The Veil of Gold

Europa #3

by Kim Wilkins

When the statue of a golden bear is found walled up in a dilapidated St. Petersburg bathhouse owned by her family, Rosa Kovalenka knows in her heart that this is no trick of fate. Her uncle thinks of treasure, but Rosa fears the bear is much more. She pleads with her old friend and lover, Daniel St. Clare, to help identify the relic and perhaps take the bear far away from those she loves. St. Clare agrees and sets out for the university in Arkhangelsk with the bear to verify its age. But along the way his journey is mysteriously set adrift: Maps are suddenly useless, cars and cell phones inexplicably stop working, and, lost and exhausted, he stumbles, sinking even deeper into the secrets and terrors of the Russian landscape. Rosa fears the worst when Daniel goes missing and, full of shame and sudden longing, resolves to find him. But to do so means confronting her past and secrets that she has fought to suppress. The only way to save him is to go where she encounters the haunted Chenchikov clan, a family with its own shadowy tangle of grief, desire, and treachery. And to the unknowable, impenetrable Russian forest where she meets an enigmatic wanderer who is full of tales and riddles of times past. He is a being who knows tales of a very old bear and the fate of lovers old and new. And who holds the key to the balance of all the magic in the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Russia, Adult, Fairy Tales, Historical

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Also writes under the name of Kimberley Freeman.

Reviews

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never heard of this author, but apparently she's a bestseller in her native Australia. Tor has so far released 2 of her 20+ novels in the US, and if "The Veil Of Gold" is any indication, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to release some more. "The Veil Of Gold" is a modern fantasy set in Russia. I'd call this urban fantasy, except most of it takes place in the Russian country-side, but aside from that minor detail, it has most in common with that sub-genre.
When a mysterious golden statuette of a bear is found in an old bathhouse in St. Petersburg, Rosa Kovalenka believes the artifact may be more than just a treasure and asks her former lover, Daniel, to take a look at it. Daniel decides to take the bear to the university in Archangelsk so it can be accurately dated. Along the way, he and his colleague mysteriously disappear. When Rosa tries to find them, she meets a mysterious family and a complex tale of treachery and sadness.
"The Veil of Gold" is well-researched and contains lots of intriguing tidbits about Russian folklore and mythology. The characters are interesting (except Daniel, who I wanted to bop in the head most of the time) and the plot moves along at a crisp pace. The novel has a charming, fairy tale-like quality to it, complete with the darkness that lurks around the edges of most fairy tales. At just under 500 pages, it's a surprisingly fast read. Recommended if you enjoy modern (not to say urban) fantasy with a dark twist.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is this story of modern characters entering a Russian mythic fairy-land not getting 5 stars from me--a self-identified mythic fairly-land enthusiast? Well, it's a wee bit predictable at times, which wouldn't necessarily be all that bad except the narrator frequently challenges the reader to figure out who's who and what's what in what he obviously thinks is a blindingly complex web of mystery. And then there's this tension between this mythic, pagan world and Christianity--and rightly so, perhaps. But the overriding idea seems to be that Christianity drained Russian lives and the Russian imagination of some magical life-force and offered nothing magical in return. It's all a bit too simplistic for my taste. But I want to end on a positive note, since it seems I rarely do and I'm really working on becoming a "glass-half-full" kind of person--so, I really did enjoy following this tale as it wound through a wonderfully detailed Russian fairly-land and bumped into some well described fantastic fairy creatures--including one of my favorites, Baba Yaga.

[Hannah Notess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the use of creepy Russian folklore in this fantasy novel. I am very fond of Russian fairy tales, and I enjoy fantasy novels that blend the fantastical and real. I can't give it more stars because I thought the main characters were a little flat, but it was still very entertaining.

I also want to add that this book was recommended to me when I used Seattle Public Library's book recommendation service. I asked them for fantasy recommendations that weren't too fantasy-ish (lots of hard-to-pronounce names and other lands) and I think they hit the mark pretty good with this one.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book from a blog that I read and I was not disappointed. I'm not usually a fantasy reader, but this novel wove Russian folklore and history together to make an engaging story that I greatly enjoyed.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third installment in the Europa suite was my favorite and the first thing which drew me into reading the other two novels as well since Russian mythology is something really special.

