3.5 stars

This was a spooky locked-room space horror/thriller in which our main character works on a floating station that houses cryogenically preserved bodies of the wealthy and elite. Every few hours she needs to press a button. This seclusion works well for her as she is running from political scandal.

I enjoyed the tense set-up of this novel and found the setting eerie. Our main character was a fun woman to follow and I felt her terror with each page. The pacing of this work was overall slow, however, and felt off at times. The second half of the book didn’t grip me the way I had hoped it would. I wanted more from the finale and was left underwhelmed by the book’s end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Amara Jasper is a perfectly fine reader but I was left wanting a voice a little better suited to the dark suspense Barnes lays down with her writing. There's something too upbeat about Jasper's interpretation of heroine Halley that pulled me out of the chilling darkness of the space ship Elysium Fields that ultimately made me switch to the actual book to finish the story. Jasper is a very good narrator, just not for this story.

DNF @ 56%

I really wanted to enjoy this, Dead Silence was one of my favorite books of 2022. However unfortunately Barnes has yet to put out anything that has gripped me like Dead Silence did since. I do think I could have finished this if it was something I was reading myself. However I was granted the audiobook via NetGalley and I hate to say this but the narrator's flat, emotionless delivery of every line did absolutely nothing to help me try to salvage what waning interest I had in finishing this.

I will say the scary parts were pretty good, Barnes nails creepy imagery every time. Everything else, to me, felt lifeless and dull. Such a shame, I think I'm going to have to chalk S. A. Barnes to someone who knocked it out of the park that one time, but I gotta stop feeling excited when I see them come out with something new.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes, was a great listen. The narrator Amara Jasper did a fabulous job in bringing these characters to life, providing each a unique voice. Unfortunately, where the narration fell flat for me was in the graphic descriptions of the body horror. These came off as very technical and did not provoke a response. I think they might have read better on the page then the narration we received. The beginning of the story is a very slow burn, but was overall the story was ok.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 08 2025

Tags:
#MacmillanAudio
#ColdEternity
#SABarnes
#AmaraJasper
#YarisBookNook
#netgalley

After reading this author's last two space horror novels, I have become wary of their work. The ending of Dead Silence was frustrating and Ghost Station was overall quite dry. Normally when I strike out with an author, I would give up on an author. However, as someone who is obsessed with the genre sci fi horror, I keep holding our hope for a new favourite.

Perhaps this is a symptom of my power expectations but I was fairly happy with the first half of this novel. I enjoyed a lot of the science fiction elements and found the story itself to be reasonably engrossing. Towards the second half, my warmed feelings cooled.

I find this author struggles to write a compelling climax and ending which feels particularly important in this subgenre. This one had a decent setup but failed to come together in a satisfying way.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher

Cold Eternity was another fantastic space horror from S.A. Barnes! The author really leaned into monster horror with this one, and the descriptions of the monster lurking on the ship really added to the mysterious atmosphere of the novel. I loved the author's blurring of the narrative when readers are unsure whether Halley is a reliable narrator - when it turned out she really was seeing a monster on the ship, I couldn't stop listening. The audio only enhanced the narrative. While I think the author's Dead Silence continues to be my favourite of her novels, Cold Eternity is a close second.

2.5 rounded up to 3.
I really hate to give negative reviews of a new book, but this one was a swing and a miss for me. I loved Ghost Station, and the premise for Cold Eternity had me hopeful. The story is creative and engaging. The mystery of the preserved people forgotten by time and left in the care of an unreliable repairman needing one person to help keep things afloat, literally, pulls the reader in immediately. However, the overt, explicit language and sexuality, violence and gore take away from the enjoyment of the story. I would consistently get hung up by the unnecessary graphic depictions of sexual and body horror, and the ever-present foul language. It did not serve the story or characterization. It’s possible the narrator made it more distracting than had I read the print version, but the constant yelling of epithets was hard to ignore. Additionally, the protagonist’s background story ribboned throughout the main storyline was confusing and unclear. The end felt rushed and clunky.
I want to be clear that Cold Eternity was a quick, engaging read! I felt immersed in the story from start to finish. However, upon reflection of the writing as a whole, it left me feeling disappointed.

S.A. Barnes is a master of space horror! I have read and enjoyed her previous books and so it was with great pleasure (and chills!) that I listened to this book. In this one Halley is on the run, after a big scandal and lucks out on finding a job in a quiet ship filled with cryogenically frozen dead rich people. I mean, what could go wrong there? It is ramped up by Halley having to stand watch and press a button every few hours meaning she is incredibly sleep deprived and so it would be easy to see things that aren't there, right? Add in some creepy holograms that may spout messages that everyone will die and you have all the makings of a wonderful horror story! And I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, especially out walking at night which really set the mood.

