ARC From Netgalley:

Listened to the audiobook for this one and it blew me away. Really 3 dimensional characters with some genuinely scary sequences.

This feels like horror written for people with anxiety.

No spoilers but I was in for the ride.

3.25 stars!

Thank you to S. A. Barnes and Tor Nightfire for an ARC in exchange for my full, honest review.

This is a solid middle-of-the-road book for me and I don't have a lot of big problems with it but it fell flat in a few ways. Firstly, I just had fun with this book. It's pretty fast-paced and I thought the characters' interactions were really engaging. The sci-fi elements that were there were fleshed out pretty well and while I found the mystery/thriller element a little predictable, I still enjoyed seeing things play out and there were surprises along the way. Even having a lot of criticisms, the sheer entertainment value of this book is great.

I love sci-fi horror. I write sci-fi horror and I feel like it's one of the niche genres that has so much potential, so it was a shame that Ghost Station didn't really follow through on either the "sci-fi" or "horror" elements. I'm not really sure that this is horror. It definitely has horror elements but there's not a lot of the intricate dread or straight up disturbing imagery I usually associate with horror. The "whodunnit" style of the narrative makes it more of a thriller, although if you have pretty low tolerance for horror this book might be a great introductory horror read. As for sci-fi, the technological advancement and backgrounds of certain characters allude to a much broader world, but so little of that is fleshed out that the novel really feels contained to the station. This is also more of a personal preference, but I like explanations of the "science" at play in my sci-fi and this has pretty much none of that. Very little of this book would have played out differently if they had been on an isolated research station on earth (Alien style) instead of a habitat in space.

The other factor that prevent me from really becoming engrossed with the story was the main character. Ophelia has been through A LOT, but she doesn't have much of a defined character outside of her internal conflict based on her history. Yes, trauma can majorly affect how someone lives their lives, but when every single action and thought a character has is defined by their past, it doesn't leave a lot of room for personality. She does have character development, but I never really got a sense of her outside of her internal conflict. Her job? Based on her trauma. Her choices? Based on her trauma. She can't have a conversation or express an opinion without it being tied to specific events of her past, which makes her feel very one-dimensional for me. The other characters are fine, but they're pretty archetypal.

I know this comes off like I hated this book, but I think it's a really good time. If you like the description, you'll probably like the book. If you're looking for a gruesome, complex world with well-developed characters that you're really rooting for, this might fall short. This book definitely isn't a waste of your time or anything, I do think you should give it a try if it sounds interesting to you. Happy reading!

2.5-2.75 Stars

Although I was looking forward to this novel, being a fan of the author's previous work, Dead Silence, I did find myself a bit let down. While the story had a lot of potential, it seemed to progress slowly and had some repetitive plot points that made it hard for me to stay engaged. Additionally, the main character, Ophelia, made some decisions that I found to be frustrating. Overall, I think this book has a lot of promise, and with some adjustments to the pacing and character development, it could be a great read.

***Thank you to NetGalley, S.A. Barnes, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Ghost Station is a tense, hard-driving sci-fi thriller! The excitement never stops. The characters are unique and engaging.

I listened to the audiobook and was fully engaged throughout the entire story without my mind drifting away. The narrator does a fantastic job differentiating the characters and guiding the emotions without overselling them.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the arc!

Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes follows a crew as they explore and try to survive on an abandoned planet. Our main character, Ophelia, is a psychologist who wants to do her job to the best of her ability with a crew that doesn’t quit trust her. The premise of this book was so intriguing. The isolation of space was dreadful. The story made you feel claustrophobic and you could sense the danger brewing.

While I was super excited to read Ghost Station since it was a highly anticipated release, I honestly have to say I was let down. I did feel like this book was more of a thriller. I expected and craved more horror elements and when I realized I wasn’t going to get it, I became very disappointed. It took about 50-60% for me to even become invested, at which point I had considered DNFing. I listened to the audiobook Dead Silence by the same author and not only loved that book, but found it so engaging and was unable to put it down.

There was a lot of suspense in Ghost Station and ultimately I feel like something was lacking, it didn’t deliver. Since thrillers aren’t my preferred genre, I just don’t think this one worked for me.

I received a gifted copy of GHOST STATION by S.A. Barnes from Tor Publishing!

GHOST STATION follows psychologist Ophelia Bray. Her field of study is ERS, a mental condition that can develop in space, one that has historically led to a brutal murder spree. This is a cause close to Ophelia's heart and her past. She's put into cold sleep and sent to join a crew that has recently lost one of their members. The idea is to address the mental health concerns sooner than waiting for them to finish their work and return home.