The story does read a bit like a guilty pleasure, but the backdrop of mythology and Russian lore, names and concepts is delightful and very well-researched. Kudos to the author for the love of detail and research in addition to her creativity in world-building.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was slow going, and I did have some major problems with it (1. A good hundred pages of walking could easily have been cut, 2. The narrator cutting in and breaking the 4th wall was jarring in the beginning, 3.All of the characters fell flat) the myths used were what made the book for me. There just aren't enough books with Russian folklore, and this one was packed with it. For example, did you know that there is no true Russian word for "bear" because the beast itself holds so much power? Instead, they say "medved" which literally translated, means "honey eater." There are enough of those little tidbits that I'd like to read this book again, just to make sure that I get them all.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

(review was originally posted on my livejournal: intoyourlungs.livejournal.com)

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

This was another case of: "I've never heard of this author, let alone this book, so I have no idea what to expect" kind of book. Kim Wilkins is an Australian writer and is pretty scarce here across the pond which is probably why I've never heard of her before, but I have to say that I'm really glad I was introduced to her work. This is a gem of a book and it's too bad that it isn't more widely recognized.

Spoilers under the cut.

So, the first thing that really jumped out at me was that this book was going to be a frame narrative. The prologue is shown from Papa Grigori's point of view, which makes this immediately feel sort of fairy tale-esque, which I *love*. I love stories within stories, especially of this variety. Throughout the novel, there are entire chapters dedicated to Grigori telling us, the reader, stories about the golden bear and the Russian history it followed. Just... awesome.

The Russian spice lent to the fantasy aspects of the novel was also super cool. There's so much fantasy out there that is european-centric and is more reminiscent of medieval times. Now, this is totally fine (I love Game of Thrones for example, which is very much in this vein of fantasy) but it was also really refreshing to read this completely new variety of fantasy that was full of Russian folklore creatures that I had never heard of before. The rules governing Skazki (the Russian fantasy world) were also really cool and lent really well to the world-building.

Where this novel really shines though is through its characters, which is a huge plus with me; I prefer character-driven stories over plots ones, and while this one balances the two quite nicely, the main cast really resonated with me. They all have their thumbs-down qualities (Daniel is quite frankly a bit of a wuss, Em is mostly cold and unfeeling, and Rosa is arguably vain and a bit fickle) but they also all have their thumbs-up qualities as well: Daniel could toughen up a bit, yeah, but he's caring and super kind; Em is practical and gets shit done; Rosa is stubborn, but she goes to great lengths to save Daniel and Em from Skazki. The way all their personalities fit into each other was kind of neat too: Em was one end of a spectrum, being so cold and frigid; Daniel was the polar opposite of that, being someone who feels almost TOO much; Rosa was right in the middle, having a little bit of that frigidness that Em has that allows her to break ties with people, but also has some of that passion that Daniel encompasses.

Criticisms I have for the book are few and far between. My first one, though this isn't really a criticism per se, because this is more of a personal preference thing, is that I was a lot more invested in Daniel and Em's side of the story than Rosa's. But that's because Em and Daniel were in a whole new place with all kinds of new things I had never seen before, which made their journey a little more exciting than Rosa's. Rosa's stay with Anatoly and his family was definitely still GOOD, it just didn't grab me as much. The other little thing that bothered me was Rosa and Daniel's romance; I felt like I got *told* constantly how they had this great, albeit short-lived, romance, but I never got a sense that they would actually make a good couple. They don't get a lot of time on the pages together, which probably attributed to my feelings towards this. I could definitely see that Daniel really loved Rosa, but not to much the other way around; I don't know what made Daniel different for Rosa from all her other sexual conquests. I *did* believe that she cared very deeply about him though.

