Dead Silence was one of my favorites from last year, and I am also a sucker for space horror in any capacity. When I heard about S.A Barnes' next book I jumped at the chance to read it early. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. I won't give away too much because this story is better experienced than written about, but it is definitely tonally different than Dead Silence, with this story focusing heavily on themes of guilt and responsibility. Barnes' writing and world-building are so thorough and compelling that even though this story was a lot different than I was expecting and hoping it to be, I still enjoyed this a good amount.

Big thank you to the publisher for inviting me to read this title early!!!

I liked this! It didn’t quite hit for me the same way DEAD SILENCE did but it was still definitely a fun read! Barnes does the claustrophobia of space really well I think and I liked that aspect of it a lot—I’ve said before that sci-fi horror films a my preferred flavor of sci-fi, because space is scary! What’s out there! Hello!!!!!

I think the characterization here left a little to be desired; some of them felt more like sentient tropes than characters and that’s not the worst thing (especially when the main focus is on the Horrors), but it made it a little hard to really sympathize with any of them.

This did have one of my favorite thriller tropes though, so it gets extra points for that. Love an unreliable narrator. I also enjoyed the tidbits given about this futuristic society. Those little insights were interesting!

Overall this was enjoyable! If you like space horror I’d say definitely give it a shot.

Ghost Station is the new science fiction horror novel by S.A. Barnes. It follows Dr. Ophelia Bray, a psychiatrist, to an empty planet. Her mission there is straightforward: help a research team through the loss of their crewmember and stop them from going insane. Is paranoia a symptom if something is actually out there, though? Find out when Ghost Station arrives from Tor Nightfire on April 9, 2024.

Ophelia feels more like a first person narrator than a third person one. When I say it follows her, I do mean closely. So much of this book takes place in her head. I’d even go so far as to argue that the main plot of this novel is closer to a drama or a romance than a horror novel. There are inexplicable, concerning things happening around Ophelia. They just aren’t given the same weight as her internal narration. Much more interesting to her: her past, her family, her secrets, her patients. One of those patients in particular captures her attention.

Ethan, the mission leader, is set up to be her love interest from their first meeting. The way he is described, the things she notices—these are hallmarks of a romance. But this book isn’t a romance, or wasn’t marketed as one, anyway. And I did not feel satisfaction for how it did, or didn’t, play out. I won’t give spoilers, here, but I struggled with understanding why so much time was given to their dynamic. And theirs isn’t the only one.

The point of Ophelia’s presence on this mission is, well, emotions. She is there in a therapeutic capacity. So it does make sense that she is focused on how the team interacts, how they are feeling. It just felt like a weird choice of narrator for this story, I guess. Maybe it’s just my limited experience with the sci-fi horror genre, though. I’m not saying I was expecting Ripley, but I was expecting someone who could put the pieces together a little better.

Because that’s what I would look for in this setting, with this setup. I want a protagonist who can look at data and see that there is an issue. Someone who understands the tech, the planet, the species, something. Otherwise, we’re relying on the fear of the unknown, but without knowledge of the known. There is fear in not understanding something. But there is more fear in recognizing something is wrong. And she does think that something is wrong. It’s just not what would make this feel like a horror story.

Ophelia is looking for paranoia. She is looking for a type of mental break. So many of the supposed scares in this book—they aren’t real. They’re fakeouts. But this also isn’t a story of madness, which absolutely could have been done here. In fact, Ophelia as a narrator would have made sense in that type of story. But because there were other factors, none of the choices really landed in a way I found satisfying or compelling. I wasn’t scared because I expected things to be immediately explained away. By the time they could actually be scary, I wasn’t invested.

I also really was not invested in Ophelia’s quest for her own psychological healing and development. And, unfortunately for me, that’s what this book was really about. If that is something you are interested in, or at least are expecting, you may enjoy this more than I did. But if you’re wanting a tension filled science fiction horror story, I would look elsewhere. Like Ophelia, it just didn’t seem like this book knew what it wanted to be.

Ghost Station is a Horror Science Fiction where a crew is sent to explore an isolated planet and investigate ENS they are quickly met with the terror after a team member is found murdered.

This is my second S.A. Barnes books. Both of her books seem like they should be right up my alley. Unfortunately they both are a let down. The story lacks suspense and we are left with a slow plot line with minimal body horror. Very disappointing.

Starting out, I really didn’t think I was going to like this book. But, I ended up truly loving it.
It was a slow-build, atmospheric, eerie vibe the first 50%. S.A. Barnes did a phenomenal job building up to an intense final 50% of the book.

The first half of the book built up with not your typical “gory” horror but your eerie and atmospheric horror. It was a feeling, one that sent shivers and chills down your spine.

