Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC of this book!

Another great edition to the "wtf is going on" genre, as I like to call it. It pulled me in almost immediately as we read about Ophelia preparing to take off on a space mission. She's volunteered to be the onboard therapist for a group of researchers after the death of a crew member. It perfectly blends the sci-fi genre with horror and leaves me wanting more from this author.

For all the Doctor Who fans out there, add this one to your TBR if you enjoyed The Waters of Mars.

Another awesome space horror! I really enjoyed this author's other book, Dead Silence, so I was so happy to get the chance to read another book written by them! This time it is Ophelia or Phe heading out to join a research group that had recently lost a team member on a previous mission. Ophelia has some dark secrets (that slowly are revealed and it is a doozy) and the team does too. That definitely adds a nice tension when they land on a new planet that holds its own secrets. So of course the body count starts rising and I found it super hard to put down as things kept getting worse and worse but also intriguing and I needed to find out the truth. Is it all ERS? Maybe, maybe not. :)

This was a good horror story and I am sure to read any other book the S.A, Barnes will write! Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of the book to read and review.

Ghost Station was hands down the most unique space horror l've read to date. Alma Katsu is on point when she calls this a haunted house tale in space, and it doesn't disappoint. Coming April 2024, preorder and prepare to watch your sanity float away along with the characters hope and last chances.
Solid read, perfect representation of what we've come to expect from Stacey Kade!

This was my first book from the author, and I went in with no preconceived notions. I never totally sunk my teeth into the story. I always felt a little disconnected, like I was watching myself read it. I could picture the action, but I couldn't identify with it. I think the author created an interesting world, and it could make for a compelling film. The main character felt weak and indecisive, and it was hard for me to root for her.

I liked this, it just didn't connect for me.

I received complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being given freely.

I am such a huge fan of this author! I thought Dead Silence was brilliant, so I’ve been really looking forward to this book. As per her previous writing, Barnes is able to seamlessly meld sci-fi and horror/thriller. I was on the edge of my seat the entire read. I also very much appreciated all the psychology aspects given my line of work. Overall, would highly recommend!

Even better than Dead Silence. Ghost Station brings out S. A. Barnes' writing abilities. I loved the cast of characters, and the slow dread that sets in as they discover what they're stuck with. Not one to miss!

First, a thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I really waffled back and forth on if this was a 2-star or a 3-star read to me, but I finally landed on 2-star. Here's why:

1. The first 50% of the book was a real slog. It felt very slow, and honestly rehashing over and over and over again our MC's personal demons got old after awhile. It felt like that moment in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when the camera zooms out and the whole cast is shouting "GET ON WITH IT" to the skies. More than once I considered just DNF'ing this book entirely.
2. Similarly, I only got through the book with copious amounts of skimming - which seems like it defeats the purpose of reading the book.
3. This felt like a similar-ish in tone book to From Below - the spookies of the deep ocean and the spookies of space are fraternal twins, in my opinion - but that book left me curious for more at the end of each chapter. There just wasn't that... spark in this story.
4. The epilogue was very take it or leave it - to me, this added nothing to my overall enjoyment of the story or its resolution.

I think I would give Barnes' debut novel a shot, but maybe in a few years or after several books when I've forgotten the sting of this one. Overall, I'm not sure I would recommend this book to someone else, as I think there are other spooky space novels that do the concept more justice.

This had such fantastic suspense! Really electric tension, likable and interesting characters, and a really intense plot. There is some really nasty body horror as well.

I went into this book with such excitement following Dead Silence being my favorite book of the year last year. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectation and left me needing more from it. By the end, I found that I did really like the overall story, but the journey to get there was kind of rough. I also am not sure I would call this "horror" as the horror elements were weak and felt more just like typical sci-fi at times.

