READ IT IF YOU'RE INTEREST IN OR LIKED
- Space horror
- AI horror
- Dystopian dread
- Severance
- M3gan
- Themes of excessive wealth & billionaire liar-boys
- Creature features
- Body horror

BRIEF REVIEW
This book has not been released yet so I'm going to be careful of how much to share. It's an interesting concept and like watching a space horror movie you're just waiting for the action to start and know once it does it doesn't let up until the end. I still have enjoyed Dead Silence the most by Barnes but I did like parts of this one a lot. There were definitely ebbs and flows but I think it's definitely worth reading especially with so little space horror being released right now.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio Review: the audio is good, I have no complaints

Review: meh.... I went back and forth in my head (and journal) about my thoughts on this. Let me take you with me Start (meh) middle (oh this is good) end ( super meh). I requested this for review because the premise sounded really cool. It did deliver what it said it would, just in a well... meh feeling way. The MC is okay, she can be a bit (nicer word for annoying) at times but is mostly okay. I didn't feel connected to her therefore worried/ anxious about what might happen to her. I did enjoy the political aspects and some scenes were a little unsettling. In terms of horror, this is not as "scary" as her previous books. If you have played the video game Bioshock, it gave me a lot of vibes from that game. In summary the premise was good, my overall enjoyment was meh. I don't really have a lot to comment on either way. Oh it also sort of has a night at the museum feel.

As a huge S.A. Barnes fan, I couldn’t wait to dive into Cold Eternity, and while I definitely enjoyed the immersive and intense world Barnes created, the story felt a bit disjointed at times.

I love rich character backstories, but in this case, the political background of the main character seemed to overshadow the eerie, sci-fi horror elements that made the premise so compelling. While the plot was somewhat predictable, it still delivered a fun and spooky experience with plenty of tension to keep me engaged.

Overall, Cold Eternity was an enjoyable read, even if it didn’t quite reach the heights of Barnes’ previous works. Fans of her signature blend of sci-fi and horror will still find plenty to love!

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Another spooky space horror from S.A. Barnes. She is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me and I'm so grateful I got the ARC audio. She does an amazing job, once again, building tension and fear in creative ways. If you enjoy sci-fi/horror with isolation, questionable morality, and monsters, this is a must read.

The narrator does a great job in helping to build the tension and make the story even scarier.

Okay so I am a huge S.A. Barnes fan. Basically Barnes is why I have gotten more into Space Horror or Space Thrillers. This book started off so great...so so so so so great. Then right about the half way point it lost me slightly. I kept going though because I saw the promise of what the story could be and once again Barnes didn't let me down. Although the ending was a little meh, I still enjoyed this little space jaunt.

I read my first S.A. Barnes book last year (Ghost Station) and enjoyed it well enough, even though I found it to be more atmospheric than scary or even tense. Ever since seeing "Alien" when I was far too young, I have been a bit obsessed with space horror. The video game "Dead Silence" and the movie "Event Horizon" are also faves of mine, so I was down to give Barnes another go. I'm happy to say that this book was definitely creepier and more of what I am looking for in a space horror book.

The novel follows Halley, a fugitive trying to escape a political scandal that has put a target on her back. Desperate to disappear, she accepts a job on an abandoned space barge that holds the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth's wealthiest citizens. The program was initially set up to allow people to freeze themselves before they died so that one day when medical advancements had made it possible, they could reawaken, be cured of what ailed them, and live even longer. These efforts have long since been abandoned, leaving the ship as nothing more than a floating tomb in the middle of space. But soon after her arrival, Halley begins to sense that something else might be happening on the ship. Strange noises keep her on edge, and, worst of all, she starts to see figures moving, crawling, and slinking in the shadows. This is made all the more terrifying when you realize that Halley is floating out in the middle of space with nowhere to run if/when things get dangerous (and they do - fairly quickly).

Barnes does a fantastic job of building a creepy and often disturbing atmosphere. From the moment Halley steps aboard the ship, there's an overwhelming sense of isolation and dread. The descriptions of the cryogenically frozen bodies are haunting. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a morgue with my feet firmly planted on Earth for five minutes, so I certainly would be on the edge of completely losing my shit if I were stuck on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere with a ship full of frozen people. Add in the threat that something might be lurking within, and it ups the creepiness even more.

Halley is a well-developed protagonist. She's resourceful, tough, and deeply flawed, making her an interesting character to follow. I appreciated that she wasn't just reacting to the horror around her - she was actively trying to solve the mystery while also dealing with her own inner demons.

