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Unfortunately, "Ghost Station" didn't quite live up to my expectations.

One of the major issues I encountered was with the pacing, especially in the first 60% of the book, which felt like a tedious journey. The protagonist, Ophelia, failed to resonate with me; her self-centered and excessively analytical nature became quite off-putting as the story progressed. I feel like this is one story where multiple POVs would have really added a lot of depth. The absence of other perspectives to break up Ophelia's monotonous internal monologue.

The second half of the book did manage to pick up the pace and introduce some elements of horror, however the ending left me with unresolved questions and unfinished plot lines. The repetitive descriptions and themes, such as tingling skin and pervasive feelings of paranoia, grew tiresome over time.

Overall, "Ghost Station" fell short for me in several aspects. It had some good parts; however, you have to slog through a lot of boring parts to finally get there.

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Ghost Station follows a group of explorers on an abandoned, mysterious planet, where not everything is quite what it seems. We follow the crew, who just wants to complete their mission, collect their pay, and go home. And we follow Doctor Ophelia Bray, whose own mission is to help the crew work past their own trauma of a previous accident, and prevent ERS - a deadly space induced condition

This is my first S.A. Barnes, and the description immediately intrigued me. Space horror? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the book did ultimately fall flat for me. The pacing was extremely slow, and the repetitive plot and writing style made it hard for me to stay engaged. I took much longer to finish this than I would have liked.

My biggest plus for this book, is that if you’re interested in dipping your toes into the world of sci-fi, Barnes writes sci-fi without it being intimidating.

The premise of the book itself was super interesting. If there was more than 30% of the book actually dedicated to the abandoned planet/sinister atmosphere, I probably would have been completely enthralled. A major portion of the book is spent with Ophelia, the MC, overcoming her past (there was A LOT of her overcoming her own trauma instead of focusing on, you know, the creepy stuff happening). Ophelia is an insanely unlikable character; she makes horrible decisions and for being a dedicated psychologist, I found her to be one in which I personally would never book a session with.

There also was not really any horror in the book that is marketed as “space horror”. It read more as a mystery/thriller hiding in the horror tag. I did not find myself scared or uneasy or really any of the feelings I should feel while reading a horror.

I might try Dead Silence by Barnes at some point as I did enjoy her writing style and her ideas. I just wish Ghost Station packed more of a punch.

Thank you to S.A. Barnes, Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for an eArc of Ghost Station in exchange for an honest review.

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3.5 rounded up to 4

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received an eArc of this sci-fi novel through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings . . .

I really enjoyed the author's first novel and this one was a lot of fun too.  The highlight for me of the author's writing is her eerie atmospheres.  In this story, psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her study into ERS, a space based illness that leads to hallucinations and violent tendencies.  She is assigned to accompany an exploratory crew to an abandoned planet where one of their members had a tragic accident.  Or did they?

The crew just wants to complete their aborted mission and get paid.  Ophelia is determined to help them work through the past trauma on the planet.  The crew wants nothing to do with her or her offered help.  The setting of an abandoned planet with horrible weather conditions was excellent fun.  I loved how every thing started going wrong.  The abandoned station, ruins, distrust of the crew, and unanswered questions were the best part.

I do wish that this book did not focus so much on Ophelia's own trauma.  I felt that too much time was spent with her facing her past demons, discussing her past, and not enough on the situation at hand.  I felt like I spent more time in her head then on the planet.  I think her PTSD helps make her an unreliable narrator but I would have preferred that the focus was actually on ERS and the current predicament.  Part of the problem was that, for me, sending a psychologist who is that damaged seemed silly and the reasons for it (politics etc.) were not convincing.

Despite that flaw, I still read this pretty quickly and wanted to know how it would all resolve.  I do think many readers will enjoy Ophelia as a main character.  I wanted more insight into the crew dynamics and more definite answers into ERS and the mysteries on the planet itself.  No regrets reading this though and I will read whatever the author writes next.  Arrr!

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4-7-24
Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes
Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes is a sci-fi horror novel, and it was a big hit for me. I’m new to sci-fi but a longtime horror fan (I love Stephen King!) This is Barnes’ second book but I have not read her debut, Dead Reckoning.
Ghost Station is an atmospheric novel with a slow and anxious story arc and pure terror for Olivia and her crew on the Resilience. Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is on a small exploration mission, sent by the ‘company’ to help the crew to avoid EBS and watch for indications of the horrible mental illness that his led to mass murders in space. She is battling her own childhood trauma but keeping her past a secret. The situation for Ophelia and her fellow crew members goes for tense and tentative to horrible and deadly over course of their exploration mission. I will make time to read her book Dead Reckoning soon.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes
5 stars – Pub. Date: 04-07-24

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I loved Barnes’s novel Dead Silence and couldn't wait to get my hands on her newest one! And this one is even creepier than the first!