The first half of the book felt very science heavy in a way that genuinely didn't need to be. I felt like I was really crawling through for the first half (part of me wonders if I was in a reading slump for a few days or if it was the writing that was not working for me... I think it was the writing.) I had a very hard time visualizing anything that was happening - partially due to the science/technology terminology and acronyms used. I found myself picturing scenes/locations/elements from other books or movies that seemed similar in order to give my brain anything to picture and imagine during this book. The planet, the hab, the ruins/towers, all of it was so difficult to picture in my mind without directly stealing mental images from other media to fill in the gaps.
The second half of the book really picked up for me and I felt like pieces were beginning to click. The eventual discovery of the anomaly they were facing definitely piqued my interest more than the majority of the story had so far and it had me wanting this discovery sooner so we could have explored it more. Like once they begin to figure out what is happening around them, the story is already on its way to completion and it left something to be desired there.
It took a long time for any of the interpersonal and/or past trauma experiences to become truly relevant and until the moment when it starts to make sense, it all felt kind of unnecessary and made the gradual reading experience harder to get through. Like Ophelia is a psychologist sent to work with a team dealing with recent team member death and it almost seemed like this plotline was forgotten for a while until it was needed to propel the supernatural/horror elements forward more.
The final 30% was a lot more fast-paced and interesting and I found that I liked where the story went, I just don't understand why it took so long to get there. And I do still think there were a lot of things that seemed like they should be important but ended up being ignored later on or fitting poorly into the full narrative.

I might be convinced to give this 3.5 or maybe even 4 stars if I were to reread it and see if knowing the ending makes me feel better about the beginning, but I also don't know if it would make a difference.

From the very beginning, I had a very difficult time getting into this book. I didn’t really like the writing, I feel like this book literally lost the plot like it was such a cool idea that she was there to counsel people after an accident and then (and I cannot tell you for sure because I skimmed the last 10%) it just feels like we never make it back to that plot. I am so sad I didn’t like this.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray needs a change. Having been cleared of any wrongdoing, she is still distraught over the suicide of one of her patients. She decides to take an assignment with a small exploration crew that recently lost one of its own members to suicide. Knowing that ERS, a space-related condition, may be to blame, Phe wants to help. The small exploration crew docks on an abandoned planet to take samples. But after the death of another one of the members of the crew, Phe is terrified something weird is happening. Was ERS to blame? Or is something else going on?

I am not a big sci-fi fan, but I LOVED Dead Silence. So when the publisher offered this for ONE DAY, I downloaded it as fast as I could and put my device on Airplane Mode.

It did not disappoint. The anxiety of the setting itself - a planet where no one has lived or been in several years, a facility where it seems that the previous inhabitants left in a big hurry, and - oh, yeah - the planet is so far away that the team needs to be put in a "deep sleep" to reach it.

YIKES.

The characters were each unique, adding their own secrets and biases. Ophelia, the main character whose point of view we are enjoying the entire book, has a huge secret of her own. It seems every which way, something is off or amiss, but you're never sure what. Until you are.

One last thing - the ending. While I was nearing the end of Dead Silence, I kept chanting: please don't f*ck up the ending; please don't f*ck up the ending; please don't f*ck up the ending. And it was perfect. So was this one. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than writing a great book with a lackluster ending. Thankfully, Barnes does not have that problem.

So I know this hasn't even been released yet, but...when is the next one coming out!?!

4.5 Stars

Thanks netgalley for this. I loved this book! I would recommend. I love S.A. Cosby! I also loved the cover. It definitely intrigued me to read it. Dead silence was such a good book too. So if you liked that book, go ahead and pick this one up!

Dead Silence was one of my absolute favorite books in 2022 and I was super excited for Ghost Station. It gave me similar vibes and I had a blast reading it. It was missing *something* so it wasn't a perfect five star review but it was still such a great and creepy space horror.

Space horror is the genre of my dreams (Alien is in my top 5 fave movies) and I’ve been itching for more (a pun I had to make- IYKYK) since I read her book Dead Silence. I’ve been anticipating this one since the cover reveal and was so excited to get an early copy! I gotta say- this book is really good and did not disappoint.

The year is 2199 and, spoiler alert, the world still sucks. Space exploration is common with many humans settling on other planets, moons, and space stations. Jobs in space are extremely common, too. Whether that’s R&E teams, mining communities, or exploration. Big corporations haven’t gone anywhere either. Enter Dr. Ophelia Brey. A psychologist trying to right past wrongs and prove to everyone and herself that she’s not like her family. Things go from bad to worse when she joins a space team and realizes she’s surrounded by secrets, her own included.

