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

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This book is a little like what I think the makers of Alien: Prometheus wanted their movie to be.  I paused that movie to give my husband a forty minute lecture on my vision for a Different Better Movie, so I really enjoyed that vibe.  Barnes’ vision of space travel as basically an array of corporate fiefdoms holding humanity hostage feels extremely fleshed out and plausible, and honestly horrifies me as much as the

murderous alien nanites.

  That being said, I did also immensely enjoy the

murderous alien nanites,

and I think the horror elements of this book will appeal greatly to people who enjoyed the more awful elements of the protomolecule in The Expanse.

My only real critique of this book is that the characters had kind of a spectrum of depth, ranging from “very fleshed out” to “extremely simple,” and I think a little more time could have been spent on them.  The book is pretty quick, in and out in under 300 pages, and it would have been doable to get into the characters a little more without upsetting the pacing.

Recommended to people looking for, essentially, a slasher in space.