The Silence

by Tim Lebbon

Overview

Now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.

A suspenseful masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author Tim Lebbon. In the darkness of a underground cave system, blind creatures hunt by sound. Then there is light, there are voices, and they feed... Swarming from their prison, the creatures thrive and destroy. To scream, even to whisper, is to summon death. As the hordes lay waste to Europe, a girl watches to see if they will cross the sea. Deaf for many years, she knows how to live in silence; now, it is her family’s only chance of survival. To leave their home, to shun others, to find a remote haven where they can sit out the plague. But will it ever end? And what kind of world will be left?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781168813
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	04/14/2015
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of the movie novelizations of 30 Days of Night and The Cabin in the Woods. He has also written many critically acclaimed horror and dark fantasy novels. Tim has won three British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards.

Editorial Reviews

04/06/2015
Stoker and Derleth winner Lebbon (Coldbrook) delivers a chilling and heart-wrenching story that transcends its "yet another global apocalypse" trappings. This time the danger in the not-too-distant future (2016) is from "vesps." These carnivorous flying creatures have been released from a long-sealed underground cave system in central Europe, where they evolved to rely on their hearing to find meat. As the vesps speed towards the U.K., Ally, a Deaf teenager, and her family attempt to escape to a quieter part of England. Ally and her father, Huw, struggle to deal with the unleashed monsters as well as the inevitable horrors committed by other humans in desperate times. Although Lebbon delivers graphic violence and gore, it’s the sense of despair that really creates the terror, as reports from the internet dwindle and the family watches people and animals die. The sacrifices made for survival are brutal, leading to a horrific and intense climax. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"I liked the book’s focus, its decision to not sugar-coat the catastrophe, and the way each chapter began with a snippet of an interview or Twitter feed, which let the reader know what was happening on a global scale. There is both hope and despair." - Project Fandom

"Fans of zombie literature from Max Brooks to Robert Kirkman will appreciate the family’s growing desperation and frustration as they flee the city and race headlong into the unknown, facing increasingly difficult odds." - Barnes & Noble 

"To say I'm impressed is an understatement. He adeptly delivers a story that has terror, mystery, tension, and even sorrow, and even with all the monsters literally flying all over the place, it all feels very realistic. I can't see this not being one of my favorite books this year." - Horrortalk 

"This is an A-grade story that grips the reader’s attention from page one. Lebbon breathes life into his characters in a manner very few are capable. He manages to create highly stimulating conflicts and tremendously gratifying resolutions, and it is truly addictive." - Horror Novel Reviews

"A compelling tale of survival and true grit." - Mystery Scene 

"A deep, emotionally driven novel that has just enough creature-feature heebie-jeebies to make it as much fun as it is captivating, The Silence makes the grade as one of the better apocalyptic horror novels you will read." - Ravenous Monster 

"The horror works well, and the monsters are legitimately scary, as are the lengths some people will go in an effort to survive." -  Bricks of the Dead

"Tim Lebbon does a fantastic job of showing how horrific events can shape not only adults, but also children, and the bravery of his characters amidst such self-doubt is heartwrenching." - My Bookish Ways

"The treatment of Ally’s disability makes this book unique not only from a standpoint of inclusivity, but because it introduces unique problems to the characters." -  Paper Droids 

"Lean but meaty and damn near unputdownable" -  The Blood Shed 

"The degradation of modern society as the swarm moves on is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Fans of environmental horror such as Stephen King’s The Mist and creature feature horror flicks will no doubt love the end of the world as we knew it and the beginning of Tim Lebbon’s new one" - Hell Notes

“a feast of terror for readers who love suspenseful horror stories and deep characterisation” - Rising Shadow

From the Publisher

04/15/2015
Watching a nature program, deaf teen Ally is horrified when spelunkers exploring a deep cave system in Moldova are suddenly attacked by flying creatures that kill everyone in the area. Faster than anyone thought possible, the beings, dubbed "vesps," spread across Europe and even make it to its Western edge, Britain. Vesps are attracted to sound, so Ally and her family pack their car intending to reach a remote area of Scotland, but the road is full of perils. VERDICT Creature-feature horror is a staple of the genre for good reason. Lebbon's (Coldbrook) latest hits all the notes you would expect as the family pulls together, faces a rolling parade of crises, sees the worst of their fellow man, and, of course, fights creepy, vicious monsters. Ally's disability means that her family is better prepared than most for a world in which any sound can bring flying death upon you.

Library Journal