I also felt the pacing was much stronger in this book. Unlike "Ghost Station", which leaned heavily on a slow-burning mystery, this novel hits the ground running. There's a constant feeling of tension and unease, and once things start happening, they don't stop. The horror elements are well-executed, relying more on psychological fear and paranoia rather than outright gore and it works really well. There's a strong feeling of helplessness as Halley tries to figure out what's going on while floating in the middle of nowhere.

The biggest drawback of the novel, in my opinion, was the ending. After such a strong buildup, the resolution felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. It's not that the reveal was disappointing - on the contrary, I really enjoyed the way Barnes tied everything together - but I wanted more time spent exploring the ramifications of the final events. It felt like the book was racing toward the finish line instead of letting the conclusion breathe.

I read this book in both print and audiobook format, and I have to give credit to Amara Jasper's narration. She did a fantastic job capturing the tension and fear in Halley's voice, and her ability to differentiate characters made the story easy to follow. Her pacing and delivery enhanced the creepiness, making the audiobook a great option for those who enjoy a more immersive horror experience.

Overall, I found this to be an engaging and atmospheric sci-fi horror novel that delivers on its eerie premise. The setting is fantastic, the tension is palpable, and the mystery unfolds at the perfect pace. While the ending could have been fleshed out more, it didn't ruin the experience for me. This is the kind of book that's perfect for anyone who enjoys the idea of being trapped in deep space with an unseen horror lurking nearby. It's a solid read for horror and sci-fi fans alike.

I am a big fan of sci-fi and murder mysteries, but not of horror. Despite this, I can listen to SA Barnes’ novels without having nightmares. Yet they are creepy and filled with horrifying things that go bump (and screech) in the night. I think it’s because the horror is integral to the story. We follow Halley as she escapes from a station to hide out while a political scandal unfurls. She takes a job on a ship where her main job is to press a button every 3 hours, then to check on the cryogenically preserved humans that are the “paying guests.” But something is not as it seems…
We stick with Halley as she learns the truth about the ship and its inhabitants, and uses her determination to try and right some wrongs. Edge-of-the-seat listening with great narration!
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook #ColdEternity for review purposes. Publication date is 8 April 2015.

I thoroughly enjoyed Barnes' 'Cold Eternity.' She somehow manages to make a huge ship feel claustrophobic. The horror was on-point and very atmospheric. There was a feeling of dread throughout the novel. The narrator was great as well. 5 stars.

Halley’s currently hanging out on a space barge where the wealthiest people of Earth have been cryogenically frozen. Here she’s supposed to be alone. But soon weird things start happening. There are noises coming from the vents, and she starts seeing things in the halls. Is she really as alone as she thinks she is?

Oof this one was difficult. This is my 3rd Barnes book. Thus far, Dead Silence is still the best of hers. This one and Ghost Station were rough. Regarding this book in particular though, I had a really hard time orienting myself in the world Barnes builds here. In the beginning, I thought I had a sense of where we were, but I quickly got super confused and could not visualize the world at all. The characters are hard to keep straight as well. Except for Halley, I couldn’t tell you much about them. If you’re looking to get lost in a book (but not in a good way), that’s definitely Cold Eternity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. While I did enjoy Amara Jasper’s narration, this book was not for me.

I think this may be my favorite S.A. Barnes book yet! This was so creepy and claustrophobic. Barnes writes amazing space horror.

All I can say is read this if you want to be creeped out by a museum of cryogenic rich and famous with all of their possessions, glitchy holographic performers who scream deadly messages in your face, or if you vibe with that desolate, lost out in space isolation... you will not regret it!

The audiobook was so good!

S.A. Barnes has created her own locked room/deep space genre, and I am so here for it. I'm way behind on what I want to read and had to put everything else aside when this newest book became available. And I was not disappointed!
Barnes always manages to create sympathetic characters with complicated backgrounds, and Halley is exactly that. On the run and in hiding, Halley takes an odd job on what should be an empty spaceship, but why does she keep seeing odd things?
This was so suspenseful for me that it felt much shorter than it was. The narrator was wonderful, helping build the tension. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

I've enjoyed all of S.A. Barnes's books, but this might be my favorite. Listened almost straight through. Great characters, clever mystery, chilling horror.

S.A. Barnes is one of those authors who's an automatic read for me. I loved Dead Silence but not so much Ghost Station. I was worried I wouldn't like Cold Eternity, but I think I might like it even better than Dead Silence...