This book was filled with not only psychological aspects but gore as well, set in space where you have a sense of claustrophobia; there’s no way out of this situation, you’re completely stuck.

With a crew, and herself, keeping secrets, the whole team unravels, some slowly seeming to break down.

The writing was truly remarkable in a way that draws you into the book making it feel realistic and interesting — it’s definitely something I’ve never read before and something I’m highly interested in reading again.

For being my first space horror novel, I believe I’m now going to have to read S.A. Barnes other novel, Dead Silence.

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Ophelia is a psychologist assigned to a crew tasked with exploring an abandoned planet and investigate what happened to the previous crew. Ophelia is tasked with keeping them mentally healthy after the loss of one of their crewmates on a previous mission and after a condition called ERS has become more prevalent for those that spend alot of time in space. ERS has been known to make people violent, and Ophelia has dedicated her life to studying and preventing the disease after experiencing it's effects first hand as a child.

Upon landing on the desolate planet and beginning explorations, the crew begins to exhibit strange behaviors that mimic ERS. The crew has not warmed up to Ophelia for many reasons, and no one wants to be diagnosed with ERS. When one of the crew turns up dead, Ophelia has to unearth the skeleton's in her closet and work with the remaining members of the team to figure out if they are sick or if there is something else going on.

This is my first book by the author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This book was extremely atmospheric. This blurs the lines between sci-fi, horror, and thriller. I definitely got the creepy, desolate vibes the author was going for.

I thought the premise was really interesting and the author did a good job describing the planet and the surroundings. I did find the writing repetitive at times especially when it came to Ophelia's character arc. I feel like had the author stuck with the weird planet plotline or the medical plotline this book would have been a knockout, but there were too many threads of stuff about Ophelia's family, her job, the crew, and the planet going on for it to be a cohesive story. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, as the action starts to build up to something that doesn't ever happen. Honestly, I expected a little more death and destruction from a space horror, but this is more of a mystery/thriller. There is some gore and the descriptions are good, but I wanted a little more suspense and scare factor. I felt like finally when we got to the good part when the action was picking up and the horror elements were really taking off, it ended in what I feel was an unsatisfying way.

Overall, I thought this was entertaining but the conclusion was underwhelming.

This is fine, but pretty much exactly the same as the Starbound trilogy by Amie Kaufman. I found Ophelia annoying, and nothing about her backstory was surprising or clever. I wish the side characters got more development. However, I did read it in one sitting. The pacing was great and I just had to keep reading.

This book feels like some of my favorite (and scariest) episodes of Doctor Who got put into a mixing bowl with a psychological thriller and then stirred until all ingredients were well-integrated. This is why I love Barnes’ writing, because as she did with Dead Silence before this, you can’t quite call this book science fiction or space horror or a psychological thriller: It’s pure speculative fiction, a genre mashup of epic proportions that’s like taking whatever she finds in the pantry of her mind and seeing if it makes a tasty treat. And it scores.

This won’t be an in-depth review because going deeper than the surface is just asking for spoilers. I am, however, going to say that if you are the type of person that typically needs TW/CWs regarding body horror/gore/mental games/SI, then you should probably try to find those online before you read this book. Take care of you.

A lot of this book revolves around themes of guilt, responsibility, and memory. How long do you hold onto guilt and trying to make up for something before it’s enough? Who is it who determines that enough has been done to absolve you? Is it even your guilt to carry? Who are you responsible for? Who should you feel responsibility for? In the end, can anyone truly be held accountable for the actions of another adult? When can we consider ourselves or others compromised? Who are we even to judge who is compromised? Who’s to say we’re not the ones compromised? And memory: It’s such a heavy thing, for better or for worse.

As usual, Barnes’ writing is delightfully creepy and evocative, and her world building is absolutely on point. The imagery is vivid and adds so much to the horrific atmosphere of a frozen planet, a (metaphorically) haunted crew, and a ghost station out in space.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Horror/Psychological Thriller/Sci Fi/Speculative Fiction/Thriller

While I mostly enjoyed this novel it wasn't what I was expecting. It's a solid 3.5 stars for me. My main two issues are the constant inner dialogue of the main character Dr. Ophelia Bray or Phe. Second is the ending.

Phe has some serious childhood trauma that she never was able to shake. She lets her genealogy rule most of her actions. Her family is mostly full of some pretty unpleasant people on both sides. Her personal demons are without a doubt, understandable. However, she's an adult now. While she has insecurities & concerns about the type of person she fears she may become, it's just a bit much. Like a lot of folks, I too dealt with childhood trauma that absolutely has affected who I am. Nothing like what Phe has been through. That is pretty insane. My point is that I don't have this constant inner dialogue about my past. Obviously it's going to pop up from time to time in ones thoughts & even in general conversations, but generally one does move on. Not Phe. Get a grip girl! Phe is smart & ambitious with insecurities that are a bit over the top.