Working with the small crew, Ophelia sees the need for help even as the crew don't exactly welcome her interventions. It doesn't take long before she begins to see signs of more going on than she expected, and she is not out of danger herself.

I really loved Barnes' DEAD SILENCE last year, so this was a highly anticipated read for me. The book started off well for me, but I sadly didn't entirely feel the same connection to this book as I did with DEAD SILENCE. There were a few moments of tension that I enjoyed, but the pace felt a bit slow to me in other places.

I did enjoy the idea of mental health services in space and some of the discussions that came out of that. There is representation for past trauma and that leads to a lot of questions in the text. There are also complicated relationships with family and the crew that gave a lot to unpack.

This wound up being a book I liked, but didn't love and didn't feel quite as compelled to binge. That said, I definitely will pick up more from this author in the future.

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase in all formats for collections where sci fi is popular.

Dr Ophelia Bray, a psychologist, is joining a small crew going from planet to planet, basically marking claims for their company. Her intent is to help prevent a sort of space madness before it has a chance set in, as it is much more difficult to treat once sufferers return planet side. She's also looking to escape some bad press, and bad feelings after a patient of hers committed suicide by jumping of the office building she worked out of. To further complicate her life, she is the related to the family running a company in direct competition to her employer.

Ophelia has been chose to join this particular small crew as they recently suffered as loss that seems to be attributed to the space madness (I think they called ERS, but I can't recall what that stood for!) Unfortunately, the crew doesn't want her there and does not trust her intentions. Despite this, she attempts to earn their trust so that she can help prevent the ERS and prove to her employers, and herself, that she is good at her job.

As the crew and Ophelia spend time on their first assigned planet it is obvious that none of them were given all the information they needed to safely gather samples and complete their mission as there is something very... very wrong.

While I did not find myself enjoying this title as much as Barnes previous space endeavor, Dead Silence, it was still very enjoyable. Barnes kept me interested in what was happening on the planet and how.. or if.. the crew would be able to survive, as well as expertly weaving in Ophelia's trouble backstory.

Narration was excellent.



Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

This was fine but slow-paced and the main character made too many unrealistic choices for my liking. It's hard to relate to her at times. I like how the atmosphere was described and felt like I was with them. I wish we were not in Ophelia's head as much in the story. She was so self-deprecating throughout the story that it made it tiresome.

In this futuristic horror story, psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is both trying to run away and to right the wrongs she's been a part of by committing to joining an exploration crew on a voyage to an abandoned planet and hopefully, continue with her study and prevention of ERS. The entire crew is rude or outright mean to her, holding the opinion that she's a poor little rich girl, and she's totally incensed over it. Also, things on the abandoned planet look really strange, but she (the only one with no experience whatsoever) is the only one who seems to think so... at first. By the time people start agreeing with her, their pilot is found dead in a disturbing way, and the crew is losing faith in each other. Can they figure out what's happening? Will they make it back to their planet?

Considering the fact that the description of the book notes the pilot being killed, I felt like I was waiting and waiting for this to happen. The start of the book felt slow, which I suppose was supposed to be "slow burn" but felt at times as though it was going on and on. When things exploded, I found it incredibly engaging! What I absolutely hated was how Ophelia acted with the others - it felt very young, how she was supposed to be there professionally but seemed to desperately want their approval. Additionally, I wanted more explanation in the end. I listened to nearly 15 hours of this book, and it was all wrapped up in 9 minutes? I was disappointed, to say the least.

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*

Dr. Ophelia Bray is punishing herself after a patient under her care commits suicide. She joins a team of an exploration crew who's teammate recently died in unusual circumstance. Suspecting ERS- a physiological break of erratic behavior in response to the unnatural aspects of space travel: prolonged hibernation like sleep, long periods without outdoor exposure, confrontation with a long dead alien species and the structures they left behind. As she learns more about the crew who see her as an outsider, she is also at risk of her deepest secret coming to light. But they are more concerned with keeping their own secrets. And the longer they're on this latest planet, the more things are adding up that what's happening now has nothing to do with the assumptions every member of the team have about each other.

Full of corporate greed in the space faring age, a personal favorite niche, part of the mystery is what happened to the previous crew and what was really going on. As more is unveiled about Ophelia's past and the crew's own actions, more and more it becomes apparent that there's something else entirely that is infecting the minds of the crew, and it's not ERS. Or maybe it's what ERS was all along?

