Book Review: Cold Eternity by S. A. Barnes

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S. A. Barnes is on the way to establishing herself as a master of sci-fi horror. She is the author of Dead Silence, Ghost Station, and now Cold Eternity. Her novels star complicated heroines, deep space isolation, creepy darkness, and alien horrors that send chills up the readers' spines. I previously read and enjoyed Ghost Station, and Cold Eternity is even better.

Our main character is Halley Zwick, who, running from her past, takes a questionable job on a remote ship called, The Elysian Fields. A century ago, a scientist claimed he could cryogenically freeze the dying to later be resurrected when a cure was found. Only, his experiment was not a miracle, but a disaster, and the ship has been regulated to a museum of cautionary tales drifting in space. Karl, the enigmatic overseer of the ship, needs Halley to be the ship's secret caretaker and make sure nothing goes wrong while it traverses the stars. For someone who can't go home, this seems like a second chance, albeit a gloomy one, and Halley takes the position.

Almost immediately, Barnes lets us know that something is wrong. The atmosphere of this book fits the title perfectly - chilling and relentless. Halley, sleep-deprived and recovering from her past, misses important clues and glaring red flags that feel obvious to the reader, but her distraction is understandable. She has a lot on her plate, and not being allowed to sleep more than 2 hours at a time for weeks on end is disorienting. I enjoyed the weight of the mystery and the creepiness of the ship. Just like Halley, not once is the reader allowed to relax or feel comfortable.

With such a limited character base, we spend all our time with Halley, but Barnes does a good job of fleshing out the few people she encounters. The "dead" people in cryosleep are still people and, within reason, are given personalities and history. It really feels like these are actual people who fell for this last chance at life, and drives home the tragedy of this place. The things people will do to escape death.

The mystery of Halley's past is doled out in pieces throughout the narrative at a pace that is agonizing. Details are presented out of context, and it takes a bit to put them together. The answer is creative and interesting, but not as disturbing as the answer to the riddle of The Elysian Fields. It was far from anything I could have guessed, even with the clues being there, and definitely sent a shudder down my spine. This book is not for the faint of heart!

Recommended for fans of sci-fi, horror, complex female leads, creepy darkness and contemplating the value of life.

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