Thank you to Solaris and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I love the concept of this book. A digital catastrophe, the internet dies leaving behind blips of the past, buzzy static ghosts, virus and danger, basically post-apocalyptic tech refuse. I'm here for all that. The book itself was a bit of a slow start and I found myself floundering for a sec on where it was going. Not incredibly unusual, but something to call out. If you are interested, give it a sec, it does pick up.
I found this speculative science fiction extremely imaginative and well written. The parallels to our modern-day world are incredibly present and can lead to some rather poignant moments of introspection, especially in relation to the IRL pandemic and the potential breakdown of society as we have come to expect. In this book, that breakdown is a reality and the world is remade by the destruction, forcing the populations back to a simpler time and lifestyle: trade, barter, grow, forage. It’s a really interesting premise. I enjoyed the story as it was given and appreciated its soft prose, even if, at times, I longed for answers to questions that never came. At its roots I think the narrative provides us with lessons in resilience and acceptance and grace and strength, whilst also allowing us to read some really creative and cozy sci-fi.

In the near future, we may be faced with the horrors of some of our choices over the last fifty years. Tech and polution as well as the isloation of society come head to head in this post=apocalyptic virus laden world where the internet has left ghost traces in the dark and the forests hide all sorts of dangers.
But at the heart of this brilliant story is the main character's struggle with her past. Rejected by her family and isolated by her past choices, Katya acts as a medic and healer. Relying on an ancient knowledge of herbs and plant based medicines, Katya instils both fear and a grudging respect in the community that lives on the margins of. Is she a witch or a miracle worker? All of the answers lie in the eyes of the beholders.
It's when Katya is 'bequeathed' Stefan a traumatised child who is selectively mute that she learns the trust herself fully again. Although frightened and resistant, Stefan draws Katya back into the community and when he disappears to search for his father she is forced to face more than just the demons in the forests.
Beautifully written with a fully developed and intriguing cast of characters, Wilson plays in the eco-crit world with a deft hand. Engaging as SSF and as LitFic, We Are All Ghosts in the Forest has hints of Le Guin but is also unique in its world building and adventure.
A really enjoyable novel.

This book was so so gorgeous and I feel so special to have been able to read it ahead of publication. I loved the writing, the magic, the characters, the stunning blend of hedge-witch magic and an apocalypse of haunted data. The premise itself, of a world haunted by fragments of the digital age which seek 'belonging' with 'similar' matter (be it biological, digital, or electrical), is honestly the most riveting take on the end of the world since Hell Followed With Us.

The atmosphere of the writing is gorgeously haunted and bright and lush; the way Katerina interacts with the world around her is beautiful and poignant, and her struggles with guilt and belonging and responsibility are so universally relatable and handled with so much understanding and emotion. Despite being so different from her, I felt so deeply connected with her as a character. Her relationships with others – Stefan, Aleksander, Elisabet in particular – are just so real and filled with meaning. And Orlando the cat??? Oh my gosh!

I think the explorations of loneliness and fear of rejection are so so powerful, and are explored in so any different manifestations; I particularly enjoyed the contrasts and similarities between Stefan and Katerina as people who have both been changed irreparably by past experiences and who continue to deal with their lived realities in the way that they can. Stefan's lack of a voice is never treated as a problem. Katerina's fear of others loving and needing and leaving her is something she has to come to terms with on her own, not on anyone else's timetable. Elisabet is not just an ally, but a true friend whom Katerina trusts above all others. Jaakob must face the suffering of others as something beyond his own experiences, despite the loss he carries. All so different but all so universal!

I will be recommending this to everyone who will listen to me, and I think Wilson and the team should be very proud of this one. Can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy when they become available!

I found this book hard to follow as a lot of things were not explained at the start. I felt I was constantly waiting for answers to my questions. I found the story interesting, but I feel more explanation could have been given at the onset. Thank you for the advanced copy.

Science fantasy reminiscent of Ursula le Guin

In the wake of a digital cataclysm, a rural village attempts to rebuild their lives but the past and its fdemons continue to haunt everyone, even as a new digital scourge remains at large.

This is a huge expansive world laid out in immaculate detail., world-building so subtle and so right that I kept recalling Le Guin's Always Coming Home. The central character, Katerina, is admirable, resourceful and clever, but her past has made her also prickly, suspicious and overprotective, a fantastic mix of qualities forced to look after others by design or by fortune. The other characters around her are a mystery to her, and us, and the unravelling of these multi-dimensional narratives is a sheer delight in the hands of Wilson's mastery.

