Thoughts on Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

I read this before I read Foundryside, so this review is a little bit late to the game.

This story exists in a space somewhere between The Titanic and some kind of edlritch horror amalgamation based in science and psychology, rather than an actual mystical being. The ship that is the focus of the story is a beast of it's own - hyper-capitalistic and purely for the enjoyment of a scant few lucky people. The commentary on classism and corporate care for profit over people was not subtle.

Not only that though, but the representation of how with a history of psychiatric crisis you can get taken less-seriously - I was grappling with not staying up late into the night to finish the book. It delighted me, and confounded me, and I found myself wondering at how the plot would turn around. I want to give more thoughts, however that may come with a reread in some months when I lose track of the finer details of the story. Overall, deeply enjoyable and solidified my love of horror as a means of critiquing politics and societal fear.