The narrator does a great job of bringing the characters and the things that creeping around in space (and old ships full of dead people) to life. This was quite the fun book to listen to and I am looking forward to see more works by this author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to listen to this audiobook!

This was such a fantastic read! I've really enjoyed all of S.A. Barnes' sci fi horrors, and this one, is particularly isolating, which just amped up the creepy vibe. Halley has her reasons for running, but the signs were there that this was a bad situation-she just thought that it would be better then what she was running from, and it turns out it wasn't.

Getting to know Halley as she's on the run, and then takes on this job, I loved it! That she visited the ship when it was a tourist attraction, and had a troubling encounter with the simulation of one of the creator's kids, well, that was greater incentive to both take on the job, and to not take it.

A big part of this book is about how to make choices when both the options are bad. The job that she had, and what happened that caused her to run,yeah, there are no good choices. I sympathized with her having to struggle over what she should do.

There were 2 pretty major reveals in this book, what was going on with the A.I., and what threat there was on the ship. They were both in turns so very horrifying, especially when the whole situation was understood. I did wonder why the one guy only showed up on her screen like he did. Oh, but I wish that there had been some way to reverse what had been done, but alas. The ending was pretty satisfying! I had hoped it could've worked out just a bit differently, but it didn't.

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by S.A. Barnes or as Stacey Kade!

SA Barnes knows what she likes and she writes precisely that. And I love it, lol.

Cold Eternity is probably the creepiest of her books, taking place on a mostly empty ship with a mysteriously absent caretaker, messed up AI, and a whole lot of frozen, mostly dead people. The creepy stuff starts up basically right away.

I enjoyed the tense loneliness, and the supremely creepy descriptions of the weirdness the MC encounters during the book. Barnes is good at description and suspense in my opinion.

I was occasionally annoyed by the MC, Haley/Katarina, who makes some questionable decisions at times. Her reactions don't always make sense either, which can be frustrating. She continually needs sense talked into her, and rarely does that sense come from her own internal voice, which is mainly "what's the worst decision I can make?!" I can see this frustrating some readers and making this one of her more divisive books but... personally, I didn't mind that much?

The story flies by though (in the best sense) and so whatever criticisms I have feel minor and easily overcome for the fun of the story. It's the most Dead Space-like of all Barnes' books and I am forever on the search for more media like Dead Space.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It really satisfied my craving for some creepy, scary space horror, haha

Halley is on the run due to a political scandal that has put a target on her back. She gets a job on a defunct space barge that houses wealthy “ residents” who have had their bodies cryogenically frozen. There is only one other caretaker on the barge with her, Carl, who is extremely secretive. What could go wrong? Well, Halley starts to see scary things and it goes down hill for her from that point on. Barnes excels at creating a creepy and downright horrifying atmosphere, but Halley was a little too slow on the uptake, if you ask me and plausibility was difficult.

Recommended for die- hard fans of science fiction/ horror.
The audiobook was read by Amara Jaspar, an exceptionally gifted narrator

5 Stars

S.A. Barnes has quickly become a go-to author for me, and I’ve read everything they’ve written so far. Dead Silence is one of my favorite sci-fi horror books, and while I didn’t enjoy Ghost Station as much, I still really liked it. Cold Eternity, the third book in the series, was no different. I don’t typically read a lot of sci-fi, but there’s something about Barnes' writing style that really resonates with me; it’s incredibly captivating.

Cold Eternity was a bit unique, with Catatrina at the center of the story. She’s harboring secrets as she flees a dangerous situation and boards a defunct cryo ship. There are many layers of mystery here: What happened on the cryo ship? Who are the ghost-like apparitions that Catatrina can see? Who is she running from, and what’s the significance of her family/politician connection? Why are they so desperate to find her? I really enjoyed Catatrina’s character and especially loved her interactions with Alec, as we work to uncover the mystery surrounding him and understand what he’s trying to communicate.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job. I’ve listened to all three books in audiobook format, and I’ve enjoyed them all. The narrator brought the characters to life and perfectly conveyed the tension when the stakes were high.

What stands out about Barnes' sci-fi books for me is that they always seem to have a sub-genre of romance or character connections that I really care about. I know this isn’t for all sci-fi readers, but I absolutely love it. I’m always left wondering if the next book will have a similar subplot.

I can’t wait to see what S.A. Barnes’ next book will be.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

S.A. Barnes never lets me down, and I think this was her best book yet.

Our protagonist is on the run from a deadly plot to silence her after she discovers that her employer sabotaged an election. Out of money and desperate to move on before her hunters find her, she accepts the first under-the-table job she can find: a security guard for a now-defunct cryo-graveyard housing 200-year-old popstars and the richest of the rich in hopes of one day being revived. Except that one day never came.

