Cold Eternity, the newest space horror novel from the author of Dead Silence and Ghost Station, blends the dystopian dread of Severance with the catastrophic approach to AI from M3gan.

Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge housing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most wealthy citizens. The ship and its cryo program are long defunct, but Halley starts to think she sees figures crawling in the hallways, and there’s a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents. It’s not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from….

I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

I read my first S.A. Barnes book last year (Ghost Station) and enjoyed it well enough, even though I found it to be more atmospheric than scary or even tense. Ever since seeing “Alien” when I was far too young, I have been a bit obsessed with space horror. The video game “Dead Silence” and the movie “Event Horizon” are also faves of mine, so I was down to give Barnes another go. I’m happy to say that this book was definitely creepier and more of what I am looking for in a space horror book.

The novel follows Halley, a fugitive trying to escape a political scandal that has put a target on her back. Desperate to disappear, she accepts a job on an abandoned space barge that holds the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s wealthiest citizens. The program was initially set up to allow people to freeze themselves before they died so that one day when medical advancements had made it possible, they could reawaken, be cured of what ailed them, and live even longer. These efforts have long since been abandoned, leaving the ship as nothing more than a floating tomb in the middle of space. But soon after her arrival, Halley begins to sense that something else might be happening on the ship. Strange noises keep her on edge, and, worst of all, she starts to see figures moving, crawling, and slinking in the shadows. This is made all the more terrifying when you realize that Halley is floating out in the middle of space with nowhere to run if/when things get dangerous (and they do – fairly quickly).

Barnes does a fantastic job of building a creepy and often disturbing atmosphere. From the moment Halley steps aboard the ship, there’s an overwhelming sense of isolation and dread. The descriptions of the cryogenically frozen bodies are haunting. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a morgue with my feet firmly planted on Earth for five minutes, so I certainly would be on the edge of completely losing my shit if I were stuck on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere with a ship full of frozen people. Add in the threat that something might be lurking within, and it ups the creepiness even more.

Halley is a well-developed protagonist. She’s resourceful, tough, and deeply flawed, making her an interesting character to follow. I appreciated that she wasn’t just reacting to the horror around her – she was actively trying to solve the mystery while also dealing with her own inner demons.

I also felt the pacing was much stronger in this book. Unlike “Ghost Station”, which leaned heavily on a slow-burning mystery, this novel hits the ground running. There’s a constant feeling of tension and unease, and once things start happening, they don’t stop. The horror elements are well-executed, relying more on psychological fear and paranoia rather than outright gore and it works really well. There’s a strong feeling of helplessness as Halley tries to figure out what’s going on while floating in the middle of nowhere.

The biggest drawback of the novel, in my opinion, was the ending. After such a strong buildup, the resolution felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. It’s not that the reveal was disappointing – on the contrary, I really enjoyed the way Barnes tied everything together – but I wanted more time spent exploring the ramifications of the final events. It felt like the book was racing toward the finish line instead of letting the conclusion breathe.

I read this book in both print and audiobook format, and I have to give credit to Amara Jasper’s narration. She did a fantastic job capturing the tension and fear in Halley’s voice, and her ability to differentiate characters made the story easy to follow. Her pacing and delivery enhanced the creepiness, making the audiobook a great option for those who enjoy a more immersive horror experience.

Overall, I found this to be an engaging and atmospheric sci-fi horror novel that delivers on its eerie premise. The setting is fantastic, the tension is palpable, and the mystery unfolds at the perfect pace. While the ending could have been fleshed out more, it didn’t ruin the experience for me. This is the kind of book that’s perfect for anyone who enjoys the idea of being trapped in deep space with an unseen horror lurking nearby. It’s a solid read for horror and sci-fi fans alike.