Beautifully descriptive, and evocatively haunting. Set in a region near Russia, after the collapse of the internet, the world is haunted by digital ghosts. Remnants of songs and film, even viral videos, linger and soon begin to infect people.
This is a story of fear and despair, friendship and found family and how the first two can destroy the second two. The author takes a very empathetic approach and it’s hard to find enemies even when there is everything to fear.
I absolutely loved this and am trying desperately not to tell too much about the story. The synopsis and the cover hooked me.

Sadly this was one of those books that, when I finished I thought 'well that was a waste of time'
The concept sounds really cool, maybe a little spooky.
The execution...it's so slow and very dull. There's the odd moment of excitement sprinkled in, but most of it is a whole lot of nothing.
The characters weren't particularly interesting or dynamic, meaning I had no attachment to them or what happened to them. I was mainly invested in the 'ghost' cat
I always hate to put books down, because I know authors put a lot of work and love into them, but this just wasnt for me, and i can't recommend it

What would you do if the Internet suddenly crashed? What would happen to society?

In this dystopian novel, the cause of the loss of the Internet remains unclear, but we join main character, Katerina, some years after. It is not just the lack of immediate information that people have to contend with, electrical memories of online content remain in the world as “ghosts”. On the whole, the ghosts seem passive and harmless, but many eye them with suspicion. Indeed, as with all good dystopian novels our real cause for concern comes from other people and, uniquely in this novel, we have another threat from forests and wild animals. They seem to have absorbed the dark, brooding stories written about them and have embodied those characteristics, becoming much like the malevolent forests and creatures in folk tales.

Katerina lives in a remote village where she has gained the reputation for being a healer through the use of herbs, and for understanding and repelling the ghosts which wander on the periphery of the village. Katerina prefers to be on the outskirts of society and quite happily lives alone with her ghost cat, until one day a strange, non-speaking boy arrives with a note from his father asking her to look after him. Faced with the decision to be the carer of this boy or to help him look for his father, Katerina’s mind is made up with the threat of flooding, a new plague, and a message from the bees.

I loved the world building of the novel. There were some truly unique and thought-provoking elements to the world. The integration of folklore and herbology was very enjoyable, as were the themes of otherness and belonging, self-forgiveness, and the importance of noticing the small things in life. Some elements of the book became a little repetitive, but in reality, this only added to the tangled, sticky cobweb atmosphere of the book. Overall, there is no denying that Lorraine Wilson is an excellent writer, with realistic and absorbing dialogue, beautiful descriptions of the weather and countryside, and some of the most unique concepts in dystopian fiction I have encountered for a long time.

Thank you to @netgalley and @solarisbooks for the ARC.

When a book is described as a post-apocalyptic dystopian sci-fi, I believe that there are certain expectations. We Are All Ghosts in the Forest DOES NOT adhere to these expectations AT ALL and yet, this story is incredible. For a relatively short novel, it is quite slow paced but don't let that deter you from the beautiful exploration of grief, kindness and love with a sci-fi twist that I can definitely see being our future. The writing is stunning and the gorgeously haunting cover hides so many little secrets that I adored discovering once I finished reading. A wonderful read for anyone looking for a different kind of post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel.

So what happened when the internet collapsed? The answer to this question cannot be found in this book. And that’s one point why this book is such a great read. It’s not ‘this happened and then that happened and now this and now the world is we know it is gone for good’. On the contrary. The story of Katerina, and why she’s living in the forest as a healer, unfolds slowly but starts with the strange event of her meeting a boy who doesn’t speak, but gives her a note in which she is begged to take care of him. And how can she refuse? After all, taking care of people is what she does now.
This slow but captivating story is wonderfully written and the atmosphere reminded me of stories by Katherine Ryan Howard, Diane Cook and even Diana Gabaldon. Told in broad strokes but with an absolute eye for detail, you can almost smell the forest, the trees and the animals. A lot is being said without using too many words; there are no ready-made solutions for what happened to the world so people have to adapt – which is harder for some than for others.
The kind of book you’ll want to read more than once.
Thanks to Solaris and Netgalley for this review copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher
This book was very confusing since the first pages, we know we are in a dystopian world where the internet has crashed down and created some sort of ghosts from the blurb only and we actually never learned much more about what and how it happened. At first I was frustrated of not having more information, but it actually made sense since the characters didn't seem to know much more either. What mattered to them was how to keep on living in a new world.