As with Barnes's previous sci-fi horror, a lot of elements were once again present. But they were all of my favorite parts of the last book so I didn't mind too much how very similar in beat points most of the story was. I also take some offense to the way it ended. It was very jarring and without a lot of answers for the bigger things that given HOW it ends there should have been some time spent on explaining them. It feels like portions of the build up were forgotten once some of the bigger mysteries were revealed and I found that very frustrating. I wanted to know more about the pile up of the alien bodies in the tower. I wanted to know more about the aliens in general if we were going to include them like that. It just felt like there was more to be said in the end and it was cut short and I['m not sure why.

I won't lie though, S.A. Barnes is officially an auto-buy author for me. This one really solidified it. I like how she writes the connection between teammates who share months together away from society. I like how she builds tension- horrific and romantic. I like how she creates sympathetic characters and mysterious backstories. I really love her sci-fi world building. It's complex without feeling overstimulated and confusing or overexplanatory. Ideal for horror and ideal for sci-fi.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so creepy and has me wondering what the heck was going on the entire book. I loved the sci-fi and supernatural aspects in the book

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes almost reads like old-school science fiction.

"A psychologist is embedded with an exploration team after one of their crew dies on a previous mission. They land on an abandoned planet to explore. But there's a reason the previous explorers left. Something is not right..."

This narrative moves very slowly. A lot of time is spent in the psycholigt's head - mostly because she has a lot of secrets. There's a lot of discussion without a lot of activity - not really the expectation of a sci-fi read.
I like the science fiction aspect. There's no world building - just an acknowlegment of some technology being used without a lot of explanation. It always has a name so you can tell what it is (Med Kit) There are some creepy moments - eventually. The reveal was kind of an "Oh - is that it?"
Zura Johnson does a nice job with the audio - multiple characters of men and women.

Probably a good pick if you like slow pace sci-fi.

It is hard to put into words how good this book is. The setting is haunting, the narrator is unreliable, and it's impossible to not care about the character's. It kept me guessing, slightly unnerved, and delighted!

When I found out about this book I was excited! I had it marked in my calendar when it was to be published, etc. When I saw it on NetGalley I was so thrilled I got approved to read this book. I do enjoy the author very much! Trauma will always exist despite how far along the world gets and this book told that story very well. I also enjoyed a not so spicy happy ending.

The audio was fine. The narrator did well. They made it easy to follow along the story.

*3.75 stars*

I agree with other reviews that the blurb gave away way too much of the plot. This was a decent space thriller, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Dead Silence.

Ghost Station starts out slow and builds tension as it goes. I thought the characters and background stories told in flashbacks were good. I would have liked more of a resolution regarding what the encountered on the planet. I am usually in favor of horror entities that are never quite seen or explained but the ending didn’t feel quite as satisfying as I would have hoped. I did enjoy the experience overall and think if you liked Dead Silence you’ll probably like this one too.

The audio was well done and I enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

"Ghost Station" was a creepy, slow-paced story. The themes of isolation and mistrust were woven together so well. Barnes knows how to creep you out. I liked the characters, their backstories, and secrets. The characters are what really brought the tension. I wasn't completely blown away like I was with "Dead Silence," but that book is an all-time favorite for me. I can't wait to see what Barnes does next.

SA Barnes is a master of atmosphere in Ghost Station. The phenomenal portrayal of fear, grief, panic and suspense had me wishing I could close my eyes. The narration was top notch. I really felt like I was there.

One thing about me as a reader is that Space Horror is one of my favorite genres. I knew as soon as I saw the cover and read the blurb that I was all in.

Doctor Ophelia Bray is a mental health professional who takes a contract to join an already tight knit crew on a distant planet far away.

However, much like in real life, the crew isn't exactly keen on having a shrink on board. Despite recently losing a crewmate, they are resistant to Ophelia's help.

Great story, great characters. Incredible depth and understanding of what drives us, what makes us victims of circumstance and how we can fight against pre-conceived expectations.

I loved it. My only complaint is that she hasn't written more. I'll he diving into Dead Silence as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Ghost Station sucked me right in from the premise. A horror book with aliens? Sold! Unfortunately, this did not come through as a horror book but it was still an interesting read, slow but interesting.

The story starts slow and takes a while to get going. Fortunately, during this slow time, Barnes does a great job at world-building and getting us acquainted with the main character, Dr. Ophelia Bray. Ophelia was not my favorite character but she was strong enough to help drive this story forward.

Ghost Station never felt scary but at its best it felt tense. There are some disgusting scenes that may be horror to some but I think for the general audience this won't come through as a horror book.

My biggest complaint with this book was its length. I listened to the audiobook and it was just shy of 15 hours. I’m no stranger to a long audiobook but I don’t think this book needed to be this long and would have benefited from being cut down to be a much shorter experience.

Even though I may have been a little harsh on this one I still do recommend it. There are a lot of good ideas and the writing was always fantastic.