Reviews with content warning for Murder - Ghost Station

I loved this book. S.A. Barnes' work feels like it is tailor made for me. The book felt a bit more like a tense mystery then horror, but that might have just been me. The slower pace gave me a lot of time to get invested and to wonder about the mystery. I love just how much of a mess Ophelia is. Living proof being a therapist doesn't mean you've solved your own issues.

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scramuel058's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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barometz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Definitely a slow start, slowed down further by the amount of time that Ophelia spends mooning over Severin*. At almost no point could I take her seriously as a medical professional. But once the horror kicked off, I was still totally sucked in. Ultimately, I wished we could have had more time with

the alien entity

before the book ended.

*I think I jokingly whined to a friend who was also reading this book that it was too heterosexual for me, but it did make me very glad to see queer people included even if just as background characters.

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keberwick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

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caidyn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Creepy as hell. And such an interesting, twisty story. Definitely enjoyable!

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kari_f's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was my first book by SA Barnes, and I went into this book only knowing it was about the exploration of a space crew. I’d classify the book as a slower paced scifi thriller, where there is suspense and tension without the high octane pacing many thrillers tend to have. Instead, there’s an excellent sense of slow burn claustrophobia, that unsettling creeping dread that I usually associate with literary horror.

I will say that the larger twists felt obvious to me, so there weren’t any big surprising moments, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the journey!

Some aspects I enjoyed:

⁃ Complicated interpersonal dynamics among the crew members, and the secrets being kept from each other
⁃ A character finally facing and processing repressed trauma
⁃ Confrontation of mental health stigma
⁃ Societal problems caused by capitalism and the impacts this has on the crew specifically
⁃ Flawed characters who are so aware of their flaws but struggle to overcome them
⁃ Circumstances that make the characters question what is real and what isn’t

Other than a bit more twisty suspense, one thing I wanted was a more mature hint the one potential romantic attachment in the book. It felt a bit juvenile, and every time the characters finally got vulnerable with each other and started to open up, something happened that overshadowed the depth that could have been there. Instead it felt surface level, and I would have liked to see more depth in all of the crew relationships over the course of the book.

Otherwise I enjoyed this book and would definitely read more from this author! Thanks so much to Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book!

❔ Do you prefer suspense to be fast paced and twisty or slow with building unease?

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megandherbook's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is my first S.A. Barnes novel and I am a fan.

In the unspecified future, space exploration is a huge money making endeavor and there are two corporations that basically own the market. ERS is a space base condition that can lead to disaster and is a death sentence for someone's career. There's a famous case that ended with the brutal murders of 29 people and since, it's something that nobody wants to be associated with. Dr. Ophelia Bray is a psychologist that specifically works in the study and prevention of ERS in those that work in the space exploration field. After Ophelia experiences a work-related tragedy she decides to take her expertise on site. She's assigned to a crew that also has had a tragedy among them and soon finds herself in space with a group of people that clearly don't trust her or want her there. As they get to the planet they will be exploring things start to get odd - the previous crew clearly made a hasty exit from the planet. Then a member of the crew is found dead in a gruesome way and things go from odd to a nightmare. The crew must work together to find out what is going on but when everyone has secrets it's hard to know who to trust - especially when you might not even be able to trust yourself.

This book has layers! Set in the future it immediately gets you acclimated to this futuristic world. Though it's futuristic there are a lot of parallels to present day so it's easy to connect to. Dr. Ophelia Bray is the FMC that has layers herself. As you get to know her background, family, and motivations you get more questions surrounding Ophelia. Not only has Ophelia experienced a tragedy, the team she is assigned to has as well. This has left the team on edge and even more reluctant to trust Ophelia since psychologists can end someone's career without even meaning to. Any mention of ERS or symptoms that could lead to ERS can easily put someone out of work in the space exploration field.

ERS itself is interesting. It reminds me of PTSD but stemming more from isolation instead of trauma. Which space would be pretty isolating I would think. How S.A. Barnes creates this whole mental illness into the book was so interesting and gave the book more tension. The motivation behind Ophelia's study of it is also so intriguing, though that's part of the mystery of Ophelia that you learn about as the book goes on. Every character is interesting; there are things that make you like them or hate them but every one of them had me wondering what they're hiding.

Overall the book is a great blending of sci-fi and horror. There's some body horror along with thriller vibes. Also, if you don't trust big corporations and those that run it this book won't make you feel hopeful for the future.

The audiobook edition was easy to listen to but wasn't super entertaining. The narrator did a pretty good job but narrated in a pretty even tone even when scenes were a bit more action packed. I enjoy a good even toned narrator but I think this book deserved a bit more excitement. However, I want to say that I don't think the narrator was boring or hard to listen to. I just found that reading the ebook allowed me to do some scenes more justice rather than listening to the audiobook.

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boogergoddess's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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