Rating: 3.86 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover: 5/5
-Story: 4/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Scifi, Space, Thriller
-Horror: 1/5
-Mystery: 3.75/5
-Scifi: 5/5
-Space: 5/5
-Thriller: 3/5
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Eh

Want 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.

Ghost Station is the new entry in space horror by this horror and I definitely liked it better than the first book. I am fascinated by the concept of space travel and exploration, and love the idea that we are not alone out there and those who are out there are not always welcoming and may be far superior to us. Space exploration can be deadly, yes, but it can also be lonely as well as exciting. You have to depend on others to survive so what happens when you don't necessarily have confidence in others on your team?

The story revolves around Ophelia, the ship's psychologist, who is sent to assess the mental well-being of the crew on an isolated planet where one of their crew mates has died. Wanting to do good, she is surprised when she is given the cold shoulder as the crew understands that a poor evaluation could get them sent home and make them unemployable. Ophelia is a bit of a mess during this book and I enjoyed her journey as she explored the impact her past had on her choices and her behaviour, but the fact she is ignorant of the impact she could have on the crew mates blows me away. She constantly talks about how different she is from her family, but doesn't really consider the implications of why she is sent there in there in the first place.

The first half of the book is quite slow as it deals a lot with Ophelia and her family and the secrets she has kept from everyone; there is so much going on in her head that it sometimes becomes repetitive. It's not that the introspection wasn't interesting, but it has to balance more with the action and this didn't happen until the second half of the book. A lot of the information was important to the second half of the book, but you had to be really patient for the action to start happening.

As mentioned previously, the plot was quite slow in the beginning, but I did enjoy the build-up of the tension. It revolved mainly around Ophelia's issues and whether what she was seeing was real or not as well as the issues she was having with other crew mates. I listened to the audiobook as well as read an ARC kindle version, and I really enjoyed the audiobook. Zura Johnson did a great job narrating the book and the other crew members were easily distinguishable. Personally, I preferred the audiobook.

Once the action picked up in the second half, it was good and there was a big secret to be revealed, something I already suspected. I wish the author had kept up this kind of tension and pace throughout the novel as the last quarter was the best of the book.

Ghost Station was an improvement for me as I DNF the last one, but it did get bogged down in the first half with too much introspection. With such an intriguing narrative, I wish the author had balanced the mental health aspects of doing such a job with the action a bit more as I felt like they were two separate things in this book. I definitely enjoyed it, and am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future. And I will also be searching for more by this narrator as well.

S.A. Barnes has such a unique style of using space as a backdrop for horror that is really related to people and the secrets that they keep.

The audio production on this novel was amazing, and it was rightly one of my most anticipated reads (or listens) this year. Ophelia's character was well developed and relatable, even though she came from such a notorious family / background and was working against their wishes. It was also really interesting to have a perspective on the characters as they were on the ship after the death of Ava, but before they arrived at the planet they were investigating, and seeing how their behaviours changed with added stress.

Really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook and found it to be really engaging! Set the book up for a good, sinking / creepy feeling throughout.

3.5 stars.

Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes - With how disappointed I was with Dead Silence(was hoping for more space horror, not humanity horror) I lowered the bar going into this one. It wasn't bad, not at all. But I'm starting to think I'm not a fan of these quiet horror kind of books, or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood. Either way, it was well written, and I enjoyed it, just not for the horror aspect.

This audiobook is narrated by Zura Johnson

•Thank you to @macmillan.audio

Love these chilling, atmospheric adventures into the unknown. The vastness of space and the exploration of new planets leaves a lot of room for imagination into mishaps and horrifying situations. Ophelia Bray wants to be a trailblazer in space. She signs up for a mission that will help her do just that and keep her past a secret. As her and her crewmates arrive on the planet, all is not as it initially seemed. The previous crew seemed to have left in one hell of a hurry and as Ophelia dives deeper into why, things begin to go wrong. Who can you trust if everyone has their own secret to keep? The audio production of this novel was amazing. I enjoyed the narration immensely. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The description lures me with the promise of deep space mystery, and it delivers accordingly. Unfortunately, my luck and taste didn’t allow me to enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. Each chapter included an overly complicated and unnecessary description of… well, I cannot recall precisely what. The book felt needlessly convoluted. We didn’t have a chance to truly get to know the side characters; instead, the repetitive thoughts of the protagonists took center stage. Speaking of the main character, at times, it seemed like crucial information was intentionally withheld, while other times, it was simply delayed. As a supposed doctor of psychology, she lacked substantial knowledge in the field. I had hoped for intriguing analyses involving futuristic psychological concepts, but they were disappointingly absent. Furthermore, her ability to read others fell short; empathy seemed elusive to her, while she remained fixated on appearances and the environment. Perhaps she wasn’t that kind of doctor after all. Despite these shortcomings, my curiosity about the crew’s fate kept me engaged until the end. In the grand scheme of things, this story feels like an acquired taste—a niche subgenre for those who specifically enjoy this type of science fiction.”

