Ghost Station

I got this one from NetGalley and was so excited as I was a big fan of Dead Silence. I unfortunately started reading it at a rough time for me, so it took me so long to get through that I actually switched to the audio. Zura Johnson did a good job, and there were several accents, which always impresses me.

This novel mixes a lot of what you’ve already seen out of other sci-fi horrors. Not that I’m in any way the expert, having only seen/watched some of them (Event Horizon, Alien, Life+). Not necessarily that something needs to be original for me to enjoy it, however, if I’m being honest, there was unfortunately nothing exciting about this. This one followed along the same path as Dead Silence, where there is an incredible amount of set up, but it did not work on me twice. Where the first hit me at the right time, and the long opening added to the cabin-fever feel of the narration, this one didn’t work.

The main character has a haunted, hidden past. And although it is continuously mentioned as a major secret, when it is eventually revealed, it does virtually nothing to the plot or climax. While it was supposed to show the lead overcoming expectations, it just read as flat to me. The stakes feel too low with them being on another planet—one which does not have a breathable atmosphere.

There is one point where I felt the novel was shifting toward a big change. They wanted to leave but were stuck in the station during a snow storm. It was still quite late for a climax to start, but I thought it might have been shifting towards a more classic, claustrophobic-isolation horror (just in space). Instead it just kind of continued off the rails. Really wanted to love this one, but it fumbled most of the landing for me. 2.5/5*

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed this author's previous novel, but it was just missing ~something~ and this book has that ~something~! Everytime I sat down to read this book I had a hard time stopping because every single chapter left me wanting more. Space horror is something that will always scare me, not knowing what or who is out there just leaves my skin crawling, and this author does that so well. I just loved this book and I know I will keep thinking about it for a very long time!






Thank you to Tor Nightfire for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley.

Rating: 3.86 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 4/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: Horror, Mystery, Scifi, Space, Thriller-Horror: 1/5-Mystery: 3.75/5-Scifi: 5/5-Space: 5/5-Thriller: 3/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: EhHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked LovedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.If you have read Dead Silence before this book you will see a lot of similarities between the both of them. It is almost like the characters were recycled, but that being said it wasn't a bad story. I liked the concept of it and was really wanting to read and find out where things were going. The ending was okay. I actually wanted more for a couple characters but I suppose it is fine where we are left off. It was a good book in terms that it wasn't really bad but kind of flat.

This is my first S.A. Barnes novel and I am a fan.

In the unspecified future, space exploration is a huge money making endeavor and there are two corporations that basically own the market. ERS is a space base condition that can lead to disaster and is a death sentence for someone's career. There's a famous case that ended with the brutal murders of 29 people and since, it's something that nobody wants to be associated with. Dr. Ophelia Bray is a psychologist that specifically works in the study and prevention of ERS in those that work in the space exploration field. After Ophelia experiences a work-related tragedy she decides to take her expertise on site. She's assigned to a crew that also has had a tragedy among them and soon finds herself in space with a group of people that clearly don't trust her or want her there. As they get to the planet they will be exploring things start to get odd - the previous crew clearly made a hasty exit from the planet. Then a member of the crew is found dead in a gruesome way and things go from odd to a nightmare. The crew must work together to find out what is going on but when everyone has secrets it's hard to know who to trust - especially when you might not even be able to trust yourself.

This book has layers! Set in the future it immediately gets you acclimated to this futuristic world. Though it's futuristic there are a lot of parallels to present day so it's easy to connect to. Dr. Ophelia Bray is the FMC that has layers herself. As you get to know her background, family, and motivations you get more questions surrounding Ophelia. Not only has Ophelia experienced a tragedy, the team she is assigned to has as well. This has left the team on edge and even more reluctant to trust Ophelia since psychologists can end someone's career without even meaning to. Any mention of ERS or symptoms that could lead to ERS can easily put someone out of work in the space exploration field.

ERS itself is interesting. It reminds me of PTSD but stemming more from isolation instead of trauma. Which space would be pretty isolating I would think. How S.A. Barnes creates this whole mental illness into the book was so interesting and gave the book more tension. The motivation behind Ophelia's study of it is also so intriguing, though that's part of the mystery of Ophelia that you learn about as the book goes on. Every character is interesting; there are things that make you like them or hate them but every one of them had me wondering what they're hiding.

Overall the book is a great blending of sci-fi and horror. There's some body horror along with thriller vibes. Also, if you don't trust big corporations and those that run it this book won't make you feel hopeful for the future.

I enjoy Sci-Fi and Ghost Station is another one to add to the love list. This one gave me vibes of Pandorum and Event Horizon so I flew threw it.

I will say I had a hard time with Ophelia at first, but as time went on I understood her character a bit more and ended up liking her more.

The story itself was just plain fun for me. It has everything I enjoy...planetary mission far from civilization, mysterious beginning and chaos throughout with a satisfactory ending. I want to say more but don't want to give anything away.

Sci-Fi fans will enjoy this one. It doesn't release until April 9, 2024, so keep this one on those release radars. I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had picked up the authors other book Dead Silence and really enjoyed it. So, when I found out they had another book, I placed a hold as soon as I could. But this book is so different that I had to check it was the same author. Gone was the chilling atmosphere and the plot that kept you engaged.

This book was instead more focused on the characters mental well being. Which could have made for a great phycological thriller. But not this. I hated the characters and there was not much of a story in the background. There were a few parts that I had gotten caught up in that went no where.

The main character was not good. She didn’t even seem to be good at her own job and I can see why the others didn’t trust her. Was she really the person to send on this mission. There was a romance subplot that I kept saying no to.

This could have been better and based on the other story by this author it should have been. I am still going to want to read the author's next book, because the first was so good.