But, immediately upon boarding the ship, she begins to question things. Why have all the previous security guards left so abruptly? What did she see on the security cameras her first day? And, most importantly, are her childhood memories of one of the holograms talking to her like it was sentient real?

Give me rogue AI. Give my monsters on a spaceship. Give me conspiracies. I eat it up every. single. time. And this time was no exception.

This is her best book yet, and I'm so sad it's over.

I've read one other S.A. Barnes story that I truly enjoyed. This one, however, took a lot to get going and pull me in.

While the character development was smoothly fleshed out, I still failed to connect with the main character. The world vision through out the story was easy to follow as well.

Overall, an okay story. The narrator did a fantastic job presenting to us.

Thank you #NetGalley #ColdEternity #SABarnes

Barnes is one of my go-to, auto-buy, scifi horror authors. So far in the line-up I'd say this is actually my least favorite. Still worth the read for fans of Barnes, but I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first read from the author. Dead Silence was a solid four star for me, and Ghost Station was a fantastic five star favorite. This one was a heavier on the political side like DS, whereas I prefer the more extraterrestrial aspects like in GS.

S.A. Barnes is definitely one of my “must read authors”. She is the absolute queen of space horror. Also, the more I read of her work, the more I don’t want to ever leave earth and hope that we never discover life on other planets. I’d like to remain blissfully unaware. Barnes has a knack for writing stories that keep me completely engaged all the way through to the point that I have jumped if anyone talks because in my mind, I am in the action. You can always count on her to bring the thrills and chaos in every story and Cold Eternity is no exception. The writing is creepy in all the best ways. I love that fun, scared feeling! The atmosphere is absolutely chilling and the characters are horrifying. There were so many surprises that I kept finding myself wanting to guess what would happen next. There was just so much to this story that I truly feel like I will need to read it again soon.

Thank you, S.A. Barnes, Tor Nightfire, and Netgally for gifting me a copy of this e-arc.

Halley is running from a political scandal that's resulted in a giant target on her back. So when she's offered an under-the-table job on Elysian Fields, a space barge housing cryogenically frozen bodies, she jumps at the opportunity. But within an hour of being on the ship, Halley starts to see things that don't make sense, and she soon realizes she might have gotten herself into a more dangerous situation than what she was running from.

Barnes is one of those authors whose work I'm always excited to pick up. She does such a good job at creating a creepy space atmosphere without being over the top about it.

One of my favorite parts about this book was Halley's journey to finding out the big reveal, which I was surprised by. I questioned early on whether Halley was a reliable narrator or whether she was actually going crazy, trapped on a ship with only the ship's caretaker and a bunch of frozen bodies.

I listened to this one on audio, narrated by Amara Jasper, and I'm so glad I did! There isn't a wide cast of characters in this book as the majority of it takes place on the Elysian Fields ship, but Amara did a wonderful job creating a unique voice for each of the characters. One of the characters, Alec, is a digital representation of who he was when he was alive, and she especially did an incredible job with his voice, making him feel not quite human, especially during periods when his programming wouldn't let him share certain information with Halley.

Read if you like:
Space horror
Science fiction
Fake identity
Political intrigue
Surprise twist
Artificial intelligence

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eALC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and loved Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, but I found their subsequent novel Ghost Station to be dry and repetitive and lack a real punch. Cold Eternity fell somewhere in the middle for me. It has an eerie atmosphere and I enjoyed the political and A.I. discourse, but the twists and reveals were not as impactful as I would have liked them to have been. Within the first few chapters of listening to this, most of what was to come was already quite predictable and by the end I was just dying for this to come to a close and be over with.

Sadly, I'm afraid S.A. Barnes might be a one-hit wonder for me with Dead Silence and maybe it's time for me to stop picking up her novels.

Cold Eternity offers a uniquely eerie premise: a fugitive hiding among century-old cryo-corpses and glitching holograms on a derelict space barge. The setting drips with claustrophobic dread, amplified by uncanny sounds and hallucinations. However, the slow-burn pacing delays gripping action, testing patience despite atmospheric buildup. Halley’s paranoia is compelling, but underdeveloped side threads—like the political scandal—feel wasted. The finale, while tense, concludes with a rushed, underwhelming resolution that leaves key mysteries unanswered. Still, Barnes excels in spine-chilling ambiance and existential horror. An imaginative blend of sci-fi and horror, perfect for readers craving mood over momentum.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!

I love space horror so I've read all of SA Barnes's books. I really liked the first one, really didn't like the second one, and this one falls somewhere in the middle. I liked the plot overall and I didn't hate the main character, but a lot was going on in this for only being about 3oo pages. I also didn't think the 'romance' was necessary. I will always read a space horror book though and I think a lot of people are going to like this. For me personally though, it was a 3 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with an early ARC/ALC!