Rosa's big secret revealed at the end of the novel through me off at first. My initial reaction was: "Really, that's it?" because I thought it was going to be... I don't know, something grander or tied in with her magical background or something. But it wasn't. It was something very human and very real, and at first I found her reaction to it to be kind of... well, shallow and sort of vain I guess. This really peeved me off at first. But upon further reflection, I became a lot more sympathetic towards her. I've never had to deal with Alzheimer's in any way, so I felt my initial reaction was a little harsh. And the more I thought about it, the more Rosa's reaction (running away from Daniel, sleeping with several people but never making any attachments) fit with who she is. In a way, it was sort of a little selfless as well; why let someone get all attached to you when they're going to have watch you mentally deteriorate slowly before dying?

Final Verdict: This is really a great fantasy novel, and one that should be more widely recognized. It's a very refreshing take on the fantasy genre with Russian folklore as its background, as opposed to the standard "western european medieval" vibe most fantasies offer. The world-building is fantastic as well, with the fantasy world of the novel having all kinds of rules and customs. There's also a great cast of characters who I loved, despite their very obvious flaws. While I was more invested in Em and Daniel's side of the story (I think this is due to Em being my favorite character), Rosa's was still very GOOD. Em and Daniel's was just a little more exciting, them being in this whole new and fascinating world that I kept wanting to see more of. I also absolutely loved the chapters narrated by Grigori. I love it when any novel injects fairy-tale elements into the narrative and Wilkins pulls it off beautifully here, with Grigori's stories of the golden bear and its place in history. It's really a great read, and one that any fan of fantasy should check out, or if you're at all interested in Russian folklore.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...

The Veil of Gold is an adult fairy tale heavily influenced by Russian history and folklore. The story revolves around a cursed/blessed gold sculpture of a bear. Rosa finds the bear, and asks her former lover Daniel to look at it, as he’s a historian. Daniel is travelling with his emotionally distant colleague Em. The bear has the ability to open the veil between worlds, and so Daniel and Em are thrust into a world of Slavic mythology, and Rosa embarks on a magical journey to try to rescue them. I adore books that incorporate Russian mythology, and this one was no exception. But the book also had a bit of a slow start, so I picked it up and put it down several times over the course of a year before finally finishing it.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third installment in the Europa suite was my favorite and the first thing which drew me into reading the other two novels as well since Russian mythology is something really special.

The story does read a bit like a guilty pleasure, but the backdrop of mythology and Russian lore, names and concepts is delightful and very well-researched. Kudos to the author for the love of detail and research in addition to her creativity in world-building.

[Rebe · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 75 pages. I've seen this at the library but was wary of reading because of how often non-Russian authors butcher Russian culture, language, and history. However, I read and enjoyed a short story by this author in a collection called Dreaming Again, so I thought I'd try The Veil of Gold after all. The book sounded potentially promising but quickly devolved. I took issue in particular with her portrayal of female characters as well as her clear lack of knowledge of most things Russian related (both cultural and linguistic), although her portrayal of a supporting male Russian character also played into stereotypes about Russian people (bear-like, aggressive, unintelligent, cynical). Overall, it seemed that Ms. Wilkins liked how "exotic" Russia may seem to non-Russian Westerners and chose to use it as set dressing, without actually doing much research, and managing to be rather offensive in the process.

-Multiple direct or indirect references to "exoticism" and otherness when it comes to the main female character, who is ethnically Russian. At one point, the author describes the main female character through the lens of the main male character: "how Mary Poppins might dress were she in a porn flick" (p38). Ugh.

- Author seems to lack even basic knowledge of the Russian language... but deploys it anyway. For example, For example, the author repeatedly used her own Romanized version of the word {бабушка}, "babooshka". This is really odd because 1. there is already a widely used Romanization (babushka) and 2. the stress is actually on the first syllable of this word. She also repeatedly misspelled the word for {рубль} ruble. These seem small but as someone who has actually studied the language, culture, and history, it was very jarring because it felt like she couldn't be bothered to do her research. Not promising.

[Laura Morrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review from my blog: http://rosesandvellum.blogspot.com/


In Rosa and the Veil of Gold, Kim Wilkins seamlessly interweaves Russian myths and fairytales with the events of our world. In her story, Russian myths intersect with Russian history, and three modern day people with their own secrets are drawn into the dark worlds of legend. It took me a little while to get into this novel, but when I did, I was hooked, and read it over the last couple of days. I loved the way it was narrated, slowly revealing all the links within the tale, told mostly through the point of view of the three main characters, but also through an omniscient narrator, who was in himself part of the story. I don't want to give away too much, you should discover it yourself!

