Member Reviews
I loved the first book and when I saw this book on netgalley, it was a no brainer to hit request! I really enjoyed reading this book and I cannot wait to recommend it to my book club to read this October!
After loving Dead Silence, I was so excited for Ghost Station! I do feel that this one was a lot more general sci-fi than I was expecting. I think that the tension that was supposed to be there was kind of nonexistent with the thoughts we were getting from the main character. I liked the direction it went in, but I felt it was too long and lacking in the suspense for a majority of the book. I will continue to read from this author!
This was a psychological horror story set in space but I did not feel any connection to the characters, and that made the plot feel a bit boring to me. The atmosphere and setting were interesting and at the beginning I felt like I’d enjoy the book, but then I started getting bored. Around halfway through there’s a reveal that caught my attention again but it didn’t totally work because (again) it relied on feeling something for the characters. I think the book actually may have benefitted from some flashback chapters for better worldbuilding, or something along those lines. The last part of the book is pretty much one nonstop action scene and I felt tired reading it. I would recommend the author’s other space horror before this one. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
After a small exploration crew loses one of its members under mysterious circumstances, psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is assigned to join them on their next trip. Phe has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition that can lead one to experience paranoia and hallucinations, and they may become a threat to themselves and others, among other symptoms. The crew is less than happy to have Phe with them as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, but that should be the least of their worries when it becomes clear that this planet has some secrets of its own...
Before entering this novel, it is important to know that this read is a slow burn. The tension and suspense come from atmospheric tension, environmental stressers, and strained relationship dynamics among the crew members. The novel eventually barrels you to the end once the true threat is established, but the book is far slower in pace compared to SA Barnes's Dead Silence. Elements I loved include the social commentary on corporate greed, the moments in which Phe feels she is being watched, and the bread crumbs we got surrounding Phe's life before she and her mother moved back on Earth in her childhood. With that said, I did find the depiction and development of interpersonal relationships to be weak and surface level in this narrative. This may be rooted in Phe acting as outsider, so she has only known the crew for this single brief trip. I found the romantic subplot in these pages to be forced and unnecessary; it was a bit awkward at times. While I appreciated the uniqueness of the threat the crew faced, I think I would have liked more answers/explanation surrounding that threat by the story's close. I also just wanted these characters to have more common sense. I would certainly try this author again, because I loved Dead Silence and ultimately liked Ghost Station for what it was. NOTE: I buddy read this with two friends who only had access to the audio, and we seemed to agree that I was the best one off with the ebook, as there are some information heavy passages.
Actual Rating: 3.25 stars
Original Pub Date: 9 April 2024
Reading Format: ebook
PREVIOUS BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:
Dead Silence—5 stars
Thank you NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Tor Publishing Group for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!
I just was not interested in this one. I didn't care for the main character and I felt like it was just dragging along. I think if the main character had been a bit more likable and had a bit more spine I would have enjoyed it more.
Thank you to Tor/Nightfire Publishing for providing me with an eARC of Ghost Station for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed S.A. Barnes' previous book, Dead Space, so I was excited to dive into Ghost Station and see what else she had come up with.
While there were aspects of this book I enjoyed, I don't think it was particularly strong, especially coming after having read Dead Space. A lot of the elements felt repeated between books, making it difficult for Ghost Station to stand on its own.
The writing was engaging and easy to get through, so it was a quick read, but I didn't finish the book feeling that attached to any one part. The main character, Ophelia, was alright, but her and her story were made weaker by the fact that this book is written in first person. Ophelia was keeping secrets that should have been on her mind and affecting her actions constantly, yet we only find these out later on in order to add a twist to the story. Despite being literally in her head.
I liked the dynamic between the romantic leads, but their romance developed too quickly and Ophelia was irritatingly jealous of normal interactions.
I did like the actual horror and sci fi concepts within this book, which helped me stay interested once I got that far. The untangling of the mystery of the planet was well done and Barnes did a good job slowly pacing through tension and into the eventual climax. I quite enjoyed the insidious nature of the 'villain' and I did like the ending, but many of the previous aspects just dragged it down.
First off, thank you for the chance to read this early.
I am a big fan of Dead Silence, but not so much Ghost Station.
2.5
It's like that Apollo 11 movie but with extra steps. I found the character arc in this book to be quite unbelievable. It's hard to believe that a psychiatrist who has been through so much trauma would have multiple episodes of seeing things and spacing out in the middle of conversations. I couldn't understand how she managed to hold down a job before this mission because she seemed to be struggling the whole time. I had high hopes for this book, especially after enjoying "Dead Silence," but unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. I'm glad I opted for the audiobook because it would have been a slow read otherwise – not much seemed to happen. I also found the ending to be poorly done. I can't say I'd recommend this book since there wasn't much character development, and the addition of romance felt unnecessary. If anything, a cool friendship would have sufficed. I was also disappointed by the lack of meaningful conversations considering the protagonist is supposed to be a therapist.
thank you for listening to my critical and nonbiased review.