The rest of the characters were interesting. More time should have been spent fleshing them out. It also would have been nice to have more relationship building before the poo hit the fan. As in normal real world situations, each of the crews characters is unique. While some were not exactly likeable, there were none that I was hoping would be killed off or worse, simply didn't give a hoot about one way or the other. I was invested in them all & frustrated with Phe.

There is no sex. Nor is there anything raunchy. I found this rather refreshing. However, the novel does dance around possible romance. Briefly, there is a teensy bit of tension (to say sexual tension seems a bit too strong of a word, perhaps interest or longing might be a little more suitable). For the most part, the story moves along at a mostly decent clip, dragging at times - thanks Phe! The reader experiences a once tight crew unraveling with Phe as the outsider trying to be accepted. Bad things happen. Decisions have to be made. No one really knows what is going on, but they sure as heck are trying to figure it out.

Then we have the ending. It wraps up much to neatly for my tastes while also leaving out so much of what I wanted to know. This doesn't mean there aren't answers, there are. But the end. Look, I loathe spoilers. I wont do that to you. My opinion is that Barns shouldn't have stopped it there. She should have continued the story a bit. It leaves me to believe that she either didn't want the book to be too long or she really didn't know how to explain what she created. Considering the excessive inner dialogue of Phe, I'm leaning towards the author not being able to come up with a plausible explanation.

Is it worth the read? Yea, I think so. Personally, it's not a book I want taking up valuable shelf space, but I would consider reading it again maybe on audio instead of in book form. I enjoyed the mystery, the danger, the oddity of the other crews departure, the creepy factor of the station on the planet, and more. But I was left with too many questions. Too much unsolved. And Phe.

Having enjoyed 'Dead Silence' I really looked forward to this book. Even at a 3.5 star rating, I am still pinching myself that I was chosen to get an ARC. Thank you Netgalley & Tor Nightfire for providing me with a free advance readers copy for review!

Dead Silence is one of my favorite books ever, I recommend it all the time at my bookstore where I work because it is just so good. Know ing I loved it so much I think I went into Ghost Station just a little too hyped. Over all I thought the book was good, still love her writing but I just wanted a little more from the ending. Dr. Ophelia Bray who is an expert on ERS is sent to evaluate on exploration crew who do not want her there, after a death of one of their team mates. Once on the site Dr. Ophelia and the crew soon realize that things are not as they appear on the planet. Id Dr. Ophelia finally succumbing to the disease she has spent her life studying or is something else happening. Still a fun read but like I said I just wanted a little more explanation at the end. Thank you Tor for my gifted copy for review!

ARC Review ~ Ghost Station ~

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This isn’t my usual genre but the premise drew me in. I enjoyed it, the suspense and characters keeping me intrigued. There were a few things I would have wanted to learn more about. Though I would have a bit more of the conclusion it was still satisfying in its own way.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC!

S.A. Barnes is an excellent modern sci-fi horror author and I cannot wait to see what else they write. I truly loved Dead Silence and I was hoping I'd feel the same about Ghost Station, but unfortunately the book fell a little flat for me. The characters felt a little too one note and I really wasn't a huge fan of the main character. That being said the horror elements within this book were excellent and incredibly haunting.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes was a phenomenal sci-fi horror story.
I just love her writing. She creates amazing tension and builds exciting anticipation throughout her story.
Everything is described vividly so you feel within the scene making the horrific parts very chilling.
I enjoyed reading Dead Silence and her newest title was unputdownable as well!

Thank You NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This has been one of my most anticipated books of 2024! I loved DEAD SILENCE and, although I didn't like this one quite as much, it solidifies the author as one I'll be auto-buying future releases from, especially if they continue to be set in space.

I loved the futuristic worldbuilding here, especially the parts about settlers and miners and stuff on other planets. It feels like the author could continue to write in this setting with the books having similar characters or news events, etc -- like they could all be connected, which is super fun.

This would make a really good movie, the gore and descriptions of what was going on were so easy to visualize. Although I didn't particularly care about any of the characters, I also didn't hate any of them - I was just kind of eager to see what would happen.

My biggest annoyance with this is that the synopsis tells you a character dies, which is a major spoiler in my opinion because that doesn't happen until like 70% into the book. Other than that, the pacing could have been a bit better - the first half+ was a lot slower than the later portions, which seemed to really fly by with blood and action and hysteria.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: 4/9/2024

First off thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book, this is my first read from this author and I really enjoyed it!