A potent mix of dystopian science fiction, folklore and ecological fairy tale, I recommend this to anyone interested in great writing that answers some questions while leaving plenty of room for the reader's imagination. I also want to single out the excellent thread on othering throughout the book, and how Wilson has made her characters react, call out and tackle inhumane behaviour, while keeping the plot rattling along.

Possibly the best science fiction book I've read this year: five stars

For all that it’s set in a near-future Europe and deals with a post-apocalyptic world shaped by the disintegration the internet, this is firmly a fantasy novel rather than SF: it is essentially the story of a witch temporarily fostering a mute child in her cottage on the edge of a haunted forest, then being dragged into a quest against her better judgement: a 21st century Baba Yaga’s mixed race granddaughter living a quiet life in a quiet village in a haunted world of make do and mend, talking to the bees and trying to steer clear of the wolves.

But it’s the kind of fantasy novel that will appeal to people who enjoy Magical Realism and LitFic rather than straightforward sword and sorcery shenanigans: think more Angela Carter than George RR Martin, but with gentle ghost story vibes. If you urgently need to know all the nitty gritty of how and why the world went careening off the rails and our characters find themselves in this odd new reality, you’re going to be frustrated, because Wilson’s focus is firmly on character and emotion, not on weaving elaborate lore.

This is a beautifully written book. The prose is lush and evocative, piecing together this curious half-familiar world through vivid descriptions and poetic turns of phrase. It made perfect sense when I learned that this book was born out of the first Covid lockdown: it has something of that time’s otherworldly mixture of isolation and community, of living in a world gone odd and unrecognisable, baking bread and doing chores with the constant low level dread of plague always hanging over everything.

In terms of vibes, this actually reminds me quite a lot of the film The Quiet Place, which I adored: of course this isn’t a horror story and we’re not dealing with the kind of tension and peril that characterise that film, but we DO have 21st century people building lives of almost medieval simplicity in the wake of a world-shattering event, and we have a story that is far more concerned with love and care and connection in the face of grief and adversity than it is with detailed backstory: this is simply the world in which our protagonist exists, both strange and familiar, and we need to just accept the flickering ghosts of video footage and ebooks and photographs, and the malevolent half-sentient forest, and the dancing golden language of the benevolent and prophetic bees, and move on.

The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, but my attention was hooked both by the curious world and by the warmth between Katya and the people (and creatures) she loves, and I was rooting for them all to get their happy ending.

This is my first time reading anything by Lorraine Wilson, but it will not be the last.

(Special mention to Oliver The Everchanging Digital Ghost Cat, who is the best familiar a modern dystopian witch could wish for.)

First things first – gorgeous cover. Even before reading the blurb, I was already caught, and after reading the book, I can come back and find delightful little details: the golden bees, the herbs, Orlando's adorable swishy tail. A cover does not a book make, but it's certainly a pleasure to have such gorgeous art wrapping another piece of gorgeous art.

Now to the content between the covers: nothing short of amazing. I have a fondness for dystopian novels, so you can imagine I've read my fair share. I was pleasantly surprised when I read We Are All Ghosts in the Forest and found a story that felt non-derivative: the refreshing feeling of reading something new, something I hadn't encountered before; of immersing in a completely new world. I imagine, of course, there are similar books out there, but this was my first of its type and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I won't tell you what We Are All Ghosts in the Forest is about because you can read it right up there in the blurb, but I'll tell you other details that might tip you towards reading it: it's not a story about a world gone haywire but a story set IN a world gone haywire. It's a story about certain people caught in events that feel way larger than what they can handle. It's a story about love, grief, and renewal, all in the middle of a world gone haywire. You can go into it not expecting hard Sci-Fi and brainy explanations of why things broke, but the story of someone finding a way to heal new and old wounds.
All in all, a lovely read, and one I hope to revisit eventually.

I got about 50% of the way through before I finally DNF'd. I so loved the premise however the book just felt slow and confusing. I needed more backstory as even at the halfway point I had no idea what was going on.

Not for me.

This was a beautiful book focused on relationships with yourself, with others and with society.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Katya and Stefan and I thought that the way the author was able to convey an equal speaking relationship while Stefan was mute was incredibly skilful.