The focus was, as I said, not on this new world but on the characters that live in it, mainly Katerina whose point of vue we follow. Through her eyes, we see a "new" society with the flaws of the past (of our present): racism, prone to discriminate and to ostracize those who don't fit their sense of security.

But there are so many people who are different, Katerina is a mixed race single woman who travels, makes remedies and talks to bees, Elisabet who is on the spectrum, a mute boy send by his sick father to someone he doesn't know, a gay father who tries to catch his dead partner's ghost... and people who succomb to a new infection.

Although I was at times lost in the narrative (I don't know if I misunderstood or if some words were missing), I enjoyed this contemplative book. I understood how Katerina was stuck in a place of culpability and responsability to everyone around her. I understood that it was hard in a world like this to properly deal with one's trauma, especially if people around you don't make you feel safe for something as ridiculous as one's skin colour. I thought the characters felt real, but the action was lacking something. But what I really didn't like was what the bond became. It was rushed and it didn't feel natural or coherent with the story.

I saw the author was a biologist and it shows in all the info we get about plants, this will surely please all the witchy girlies out there :) And there's a CAT!



Rep: mixed-race MC (the author is also mixed race but not the same origins), selective mute SC, autist SC, gay SC

TW : death, illness, virus, grief, racism, misogyny, witch hunt, verbal and physical violence

Review

This was a very pretty book that didn’t have enough substance for me.

I generally liked the way it was written. It was tonally consistent and the descriptions helped to build and flesh out the world around the main character and the way she saw things. I found the herbalism “magic system” and the setting very interesting: fleshed out enough that I felt like I understood the limitations but not so well-explained that it started to lose its mystery. I think in a book with a plot and characters I felt more connected to, the ghosts of the internet and hedge-witchery could have made a really impactful book.

Unfortunately, I felt like the plot, pacing and characters let down the interesting setting. The pacing was extremely slow, which I can deal with sometimes but it also felt repetitive and a little predictable. I never felt like the book was building towards anything I couldn’t already see, and I just wanted it to get on with things. This was exacerbated by the main character’s primary motivation being one of maintaining her quietly miserable status quo, and her primary emotional touchstone being shame. I don’t think that these are inherently bad traits in a character, but in Katerina did not feel to me like an effective protagonist. This was compounded when we found out her tragic backstory and the reasons for her guilt, and it really wasn’t that bad. It felt like the author wanted to write a character motivated by guilt but didn’t want to give her something actually bad to feel guilty about in case the readers didn’t like her, so chickened out.

Finally, I really don’t like books where fate, destiny, soulmates, etc are a thing that the characters have to interface with. And the connection between the MC and the mysterious man she dreams of felt far too close to lazy hand waving than anything i could take seriously. Especially when he has Saint-like patience with this woman who does little to deserve it.

Ultimately I don’t think I would recommend this book unless you love stories about weird loners learning to let people in and you like a witch, cosy atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for this ARC.

This book made me feel comforted and despondent at the same time. The apocalypse came and stripped away all pretentiousness from people, revealing the true ugliness of prejudice beneath.

The story starts in medias res, with Katerina, a former photojournalist living on her late grandmother's farm in Estonia, meeting a strange boy in a market in a world where the collapse of the internet has thrown society back a few hundred years, and dangerous digital remnants roam the lands. She takes Stefan in and teaches him the art of herbal medicine, all the while trying to find out what happened to his father and how they can stop a new mysterious type of digital sickness.

Throughout the book, I often felt that the science behind the digital ghosts, along with the apparent magic of sentient objects and forests, as well as talking to bees, blended together to create a mystical background that feels both outlandish and realistic at the same time.

The hazy details of the science and the cause of the apocalypse did not diminish the book's enjoyability. It deliberately shifted the focus to the human element, and there was plenty of that! The main character is still trying to process an old trauma, which is brought to the forefront of her mind by the awful way her community treats her. Being a recluse herbalist of Indian descent is apparently one odd thing too many for the average Baltic apocalypse survivor.

The strange connection between Katerina and Stefan's father is beautifully portrayed and provides a solid foundation for a hopeful ending.

I feel like I made a new friend in this book. Thank you!

The world has been changed - the internet is a thing of the past and people have turned to the simpler life to survive. However, the digital age still has its ghosts – remnants of the internet which haunt and infect the living. Can Katerina keep Stefan – a silent boy entrusted to her care, safe?