I have read nearly all of Kim Wilkin's adult books so far, her earlier novels are dark works of magic and horror, but the one that really drew me in was The Autumn Castle, which mixed folklore of faeries and faery realms with an intriguing setting in modern day Berlin. You can read my review for it here. This book is the kind of thing I want to write, and I hope that I can one day write something as intriguing!

Rosa and the Veil of Gold and The Autumn Castle are part of a suite of stories based on myths, there is another one, Giants of the Frost, that I have not yet got my hands on. After finishing this one, I am anxious to read it as well!

Note: I would recommend this story as young adult to adult, as there are some sexual references/ sex. It also might be scary for some kids, but if you were brought up on fairytales and legends like I was, then I doubt it will be that scary.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad... but not too good either.
While I loved 'The Autumn Castle' by the same author, I found the other books that I tried after that one to be a bit disappointing. While this one was faster paced and more gripping than 'Angel of Ruin'/'Fallen Angel', it just had too many flaws.

The writing is alright. Not terrific, but certainly good enough to at least not bother me, which means it's not so bad since I'm fairly hard to please. The storyline was interesting enough, so that wasn't the problem either, though I was *very* unhappy with the ending.

However, the characters fell short. Rosa, who is supposed to be this wonderful, seductive character, actually feels very selfish and unpleasant. Daniel is a useless twat. Em is okay, which makes it all the more annoying that she is dealt such bad cards by the author. Worst of all is a choice that is made by Rosa at the end of the book. The choice is downright selfish, cruel and nasty, and while it might be tragic an understandable in a well-developed character, it just doesn't work in this storyline. For the choice is based entirely on a bit of information that is kept hidden throughout the book, since the author apparently valued mystery over character development. Quite a shame, for this left me feeling unsatisfied while I was quite enthusiastic up until 50 pages from the end.

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, loved all the Russian myth references.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great, original use of mythology and folklore, but somehow really slow.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it greatly. Set in Russia in present day with travels into the magic and folklore world and characters who travel back and forth between them.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating contemporary fantasy beautifully interwoven with Russian folktales, myths, and history. It's a sizeable read, but well worth it!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was clever but not satisfying. If it had been the other way around, I may have given this book 5 stars instead of 3.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** What can I even say about this book?

I felt that it was too long and just an excuse for the author to weave in myths of russia and combine Skarzki with russian history. I felt like the plot took way too long to start moving and none of the characters except for Em and Makhar were likeable.

Rosa is a selfish, immature 26-year-old woman who manipulates those around her into doing what she wants. She has some magic in her blood from her mother and so this leads her on an adventure to rescue her ex boyfriend and his coworker from Skazki, a dangerous demon-filled magical realm hidden behind a veil.

I hated Daniel and Rosa's 'relationship'. I hated Rosa. I hated the story. It didn't go anywhere for almost 400 pages. The characters run around in Skazki endangering themselves with the purpose being to reveal more monsters in the book, and then Rosa stays in a house with a dysfunctional family for more than a month, which was so so boring until she finally ate Anatoly on a day he had shifted. It was also quite jarring how nothing is happening and then they stumble onto dead humans and body parts or something incredibly graphic, vomit and then move on.

The only parts I liked were the stories about the secret ambassador, the part about Mokosha and the parts with Em as the main character, especially her death where she got addicted to feelings. It was so disappointing that she had died and her body is just dumped somewhere with no resolution.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim Wilkins is an Australian author known for her wonderful, magical, fantastical tales, and The Veil of Gold is certainly no exception.

I LOVED IT!

It's about historical researcher Daniel St Clare and his colleague Em Hayward, who are called to St Petersburg, Russia, by Daniel's former lover, Rosa Kovalenka, to investigate the origins of a mysterious golden bear found walled up in a dilapidated bathhouse. Rosa gives the bear to Daniel and Em so that they may travel to Arkhangelsk to see an expert in order to verify the bear's age.