The narrator for this one was also great! The more audiobooks I've listened to, the more I realize how picky I am. It's always a plus to have a fantastic narrator so I'm not taken out of the story.

Can't wait to see what S.A. Barnes writes next!!

The narration for this novel was spot on. There was enough emotion to keep it engaging, yet it was spoken in a tone of voice that captured the isolation and tension that our main character was feeling.

I love all things space horror, but this authors previous two books fell a little flat for me. Not so much as to where I wouldn’t try this one out, though. I’m glad I did! It wasn’t as gruesome as I’d have hoped, but it definitely kept my attention much better. The creativity of Barnes’ mind is unmatched. Yet it’s written in such a way that I can visually picture this otherworldly atmosphere and the creatures within it. I like how we have a pretty minimal cast of characters. It keeps the eeriness and loneliness of the situation in the forefront of the readers mind. Cold Eternity delves into some themes of the cost of immortality as well as the corruption of the political world, and I ate it up. The weird romantic tension I sensed threw me off but it wasn’t a huge point of contention.

I just…god, these books are all so good. Barnes KNOWS what she’s doing, and she does it so so well. Cold Eternity feels more isolated and sadder maybe than I expected; the protagonist is alone for a lot of this novel, and the core connection/relationship in this one actually WRECKED ME. I really appreciated the exploration of what it means to do good in a system too large to effectively change on your own, and a lot of the larger worldbuilding and themes felt insanely relevant to the here and now.

I thought the plot and pacing were both very solid, the tension and spooky levels were HIGH, despite it being such an introspective book, and I loved Halley and the other sympathetic character. I’ll be thinking about the tragedy of that plot line for a LONG time, I think.

As for the audiobook—Amara Jasper’s narration was lovely. I thought she handled the pacing and tension well and she was easy to listen to. I didn’t notice any editing issues either! I’ll definitely recommend this one to folks.

And of course, the book in general is going on my list of recommendations for sci-fi horror.

SA Barnes once again proves herself the queen of sci-fi horror. She truly brings the creepiness of being alone on a spaceship full of cryogenically frozen people to life. Halley's pluck and grit, her proactiveness and determination to do the right thing, made her an easy protagonist to root for, and I enjoyed the gradual revelations about her past and what she was running from. The plot took some twists and turns that I honestly did not see coming, keeping me glued to my earphones. The audiobook performance was excellent, too.

The timing of this book's publication is quite...interesting, given the way it explores themes that are directly relevant to current US politics. I'm not sure I totally agree with some of the messages considering what we're seeing unfold in real time, but the themes were interesting nonetheless!

I have a very specific niche of horror that I love the best and S.A. Barnes delivers on it every time! I've read just about everything I can find that fits the bill, so I was very excited to have another book by Barnes to read.

This was suitably creepy with the human element that added to the horror and the hopeful aspects of the story. This story included more references to modern day ideas and concepts which I found interesting since, especially the one to Five Nights At Freddy's since I had had that exact thought a little bit before it.

I eagerly await the next S.A. Barnes book!

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Another winner from S.A. Barnes. Halley’s life has been destroyed so she finds the perfect opportunity to hide from everything: she will become the caretaker of the Elysian Fields, a cryogenic facility in space. What could possibly go wrong? The plot managed to surprise me, I was not expecting what happened. Halley is a compelling, likable protagonist. Amara Jasper’s audiobook narration really gets her. At first it is not clear whether what she thinks she sees and hears is really happening, or if it’s all in her mind, since the spaceship is pretty much an abandoned mausoleum. Her performance of the rest of the characters is also pitch perfect. Jasper also makes her compelling when she could have sounded whiny. All the voices are distinctive, including a very creepy one that made my skin crawl. I loved the gothic atmosphere. Barnes is a master of reflecting what is normally a very old-world tradition and translating it into a futuristic setting. The plot is fast paced and I devoured this in two sittings. I loved it.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Macmillan Audio.

*3.75 stars*

This was creepy and very atmospheric. An abandoned spaceship full of cryogenically frozen dead people is the creepy space setting I didn’t know I desperately wanted. Lots of great haunting imagery.

I enjoyed this. The twists were foreshadowed with a rather heavy hand, and at sometimes it felt like the story lagged in places especially in the start. I would have liked more exploration into the big explanation. Overall I think if you liked Barnes’ other books or you’re looking for a creepy space horror, you would probably like this.

The audiobook narration was well done and easy to listen to.

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

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.