Sometimes the concept of the Internet imploding and creating digital ghosts and how it linked to the forests went over my head. But this didn't stop the enjoyment of the book at all.

I thought this was a fabulous dystopian book and receives a 4.5 stars from me.

I have read some confusing reviews of this book, it seems that what others disliked I loved. A dystopian story does not need to explain in the first few pages what led to the current state of the world, nor does it need to explain in small words why something is a threat. That the reader does not understand everything adds to tension and a menacing feel which the author captured really well.

I loved the characters and the pacing, the setting was brilliant and the human nature of the ‘bad guy’ villagers was painful but realistic.

The storyline was unlike anything else I’ve read in this genre and I loved it.

A trippy but fascinating slice of what I can only describe as eco folk post apocalypse. The concept of an internet/information-plague was really interesting, and I enjoyed the way Katerina blended witchcraft and herbal remedies to alternately repel and work with the ghosts. The use of language was lovely- really lyrical, though a few phrases got kind of repetitive. I thought the handling of the villagers' racism towards Katerina was done well- it could have been kind of thoughtless in the hands of a worse writer- and, of course, I have to give points for a post-apocalypse set in Estonia.

Whilst I was intrigued by the world concept, I was unfortunately unable to get as engaged as I wanted to be, so I was unable to finish the book. Whilst I did not like it, I am sure others would.

Thank you Solaris and NetGalley for the ARC of We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson

"The internet is dead, and its ghosts haunt us all."

This Dystopian, Horror, with a little bit of Sci-Fi and Magic- with every genre bending trope should have been difficult to read or understand, at least for some one like me. I like my plots, and for that matter the books I read, to have a very obvious Genre.

But I loved it! We are introduced to a world where the internet has collapsed( such a scary possibility as well) where now everything that was on the internet is digital ghost. Katerina who's the MC ( main character), used to a digital photographer but now is living amongst nature and this story is about her journey, experiences, budding love, prejudices, and the underlying fundamental truth, that the more things change, the more they remain the same,

A beautiful, books that makes you really think and ponder for a long while afterwards about not the book, but how it's so scarily a possibility. I highly recommend this book.

I would first like to say that I did not finish reading this book. When I feel I don't want to continue a book it is because I either do not like a single character or I can not visualise the story at all. Unfortunately I couldn't visualise anything and got a little bit confused. It's just not my style of writing which disappointed me the most. While this wasn't for me I can imagine a lot of people loving this book. Thank you so much for letting me try this and I'm sorry I couldn't rate it more.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this before publication.
Unfortunately I had to DNF this at 12%.
I requested the book because it did sounds like a very interesting concept, and the cover made it look interesting and mysterious too.
But I feel like the first part of the book is a little confusing, and should explain what has happened and should explain the "ghost" concept more. I saw in other reviews the story is a little bit slow at first. With me personally, I need it to be a decent pace especially near the start to keep me gripped and willing to continue, but I dont think this met my expectation.

I have still given it 3 stars as the writing itself is still decent! just the pacing is a little bit off for me personally.

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately I couldn't convince myself to keep going after reading four chapters.
I was really drawn to the description and title, post apocalyptic stories do tend to draw me in but I felt like there was a chunk of story missing to explain what Katerinas current reality was. Why was the internet no longer? Why are the 'ghosts' roaming? Perhaps a deeper explanation comes later in the book but for me, it needed to come sooner to give more understanding.
I might try and give this another go but for now it's not for me.

Sadly, this book really didn't engage me in the way that I had hoped it would and even though I did try to push through, I found this book to be distorted and flat, as well as difficult to make sense of at times. Such a shame, as the premise sounded excellent.

I struggled to get into this because I found it hard to get my head around what was happening. I also found it hard to think get my head around the post-apocalyptic world, but it got easier as I read. I loved the characters, especially Katerina and Stefan. It’s a beautiful story and one that will stay with me for time:

This book was unique and eerie, I wasnt sure what this book would be like but it really takes you through the motions. It has a dystopian survivalist feel to it with found family elements that tie it all together rather well.

I got really Excited when I had the option to get this book as a arc because it was mentioned that gonna be similar to station eleven I loved that book. But I coulnt completely engage with the characters in this book for that reason it felt extremely flat
This is my favourite gender so It bothers me don’t enjoy a book in this way