However, what they don't realise is that the bear is full of magic and mischief. When Daniel and Em least expect it, they are transported (by the bear and with the bear) into the world of Skazki - that is, the mystical Russian world of stories. Here they encounter all manner of weird, wonderful, and often downright terrifying creatures found in Russian lore. Meanwhile, back in Mir (the human world), Rosa sets out on a journey of her own to find Daniel and Em, risking everything she has and is in order to make her way across the veil to save them.

What I love most about this story is its lost-in-a-fairy-tale vibe. The fantastical element is wholly engaging, and I struggled to put this book down from the moment I started. It is just so good!

Recommended for anyone who loves a good fairy tale, or fantasy novel.

[Mandy Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim Wilkins can set her underworld crime novels anywhere, and this one is in Russia.
Protagonist Rosa Kovalenka finds a golden bear, walled up in a St Petersburg bathhouse, hands it to her researcher boyfriend and a colleague, and they disappear. Rosa comes up against a powerful family, the Chenchikovs, and a deadly struggle for survival ensues.
I had read Brisbane writer Wilkins' previous book, The Resurrectionists, set in the United Kingdom, and this was similarly complex, and drawing on history, folk stories, mythology, religion and witchcraft.
Not having been to Russia, or having studied their history much, I was very interested in the historical and mythological stories which Wilkins craftily worked in to her complex plot. I found some parts predictable, but did not see major plot twists coming at all.
A great holiday read, especially for Goths of all ages.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good given how long it takes to start up. By the time Daniel and his companion are in the Russian land of spirits and legend, Skazki, you won't be able to put it down. The mix of dire survival needs and the rewritten magical history of Russia is simply fascinating. But cliche characters and the most annoying man-boy ever (I hate cliches too but I guess this book rubbed off on me, grow a pair, Daniel!) clog up the first 100 pages. This book was on my to-read shelf for the better part of a decade, and I'm glad to have gotten to it, but this author's The Autumn Castle is a much better choice.

[Claudi Feldhaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim Wilkins reist mit uns in die Welt der russischen Folklore und Historie und versteht in ihrer bezaubernden Manier einen phantastischen, farbenfrohen Thriller zu zeichnen. Die Figuren, vor allem die beiden Heldinnen, sind wieder einmal sehr gelungen, der dritte im Bunde, ein sensibler Mann bezaubert durch Verletzlichkeit und Entschleunigung. Der Erzähler ist zugleich Antagonist, bald schon versteht die Leserin seinen Wahnsinn und Beweggründe. Spannend und überraschend von der 1 bis zur 496 Seite <3

[Kate Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ended up being a skim read just because the page count is high, and time is short when you're a librarian with a backlog to read! What I did skim at the end, to wrap up this true saga of a story, was a mysterious and interesting conclusion. A rich, detailed, magical and vibrant read, a book to get lost in with intriguing Russian folklore and history.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story sounds very interesting but I found it difficult t persevere with it. Once the story moved from present day Russia to 'Rus', an other time, the characters were very confusing. Skipping through I finished it but found my interest was lost in places because of the complexity of the story and how it was told. Not a satisfying read.

[Madeleine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a Russophile and a writer interested in fairytales and mythology. The author combines both quite well in this fable, yet the romance wasn't at the level of A.S Byatt's Possession.

I do recommend it, however - it is a memorable story, crafted from a genuine interest in the characters lives and Russia. I felt very immersed - maybe you will, too!

[Emily Mcleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

ugh i so fucking love this book, love this author. Came across this book after falling in love with Giants of the Frost.

I loved the world, the narrative, the schadenfreude. Kim Wilkins has a perfect blend of agony and irony going on for her characters.

11/10 one of my top novels. <3

[Herman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the first two thirds, even if the story is spread a bit too thin over close to 500 pages. The last part dragged. I skim read, just to get it finished. The ending, when it finally came, was inexplicably rushed.

[Bookwormthings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russian folklore, a magical world alongside the real, an excellent accidental discovery of a novel

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my usual style but this book pulled me in. I enjoyed it, especially the Russian fairy tales.

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bursting with folklore creatures and set in a vivid Russian fairyland. I have no idea how accurate any of it was, but I absolutely adored it.