“We are so fucked.”

I was worried that two back-to-back space horrors would feel a little bit gimmicky BUT if S. A. Barnes ends up writing nothing but space horror…I’m still gonna read them. Barnes nails the insidious, trepidatious, creeping feeling that fits so right in this corner of the genre: in space no one can hear you rewatching “Event Horizon” for the thousandth time, yadda yadda yadda. Investigative mission on an isolated planet goes wrong? Sign me the frig up. Good amount of world building paired with tense character dynamics with murky backgrounds keep the reader entertained all around the orbit. This wasn’t so completely gruesome that I wouldn’t recommend it to a non-horror fan, but there were a few really cool scenes of scare.

Sometimes romantic subplots can work in horror. Terrifying situations can build adrenaline and draw people together. Too little/too much is the trouble and to make it work, you need to find a healthy medium. The meet cute in “Station” felt shoehorned and unrealistic, a healthy dose of outer space negging towards a character who…detects red flags for a career.

3/5 I loved “Dead Silence” and had a lot of fun with this one too. I hope it doesn’t take lightyears for the next spooky space story!