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?"

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!

I feel soooo disappointed. This one just fell a bit too flat for me. I loved the authors last book so much and I had such high expectations for this but unfortunately I was left feeling like this wasn't the same author.
It was listed as horror, but it didn't feel like one. There was no true suspense or horror moments, more so a slight mysterious air that really went no where. The ending was kinda abrupt in that we didn't really get a lot of answers or explanations..
I hope this was just a fluke and the next book from this author is more akin to the first one.

This novel was extremely entertaining and very unique! I was not sure what to expect when I first started reading this, and I really thought the story was going to veer into a completely different direction than it did. I have never been much of a fan of stories set in space, but this one won me over. I want to read everything S.A. Barnes writes going forward! Give this novel a chance if you are hesitant about reading anything in the sci-fi genre but would like to give it a try. This was so much fun, very spooky, and horrific in ways I did not expect!

I'm not quite sure where to begin here, I loved Dead Silence and I was so excited for another novel by the author but this definitely fell short of my expectations, and it's hard to not compare it to Dead Silence in terms of my enjoyment. I love space horror, because space on it's own is terrifying and has so many risks and unknowns that it makes a perfect setting for some really out there horror. With this book we get psychologist Ophelia Bray who goes on a mission to a new planet with a team to claim the planet for the company she works for. Ophelia is very self aware about a lot of her personality flaws due to her training, but also surprisingly unaware of a lot of the more important aspects of herself (I'm purposefully being vague so as to not spoil anything). I couldn't quite figure her out, sometimes she felt very juvenile and other times she felt like a totally different person, and despite her (in theory) being a very smart person, she knows going on this mission will be extremely triggering for her and goes anyway, putting everyone on the ship in danger. And the side characters felt so flat that I don't even remember their names anymore, which is a shame because they were an important part of the story, but they really just get boiled down to stereotypes (grumpy leader with a heart of gold, innocent young girl, tough woman, etc). I think the biggest thing for me that fell short though were the horror aspects. I personally did not find this to be very scary at all and didn't give me any of the creepy feelings that I had while reading Dead Silence. I would definitely classify this more as a thriller than anything else, honestly. I also had so many questions that went unanswered, such as the ancient aliens who lived on the planet and what happened to them. And then, the book just kind of...ended. It wasn't a very satisfying ending for me at all. I'm so upset because I was really looking forward to this and it just ended up being okay. I'll still probably pick up their next book if they do another space horror because this one easily could just be the outlier for me.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had not read this author before and I was not overly impressed with this book. I will never give a fiction book less than three stars but I will say why I gave it three (of five) stars. The book was too slow. The beginning failed to "hook" me so it was chore reading the whole thing. I did not connect with any characters and when it did finally pick up, almost half way through the book, it went too fast. I did not feel it was "horror" either. It also seemed maybe this was a Young Adult book? I don't see that it is marketed that way but the writing made me check several times if it was YA. That is my opinion and manny think otherwise.

3 Stars

After the fantastic debut release of Dead Silence, I was excited to dive into Ghost Station. Unfortunately, this effort didn't live up to its predecessor. Ophelia was an intriguing character, but ultimately I didn't care enough about her to be invested in her adventure. I found her easier to dislike than like, that's a strange place for the protagonist to exist. I felt the crew needed more development to better understand their dynamic, which encompassed a large amount of the story.
The bright spot for me was the claustrophobic feel while in the hab. The isolation and largely unknown of why it's in the condition it's in and abandoned was solid. Also, the suspense behind the cause of the crews demise had my attention. I dug the aliens quite a bit and wish their story could have been expanded. Even though Ghost Station didn't check all the boxes I still enjoyed it and I will be looking forward to the next sci-fi book from S.A. Barnes.

Ghost Station is a claustrophobic space nightmare!

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray finds herself sent out to space after dealing with bad press after a patient kills himself on her watch. She decides therapy on board a spaceship might get ahead of some of the issues patients develop. Unbeknownst to her, this space station her new crew is heading towards has a history of its own and something ancient is waiting for them.

I thought this was such a neat concept and S.A. Barnes once again has made sci-fi accessible and fun to a dummy like me. There’s a really interesting cast of characters and so much interesting history. Ghost Station delves into personal traumas, healing, and a whole lot of grief. There was an intriguing back story at play, and I thought that added a lot to the story!

I wish our MC was presented as more of a professional instead of coming apart at the seams the entire time. It made it a little hard to believe her role. I also found the pacing to not grip me the same way Dead Silence did. Because of that, I couldn’t fully feel terrified as I should have.

Mmm, sadly this was not a winner for me. I LOVED Dead Silence, it is still one of the scariest books I've ever read, but this one was SO boring for the first 40%, and then once we finally got to the alien planet, nothing was described well enough to be genuinely unsettling. Sure, the stuff was objectively scary and gross, but the writing just hadn't drawn me in and by the end I just wanted it to be over.

It was a pretty interesting read. If you want a story that's exciting and set in space, this one will do. I did think the ending was a little rushed, but if you're looking for quick and thrilling this will do!

I’ve been playing through Starfield (at a creepingly slow pace) and this reminds me of something you’d come across on a quest line. Some sort of abandoned science facility - like, literally what this book is about! So much fun.

I had a great time with this book. It was so mysterious, on many levels. The main character had secrets. There was some mystery surrounding the history of the planet the space crew is visiting. Mystery surrounding a death of a previous crew member. So much mystery! And it kept it up until the end. I was heavily invested in this story.

But I also have some critiques. If we’re dealing with anything sci-fi or fantasy related, I need that well fleshed out and well described. I don’t think this author does that particularly well. I remember feeling that way with her previous book as well. I also felt that part of the conflict at the end, something that felt really dire and huge, had a lackluster and easy solution. It seemed like just for the sake of getting it wrapped up nicely.