I absolutely LOVED Dead Silence, so I knew as soon as I saw Ghost Station was being published that I needed to request it and I am so glad that I did! I love that the setting is in space and traveling to different planets. I feel like it just adds a different element to the story and creates a more terrifying atmosphere! This one was a little more of a slow burn compared to Dead Silence, but once it got going, it really got going and I didn’t want to put it down! I absolutely loved the narrator! I felt like she was able to keep my attention span throughout this audio book more so than the ebook did. If you enjoy science fiction or even darker science fiction, then I think this will be one that you will enjoy!

I really enjoyed this slow burn, tense sci fi novel until the very end, which left me deeply unsatisfied. But overall, the characters, concepts, and world-building were well done and kept my attention throughout.

Thank you to S.A. Barnes, NetGalley and MAcmillan Audio for this Audio Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! I loved this, it was fantastic. The Narrator did a fantastic job giving the characters distinct voices. The begining of the book was a little slow, but once this picked up it didn't stop. This was the perfect Space Mystery/Horror/Thriller.

The Good
After Dead Silence, I think this type of SF Horror might be my favorite. I love the combination of horror, adventure, and science fiction. Many of the characters were awesome, some starting off that way and others growing on me. At some point, the surly Suresh became my favorite. As a mostly SF/F reader, the ending was satisfying as was the relationship between the characters.

The Bad
The book starts off slow. It took me longer to get through the first third of the book than the remainder. It just drags. I think two things cause this, both of which are classified as...

The Ugly
First, the MC Ophelia is too introspective and whines constantly. Towards the end, it even started to cut through the tension of the events because it was all so repetitive or predictable (not the events themselves, just Ophelia in the events). I understand that she is a psychologist, but she is always so much more focused on herself and her history that it almost makes any time she cares about someone else seem like an act at first.

Second, and this is very subjective, but I hated the narration. It was soporific, which is not what I want in an audiobook of any kind but certainly not a horror audiobook. It also layered over the introspection in a way that just doubled the whining effect. The performance itself was fine, and the narrator has a lovely voice, but it's neither the kind of voice I want reading to me nor the kind of voice I want reading a book like this.

Also, Ophelia commits a classic SF/Horror blunder that made me facepalm at her stupidity... twice.

That said, I liked the book as a whole, don't feel like I wasted my time, and would totally recommend it to others

Initial Thoughts
I really had a good time with this book! I love that the story kept me guessing and I was never completely sure what was real. I liked all of the characters and really appreciated getting their backstories, especially that of Dr. Ophelia Bray. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did an excellent job with the narration.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am sad to say that I was disappointed! I have loved this authors previous book, Dead Silence, so when I saw the cover and description for Ghost Station, I was so excited. Unfortunately, it was just too slow and repetitive for me. I had a hard time staying focused.

I will read other works by this author even though this one was not my favorite.

As a huge fan of Barnes’ Dead Silence, I was eagerly awaiting their next Science Fiction novel. Ghost Station is it and here we are!

Dr. Ophelia Bray’s latest assignment is as a sort of Ship’s Counselor,” (a la Deanna Troi), to a crew traveling to an abandoned planet to “take samples.” Ophelia wants to get away from her family, (LOTS of background there), and welcomes a chance to prove her usefulness aboard ship and on the planet. Her task is to be sure that everyone remains in good mental health. Unfortunately, the crew view her, (or any psychologist), as the enemy- any hint of mental illness might render them a risk and therefore unemployable. Upon said crew’s arrival on the planet, it soon becomes obvious that something strange has happened there. Why were they sent to this particular planet? What are their bosses hoping to find in this crew’s samples? What will Ophelia discover? You’ll have to read this to find out!

I find myself struggling to put into words how I felt about this novel and here’s why. The first half of the book is almost all taking place in Ophelia’s head. There’s an abundance of family secrets she’s dealing with, as well as what she sees as a major failure in regards to her work as a psychiatrist. I believe she’s dealing with PTSD from more than one incident in her life. Frankly, she’s a bit of a mess. I enjoyed the arc of her character but I also had issues with the length of time it took to relate all of the above. Seriously, it takes up the first half of the book. Yes, a lot of the information came into play later in the book and was eventually important, it just seemed like an extended period of time before any action began.

Once it did, there was a lot of Ophelia questioning herself, is this real, or in my mind? Once Ghost Station’s secret is revealed, the action takes over from there on out and for me, that was where this story lived. The last quarter of this novel hummed right by, with all becoming clear and the reader rooting for the crew to escape the horror. I just wish we had gotten there a bit sooner.

