On the Horizon – dead silence (S.A. Barnes)

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received an eArc of this sci-fi novel through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings . . .

Title: dead silence
Author: S.A. Barnes
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: Available Now!!! (hardcover/e-book)
ISBN: 978-1250819994
Source:  NetGalley

I love books about shipwrecks, ghost ships, and ghost stories.  So this was a must read for me.  And it was a lot of fun.  The story follows Claire Kovalik whose crew is on their final mission setting up communication equipment on the far edges of space.  They are about to head out when their ship receives a distress signal.  Nothing should be out here but they investigate and discover a luxury cruise liner, the Aurora, that went missing over 20 years ago with everyone on board long presumed dead.  Why is it so far off course?  The crew wants to claim the ship for salvage and fame.  They don’t get what they expect.

I really loved Claire.  She is an unreliable narrator due to past trauma.  Are Claire’s ghosts in her head or literal?  I thought the structure of the novel set this up so nicely in that ye start in the present with Claire in hospital, go back into the past, and then get caught back up to the present before moving forward.  I was kept guessing the entire time about both Claire’s mental state and if she even understood what the truth was.  It could be frustrating to many readers because not everything is answered.  I, however, thought it keep the tension strung out nicely.

I also thought the horror of the state of the bodies was creepy and fun.  How folks ended up dead was excellent even if the why of it ended up being a minor weak part for me.  That said, I loved the company’s attempted cover up and how the plot resolved.  Aye, ye have to suspend disbelief a bit (especially for the final chapters of the book) but it was a fast paced read that I didn’t want to put down.  I am so glad to have read this one.

So lastly . . .

Thank ye kindly Tor Nightfire!

Check out this article by the author discussing the five ghost ships that haunt her.

Side note:  Much thanks to Matey Tammy and her review that made me want to read this book.  Arrrr!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

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 at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner 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 trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

To visit the author’s website and blog go to:
S.A. Barnes – Author

To buy the novel visit:
dead silence – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List