Overall, I liked this a lot. It was exciting and strange. A great space horror novel

I was really drawn in by Ghost Station initially, but then my interest came and went as I continued reading. The setting was a little bland, especially compared to Dead Silence. The characters weren't very compelling and I've honestly already forgotten all of their names. There were some very interesting details in the setting of the abandoned planet, especially when we get glimpses of those who lived there before. Unfortunately, those aspects weren't explored very thoroughly. I did enjoy the plot and the explanation of why the planet was so hastily abandoned though. There were definitely some tense and creepy moments. The basic story premise was enough to keep me reading, and although I can't see myself ever rereading this book, I don't regret reading Ghost Station.

I loved Dead Silence, the previous space horror book by this author, so I was really looking forward to reading this. And again, she does not disappoint with this one. Ghost Station is a creepy space horror story that keeps you guessing and is a real page-turner. Each character is different and that helps to add to the story. The author does a great job building the tension between characters. Once you start reading this book, you won't want to put it down. If you enjoyed Dead Silence, you will enjoy this book too. I recommend it to all horror fans!

3.5 stars. A decent sci-fi tale about a space exploration team researching a desolate, abandoned planet. The main character spends a lot of time agonizing over her past and her family’s misdeeds, which I found to be a bit tiring and repetitive. Other than that, I liked the characters and adventure. Very atmospheric but not overly horrific.

It’s official, S.A. Barnes is an awesome writer. I loved Dead Silence and was concerned that her new book would not be as good. No worries, Ghost Station is amazing. Full of interesting characters with undeniable chemistry, smart and funny dialogues, a creepy, Gothic atmosphere that is not easy to achieve in space, and a fantastic plot that never lets up. Ophelia has been trying to run away from her heritage all her life, so she joins an exploration crew on a distant planet. All the elements of a successful haunting are there but with an original take. The storm that always rages outside may be the same but instead of a big castle, we get an abandoned hab module and the ghost in chains is something else. Or is it? Ophelia has devoted her life to studying a psychological condition that causes hallucinations but no one knows too well how it works yet. And that was one of my favorite parts. The casual references to their own world. Medical conditions that have been normalized because space travel is no big deal. The lingo, the food, the medical technology (of course somebody badly injured needs a well-trained AI, stat!) This is a world in which humans live in space and the technology would be unfathomable to anyone alive today. But the plot is the real winner. Twisty, addictive and very well thought out, it is a real page turner. Fun and horrifying all at once, I loved, loved this novel!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this as much as Dead Silence. I couldn’t really get into the main character, even though I thought she was well developed; as were the other characters. I liked the intensity building, but was a little disheartened by not getting all the answers.

S.A. Barnes is quickly becoming a go to for sci-fi thriller/horror, a genre I’d really love to see a lot more of. And while I think I enjoyed her debut, Dead Silence, more, I still found Ghost Station to be an engaging adventure. In fact I not only read the ARC but also had the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook. Zura Johnson’s narration is quite good so I’m pleased to say you can’t go wrong no matter how you choose to experience Ghost Station. I really liked how we continued to learn things about Ophelia, instead of just getting one big info dump. Ophelia is a psychologist specializing in studying ERS (think space madness, often characterized by violent outbursts, with one case resulting in the murder of nearly thirty souls.). At the start when we meet Ophelia it’s clear she is determined to get away from home, away from most of her family (which we learn more about later on) and she joins a small crew whose on a mission to explore a planet that’s been abandoned. They’ll be taking up temporary residence in an abandoned station not far from ancient alien ruins. Her crew mates are an interesting mix of characters, with many of them not at all interested in getting to know to her, with some resenting her for she is and her family, some not at all pleased to even have her along. Ophelia senses the crew is keeping stuff from her, but what? The atmosphere and sense of isolation is well developed. And of course she has questions as to why exactly was this station abandoned? Then one of the crew is found murdered. Who did it? What is going on? Can they trust each other? Is someone suffering from ERS or is it something else? Something worse? I’d like to thank Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Ghost Station and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version.

Sat down in the lobby of the Alumni Center before my department retreat day to finish this VERY spooky ARC.

Reading this over a very cold, extra-days weekend was PERFECT. If I may quote the book: “Space is cold.”

I really enjoyed Dead Silence so was excited to get this one by Barnes..

This effort doesn't have the dread that Dead Silence had; it doesn't give itself enough time to open up, organically create and atmosphere and draw us in. The scene is almost immediately set for us, ominous warnings abound so you go in looking for the cracks. I prefer to have what I thought was solid give out from under me, then already being tentative about every interaction and potential clue.

As I sat to write this a few things bothered me, which mostly had to do with information provided that had no payoff. Phes patient on that fateful day (was that the source of any of the media? Or was it something else?). Her family. The paper flowers. Etc. It just all seemed a little too scattered..

The (off) world itself was good and I wish we got to spend more time with Ethan and his crew away from Ophelia. I rarely say this but more than one POV would have helped the narrative here. So it's less space horror and more the space version of domestic alien thriller.

💥💥. Book Review 💥💥

Ghost Station
By S.A. Barnes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars


This book obscures the lines between horror and sci-fi. This was my first read from S.A. Barnes. I have never read a book that had to do with space and other planets, so that was new to me. It was a very intriguing book and at times claustrophobic. There is a lot of suspense, mystery, and intrigue that Barnes puts the reader through in the book. The cosmic world Barnes puts us in is out of this world.


Thank you to NetGalley, S.A. Barnes, and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.