Hardcover, 352 pages
Published Jan. 25, 2022 by Tor Nightfire.
Great space horror that has a classic vibe yet doesn't get all tropey
Great space horror that has a classic vibe yet doesn't get all tropey
I did enjoy this book, but I can absolutely see how fans of horror may have been disappointed in it. "Unspeakable horrors" and "ultimate haunted house" (found on the cover) were not really good ways to describe this book. I can fully understand why some are irritated with this one. But since I'm a blind reader and don't read into my books for the most part, it didn't bother me at all.
I felt like there was a good amount of suspense and tension through the book. The structure is a little weird because you start off with how the crew came across the ship and get to relive the experience through the MC, Claire. Then you jump to "present time" where you realize that the story-telling has been her literally telling the story to the corporate bosses. The middle gets a little mundane and could have been cut …
I did enjoy this book, but I can absolutely see how fans of horror may have been disappointed in it. "Unspeakable horrors" and "ultimate haunted house" (found on the cover) were not really good ways to describe this book. I can fully understand why some are irritated with this one. But since I'm a blind reader and don't read into my books for the most part, it didn't bother me at all.
I felt like there was a good amount of suspense and tension through the book. The structure is a little weird because you start off with how the crew came across the ship and get to relive the experience through the MC, Claire. Then you jump to "present time" where you realize that the story-telling has been her literally telling the story to the corporate bosses. The middle gets a little mundane and could have been cut down a bit since they're just getting her to say ok to going back out to the ship. Then she's back on the ship and chaos ensues once again.
I found this to be a fun read overall and the suspense had me flipping through pages and staying up later than I should have to read more. There is a little romance plot thrown in and I don't really feel like it added anything to the story at all and really didn't need to be in there, but it didn't bother me much.
I would recommend this one to be read for a good suspense read with some gore, but go into it knowing that you're not going to get a real horror story out of it.
... and it starts very poorly written, I thought. The main protagonist doesn't do Show and Tell, it's mostly just Tell, which forces the reader to accept and makes me feel dumb, for I'm being told what to think.
The story starts really to pick up much later on, and in the end I liked the book as good entertainment in times of SciFi-Horror-need.
... and it starts very poorly written, I thought. The main protagonist doesn't do Show and Tell, it's mostly just Tell, which forces the reader to accept and makes me feel dumb, for I'm being told what to think.
The story starts really to pick up much later on, and in the end I liked the book as good entertainment in times of SciFi-Horror-need.
Poco terror hay en una novela que repite los mismos trucos narrativos hasta la náusea. Agotador pero a ratos Interesante.
A spaceship crew responded to a distress signal with dire results. Now, although her corporate masters don't really believe her story, they need the sole survivor to go back to where it all happened.
Alternatively: a spaceship disappears on its maiden voyage. Many years later it's found, but the investigating team find that it's haunted!
The two paragraphs above more than adequately (IMHO!) describe the plot of the book. Unfortunately, they also describe the plots of the films Aliens and Event Horizon, both of which are far superior to this novel.
Clunky, not greatly written and with a bunch of unsympathetic & underdeveloped characters, it at least has a nice, though not particularly unexpected little twist which does explain some things and provides a second star to the review.
There's also a romantic sub-plot, which does nothing for the story.
Go and watch Aliens and …
A spaceship crew responded to a distress signal with dire results. Now, although her corporate masters don't really believe her story, they need the sole survivor to go back to where it all happened.
Alternatively: a spaceship disappears on its maiden voyage. Many years later it's found, but the investigating team find that it's haunted!
The two paragraphs above more than adequately (IMHO!) describe the plot of the book. Unfortunately, they also describe the plots of the films Aliens and Event Horizon, both of which are far superior to this novel.
Clunky, not greatly written and with a bunch of unsympathetic & underdeveloped characters, it at least has a nice, though not particularly unexpected little twist which does explain some things and provides a second star to the review.
There's also a romantic sub-plot, which does nothing for the story.
Go and watch Aliens and Event Horizon instead - a more enjoysble use of your time than reading Dead Silence.
to-read
Definitely along the vein of creepy space sci-fi, but with more human elements of horror. The suspense held, even with the sci-fi background.
