Review: Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes

Synopsis

In this sci-fi horror, a woman involved in a political scandal takes a solitary job aboard a space barge full of cryogenically frozen bodies, thinking it will be the perfect place to hide from the public for a while. Unfortunately, someone or something else already seems to be lurking in its shadows…

My Review

Cold Eternity is the third sci-fi horror novel from S.A. Barnes, and I’ve read and loved all three. Yes, there are always some issues with the plot, and yes, the romance sub-plots are kind of cheesy, but the vibes! The creepy sci-fi-horror vibes are immaculate. I love falling into an S.A. Barnes novel and letting it sweep me off to a future where outer space is terrifying. Because outer space is terrifying.

There’s a blurb from Katee Robert on the front cover of my copy that says, “You’ll want to read this one with the lights on.” At first I thought that was a weird thing to say, because of course you read books with the lights on. But one night I was reading in bed with my bedside lamp on, and it got to a certain point in the story… and yeah, I did give a paranoid look around and think, “Nope, one lamp is not enough right now.” 🤣 Because that’s exactly what Barnes excels at in her writing – creating the kind of creepy atmosphere that makes your skin crawl as though someone (or something) is in the room with you. AND I LOVE IT.

Word to the wise, though, there’s also some serious body horror and gore in this one. It’s maybe not for the weak of stomach, but it didn’t really bother me.

That 4-star feeling

Sadly, as much as I love S.A. Barnes, I’ve never rated one above 4 stars yet. Each and every time, it’s the romance sub-plot that robs me of that 5-star feeling. I was really hopeful when I started this one that there wouldn’t (couldn’t!) be a cheesy romance when the character is more or less alone on a space barge, but nope, it snuck in there. And then I was determined not to let it bother me this time, but as always, something uber-cheesy was said, and I just… can’t.

I’m not a romance girlie by any means, but I can usually handle a sub-plot if it’s written well. The problem is, despite Barnes’ stellar writing abilities, she inevitably falls into the “perfect guy” romance trope. Male characters can be realistic while still being a romantic lead, can’t they? Almost all of Barnes’ characters are realistic and likeable, but the romantic interest… not so much. It wasn’t as much of a problem in Cold Eternity for me as it was in Dead Silence or Ghost Station, both of which I loved despite their romance sub-plots, but it still appeared out of nowhere and threatened to dampen my good time.

However, I’d take perfect-guy cheese over gratuitous spice any day, and thankfully it doesn’t go there.

Conclusion

Another banger from S.A. Barnes! Loved the vibes, the plot, the setting, the main character… I just had one slight quibble that ruled out a 5-star rating. As always, though, I’ll be champing at the bit to snatch up her next publication!

You can buy Cold Eternity here on Bookshop.org*
*As an affiliate, I will receive a small commission from any purchase made through this link.