MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Lauren Ezzo delivers a chilling performance in this haunting audiobook about a decades-lost luxury spaceship. Just days before her final assignment comes to an end, Claire and her crew pick up a distress signal. Discovering the AURORA, famous for having vanished halfway through its maiden voyage, could mean a huge reward. But something isn’t right, and more awaits the crew than passengers long dead. Ezzo masterfully paces segments of exploration with careful precision, gradually intensifying the horrors as Claire and her crew find it harder and harder to hold on to their sanity. Ezzo’s dark tone and emotional connection terrify and comfort listeners in equal measure. Not for the faint of heart. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
08/30/2021
Finders have a hard time being keepers in Barnes’s adult debut, a horror-inflected space opera that details the last mission of a communications repair crew. Claire Kovalik, sole survivor of a Mars colony disaster, and her crew are wrapping up a final tour of the outskirts of the Solar system before their jobs are taken over by machines when they pick up a distress call. The ship signaling them is the Aurora, a super-luxury liner that disappeared 20 years ago on its maiden voyage with all its celebrity passengers. Expecting a wealth of salvage, Claire and crew are eager to detour. But shocking carnage awaits them onboard and solving the mystery of whatever killed the Aurora’s crew could mean madness and death for Claire and company. And their employer, the Verux Corporation, seems less than pleased to have the sordid past brought to light. Barnes, who writes YA as Stacey Kade (the Project Paper Doll series), plays nicely on human fears of both madness and of ghosts, carefully blurring the line between science fiction and horror, though readers may realize the truth behind the ship’s haunting before Claire tracks down the answer. Those with a taste for blending genres will enjoy this combo. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
I ate this book in one sitting because I was in the mood to be freaked out and it delivered tremendously. Truly un-put-downable in its purest sense.” —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
"Stomach-turning, sinister space horror perfect for fans of Alien and Event Horizon." —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"At the intersection of science fiction and horror, Dead Silence is the ultimate haunted house story, in space." —Alma Katsu, author of The Deep and The Hunger
“This is great, immersive, atmospheric space horror that shows Barnes is a talented storyteller and proves that, despite rumors to the contrary, horror belongs in space.” —Locus
“Dead Silence mixes horror, mystery and sci-fi into a thrill ride sure to shock you out of your reading rut. This is one of those time-warp books—the ones where you look away from the clock, then look back and it’s suddenly way past your bedtime.” —BookPage, Starred Review
“With a compelling haunted-house-in-space frame, excellent worldbuilding, vivid imagery, biting social commentary, sustained tension, and a storytelling style that seamlessly moves between the mortal danger of the present and Kovalik's unsettling past, this sf-horror blend will resonate loudly with readers.” —Library Journal
“Barnes is giving you Titanic but make it scary, she’s giving you Event Horizon, she’s giving you Ghost Ship; for real, this book will make your skin crawl.” —BookRiot
"This story slides and slithers from creepy and atmospheric to skin-crawling, edge-of-your-seat terror." —T. Kingfisher, author of What Moves the Dead
"Dead Silence is a proper ghost story, complete with a narrator who’s trying desperately to shake off her own unreliability."—Tor.com
“Dead Silence gives you the suffocating claustrophobia of 2001: A Space Odyssey mixed with the horrors of Alien. I couldn't stop reading.” —Mur Lafferty, Hugo Award-Winning author of Six Wakes
"Barnes ably conjures the kind of haunting setting and atmosphere required for this Event Horizon-esque novel... Recommended for fans of claustrophobic space horror." —Booklist
“Barnes plays nicely on human fears of both madness and of ghosts, carefully blurring the line between science fiction and horror... Those with a taste for blending genres will enjoy this combo.” —Publishers Weekly
"Creepy and satisfying; I'll be checking under my bed tonight." —Sarah Pinsker, author of the Nebula Award winning A Song For A New Day
"I've always considered Alien the high mark of sci-fi horror. No longer. Dead Silence leaves it in the dust." —Lisa Shearin, New York Times bestselling author