The narrator here, Zura Johnson did a great job, and she “felt” real as Ophelia cycled through one emotion after the next. She narrated the various crew voices in easily distinguished accents and timbre. I enjoyed her performance immensely.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed in this. The narrative was intriguing and exciting, I just felt it got bogged down in the first half. I definitely enjoyed it just the same and will eagerly await the next novel down the line.

*ARC from pulisher.*

What an amazing fantasy debut! This story has it all, court politics, poising, betrayal, brutal fight scenes, mystery, and, of course, dragons! This was a wonderfully written sweeping epic tale and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

As far as reviews go take this with a grain of salt as we are not generally sci-fi readers and don't have a good understanding of how this genre tends to work. That being said:

This book has quite the misleading summary. It presents itself as a murder horror novel. As genres go I would more place in among the psychological horror as there are some creepy things that happen, but it is more of a why is this happening and less of a "whodunit"

Sam's Rating: 3 stars
Morgan's rating 3.5 stars.

Highlights: The last half of the book is when the most exciting parts occur. It's when the action begins, and we really start to questions the sanity of the members of the crew. As we are told throughout the book there is a mental health disorder called ERS that can affect the crews that go on the various missions to different planets. Ophelia, our main character, is a big proponent of ERS as she is a therapist being charged with attempting to minimize the chance for the crew members to have this new mental health issue. The crew thinks that ERS is a made-up psychobabble and that Ophelia has no reason to be there. The real question comes down to....is ERS real? That is a question you will have to read the book to find out the answer.

Lowlights: Morgan was thoroughly upset with the romance sub plot. It felt thrown together and unnecessary. Sam was upset about the fact that there was a ton of background given about Ophelia's life back home all for it to culminate to not a great epiphany or conclusion. The epilogue also left the story feeling incomplete.

Overall, it was an okay novel. We are willing to try another sci-fi horror novel in the future to just see if this was truly a 3-star book or if it just isn't the genre for us.

2 out of 5 Stars

I didn't like it. Found it very boring instantly. I should really learn to listen when someone with very similar taste to me doesn't like something that I probably won't like it either.

I could absolutely see this book being made into a movie. Sci-fi, horror, and space exploration, sounds like a hit. This book was entertaining and honestly unlike most things I normally read. But I still enjoyed it! It was well written and engrossing. It kicked my anxiety into high gear, which tells me that I was fully wrapped up in the story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

Definitely need to read the physical book, long dead civilization planet setting team has a mission to help people with mission’s.

Loved loved Dead Silence more but still enjoyed following Ophelia. Just needed the pace to more faced paced.

I loved the narrator for Ghost Station. Zura Johnson did an amazing job of bringing not only Ophelia and the crew but also the planet to life. I felt like I was walking right alongside Ophelia as she and the crew began to question their sanity and discover all the secrets that were left behind when the last crew left.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ghost Station. From the moment we meet Dr. Ophelia Bray as she gets ready to go into cold sleep in preparation to join a new team for a mission I was hooked. At first, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like the team she joined, as they were in mourning for a friend/ colleague that was recently lost, they didn't want her there and made sure she knew it. But as the story progressed and we got to know who they were they all started to grow on me.
I loved the vibe of the abandoned station. It was creepy, and I could feel that something was off about it. Then as the stakes get higher, and the crew begin to act out of character the tension and suspense ramp up and I didn't want to put it down.
Ophelia is a great main character, she draws you in, and the more you discover about her the more you want to know. She doesn't always make the smartest decisions but I think that makes her feel more like a real person. Especially under the circumstances Ophelia and her fellow crewmates found themselves in.
I thought the atmosphere was great! It was creepy and had me on the edge of my seat.


I absolutely loved Ghost Station as well as Barnes's previous novel Dead Silence. She has quickly become an auto-buy author and I can't wait to see what she is going to write next!

I was hoping I wouldn't align with the mostly mediocre early reviews that have been coming out, but what it comes down to for me is that while I really liked the story elements of this book, the style it was written in was not engaging for me, and I had to push myself to finish it (and had a hard time paying attention while I was). Maybe also the audio narrator didn't help things, but at this point I can't really tell. They sort of melded together for me.

The style was slow, a little melodramatic, and certainly very serious, not to mention told in first person present tense, which it takes a pretty strong and unique writing style for me to enjoy that, so that wasn't helping here either. I wish there had been more humor, more variation in tone. I had much less of a problem with this after about the halfway point, but it was a real struggle to get there. This tone helped with the creepy vibe, but was a detriment to my enjoyment while reading.

I still really want to read this author's first book because it sounds more like what I was wanting from this one, and people overall seem to have liked it more.