cseanread's review against another edition
5.0
Even better than Dead Silence. Ghost Station brings out S. A. Barnes' writing abilities. I loved the cast of characters, and the slow dread that sets in as they discover what they're stuck with. Not one to miss!
brancrisp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
booknallnight's review
fast-paced
4.0
I enjoy Sci-Fi and Ghost Station is another one to add to the love list. This one gave me vibes of Pandorum and Event Horizon so I flew threw it.
I will say I had a hard time with Ophelia at first, but as time went on I understood her character a bit more and ended up liking her more.
The story itself was just plain fun for me. It has everything I enjoy...planetary mission far from civilization, mysterious beginning and chaos throughout with a satisfactory ending. I want to say more but don't want to give anything away.
Sci-Fi fans will enjoy this one. It doesn't release until April 9, 2024, so keep this one on those release radars. I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
I will say I had a hard time with Ophelia at first, but as time went on I understood her character a bit more and ended up liking her more.
The story itself was just plain fun for me. It has everything I enjoy...planetary mission far from civilization, mysterious beginning and chaos throughout with a satisfactory ending. I want to say more but don't want to give anything away.
Sci-Fi fans will enjoy this one. It doesn't release until April 9, 2024, so keep this one on those release radars. I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
alilbitofmonica's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I went into this book with such excitement following Dead Silence being my favorite book of the year last year. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectation and left me needing more from it. By the end, I found that I did really like the overall story, but the journey to get there was kind of rough. I also am not sure I would call this "horror" as the horror elements were weak and felt more just like typical sci-fi at times.
The first half of the book felt very science heavy in a way that genuinely didn't need to be. I felt like I was really crawling through for the first half (part of me wonders if I was in a reading slump for a few days or if it was the writing that was not working for me... I think it was the writing.) I had a very hard time visualizing anything that was happening - partially due to the science/technology terminology and acronyms used. I found myself picturing scenes/locations/elements from other books or movies that seemed similar in order to give my brain anything to picture and imagine during this book. The planet, the hab, the ruins/towers, all of it was so difficult to picture in my mind without directly stealing mental images from other media to fill in the gaps.
The second half of the book really picked up for me and I felt like pieces were beginning to click. The eventual discovery of the anomaly they were facing definitely piqued my interest more than the majority of the story had so far and it had me wanting this discovery sooner so we could have explored it more. Like once they begin to figure out what is happening around them, the story is already on its way to completion and it left something to be desired there.
It took a long time for any of the interpersonal and/or past trauma experiences to become truly relevant and until the moment when it starts to make sense, it all felt kind of unnecessary and made the gradual reading experience harder to get through. Like Ophelia is a psychologist sent to work with a team dealing with recent team member death and it almost seemed like this plotline was forgotten for a while until it was needed to propel the supernatural/horror elements forward more.
The final 30% was a lot more fast-paced and interesting and I found that I liked where the story went, I just don't understand why it took so long to get there. And I do still think there were a lot of things that seemed like they should be important but ended up being ignored later on or fitting poorly into the full narrative.
I might be convinced to give this 3.5 or maybe even 4 stars if I were to reread it and see if knowing the ending makes me feel better about the beginning, but I also don't know if it would make a difference.
The first half of the book felt very science heavy in a way that genuinely didn't need to be. I felt like I was really crawling through for the first half (part of me wonders if I was in a reading slump for a few days or if it was the writing that was not working for me... I think it was the writing.) I had a very hard time visualizing anything that was happening - partially due to the science/technology terminology and acronyms used. I found myself picturing scenes/locations/elements from other books or movies that seemed similar in order to give my brain anything to picture and imagine during this book. The planet, the hab, the ruins/towers, all of it was so difficult to picture in my mind without directly stealing mental images from other media to fill in the gaps.
The second half of the book really picked up for me and I felt like pieces were beginning to click. The eventual discovery of the anomaly they were facing definitely piqued my interest more than the majority of the story had so far and it had me wanting this discovery sooner so we could have explored it more. Like once they begin to figure out what is happening around them, the story is already on its way to completion and it left something to be desired there.
