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A review by alilbitofmonica
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
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.