Ghost Station - by S a Barnes

About the Book

"Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS--the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. It's personal to her, and when she's assigned to a small exploration crew who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague, she wants to help. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something. And Ophelia's crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizers' hasty departure than opening up to her"--

Book Synopsis

"Relentlessly creepy and fantastically atmospheric...Ghost Station is space horror at its best."--The New York Times

A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

An abandoned planet. A hidden past. A deadly danger.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS)--the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. It's personal to her, and when she's assigned to a small exploration crew who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague, she wants to help. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that the crew is hiding something.

And Ophelia's crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizers' 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 even 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 members aren't the only ones keeping secrets.

Also by S.A. Barnes:
Dead Silence
Cold Eternity

Review Quotes

A LibraryReads Pick!

"Relentlessly creepy and fantastically atmospheric...Ghost Station is space horror at its best."
--The New York Times

"Perfectly unsettling. Ghost Station scratches the itch for space horror just right--and doesn't shrink from the grisly consequences of exploring the unknown."
--Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

"As stellar a beach read as the bloody-minded could want on a summer weekend."
--Wall Street Journal

"Ghost Station is everything I could want in a horror story and more. Barnes became one of my favorite authors with Dead Silence and this is a stunning follow-up. Highly recommended."
--Darcy Coates, USA Today bestselling author of Dead of Winter

"Barnes simultaneously slips in small doses of terror that get and stay under readers' skin, until the entire narrative explodes and holds them entranced for its final act. Barnes (Dead Silence) is quickly cementing herself as the go-to author in space horror."
--Library Journal

"A skin-crawling, delicious tale of exploration, exploitation, and electrifying horror. I loved (and screeched through) every moment of it."
--Yume Kitasei, author of The Deep Sky

"Fans of the original Alien film will enjoy this tense psychological-horror story set in a far-flung future as the crew tries to solve the mystery of this abandoned mission while navigating the atrocities of their corporate employer, which they know all too well."
--Booklist

"A taut, twisting thriller that subverts every trope and expectation in all the best--and most terrifying--ways imaginable."
--Philip Fracassi, author of Boys in the Valley

"If you're a connoisseur of sci-fi horror, Ghost Station is what you're looking for."
--Reactor

"[A] slow-simmering creepfest...In this golden era of sci-fi horror, Barnes leads the charge with her thoughtfully crafted characters, top-notch pacing and an ever-present sense of dread."
--BookPage

"A hostile planet, mysterious alien ruins, and a distrustful crew of traumatized people--it's a potent combination that makes for a tense, gripping, and delightfully creepy thriller."
--Kali Wallace, author of Dead Space

"Barnes leads us step by step up a mounting staircase of dread, through horrors both real and suggestive."
--David Wellington, author of Paradise-1

"Fans of exploration horror will go wild for this creepy, pacey, and captivating novel.... Ghost Station will infect you."
--Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces

"The best space horror since Alien."
--Gretchen McNeil, author of Ten and #murdertrending

Praise for Dead Silence
A Best Book of 2022 by the New York Public Library - One of the Best SFF Books of 2022 (Gizmodo) - One of the Best SF Mysteries of 2022 (CrimeReads) - A GoodReads Choice Award finalist for Best Science Fiction!

About the Author

S.A. BARNES, author of Dead Silence, works in a high school library by day, recommending reads, talking with students, and removing the occasional forgotten cheese-stick-as-bookmark. Barnes has published numerous novels across different genres under the pen name Stacey Kade. She lives in Illinois with more dogs and books than is advisable and a very patient husband.