We Are All Ghosts in the Forest is a hard book to categorise, at first glance and from its blurb it seems like Horror and Sci-Fi, but it’s much more complex than that. It’s a story of letting people into your life, of grief and of loss and of found family. It’s beautifully written and the world-building is top-tier, I really felt invested in the story and empathised with Katerina completely.

The characters are all interesting and well defined – from Katerina who can commune with bees and is in step with nature, to silent Stefan and even the digital cat Orlando who became a favourite of mine. You even felt sorry for those in the village who mistrusted Katerina and embarked on a bit of a witchhunt - you understood they were just scared and didn’t understand what was happening to them.

The story occasionally felt a little repetitive in places, but I was still gripped throughout. There’s a lot that isn’t fully explained in terms of how the digital ghosts came to be, and there’s not much written about the event which caused ‘the end of the world as we know it’, but there’s so much more to the story that I didn’t really mind that these were skimmed over. I was invested in the survivors and their struggles.

Overall, We Are All Ghosts in the Forest is such an interesting premise and a heart-felt story about survival, which I highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley & Solaris for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lorraine Wilson’s We Are All Ghosts in the Forest is a beautifully haunting tale that brings to life a world where digital ghosts linger in the aftermath of a collapsed internet.

It took me a moment to ease into the slower rhythm of the story, which is deeply rooted in nature and the quiet moments of daily life. Yet, as I settled in, I became captivated by the layers of society and secrets that Wilson gradually reveals. The setting felt vivid and alive, with the forest almost becoming a character in its own right, filled with folklore, fear, and beauty.

This book is a slow burn, but it’s rich with emotional depth and atmosphere. It had me chuckling at the joy in adversity, wiping away a few tears, and getting goosebumps. If you’re looking for a story that will gently but deeply immerse you in its world, then this quiet post-apocalyptic novel is worth every page. It’s a story of resilience, trust, and the delicate interplay between the remnants of technology and the simplicity of human connection.

3 stars for me, but 5 stars for the right reader, so I'm rounding to 4.

I am very glad to have read this, but I was left with highly conflicting feelings. There is so much great stuff here: beautiful prose, a very cool lead character who is an herbalist and talks to bees and just wants to Be Left Alone, an interesting, well-drawn setting in a post-apocalyptic small town, and a great initial hook.

However, it also has bizarre pacing, elements that I found difficult to suspend my disbelief about, prose so intricate that it doesn't always explain what is actually happening, and some character and plot choices that felt like they came out of nowhere. I feel certain these were all choices made by the author, but some of them just didn't make sense to me, especially the bizarre pacing. The beginning is very slow, and while the prose is pretty, it's also cryptic to the point that key information either flew right past me or wasn't mentioned until strangely late in the book. I can't decide if it's a skill issue on my part, or if this book has some flaws.

My initial rating was 3 stars, but it's been a day or two and I'm still chewing on certain scenes and moments. It's highly intriguing, and for the right reader (particularly one who can accept or wrap their brain around the central concept, which I could not) I think it could be a stunner. I also wonder if it will grow on me over time. I'd recommend it to readers who like slow-paced, meditative stories and a literary tinge to their speculative fiction, and who don't mind if not all the pieces come together in a satisfying way.

Also, a minor marketing note - this book bears absolutely no resemblance to Station Eleven, except that it takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. The comp makes sense at a broad level, but don't go in expecting Emily St. John Mandel style-prose. ('Twas ever thus.)

Thank you to Lorraine Wilson, Solaris, and NetGalley for generously providing an ARC for review!

Such an original ideal, I loved it. Dystopia at its finest! Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the arc, I will have no problem recommending We are all ghosts in the forest, by Lorraine Wilson.

I have to say I didn't really get taken in by this book I almost didn't carry on. I am glad I did because it is a unique plot with well written characters, and the imagery you get from this story is beautiful.
I think where i struggled with this book is with it being slow paced. I went in expecting a fast-paced end of the world apocalypse, but it was far from that.
This book has got so many great reviews. It's just not that type of 5 I enjoy reading.

Thank you, Solaris, for my advanced copy.
My opinions are my own.

There are ghosts out there but not the type like we are used to. These are ghosts left behind after the Internet collapsed. They bring disease. Can a cure be found?

I went into this book blind, and I do not regret it.
For starters, I am not sure how to describe it, but the better would probably be "soft apocalypse". Even though the descriptions are absolutely gorgeous and vivid, I think they didn't drown the action and message at all, rather highlighting it, and the relationships between the characters were so realistic, at some point, I was moved to tears.
Now, as to the setting, I adored the concept of the ghosts, and the "numeric plague", it was the most original idea I had read in a long time, plus the whole eerie atmosphere was reminiscent of Simon Stalenhag's paintings/TV series Tales from the Loop. Having the action set in an eastern Europe setting contributed to make this book a very original one, and it is safe to say I won't forget it anytime soon!