"Dead Silence will keep you awake at night....Expertly paced, this novel is full of old ghosts in every way possible, and will haunt you long after the last page." —Laurie Faria Stolarz, author of Jane Anonymous
"I was turning pages long into the night, and the bags under my eyes are well worth it!" —Rachel Vincent, New York Times bestselling author of Red Wolf
"Compulsive reading at its best. A sci-fi horror so expertly delivered you'll be peeking through your fingers until the last page!" —Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated and Starflight series
"The richly realized world that S.A. Barnes creates draws us in, and the relatable characters charm us. The dread mounts to a powerful conclusion." —David Wellington, author of The Last Astronaut
“The book strikes a good balance hitting different kinds of horror without overstaying any, be it gore, claustrophobia, or body horror. From the moment the crew sets foot on the ship, the slow-burning dread keeps building through the climax.... A story as much about survivor’s guilt as it is survival, and about overcoming trauma as it is about facing horrors lurking in the dark. Toss in a chilling mystery set aboard a haunted starship guaranteed to set you on edge, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.” —Analog
Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
In her horror debut, Barnes (who also writes as Stacey Kade) has a premise that is difficult to beat. Claire Kovalik's small repair/salvage crew discovers the Aurora, a long-lost space cruise liner. There seem to be no survivors—though the socialites and celebrities onboard all died violently. Was it an invasion? An infection? Something more uncanny? The narrative shifts back and forth from exploring the derelict ship to Claire being interviewed about the events, adding an incredible amount of tense foreshadowing. The novel probably didn't need any help gripping readers, but narrator Lauren Ezzo imbues Claire with such emotion that listeners can't help but care even more about the characters and their fates. Listeners feel precisely what Claire does—anxiousness to balance duty with her needs, her crew's needs, and her dislike of some of those in her charge. When Claire doubts her experiences on the Aurora because of her past traumas, listeners hear it in her tone. When she fumes at her interrogators or falls into despair, Ezzo portrays that perfectly as well. And when Ezzo reaches the shocking conclusion, listeners will be glad she was there with them. VERDICT Suggest widely to fans of haunted house stories and space horror.—Matthew Galloway
Library Journal
01/01/2022
DEBUT Clarie Kovalik leads a crew on the farthest outpost in space; her troubled history means isolation suits her perfectly. Hours away from returning to Earth, Kovalik and her crew pick up on an emergency beacon from a long-lost luxury ship. When the crew boards the dead ship, they find clues that are immediately troubling, obviously violent, and scientifically inexplicable. Even worse, whatever destroyed those passengers might still be lying in wait. With a compelling haunted-house-in-space frame, excellent worldbuilding, vivid imagery, biting social commentary, sustained tension, and a storytelling style that seamlessly moves between the mortal danger of the present and Kovalik's unsettling past, this sf-horror blend will resonate loudly with readers. VERDICT The Titanic and Sixth Sense vibes will pique interest, but it's the engaging, traumatized narrator Kovalik whom readers will root for, even when they don't always trust her, and who will keep them turning the pages. For fans of both space horror like The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling, or Hematophages, by Stephen Koziniewski, and ghost stories linked to family trauma like The Good House, by Tananarive Due.
MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Lauren Ezzo delivers a chilling performance in this haunting audiobook about a decades-lost luxury spaceship. Just days before her final assignment comes to an end, Claire and her crew pick up a distress signal. Discovering the AURORA, famous for having vanished halfway through its maiden voyage, could mean a huge reward. But something isn’t right, and more awaits the crew than passengers long dead. Ezzo masterfully paces segments of exploration with careful precision, gradually intensifying the horrors as Claire and her crew find it harder and harder to hold on to their sanity. Ezzo’s dark tone and emotional connection terrify and comfort listeners in equal measure. Not for the faint of heart. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
