On the Horizon – ghost station (S.A. Barnes)

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received an eArc of this sci-fi novel through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings . . .

Title: ghost station
Author: S.A. Barnes
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: TODAY!!! (hardcover/e-book)
ISBN: 978-1250884923
Source:  NetGalley

I really enjoyed the author’s first novel and this one was a lot of fun too.  The highlight for me of the author’s writing is her eerie atmospheres.  In this story, psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her study into ERS, a space based illness that leads to hallucinations and violent tendencies.  She is assigned to accompany an exploratory crew to an abandoned planet where one of their members had a tragic accident.  Or did they?

The crew just wants to complete their aborted mission and get paid.  Ophelia is determined to help them work through the past trauma on the planet.  The crew wants nothing to do with her or her offered help.  The setting of an abandoned planet with horrible weather conditions was excellent fun.  I loved how every thing started going wrong.  The abandoned station, ruins, distrust of the crew, and unanswered questions were the best part.

I do wish that this book did not focus so much on Ophelia’s own trauma.  I felt that too much time was spent with her facing her past demons, discussing her past, and not enough on the situation at hand.  I felt like I spent more time in her head then on the planet.  I think her PTSD helps make her an unreliable narrator but I would have preferred that the focus was actually on ERS and the current predicament.  Part of the problem was that, for me, sending a psychologist who is that damaged seemed silly and the reasons for it (politics etc.) were not convincing.

Despite that flaw, I still read this pretty quickly and wanted to know how it would all resolve.  I do think many readers will enjoy Ophelia as a main character.  I wanted more insight into the crew dynamics and more definite answers into ERS and the mysteries on the planet itself.  No regrets reading this though and I will read whatever the author writes next.  Arrr!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she’s assigned to a small exploration crew, she’s eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.

While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer’s hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by… and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

To visit the author’s website and blog go to:
S.A. Barnes – Author

To buy the novel visit:
ghost station – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author
dead silence (On the Horizon – Sci-Fi e-Arc)