The premise of this book was intriguing and I think it was executed well!! I love a dystopian type book and this was no exception, and while the concept of backfiring technology is not new, the specifics of this were not something I have come across before and gave the book a slightly spooky feel which I really enjoyed.

Right from the off, this title was interesting and had some fascinating worldbuilding surrounding it. Unfortunately, I found that the start of the book left me with a few too many questions and things that were unclear. It had some truly fascinating concepts (ghosts made from the internet? amazing) but I could have done with a *little* more context early on to get me properly into the story.
That said, I really thought that the characters really shone. The cast was impressively varied and I really came to enjoy several of the side characters. A really fun book that was held back by being just a touch too vague at the beginning.

Book review 📚
We Are All Ghosts in The Forest by Lorraine Wilson
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

So, when it comes to science fiction, I usually tend to avoid it. Personal preference and all that. But I am so happy to have gone into this blind only to realise a third of the way in that it was in fact sci-fi. This book was absolutely brilliant in every aspect!

Wilson has such an interesting writing technique that I almost felt at home with the main character. I was involved in her life and desperate to be with her along her journey and progression. Katerina was an amazing character and the descriptions from the writer were brilliant in bringing her to life.

The story is not only heartwarming but just fantastic in every sense. I would definitely pick up another sci-fi after this, but I know better than to think they will all be this good!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for the ARC copy they provided.

There are two things you always want to find in a book and so rarely do find: Yourself and a good hangover. We Are All Ghosts in the Forest provided both.

A few lines, paragraphs, pages in, I found myself in Katya, the main character, and when I finished reading, I found myself with a book hangover so intense I still haven’t been able to climb into another book and feel at home. I just want THIS book to go on and on and on.

It can’t, of course, and that is both a shame and exactly as it should be.

Lorraine Wilson’s writing is divine in so many ways. Smooth and luxuriant all at once. The characters are real and oh-so human. Even the ones that aren’t human at all. The world is so natural, even in its unnaturalness. And the worldbuilding is so rich it’s like coming home, instead of becoming lost in a book.

I couldn’t possibly say enough about this book, or praise it highly enough. I identified with Katya, and fell for the subtle and not so subtle diversity displayed in We Are All Ghosts in the Forest’s pages.

In the end, I can only hope to fall as deeply in love with this book on my second read through, and all the others that will come after because I will definitely be returning here again.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. If you're expecting a fast-paced book with ghosts and a plague, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Instead this is a beautifully written book about acceptance, kindness, grief and family. It's a slow-burn book that doesn't go out of it way to explain anything so if you like everything in a neat bow this will not be the book for you but if you want a book brimming with emotion then look no further.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅."

Following the collapse of the internet, which left digital ghosts roaming the natural world, Katerine fled the city to live in a rural village, once home to her Grandmother. She lives mostly in solitude, crafting herbal remedies and conversing with the surrounding wildlife.

When she is forced to take in an unspeaking boy named Stefan, a stranger whose appearance stirs premonitions of harvest failure and an evolving digital infection, the villagers become hostile towards Katerina and cast her out of her home.

Fleeing to the forest, the two go in search of Stefan’s missing father, which Katerina hopes will bring answers surrounding the mutating disease and why she was chosen to care for a boy she’s never met.

If a cure is possible, Katerina may be able to concoct it, but trusting those around her proves more difficult than any disease the ghosts threaten humanity with and she is forced to face the fears she has been endlessly running from.



This dystopian-themed novel is a refreshing and unique approach to the genre, presenting readers with an engrossing environment, which I’d love to live in, and heart-warming yet flawed characters who are very relatable.

Lorraine Wilson has crafted an intricate and expansive world yet her detailing of events makes it easily accessible and enjoyable for readers. As the characters have already adapted to this new world, the pacing of the story is very natural and the lack of “how” this world came to be allows readers to delve into the unfolding narrative without the distraction of exposition.

Wilson’s writing is very artistic and the imagery she uses is stunning. I love the detailed herbal remedy references and the hints towards witchcraft are subtle enough to remain realistic. The overall story is cohesive and intriguing with a moving ending that has a lasting impression.

A perfect book to read for cosy feels and complete escapism. This is a new favourite for me. 🖤