Ophelia has to prove herself. She has to make this mission work and has to prove that the mental health disease ERS, caused by trauma + prolonged space tours, can be helped and prevented! So she joins a space mission. But the team has secrets and she has secrets. And the planet they just landed on has secrets.

This was creepy! I loved the characters and their back stories. I loved the planet and the setting and the idea of exploring ancient civilizations. The setting was creepy, both the physical setting and the tension among the characters due to their secrets. I appreciated that the female main character was aware of her shortcomings, but didn't let them hold her back and moved forward despite them. At the end I was still left with a couple of questions at the end, but no major holes! I’m already looking forward to more space horror from Barnes!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the advance digital copy! All opinions are mine!

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I confess, I'm not a fan of Space settings in stories but I decided to give this one a try anyway- it sounded intriuging. However the pacing on this one was just too slow for me. This is definitely a slow-burn, atmospheric horror and I just felt the build up took too long and I lost interest. By the time things started happening I just wasn't interested. It was a flop for me, but if you like the slow-burn build up in a trapped room kind of setting this one might be for you.

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While reading, I had fun. It's atmospheric and foreboding, and I've been constantly craving sci-fi stories (I need to just stop reading reviews and see what I think for myself because I keep talking myself out of reading new stuff). After finishing the book and sitting with it, I do think there was room for more. The mystery and "why" of the planet and the things that happened were not really explored, and instead the focus was on the survival aspects of just getting out safely. I enjoy a good survival story, but I was curious about the world!

So while it made for a quick and snappy read, but I would've liked either more details added resulting in a longer book, or some of the set-up time to have been devoted to more of that instead. We got a lot of characterization for Ophelia, our main character, but the rest were a bit paint-by-numbers since we only had Ophelia's viewpoint, and she was an outsider to the group.

I can't say I'll remember a lot about this one in the long-term, but I don't regret reading it, and I would still read more from Barnes in the future. If you enjoy being a little creeped out by space-horror / sci-fi but don't want anything too dark in tone, I'd recommend it.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

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3.5 stars. I picked up Ghost Station with middling expectations, since my experience with S.A. Barnes' previous novel, Dead Silence, was so mixed. In my review for that book, I said that it wasn't the terrifying, mind-bending deep space horror novel I was looking for -- and ultimately, Ghost Station wasn't quite either, although Barnes definitely got closer with this one.

Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her professional career to studying the effects of ERS, a condition suffered by space explorers that can cause mental deterioration and violence, and which can be contagious. She is invited to join a small crew on an exploratory mission to an abandoned planet, but as the crew begins to establish residency in the ghost station left by their predecessors, it's clear that everyone on the crew is hiding something...and so is the planet itself.

Aside from the deep ocean, there's nothing scarier to me than outer space. The vastness and darkness of it, the fact that it's a giant vacuum, the fact that literally anything could be out there -- I mean, it's totally terrifying. So naturally I'm drawn to space horror, because reading about it is the closest I ever want to get to facing down this particular fear. One of the things Barnes does so well in Ghost Station is set an otherworldly, claustrophobic, hostile atmosphere, both vivid and eerie, that her characters have to navigate. It would be impossible, so far from the planet you call home, in the silence and isolation of outer space, for your mind not to play tricks on you, and Barnes explores this idea so effectively. Are the characters suffering from the effects of ERS, some extraterrestrial force, or just the human mind's uncanny ability to overthink and create nightmare scenarios? We aren't sure, and neither are the characters. It makes for some very unsettling reading.

Barnes gives Ophelia an interesting backstory and family history, which adds a lot of texture to the narrative and allows her to explore the effects of trauma, the role of genetics in behavior and illness, corporate greed, toxic ambition, and the consequences of late-stage capitalism. She integrates all of this into an engrossing narrative that ratchets up the tension insidiously as it gradually descends into madness. I wish there were more truly "scary" moments, and the ending was somewhat lackluster, but Barnes really does make the most of this concept. Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the complimentary reading opportunity.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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