Leanne Olson

by S.A. Barnes

Releasing April 9, 2024 from Tor Nightfire

Ghost Station is one of those books that just worked for me.  It was creepy and compelling, but not too fast-paced, so I could enjoy spending time with the characters and location, and draw out reading it over a few days.

This is going to be a vague review because I went into this book knowing little about the plot, and I recommend you do the same.

Here’s what I will share: Ghost Station follows Dr. Ophelia Bray, a psychologist dedicated to preventing ERS — a condition that makes space travellers go insane and kill themselves or others.  She’s assigned to a crew exploring an abandoned planet that was home to an ancient civilization.

Ophelia’s a wonderful character.  She’s damaged and altruistic, and kind of jerk. Barnes peels away layers of her troubled backstory throughout the book.

Barnes also excels in atmosphere and place. I felt like I was discovering a new planet with the characters, I could hear, see, and feel what they were. If it’s possible to have jump scares from a book, I did.

What I especially loved about this book is that everything ominous the characters see when arriving at the station has a later explanation (one that makes the novel even more horrific), so there’s no being creepy just for creepy’s sake.  There’s some nice body horror as well.

I enjoyed Barnes’ first horror novel, Dead Silence, and I think Ghost Station was even better. I love space horror but it’s so hard to find novels that are well-written and care about character. I’m excited to see what Barnes writes next.

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for my review copy of this book.