Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes is a tale of isolation and unanswered questions, centered around three-hour increments of time.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes –
Desperate to find a safe place to hide out for a bit, Halley is excited when she gets a callback about a job where isolation is the key feature. During the interview, she learns details that had been left out of the posting that make her nervous, but without another option, she still accepts the job.
Over time, she learns the sounds she had been growing accustomed to weren’t just the sounds of the ship settling…
I love that the author slowly gives us insight into what landed this character in this position! And my gosh, what a doozy of a story it is! With so many political elements, there were some that were spot on to what is going on today that made me sick to my stomach.
Having a kid showed me how quickly the hours can fly by. So the focus on pushing the button every three hours had me so anxious. As a reader, it’s impossible to tell how much time has passed unless the character specifically thinks about it, and that makes the tension so intense!
Oh my god, the nighttime bed scene!!! Pure nightmare fuel. This is why I don’t sleep with any body part hanging out of the covers!
My Favorite Passages from Cold Eternity –
I stride toward the pub, trying to find the fine line between moving with confident purpose and, well, running. The second I move, I can feel eyes on me, attention stripping away my illusion of invisibility.
It was one of those moments when you don’t realize how worried you actually were until you can finally see your way out from under whatever it is that’s sitting on your chest like a six-hundred-ton baroque cruiser.
Under my ribs, there’s a burgeoning scream locked away so tight that it feels like the bones might peel away from the force of trying to contain it.
Suddenly I feel all too aware of the dark and shadowy corners of the room. And the giant void under my bed. At least, I hope it’s a void. It is the only possible place something could hide.
There’s nothing in here.
I’m almost sure of it.
The resident’s room beyond is in shadow, but the smell is oppressive here, like physical force pushing me to retreat.
My heartbeat accelerates until I can feel it in my fingertips. No, no, no. This is wrong! Something is wrong. Go, now!
But, as always, I’m constitutionally incapable of fucking letting it go.
My Final Thoughts on Cold Eternity –
S.A. Barnes absolutely kills the space horror genre. This is my third read from them and it’s the third time I thought for sure I had the plot figured out but was incredibly incorrect. This was a dark and terrifying blast of a read!
Preorder your copy today! Cold Eternity launches from Tor Nightfire on April 8th, 2025!
Related Reading:
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes is a space horror tale of isolation, cold, and inner turmoil set on a planet with many secrets. But it’s not just the planet itself that has a story to tell, it’s each of the crewmates as well. But will they share or will the secrets ruin them all?
Thanks for reading!
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