My sister, a doctor, told me that people go into healthcare to heal themselves or heal someone they love. I have to think that’s even more true when it comes to mental healthcare. But as with any person, therapists can’t escape their pasts, especially if they choose to run from it. One way we run from our past is the secrets we keep from others and the secrets that we refuse to confront in ourselves. And when humans venture into space, therapists will be needed. I believe they’ll be highly valued members of each crew. The distances and dangers introduced by space travel will necessitate, not only a physical health upkeep regimen, but a mental health one as well. Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes introduces the necessity of a therapist as crew member as the murder of a crew member could be due to a mental breakdown. This book looks at how secrets past and present tear us apart.
TL;DR
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes is a horror story set on an abandoned planet following a crew of explorers as they try to solve a murder before succumbing to mental illness. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
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 plant. 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.
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 isn’t the only one keeping secrets.
Review: Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
Dr. Ophelia Bray is headed off planet to help a close knit crew of an exploration crew come to terms with the loss of a colleague as they go to claim an abandoned planet. It’s a good time for Dr. Bray to leave as well. Her family, the insanely wealthy Brays who own one of the most powerful corporations in civilization, try to keep her from going, but as Dr. Bray works for their competitor, Montrose, the Brays can’t stop her. Dr. Bray’s arrival on board the ship prior to their landing on the planet gets off to a rough start. The exploration crew is tight knit and grieving. During the mission, Ophelia’s job is to help the crew adjust to the loss of their colleague and hopefully prevent ERS, a mental illness that results in violence or suicide. The crew is made of five individuals, and their mission is to lay claim to an abandoned planet. To do so, they will claim whatever structures were left behind by the previous exploration team. Naturally, the team is wary of outsiders, and add to that the fact that Ophelia is a shrink just makes it worse. It quickly becomes clear that the crew is hiding something from Ophelia, which is only fair because Ophelia is hiding something from them, from everyone. As they proceed claiming the planet, the pilot is murdered. Ophelia must find out who did it, and was it caused by the mental illness ERS? Or is something else at play?
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes is a third person horror novel set on an abandoned planet. It is a slow build novel in which no one is trustworthy, and the pace picks up building towards a satisfying end. The characters aren’t likeable, but they’re worth reading about. Highly recommended.
Mental Health
Mental health is a big part of this novel, and normally I don’t like mental illnesses being part of horror. Part of the current stigma in our culture is attaching horrific actions to mental illness. At the same time, mental health will be an important part of space travel. Long distances of just the crew in small, confined spaces will necessitate close attention to mental wellness. As someone who regularly attends therapy to maintain my mental health, I want to see an author tackle the subject in a respectful way. S.A. Barnes does that here. ERS is a mental illness that is famous for violent, bloody incidents. Yet, it is an illness that can be prevented and treated. That is Dr. Bray’s life’s work. By making the illness a treatable and preventable one, I think Barnes is being respectful towards mental illness.
The Story
Previously, I read Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes. I really liked it, but it didn’t end well. Endings are difficult, and I can’t imagine how hard they are to stick the landing. At the same time, I just don’t think Dead Silence did it. It’s a lovely horror story. Ghost Station displays a level up in Barnes skill as an author. Not only did Barnes pull off a good ending, but the overall story flowed together better. There is excellent craft here in how all the threads come together with the psychology, the secrets, and the horror of an abandoned world. Ghost Station hit all the beats for me.
Not all of my questions got answered. When I closed the book, I had lots and lots of questions open. Yet I was satisfied because all the pertinent questions got answered. Barnes created an intriguing universe that I wanted to know more about. The unanswered questions simply fleshed out the world-building and were peripheral to the story. Part of me wants Barnes to return to this setting to develop it more; another part of me wants to see what universe they come up with next. Either way, I’m going to read the next S.A. Barnes story.
Conclusion
S.A. Barnes Ghost Station is a wonderful horror story set in a fascinating world. The story builds well with characters that aren’t likeable but are awesome. I enjoyed Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes, and I look forward to Barnes’s next work. Highly recommended.
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes is available from Tor Nightfire now.
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