Among Ghosts

By: Rachel Hartman

Narrated by: Will Watt

Set in the world of New York Times bestseller Seraphina, a boy on the run from a dragon—among other dangers—seeks refuge in a haunted abbey in this wholly original ghost story about what haunts us, and what connects us.

A few things to know about the town of St. Muckle’s: It’s too out-of-the-way to interest greedy lords, and too damp and muddy for marauding dragons to burn. And anyone, from a humble serf to a runaway nun, may earn their freedom by living for a year and a day within the town walls. Seven years ago, Charl and his mother fled to St. Muckle’s and made it their safe-haven, building a new life in this so called Peasant’s Paradise. But when Charl sees something impossible—a ghost—soon the embers of his past are threatening to engulf his world in flame. A tragic accident is quickly followed by murder, a deadly plague, and a mercenary dragon.

Charl manages to escape to an abandoned abbey outside of town, but finds no safety within those ruined walls. A treacherous nun, a chorus of murdered girls, and the fearsome Battle Bishop await, ready to ensnare him in a complex web of history, magic and fate. For some things should never be forgotten, however much they haunt us, and Charl will need all his wisdom and resiliency if he is to fight for the world he knows…and the people he calls home.

Discover more critically-acclaimed fantasy from Rachel Hartman!
Seraphina
Shadow Scale
Tess of the Road

Critic reviews

★ "An ­engrossing, thoughtful fantasy on the human condition—with dragons." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Rich worldbuilding and an appealing found-family theme make for a compelling read." —Kirkus Reviews

"Fans....will find a wealth of atmosphere and thought-provoking, multi-voice storytelling to immerse themselves in." —Booklist

A sweet and thoughtful story

This story was so gentle and deep. It didn’t go anywhere I thought it would. I liked the characters and wish it would’ve been a little longer to spend more time with them. I’m hoping this will be part of a series to see what happens next. It obviously takes place before Seraphina but doesn’t have any direct connection to any other of the authors works that I could see. It’s always fun to visit the different parts of the Southlands world in any case!

Expands Seraphina Series universe

Give more background information on the history and myths/legends of the universe Seraphina stories are from. The story not exactly related to Seraphina's but helps understand people, places and actions of those in the prior four books. so was enjoyable.

Great expansion on the Seraphina universe!

I was rereading back from Seraphina, to Tess of the Road, to this book, and I realized that Dr. Caromus is a character from all the way back in Seraphina. Such a cool detail! I love these books, and their casual representation of queer characters is fantastic and done very well. I’m excited for whatever comes next.

Absolutely brilliant!!

I am a big fan of Hartman’s Seraphina books (well, 3 of them, anyway), so I was really looking forward to reading this. And I was not disappointed at all! My gosh, what a gripping story! So many things happening, but Hartman wove them all together expertly. I really appreciated the complexity of the characters, too. No one was one-dimensional. Even the “bad guys” weren’t all bad, or had some way of at least generating sympathy for how they turned out. So many fantasy novels seem to fail at this, which really lessens my enjoyment of them. All of the people in this book (including the dragons) were multi-faceted.

There were times when it was hard to read - some of the more gruesome bits with the beetles, or the ghosts, or some of the places where people were cruel - but they weren’t extended scenes so they were tolerable. The overall feel of the book is very HUMAN and HUMANE. Charl is a wonderful protagonist, and I loved his backstory! (No spoilers!) Like all good books, Charl evolves and grows from all the challenges he faces, but he doesn’t face them alone. I just loved all the relationships he had that helped him survive.

The narration was quite good! At first I thought the voice was way too deep for a book about a 13 year old boy, but the narrator did a great job with making Charl, and all other characters, feel real. Kudos!

So, overall: HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! I predict this will become one of my favorite books to reread! Bravo, Rachel Hartman!