Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I also received a copy of this book for free at StokerCon, and I definitely wanted to read it based on the plot. Space horror? Yes, please!

Set in the far future, an exploration team is exploring an abandoned planet trying to figure out why the previous team never made it home. As it is an alien planet, the team is trying to understand who the native inhabitants were, as they are long gone. Because this is a horror book, the characters have to deal with some terrible things along their journey.

The main character is a psychologist who is there to support the team because the team had a previous team member die. She watches the team be infiltrated by some health issues that their medical equipment can’t identify. This book was good but a bit slow for me. The characters are well-developed and interesting, and I did enjoy it. But it could have been shorter and more intense.

3.5 ⭐️
After the success of Dead Silence, I was stoked to find out that S.A. Barnes had a new book coming out. I got this on NetGalley as an ARC ages ago but had difficulty getting into it and enjoying it. It was slow going and I’ve been picking it up and putting it down since I got it. Over the last week I got into it again and finished it off quickly - more so to be done with it than anything else. This story just didn’t do it for me like Dead Silence. I wanted to love this so bad, but where I can rant and rave about Dead Silence, I sadly can’t say the same about Ghost Station; the scariest part of this one is its name.

While it did have some great parts, the ending was disappointing, I thought there would be more OMG! moments and shock and scare, but it was just blah. I’m all for “happy” endings but this one seemed rushed and left me with several unanswered questions.

I know Barnes has another book coming out next year that I’ll definitely be reading, as I do love her style, I just won’t get my hopes up like I did with this one..

After loving Dead Silence, my first proper foray into reading space horror, I was excited about Ghost Station, SA Barnes' second novel. However, Ghost Station lacks the consistent creepiness that Dead Silence has in spades, in part due to more languorous pacing. I wanted to know what was going on, and I found out, but it would be a more thrilling movie than a book, in my opinion.
The plot focuses on Ophelia, a psychologist brought along on a cold sleep mission to a deserted alien planet to provide aid to a team who recently lost one of their members in an accident. Ophelia is familiar with ERS, a mental illness that can gestate under the stress of living in space climates; she's very passionate about her work, and takes it very seriously, especially after her father was diagnosed with the syndrome after he brutally murdered 28 people on a station. But Ophelia's new team isn't happy to have her there, because stigmas against mental health and corporations still run deep even in the future.
And then shit gets weird. But unfortunately, not freaky or unnerving enough for me.
I will say that I like how both of Barnes' novels have had a big theme of mental health and illness in them. I just wish that Ghost Station had nearly the same amount of structure and sinister tone to it as Dead Silence. I had an e-ARC that I put off in favor of a hard copy, but even in the finished version, I found a few typos that slipped all way to publication. As I said before, it would be a better movie than book.

I was fairly disappointed in this book. After reading other books by this author, namely Dead Silence, I had hope for similar pacing and writing. Unfortunately this did not live up to that expectation. This was definitely a bit slow and had no creepiness that the name would lead you to believe. I found Ophelia, the main character annoying, and I was questioning her decisions the whole way through reading. TLDR not my fave book by this author but Dead Silence will have me coming back to try again. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion by NetGalley.

I loved S.A. Barnes’ last book “Dead Silence” so I was really excited to read this, sadly I was a little disappointed.

“Ghost Station” started out really strong. The premise is good. Ophelia with all of her family issues, wanting to prove herself to the crew. The eeriness as they entered the abandoned station was great. But once all of that settled, I was a little bored. There was too much of Ophelia and all of her problems. It really got repetitive.

The last quarter of the book picks up a little, but some of it was so outlandish. I felt the “romance” with the Captain was totally unnecessary. It added nothing to the story.

Overall, I was disappointed. The plot really held so much potential, but it fell short.

This was kind of a disappointment. It was okay however it was slow and we spent so much time in the main characters head. I liked the idea of aliens but it left with so many unanswered questions.

Many held great anticipation for the follow up novel to the author's previous release, "Dead Silence". The books are included in the Space Horror genre. While the previous book was considered a success, there was a noted space for improvement upon a great potential.

Unfortunately, the anticipation for Ghost Station, exceeded the reality. A slow start and slow build that led to a lackluster peak. Overall, a creative story concept. However, the horror aspect took a long time to develop. Stunting it's impact. The reader is asked to be patient while developing connections to the characters. As such, those connections come to fruition a bit too late, near the end.

The author still has potential, shown again here. A third novel in an exciting genre is encouraging and many readers will again look to it's release with anticipation.

