DEAD SILENCE
Author: S. A. Barnes
Date released: January 24th, 2023
Category: Science-Fiction
Synopsis: 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 is shocking: the Aurora, a famous luxury spaceliner 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 search of the ship reveals something isn’t right.
Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Messages scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold on to her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.
The UnReel Take:
Story: 6.0
Writing: 7.0
Characters: 5.0
Setting: 8.0
UnReel AR: 7.0
Bottom Line: This was a fun and quick read. The experience was akin to watching a movie, like Event Horizon or Sphere. The author does a fantastic job with the descriptive aspect of her writing, helping the reader easily imagine and insert themselves into the eerie settings of the book; there were many times I could feel the same tension or sense of being confined and trapped, just as the characters felt. The format consists of time jumps, which sometimes can take you out of it right when you are getting going, but overall I think it was exactly the kind of experience I was looking for when I picked up this sci-fi/horror book.
Ideal Reading Location: For the most immersive experience, most definitely a small, dark room. If you can do this (if you have the stones), you will be transported to a different place during your read.
Drink Pairing: I’d say some sort of “sludge,” a.k.a., something you can drink that gives you the nutrition you need to live. You know, like a smoothie! Or I suppose a thick Bloody Mary.
Maybe your experience will be different!