Barnes sure knows how to write an unsettling slow burn while also starting a story at the beginning of all the action. The first half of the book takes its time with some excellent world-building, character development, mystery, and just enough suspense to build some dread in the reader. The second half really ramps up as it becomes blindingly clear that things just aren’t right. I literally couldn’t put the last 30% down if I tried. I’m still trying to decide if I loved the ending or hated it. While I was reading it I couldn’t help but think ‘how cool!’ but now that I’m thinking about it, it felt a bit easy and unsatisfying. And so many of my questions went unanswered! BUT it did read like a movie, lending a very cinematic quality. I felt completely immersed in the story and could envision each scene vividly. Especially the horrific parts. So I can’t deny it was well written. Overall, highly recommend to any fan of sci-fi, space horror, slow burns, and isolated settings.

S.A. Barnes introduced me to the wonderful, terrifying world of space horror with her amaaaazing book, Dead Silence, so as soon as I found out she had a new book coming out, I stalked NetGalley for months waiting for Ghost Station to become available. The premise of GS is great: a small crew who recently lost a member under suspicious circumstances are sent by their corporate overlords to an abandoned space station on a remote planet to establish residency. Then the pilot is murdered and everyone starts unraveling.

Did I love this as much as Dead Silence? No... but there was just enough creepiness to keep me engaged so I was able to (mostly) overlook the things that didn't work for me (namely the main character who I never quite gelled with, weird pacing, some hazy, unsatisfying explanations, and a lot of unanswered questions). Which, when I type it all out makes it sound like I didn't like it -- but Barnes is an excellent writer with a dark imagination, so even though this wasn't my favorite book, I'd still recommend it to fans of Dead Silence, and am already excited to read whatever she writes next.

(3.5 rounded up)

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

After a catastrophic event derails her career on Earth, psychologist Ophelia Bray gets herself assigned to an exploration ship whose crew is still mourning the loss of one of its members. Hoping to find redemption, Ophelia believes she can help them heal and avoid the possible affects of devastating syndrome that afflicts off planet miners and explorers. Her efforts are instantly met with hostility from the crew, which is more interested in investigating the planet to which their next mission has been assigned. Once they reach the abandoned station from a previous expedition, crew members begin experiencing strange dreams and hallucinations. And the strange remains of a previous civilization and unrelenting bad weather forebode something bad in the future. When the worst off one turns up dead, it becomes apparent the last inhabitants may have experienced something horrific that was purposely left out of reports.
This novel was a slow but steady burn, with a complexity to its central plot. There are numerous secrets unveiled little by little involving the planet, the exploration crew and, most of all, Ophelia. The story always seems to keep some of its cards hidden, revealing them only at key points in the plot, several of which are quite unexpected. It does require patience in reading, as the major happening don't really start to occur until after the midpoint of the novel. However, the narrative is interesting and builds slowly but steadily, so that patience is rewarded later on. My only contention with the tale was the fact that the third act, especially in the finale, felt drawn out longer than it should have been, which did start to strain my patience at bit towards the end. But overall, it was an excellent piece of space horror.

Another great hit from S.A. Barnes! Sci-fi isn't always my favorite genre but this and Dead Silence were fantastic. Really enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening the whole time and seeing who was next 👀

The premise of the book starts off really well. Going to an alien planet and finding things that should not be.
Exploring the planet and discovering aliens....but the explorers bring back something more back to their hub.

The psychologist believes that a recent space worker went crazy and just walked off into a desolate planet to commit suicide. She is brought into the mission to hedge all bets against mental illness.
yet she is harboring her own doubts.

The book is wooden, the characters are not likable, things that were mentioned that could be scary....are never explained nor explored.

They find an alien species in a heap. They don't explore. There is nothing further about it. Just found some aliens, ok. Just another day.

Then the ending...everyone wakes up. Everyone is good. THE END!
What the heck happened?

This was not worth my time.

This book was hard to fathom why it was labelled as a horror story.

Further, this genre has been done before, its called ALIEN!

Ghost Stations, the sci-fi horror follow-up from S.A. Barnes, is once again an excellent read. I really liked Dead Silence, and was looking forward to reading this. It was a slowburn start in my opinion, I expected more action. But I do think that the slowness of the plotting really help create an unnerving, and claustrophobic feeling. The reader primarily follows Ophelia, a doctor on her first long term away mission. She is travelling with a crew who recently lost a member while she herself is working through a former patient trauma. I really like the characters, I wish I'd had more time with them. I recommend this book to fans of the original Alien film as the pacing especially at the beginning is similar. I will be continuing to watch for more from Barnes in the future.