I was absolutely thrilled to have gotten a copy of this book, because I love space horror, and I know that no one else does it quite like S.A. Barnes. So when I started reading this book, I was massively disappointed with it. I don't DNF books, but I was so sure getting through Ghost Station would be a total slog - and for the first 40%, it was. But the last 60%? Holy shit, what an incredible read.

Aside from just some pacing issues in the first half, what really weighed me down with Ghost Station was how lore-heavy it was. Despite Ghost Station being marketed as a horror book set in space, the front half of it is so intense with lore and context and backstory that you forget what you're supposed to be reading. It's really like jumping into Star Wars for the first time, and trying to keep up with all of these new societal systems, planets, and vocabularies. I genuinely thought I must've downloaded the wrong book onto my Kindle, because for half of Ghost Station, nothing even remotely scary happens. It's all Barnes infodumping about the world she's created, to the point where you're more confused than intrigued. That, combined with the fact that it was slowly paced, and written in present-tense (something I don't see a lot in books, and for good reason, in my opinion) really halted my desire to continue with this book.

But then, you start hitting the actual horror of Ghost Station, and it's absolutely phenomenal. Barnes's descriptions are so vivid and eerie, and you can absolutely picture every single moment of how this book plays out. My favourite kind of horror is one that's just constantly creeping in the background, just out of sight: no big, sudden scares, but this constant sense of unease and wrongness, and Barnes absolutely nailed that in this one. Even when everything seems perfectly fine between major scenes, there's this presence throughout every interaction that reminds you something is coming.

If the first half of the book was way too lore-heavy, then the distinct lack of lore in the second half really worked to Ghost Station's advantage. You understand vaguely what's happening, but you don't know why, or how, or what to do about it. It's all of these unanswered questions - and the fact that so much remains unanswered by the book's end - that capture a very classic horror feel to me. You don't always get to know why the bad guy is out to get you, or how he came into existence; you just know that you have to survive it, and try and make sure the bad guy gets defeated.

It's also incredibly rare for me to find that I really enjoy the way a book ended, but Ghost Station nailed that, too. I was worried that the last chapter would be one big 'you never know what happens to them' cliffhanger, but the epilogue was short, succinct, and really gave a good wrap-up to the story. You don't need a full 'ten years later this is what happened to all of the characters' sort of thing to have a neat ending, and you don't even have to tie up all the loose ends from the story. Ghost Station is a great example of how to end a horror story, and I'm so glad I made it through the first half.

Now that I sort of know what Barnes's writing style is like, I'm definitely going to go into her books knowing what to expect, and I can't to read Dead Silence next! The TL;DR of Ghost Station for me is that you really have to be okay with heavy sci-fi aspects if you're going to enjoy this book, and once you make it past the straight sci-fi, you're in for some absolutely amazing, atmospheric horror.

Ghost Station by S A Barnes
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Dr Ophelia has signed up to join a small space exploration crew assigned to an abandoned planet. The planet holds secrets, the crew holds secrets, and when Ophelia starts experiencing strange symptoms she realizes that they all could be in real danger.
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What I liked:
-The mysteries in this book were written well, it was very captivating and kept me reading.
-The tension between Ophelia and the crew she joins was thick. It added to the suspense.
-I loved books set in space.
-I liked how the story ended.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ghost Station was a good sci-fi mystery/thriller. I still liked Dead Silence better but I would recommend both.

I have read both sci-fi horror books by S.A. Barnes and have loved them both. The author does a fantastic job of writing very real people with relatable reactions. And of course the sci-fi horror aspects are very atmospheric and eerie. Highly looking forward to the next book.

I loved the first book and when I saw this book on netgalley, it was a no brainer to hit request! I really enjoyed reading this book and I cannot wait to recommend it to my book club to read this October!

After loving Dead Silence, I was so excited for Ghost Station! I do feel that this one was a lot more general sci-fi than I was expecting. I think that the tension that was supposed to be there was kind of nonexistent with the thoughts we were getting from the main character. I liked the direction it went in, but I felt it was too long and lacking in the suspense for a majority of the book. I will continue to read from this author!

This was a psychological horror story set in space but I did not feel any connection to the characters, and that made the plot feel a bit boring to me. The atmosphere and setting were interesting and at the beginning I felt like I’d enjoy the book, but then I started getting bored. Around halfway through there’s a reveal that caught my attention again but it didn’t totally work because (again) it relied on feeling something for the characters. I think the book actually may have benefitted from some flashback chapters for better worldbuilding, or something along those lines. The last part of the book is pretty much one nonstop action scene and I felt tired reading it. I would recommend the author’s other space horror before this one. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

After a small exploration crew loses one of its members under mysterious circumstances, psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is assigned to join them on their next trip. Phe has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition that can lead one to experience paranoia and hallucinations, and they may become a threat to themselves and others, among other symptoms. The crew is less than happy to have Phe with them as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, but that should be the least of their worries when it becomes clear that this planet has some secrets of its own...

