Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Tor Nightfire (February 8th, 2022)
352 pages; $23.99 hardback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
Dead Silence makes use of well-loved tropes within the sci-fi horror sub-genre while introducing elements borrowed from popular modern thrillers. A genre mash-up that easily captivates its audience but struggles to utilize that up-front investment to maintain interest.
Horror novels set in space aboard a vessel can be a hard sell for some readers. Technical jargon can be challenging pulling the reader out of engagement with the story or preventing investment in the characters.
Sometimes familiar tropes (spacecraft damage, crew member dynamic issues, alien invasion) are the problem; sci-fi horror books can be indistinguishable from one another. But one reader’s bane is another reader’s riches. It’s all relative, subjective to preferences and personal tastes.
Dead Silence employs several different tactics to grab for investment. A first person POV from a young, spunky woman, Claire Kovalik, who seems self-assured but a little flawed with a propensity to take big, courageous risks. Her relationships with fellow crew members range from a schoolgirl crush on the resident doctor to the oil and water dynamic with the stereotypical asshole. Everyone is on a nickname basis and the author makes sure each character is assigned a distinct voice and personality through long scenes of dialogue-driven storytelling.
There are “Then” and “Now” timelines. The present-day narrative is Claire Kovalik wearing patient pajamas, on sedatives, and giving an account of what happened to her crew to two male agents. The “Then” narrative are the past events told in real-time, not flashback. Kovalik and her crewmates pick up a distress signal from missing luxury spaceliner, the Aurora. They collectively decide to investigate with Kovalik as the team leader. Aboard the Aurora, they discover that something horrific has happened but instead of abandoning the ship to its fate, they decide to direct it home for fame and fortune.
There’s a lot going on and the storyline pivots more than once. The author brings the audience down this Event Horizon-esque path ultimately splintering into too many directions. If Dead Silence was a two-hundred page novella executing one strong idea, there wouldn’t be time to meander and the story wouldn’t have gotten lost in the weeds. Fans of popular thriller novels will enjoy where Dead Silence ends up while horror fans might be disappointed with the misdirection. Definitely try this novel and see where you land.
