In S.A. Barnes’ slow-simmering creepfest Ghost Station, the stress of deep area journey can do issues to an individual. If longtime spacers develop the situation referred to as ERS, they’ll begin to see issues that aren’t there, hear voices that nobody else hears. They generally flip irritable, even violent.
The story begins with Dr. Ophelia Bray, who may be very out of her factor. A psychologist by commerce, she’s been assigned to a small exploration crew investigating an historic, lifeless planet. The crew is mourning the dying of a teammate, and none of the surviving members have any curiosity in Ophelia’s remedy classes or letting their guard down. They additionally don’t appear to care if their work will increase their possibilities of ERS. But because the explorers examine the planet, stranger and stranger issues start to occur. It appears they aren’t alone on this world in any case. Ophelia and the crew are going to should belief each other to determine what’s occurring to them in the event that they hope to flee alive.
Barnes isn’t any stranger to sci-fi horror; her glorious Dead Silence stood out for its environment and sheer scariness, and followers of that novel might be more than pleased with this follow-up. Like any nice horror story, Ghost Station takes its time, however is bound to ensnare anybody craving intergalactic horror. Barnes patiently will increase the sense of unease, constructing suspense with small moments which are odd on their very own and more and more unusual taken collectively: an empty spacesuit in an deserted station, a form working via a snowstorm seen via a window, a rash on the pores and skin. Things choose up steam within the later acts, particularly after a pair of stunning moments proper after the midway mark.
In this golden period of sci-fi horror, Barnes leads the cost together with her thoughtfully crafted characters, top-notch pacing and an ever-present sense of dread.
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