Alright so I have finally managed it. I actually managed to get the timing right on a Ladies of Horror Fiction Readalong. I've been too early, I've been too late, and I've been too fast, but for the March read I actually managed to get it right and join in on some discussion. I'm glad it was this book - I've had my eye on it for months, but it took its sweet time coming out on this side of the Atlantic, so I've been dying to read it because it looked exactly like my cup of tea.
Claire Kovalik is not a fan of people. Her whole life she's been taking the jobs no one else would at the very edge of explored space, leading small crews and maintaining the communications network. So when advancing technology makes her crew's current assignment their last one, they don't have any qualms about chasing a mysterious distress signal After all, what do they have to lose? The source of the distress signal turns out the be the Aurora, a luxury space cruise liner that disappeared without a trace 20 years earlier. Space has the same laws as the sea - finders keepers - and a salvage claim like this could mean untold riches for the comms engineers. It soon becomes clear, however, that something is very badly wrong on board the Aurora. Hallucinations, unexplained whispers, messages daubed in blood on the walls. Claire and her crew are fighting a losing battle against an unseen enemy intent on driving them insane...
The reviews on the dust cover tout this as Titanic meets The Shining, but for me it was more like Event Horizon and Ghost Ship had a creepy, gory baby and I would like to be the first to congratulate them on their little bundle of horror. I absolutely love the "locked in" horror subgenre, where the characters are trapped in a house/ship/Antarctic research base/luxury space cruiseliner along with something that is gradually picking them off and making them lose their minds. The isolation, the not being able to trust your friends, or even your own mind, that's as spooky as it gets for me. The unreliable narrator trope plays into this genre perfectly too. We're slowly drip fed Claire's backstory, and her traumatic childhood not only sets her up as an appropriately sympathetic main character, but also shows us that she has ample reason not to trust her own eyes. Are things deteriorating on board the Aurora, or in Claire's mind?
There's not a massive amount of characterisation going on, though they've got clear personalities (and believable ones at that - we all know a Voller) even if they're not super in depth - do they really need to be for a 300 page book? I'm not mad about it. Claire is a sympathetic main character and her insecurities and fear make more and more sense as her past is revealed as a survivor of massive trauma. She is maybe a bit annoying in places - you don't like to get close to people, we get it, but again, there's enough excellent stuff going on with the plot that I can forgive a bit of heavy handed exposition.
I thought the ending was absolutely fantastic. I often find that I am disappointed with the endings of horror books - sometimes the explanation for the goings on can feel rushed, as though the author painted themselves into a bit of a corner, they can feel like a let down, or they can feel completely ridiculous. I'm very happy to say I didn't find that at all with Dead Silence. I found the root of the mystery pretty satisfying, though there was one thing that I didn't think was suitably explained and a bit glossed over - no spoilers, but if you read it you'll probably have also snagged on this by the end. I would absolutely love to see this made into a film - the visuals would be amazing, and the tension is off the charts, and it's not often I'm keen to see film adaptations of books I've loved.
I cannot recommend this book enough, I thoroughly enjoyed it - definitely the best book I've read this year so far, and the perfect book to read by torchlight when you're home alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have this overwhelming urge to rewatch both Ghost Ship and Event Horizon.
Comments