a fan of space themed books, they’re usually a little to far out.. lol But I enjoyed this one. Who wouldn’t love a book about finding a ghost ship and encountering horrors beyond your imagination?