Before entering this novel, it is important to know that this read is a slow burn. The tension and suspense come from atmospheric tension, environmental stressers, and strained relationship dynamics among the crew members. The novel eventually barrels you to the end once the true threat is established, but the book is far slower in pace compared to SA Barnes's Dead Silence. Elements I loved include the social commentary on corporate greed, the moments in which Phe feels she is being watched, and the bread crumbs we got surrounding Phe's life before she and her mother moved back on Earth in her childhood. With that said, I did find the depiction and development of interpersonal relationships to be weak and surface level in this narrative. This may be rooted in Phe acting as outsider, so she has only known the crew for this single brief trip. I found the romantic subplot in these pages to be forced and unnecessary; it was a bit awkward at times. While I appreciated the uniqueness of the threat the crew faced, I think I would have liked more answers/explanation surrounding that threat by the story's close. I also just wanted these characters to have more common sense. I would certainly try this author again, because I loved Dead Silence and ultimately liked Ghost Station for what it was. NOTE: I buddy read this with two friends who only had access to the audio, and we seemed to agree that I was the best one off with the ebook, as there are some information heavy passages.

Actual Rating: 3.25 stars
Original Pub Date: 9 April 2024
Reading Format: ebook

PREVIOUS BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:
Dead Silence—5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Tor Publishing Group for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!

I just was not interested in this one. I didn't care for the main character and I felt like it was just dragging along. I think if the main character had been a bit more likable and had a bit more spine I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to Tor/Nightfire Publishing for providing me with an eARC of Ghost Station for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed S.A. Barnes' previous book, Dead Space, so I was excited to dive into Ghost Station and see what else she had come up with.

While there were aspects of this book I enjoyed, I don't think it was particularly strong, especially coming after having read Dead Space. A lot of the elements felt repeated between books, making it difficult for Ghost Station to stand on its own.

The writing was engaging and easy to get through, so it was a quick read, but I didn't finish the book feeling that attached to any one part. The main character, Ophelia, was alright, but her and her story were made weaker by the fact that this book is written in first person. Ophelia was keeping secrets that should have been on her mind and affecting her actions constantly, yet we only find these out later on in order to add a twist to the story. Despite being literally in her head.

I liked the dynamic between the romantic leads, but their romance developed too quickly and Ophelia was irritatingly jealous of normal interactions.

I did like the actual horror and sci fi concepts within this book, which helped me stay interested once I got that far. The untangling of the mystery of the planet was well done and Barnes did a good job slowly pacing through tension and into the eventual climax. I quite enjoyed the insidious nature of the 'villain' and I did like the ending, but many of the previous aspects just dragged it down.

First off, thank you for the chance to read this early.
I am a big fan of Dead Silence, but not so much Ghost Station.
2.5

It's like that Apollo 11 movie but with extra steps. I found the character arc in this book to be quite unbelievable. It's hard to believe that a psychiatrist who has been through so much trauma would have multiple episodes of seeing things and spacing out in the middle of conversations. I couldn't understand how she managed to hold down a job before this mission because she seemed to be struggling the whole time. I had high hopes for this book, especially after enjoying "Dead Silence," but unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. I'm glad I opted for the audiobook because it would have been a slow read otherwise – not much seemed to happen. I also found the ending to be poorly done. I can't say I'd recommend this book since there wasn't much character development, and the addition of romance felt unnecessary. If anything, a cool friendship would have sufficed. I was also disappointed by the lack of meaningful conversations considering the protagonist is supposed to be a therapist.

thank you for listening to my critical and nonbiased review.

This was enjoyable but not as compelling as Dead Silence but a solid entry to the scifi horror genre.

This author knows how to write exploration horror. Everything felt very realistic and the plot was engaging. I look forward to more. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.

although I ended up enjoying this book in the end I do feel like it has been mis marketed as a horror story. to me this is completely a sci-fi and I wish I had known that so I could have stopped waiting for horror elements. also because of the name and title and a blurb on the front comparing it to haunted house stories, I was 100% expecting ghosts. I realize now they meant ghost as in abandoned. But I truly just think this was mis marketed.

As for the story it self I really liked the first 10% and the last 30% the rest left me feeling kind of bored. Not enough happened. I wish it was faster paced. And I wish all the answers weren't saved until the end. I think having things revealed throughout the story would have kept me more engaged. But in the end I liked the concept and how it all wrapped up!