This was enjoyable but not as compelling as Dead Silence but a solid entry to the scifi horror genre.
This author knows how to write exploration horror. Everything felt very realistic and the plot was engaging. I look forward to more. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.
although I ended up enjoying this book in the end I do feel like it has been mis marketed as a horror story. to me this is completely a sci-fi and I wish I had known that so I could have stopped waiting for horror elements. also because of the name and title and a blurb on the front comparing it to haunted house stories, I was 100% expecting ghosts. I realize now they meant ghost as in abandoned. But I truly just think this was mis marketed.
As for the story it self I really liked the first 10% and the last 30% the rest left me feeling kind of bored. Not enough happened. I wish it was faster paced. And I wish all the answers weren't saved until the end. I think having things revealed throughout the story would have kept me more engaged. But in the end I liked the concept and how it all wrapped up!
Space exploration can be exciting, it can be dangerous, it can be lonely, it can feel claustrophobic, it can be exhilarating, and it can be deadly. Ghost Station has that trapped feeling which I enjoy in books. I found this book to be enjoyable and I can see this being made into a movie.
Once again Barnes knocks space horror out of the park. I’m always impressed with the impending dread, character backstory, and scientific details that were included!
Personally, I had VERY high expectations for Ghost Station and it didn't quite meet them. I found the first half of this book to be extremely slow and I probably would have DNF it if I wasn't reading it for a review. I found myself enjoying it a bit more after that halfway mark, but not enough for me to rate it more than 3 stars. I wish that either the characters were more interesting early on or that there was a bit more action sooner. I just had a tough time with this one!
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read and review this title.
In Ghost Station, Ophelia Bray is a psychologist working for a company called Montrose. Montrose, like many other companies, own rights for different planets all over the galaxy. They send survey teams out to survey and catalog the resources on these planets to determine their economical usefulness to the company. The long distances involved make cryostasis necessary for travel, and one of the side effects of long periods of cryostasis is an increased likelihood of developing Eckhart-Reiser Syndrome, known as ERS.
ERS is Ophelia's specialty. She works with members of Montrose's Reclamation & Exploration (R&E) teams who have returned with symptoms of ERS to help them overcome the syndrome and return to work. When one such patient's therapy ends in disaster, Ophelia quickly becomes a disgrace to the company. For anyone else, Monstrose would have been able to sweep things under the rug, but Ophelia is the niece of the leader of the Pinnacle Corporation. Not only that, but with Montrose and Pinnacle being bitter rivals, there was no way this was staying out of the news feeds.
So, Ophelia decides the best way to get herself out of the spotlight while things die down is to join an R&E team on a survey as their psychologist. It will give her the chance to test new early intervention methods to prevent ERS, and this team is the perfect one to try it with. They recently lost a team member under mysterious circumstances, and the stress could push them into ERS territory.
ERS can be caused by trauma, and this book has every type of trauma imaginable within its pages. Front and center is Ophelia's trauma. She sees herself as a failure, and her own family has never truly accepted her. They have done nothing but push against anything she wants her entire life. Her uncle and her mother did everything they could to convince her not to go on this R&E assignment. They went so far as to offer her best friend compensation in exchange for talking her out of it. Later, Ophelia realizes they had more than her welfare as a motive for keeping her away from the planet they're set to survey.
This planet is designated Lyria 393-C, and it was a very interesting setting for a horror story. The planet is tidally locked to its star, which means one side always faces the star while the other always remains in the dark due to a synchronization between the planet's orbit and its rotation. The team is set to land on the planet and make camp in an old hab facility left behind by the previous owner of the planetary rights. The hab is located along the terminator zone, the area on the edge of light and dark on the planet. That doesn't make this area any more hospitable, though.
In fact, one facet of the conflict throughout the story is the R&E team versus the elements. Lyria 393-C is not very hospitable. The air isn't breathable, the weather is unpredictable, and the temperatures, even on the star-ward side, remain below freezing. So, the team is in a constant battle for survival with the planet itself on one hand.
On the other hand, the team has interpersonal battles going on as well. The rest of the team members don't want Ophelia along. Not only because she's a psychiatrist but also because she's a member of the Bray family. They see her as coddled and a weakness, a liability to the mission, and they feel she'd be better off back home. However, Ophelia also picks up on some kind of unspoken tension between the team members and their leader as well, which the reader finds out all about it as the story progresses.