Something I loved about this book is there was a strong build up throughout the entire storyline. We start off with Ophelia being prepped for an assignment on an abandoned planet. We learn of her past and how it has haunted her, her entire life! Being a new member (and ones that is not welcome) makes her job a little harder, as the story unfolds you see Ophelia and the crew have stumbled upon a rather terrifying discovery. The first part of the book is a little slower as you get to learn the crew. The second part of the book is jammed pack with action! Will they survive this mission? Find out on April 9th!!!

This book was entertaining from start to finish. Ghost Station shows us the potential horrors of interplanetary exploration, but also the more familiar terrors of the human experience (capitalism).

I thought the perspective of a mental health professional was unique. One who could examine crew behavior convincingly but who's knowledge of a common affliction casts doubt over whether the crew's experiences are real or imagined.

Space horror has always been an interesting genre to me, but one I've never really tried in book format. I've already added Dead Silence to my TBR and will look forward to any new releases from the author.

Thank you Netgally, S.A. Barnes and Tor Nightfire for the ARC of Ghoast Station.

I absolutely love Ghost ship by this author so when I was given the chance to read her new book I was excited. This book was a bit slower for me and felt like it didn’t get good till about 50-60% in. I did enjoy it and will continue to read anything this author writes in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for an advanced copy of Ghost Station.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

Ghost Station is a space horror/science fiction story following Ophelia, a psychologist who joins a team that is heading to an abandoned planet for research/sample collection. When they arrive, they discover that a team had explored the planet previously, and their mission failed miserably. To make matters more complicated, Ophelia has secrets she is keeping from her team...but they also have secrets of their own. When the mission goes south, can they trust one another so they can survive and make it home?

I loved the author's previous novel, Dead Silence, and space horror is the one type of horror that absolutely terrifies me. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite meet my expectations. The pacing was very slow, and some parts were repetitive. The pace picked up about 70% in, and after that I found the ending too quick and unsatisfying due to the lack of explanation. I feel like if maybe 150 pages or so were cut out of the repetitive parts and instead more about the planet or the alien species were included, it would have added more depth to the world and characters. I would have actually liked if this had multiple POVs, so we could see things from the perspective of the other teammates. It could have made the overall themes of greed and capitalistic corruption more impactful like I was expecting it to be.

Other than that, I really liked the concept of Ghost Station. It was fairly realistic, which makes it more terrifying. The secrets from Ophelia's past were a really cool twist, and I wish that had a bit more focus as well. I also think the other characters were unique and if they had more of a backstory, I could have felt more of a connection to them, since they had all been affected in some way by corporate greed and the wealthy. Despite some of the shortcomings, I really enjoyed this one and flew through it in just a couple short days.

I loooved 2022's Dead Silence, and as you can imagine, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. While I may have loved it ever-so-slightly less, I still devoured it! In Ghost Station, we meet Ophelia, who despite being from a crappy rich family, has dedicated her career to helping figure out the devastating illness of ERS, which strikes down entire space-faring crews at its worst. She's clearly trying to atone for the sins of her family, and she is pretty thrilled when she gets the chance to join a small team who might be affected by the illness.

Thing is, the team doesn't think they're sick, and they really do not want Ophelia in their business. But she has a job to do, and one of their crewmates is dead under mysterious circumstances, so they're going to have to find a way to co-exist. That's one plot point, of course: these people trying to live with one another in the confines of space, as well as the mystery of what happened to their late crewmate.

The second part comes into play when the team lands on an abandoned planet. It is clear that humans had maintained a station here, and it is also clear that at one point, an alien civilization called this planet home. What isn't clear, however, is why the last team left in a hurry, who the aliens were, or what the heck is happening on this planet. It is incredibly atmospheric, with a constant feeling of eeriness and dread. There are moments of humor and camaraderie that break this up, so it doesn't feel overwhelmingly dark, but the author does a great job in making the stakes feel always high, and always present.

There is also a lot of thought provoking discussion on nature-versus-nurture, and if we really are able to break free from the sins of our ancestors. Ophelia has a lot of time to work on her own growth, as do the other characters, because scary space is not exactly full of hobbies. It makes for a great mix of excitement and adventure as well as character and relationship development.

Bottom Line: Cannot wait for more sci-fi creepiness with awesome characters from S.A. Barnes- I simply can't get enough!

I loved Ghost Station almost as much as I loved Barnes’ first book, and read it in just a few days. It was a touch predictable in the beginning, and the doctor’s flashbacks and self-doubting inner monologues were a little too frequent for me (we get it), but when her unease starts tiptoeing into palatable dread? **chef’s kiss** I’m looking forward to recommending it to our readers.