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

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

“That’s always the trouble, isn’t it? When you take on one thing outside of your control, suddenly everything is your fault. Nothing is ever enough.”

➽ S.A. Barnes is back with another Sci-Fi Horror! Ghost Station is about psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray who accompanies an exploration crew as they examine an abandoned planet. The problem is that the crew doesn't really want her there, as she's the mandated therapist because they recently lost a crewmate. I liked the tension, as Ophelia fights hard to establish herself as a confidante instead of an intruder. It was interesting having a psychologist as a main character, as Ophelia is aware of the mental state and dynamics in the crew, but still grapples with how to handle them. I loved that this story focused on mental health in space, as people are known to break down from different circumstances, such as the unnatural day-night cycle and the stress of the job. Ophelia is determined to counsel people before it gets to a breakdown, but she's also running from a scandal. Part of her wants to make up for it ... if the crew even lets her.

➽ I loved seeing Ophelia's inner struggles with her past mistakes and her overbearing, wealthy family who sees her as something to fix. Her new coworkers are suspicious of her without any of her secrets, so there is a lot of tension in the team. This is amplified by the stress of being on an isolated planet the previous crew abandoned in haste. It houses an extinct species of alien that used to live there, but it seems like it might be inhabited by something much worse. I loved the ominous atmosphere and sense of paranoia that crept into the story. The longer Ophelia and the others spend on the planet, the more intense the feeling gets.

➽ I still prefer Dead Silence, as Ghost Station was more of a slowburn. The story is rather slow-paced and while I liked the buildup, it definitely took its time to get me invested. I know not everyone will be a big fan of such a slow, introspective story. I also felt like the ending was very rushed compared to all the buildup. I still had questions, but the book just ended.
The epilogue was so short and there wasn't time to react to shocking reveals such as Ophelia having been frozen for such a long time. We don't find out what exactly infected them and how they managed to remove it. No word on how everyone in the crew is doing except for Ethan. I was expecting more from the ending.
I'd also recommend to NOT read the synopsis as it spoils a plot point that happens ~60% into the book. It took away from the suspense a bit, so I have no idea who decided to include a big reveal in the book's synopsis.
I knew Birch would die from the very beginning and was expecting a big murder mystery, but then I was halfway through the book and he was still alive. The book would have been more fast-paced if Birch had died in the beginning and everyone had been scrambling to figure out why, maybe even accusing each other. Since Ethan is also a pilot, there wasn't a sense of 'oh god, we're not getting off this planet' which was disappointing.
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