So, there's already all this tension and stress in the atmosphere when the first body shows up. One of the team members is murdered, but there's literally no one else on this planet except the rest of the team. From there, the story becomes a locked-room mystery with each team member suspecting the others, and no one knows exactly what's going on…until they do.
I won't give away what is the cause of everything, but suffice it to say much more of it is tied to Ophelia's past and her family's past that is first evident. The culprit of the murders also turns out to have a nice sci-fi twist that I saw coming, but it was done in a unique and creative way which made me not mind that it was predictable. S.A. Barnes is very quickly becoming my go-to author for sci-fi horror due to this creativity, and I'm very excited for her new book, Cold Eternity, coming out next year!
I gave Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes four out of five stars. The tension in this book builds and builds until it breaks, and there are a few twisty reveals that amped the tension even higher. The story also has a little bit of everything for horror enthusiasts, from body horror and psychological horror to explorations on economic and childhood trauma and how people approach and overcome those traumas. The conclusion was satisfying if a bit predictable, but the creativity behind the murder culprit made up for it. If you're looking for a horror story with a sci-fi twist, then add this book to your TBR!
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes was my first encounter with this author, and while I had high hopes given my interest in both science fiction and horror, the experience was a bit of a mixed bag.
The novel combines elements of science fiction with horror, a combination that initially intrigued me. However, while the premise had potential, some aspects of the book left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. Certain parts of the story felt confusing, which detracted from the overall experience and made it harder to fully engage with the narrative.
I was particularly hoping for a suspenseful, atmospheric type of horror, but instead, the book leaned more towards monster horror. This shift in focus didn’t align with my expectations and, as a result, the suspenseful tension I was hoping for was somewhat lacking.
That said, Ghost Station still has its merits. Barnes’ writing shows promise, and there are elements of the story that might appeal to readers who enjoy monster-driven horror. If you’re a fan of this subgenre, it might still be worth a read. For those seeking a more suspenseful and atmospheric horror experience, it may not fully satisfy those expectations.
I know it is cliched, but this is the perfect example of "it's me, not the book." I don't fully understand why, but I believe that S.A. Barnes is not for me. I should love Sci-Horror. I love horror and science fiction. I love the movies in this vein, but I have tried two books by Barnes, and they don't work for me. I struggle with the writing and have failed to connect to any of the characters. I wish I did.
The narrator was fantastic. I have listened to other works narrated by Zura and have enjoyed her narration each time.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Tor Publishing for advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.
not sure this author is for me, i was expecting something very different going into this book and sometimes i feel like the horror in her books are very lack luster
S.A Barnes made a huge impact with her debut space horror novel, Dead Silence, and now we’re returning to the terrifying void for more terrors with Ghost Station.
Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is assigned to work with a small space exploration crew, to study a condition called ERS, which is kind of like whatever Jack Torrance had in The Shining, but in space. Bray comes with her own baggage; one of her former clients died by suicide, and her family have somewhat of a bad reputation. Dr. Bray sees this new opportunity as a fresh start, but the crew are hesitant to trust her. And then they land on an abandoned planet, where the fun really starts.
I enjoyed this so much. Ophelia is a unique character, and while she isn't always completely honest to those around her, I never doubted her good intentions for a second. I love the complex relationship she has with her family, and their questionable history.
While the novel is long (almost 400 pages), I thought it was very well-paced. The creeping dread builds up to such a satisfying conclusion. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, and performer Zura Johnson held my undivided attention throughout.
Space horror is such a rich genre, and I consider S.A. Barnes as the leading author of exciting cosmic fiction. I see she has a new book out next year, Cold Eternity, and I am all in!
This is definitely more psychological 'horror' than alien/monster horror, which I would've been fine with if I had felt at all invested in our narrator, Ophelia. I didn't connect with her and if anything wanted her to fade into the background. The overall plot was interesting in that I wanted to know what was up, but character wise and ending wise it fell flat for me.
Lots and lots of reviews re: Ghost Station” by S.A. Barnes. And Barnes’ sci-fi mystery story has evoked much good,,and some disappointment, to which I strongly agree with both the pluses and the minuses. I am an avid reader of mysteries and science fiction: and Ghost Station has plenty of both.. I kept waiting for the “big reveal(s)” concerning the creepy going-ons concerning an angry small group of workers exploring a long-dead (or is it?) alien world….however, I shant give away any of the storyline.
I’m glad I read this book; but I do wish the author had given us a bit more of, well, ——————.