Sample
  • Dead Silence

  • By: S.A. Barnes
  • Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
  • Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,168 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Dead Silence

By: S.A. Barnes
Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"The audiobook read by Lauren Ezzo makes for compulsive, edge-of-seat listening."—Buzzfeed

"Ezzo's dark tone and emotional connection terrify and comfort listeners in equal measure. Not for the faint of heart."—AudioFile Magazine

Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes’ Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire

©2022 S.A. Barnes (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"This story slides and slithers from creepy and atmospheric to skin-crawling, edge-of-your-seat terror." —T. Kingfisher, author of The Hollow Places

"Barnes ably conjures the kind of haunting setting and atmosphere required for this Event Horizon-esque novel, providing an effective sense of immediacy to Claire's frequently shifting and at times tenuous grip on reality. Recommended for fans of claustrophobic space horror."—Booklist

Dead Silence mixes horror, mystery and sci-fi into a thrill ride sure to shock you out of your reading rut. ...a claustrophobic race against time as the ship’s horrors begin to affect the crew one by one. Dread slowly builds as small, frightening moments inside the Aurora multiply, showcasing Barnes’ patient plotting and steady pacing. 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

What listeners say about Dead Silence

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    541
  • 4 Stars
    342
  • 3 Stars
    171
  • 2 Stars
    78
  • 1 Stars
    36
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    613
  • 4 Stars
    219
  • 3 Stars
    121
  • 2 Stars
    48
  • 1 Stars
    48
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    465
  • 4 Stars
    311
  • 3 Stars
    162
  • 2 Stars
    70
  • 1 Stars
    41

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Horror/Action/Thriller

The narrator was good. but sometimes I got tired of her voice. reminded very much of someone I know lol...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Story ok, narration ok lead character insufferable

I found the story to be interesting enough, not quite what I was expecting it to be which was good. the narration was ok I didn't have a problem with her being too energetic or anything like some of the other reviews. I'd rather have this than some monotone narrator. My problem is the main character being so useless and annoying throughout the story. Her whole thing is she's upset about her time in space coming to an end at the beginning. It's because she's a terrible leader, she's antisocial, awkward, quiet, walked all over and has a panic attack at the first sign of trouble. It's really frustrating how much of a PTSD ridden nightmare she is and she doesn't belong in a leadership role at all let alone a transport captain.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Awesome!!!

Do not believe all the terrible reviews that they’re getting about the narrator she’s awesome. Kinda yells a little bit at some points but that’s OK. I was into it! Is there is a story extra OOMPH!! If you love Event Horizon, House on Haunted Hill, and Ghost Ship You will absolutely love this but it’s as if all the movies that together and have a baby that is exactly what this book is!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing and Mind Blowing

This freshman novel from author S.A. Barness is truly gripping, pulse pounding, amazing, eerie, and Mind Blowing!! Her characters were well defined and had great growth through out the book. Such a super achievement!

In addition, narrator Laura Ezzo was so good!! She was the whipped cream. and cherry on top of Barnes' sundae. She made the novel come alive!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Libera te tutumet ex inferis

Loved it. SUPER loved it.

EVENT HORIZON is my favorite movie, EVER. This book is similar plot-wise. There are no clear answers as to what's happening throughout most of book.

Is the Aurora haunted? Is everyone hallucinating? Is it some organic or mechanical issue? ALIENS?!

One of the reasons it's not a 5 is cause of the narration. It has screaming loud parts, which was seriously jarring on my ears. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I was not expecting this!

Wow! I honestly cannot believe a friend told me about this book before I saw others talking about it! It is non stop. The characters have an amazing relationship. The narrator did a phenomenal job bringing them to life. Very well paced and I highly recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down!

Dead Silence Is Awesome. Definitely movie worthy but I'd be afraid to watch it! S. A. Barnes needs to write more books!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gave me literal chills.

Spooky good story, the performance of the narrator gave me goosebumps with her convincing emotions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dark journey

The narration was amazingly done in this book. Lauren Ezzo does a great job at adding to the depths of the characters. I enjoyed the story and look forward to experiencing this again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Space Madness!

In short: this audiobook was great. The story kept me interested, the narrator kept me engaged. A nice combination of twists and supernatural to give a satisfying and well earned ending. highky recommend. I will be looking into more works by both the author and the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!