It took a long time for any of the interpersonal and/or past trauma experiences to become truly relevant and until the moment when it starts to make sense, it all felt kind of unnecessary and made the gradual reading experience harder to get through. Like Ophelia is a psychologist sent to work with a team dealing with recent team member death and it almost seemed like this plotline was forgotten for a while until it was needed to propel the supernatural/horror elements forward more.
The final 30% was a lot more fast-paced and interesting and I found that I liked where the story went, I just don't understand why it took so long to get there. And I do still think there were a lot of things that seemed like they should be important but ended up being ignored later on or fitting poorly into the full narrative.
I might be convinced to give this 3.5 or maybe even 4 stars if I were to reread it and see if knowing the ending makes me feel better about the beginning, but I also don't know if it would make a difference.
allie_rose's review against another edition
4.75
Pretty much the same formula as the authors last book but I like the formula so it works
mimicry's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
I already had this preordered solely based on how much I liked Dead Silence. So when the opportunity to read it early came along, I jumped at it, and I like it even better.
This story is very cinematic, with tons of atmosphere and creeping dread. I’d love to see it get a movie. Barnes really nailed the “same thing, only different” concept. It feels familiar, but unique.
My thanks to Tor Nightfire and S.A. Barnes for providing a review copy.
This story is very cinematic, with tons of atmosphere and creeping dread. I’d love to see it get a movie. Barnes really nailed the “same thing, only different” concept. It feels familiar, but unique.
My thanks to Tor Nightfire and S.A. Barnes for providing a review copy.
shebolebolee's review
4.0
This would have been great to read around Halloween but I was a little late. But it's a great spooky sci-fi read and would honestly make such a good movie. Ophelia is a complex character that I was rooting for the whole time. The setting is perfectly done and creates suspense just based on where they are. Everything built up slowly then everything happened at once--which was the perfect blend. My only issue was that the end wrapped up soooo fast. I wish there had been a longer epilogue instead of just a few paragraphs essentially telling what happened.
mattburris's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
readwitray's review against another edition
4.5
I think S.A Barnes is slowly turning me into a SciFi Girlie.
We are back in the world S.A Barnes created. The future of the galaxy. Ophelia is a psychiatrist who has had a rocky past and now she’s heading out to a new planet with a team she has never worked with.
Even though this is the same world as the first book. We don’t get any mention of the first book so they definitely not a series and read as stand-alones.
I am absolutely in love with this world that S.A Barnes creates. I can picture every scene in this book. Being able to picture everything with all the detail makes the book much scarier. I am completely enthralled during the whole book while being on the edge of my seat.
This is a great SciFi Thriller. It really makes you rethink if we should be exploring outside our galaxy.
If you love:
🔺SciFi
🔺Alien Infection
🔺Outer Space Exploration
🔺Strong Female Lead
Genre: SciFi Horror
APK: Ebook
Pages: 384
Rating: 4.5⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone.
We are back in the world S.A Barnes created. The future of the galaxy. Ophelia is a psychiatrist who has had a rocky past and now she’s heading out to a new planet with a team she has never worked with.
Even though this is the same world as the first book. We don’t get any mention of the first book so they definitely not a series and read as stand-alones.
I am absolutely in love with this world that S.A Barnes creates. I can picture every scene in this book. Being able to picture everything with all the detail makes the book much scarier. I am completely enthralled during the whole book while being on the edge of my seat.
This is a great SciFi Thriller. It really makes you rethink if we should be exploring outside our galaxy.
If you love:
🔺SciFi
🔺Alien Infection
🔺Outer Space Exploration
🔺Strong Female Lead
Genre: SciFi Horror
APK: Ebook
Pages: 384
Rating: 4.5⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone.
pimaz's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
For a book that is supposed to be a thriller it gets off to a very slow start. I would have to say the pace didn’t pick up until about 50 percent in. I enjoyed this authors first book very much and was hoping for something similar. I was disappointed. Read Dead Silence again and skip Ghost Station.