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.
S A Barnes' first book, Dead Silence, set the tone for following ones; sci fi horror with a female POV character plagued with flashbacks that somehow relate to what's going on in the 'present'.
I didn't click with this one quite as much as that one. For one thing, I felt the world was not very well established; right to the end I still wasn't sure which mega corporation was which and why they were protecting whatever secret they were protecting. There was also no explanation of what ERS was, other than 'it makes people go crazy'.
It also just wasn't as creepy as the first one, IMO, perhaps because everything that happened in that one was ultimately done by humans, while this one was some kind of alien influence. There is a scene where Ophelia and Ethan find a pile of dead alien bodies, and from the tone we're supposed to realize something very profound; but I missed it totally even after rereading a couple of times! Maybe someone can explain it to me. However, I did still enjoy it very much and, like Dead Silence, I think it could be a fantastic TV show; SA writes in a very visual way and it would be amazing to see that realized onscreen, particularly the science station described here.
I can't wait to read more of this type!
Ghost Station publishes on the 19th April, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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