The Myth Hunters

The Veil #1

by Christopher Golden

In this enthralling new tale from bestselling author Christopher Golden, one man is drawn into a realm just across the veil from our own, where every captivating myth and fairy tale is true, the vanished exist–and every fear is founded….

Yielding to his father's wishes, Oliver Bascombe abandoned his dream of being an actor and joined the family law firm. Now he will marry a lovely young woman bearing the Bascombe stamp of approval. But on the eve of his wedding, a blizzard sweeps in–bringing with it an icy legend who calls into question everything Oliver believes about the world and his place in it….

Pursued by a murderous creature who heeds no boundaries, Jack Frost needs Oliver's help to save both himself and his world–an alternate reality slowly being displaced by our own. To help him, Oliver Bascombe, attorney-at-law, will have to become Oliver Bascombe, adventurer, hero–and hunted. So begins a magnificent journey where he straddles two realities…and where, even amid danger, Oliver finds freedom for the very first time.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Paranormal, Mythology, Mystery

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[LIsa Noell "Rocking the chutzpah!" · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Veil trilogy just happens to be my favorite Golden books. I have them in paperback, but have NEVER been able to find them on ebooks. I have a feeling that this publisher is being an asshole! It's time to shit or get off the pot. Give up your rights! Let these books be published.
This trilogy is fantastic! I've read it many times, and I want to read it again. Since I have arthritis, I can't read the paperbacks anymore. So..please, get y'alls shit together and publish these books!
Please and thank you!

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first The Myth Hunters strongly reminded me of Terry Brooks' Landover series; unfulfilled lawyer missing the magic and passion in his own life is drawn into another world. It's feels a little indulgently angst ridden at first, as Oliver is a lawyer, has significant financial resources, and is on the eve of marriage to a woman he has dated since high school: "He was a fly trapped in amber." As he is reading beside the window while a winter storm rages outside, he encounters a winter being who turns out to be Jack Frost. Together they escape the Falconer pursuing them into the lands beyond the Veil. The Veil turns out to be the barrier dividing the worlds, with creatures of myth, lost humans, and old human cultures like the Atlanteans. Crossing results in a death sentence for Oliver, so one of his goals becomes figuring out how to prevent his sentence. The viewpoint then starts to jump between Oliver; Collette, Oliver's sister; and Ted Halliwell, the deputy investigating the disappearances.
I enjoyed the premise of multiple mythologies, although like another reviewer, found that they were usually used in only the most surface of portrayals. Golden does a very good job of creating tension and horror, between Oliver running for his life and the horror of the Sandman. The shifting viewpoints heightens the tension by bringing in the human element of a police chase. I enjoyed the book, but find the jump from chase to chase exhausting. In the beginning, there was more time to enjoy the scenery beyond the Veil, so to speak, but it soon evolved into either chase or fight scenes. To me, the interjection of the deputy's investigation and search interrupted the rhythm of the world-building of the myth. The overall effect was good enough that I'll try the second book, but doesn't rate library inclusion.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nooooooooooooooooooo! This ended on a cliff-hanger! :(

This is a combination of semi-typical adventure/quest story in another, magical/folklorish dimension and a crime investigation (mundane dimension). Lots of myths, creatures from folklore, mayhem and murder. The main character is a bit limp at the beginning but he manages to grow up fairly quickly. I particularly enjoyed the character of Detective Halliwell and Kitsune. Since I'm curious to know what happens next, I will definitely be reading the next book.

[Joss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried hard to give this book a chance because I could use another interesting prolific writer. I just couldn't like it though. The "hero" was such a fabricated whining wuss that I gave up in about 60 pages.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a mass-market fantasy thriller, The Myth Hunters is pretty good. It has derivative elements, and original elements, and a fair enough share of good plot twists to keep you reading. While it's nothing spectacular, I'd like to keep reading and see what happens in Borderkind. I certainly don't regret picking it up.

The story is about young Oliver Bascombe, a lawyer who came from wealth and privilege and now feels like he's living under his powerful father's thumb. Oh, he's working at the family law firm, sure, but what he really wants is to be AN ACTOR. Emphasis on the "TOR." He's about to marry his paternally-approved fiancee, Julianna, when he finds himself saving the life of a wounded man made entirely of ice.

Jack Frost drags Oliver into the lands "across the Veil" to save them both from the "Hunter who almost killed them, and now Oliver is marked for death. It's kind of like... um... a big chunk of the fantasy published recently, actually: Magic, threatened by the damned Mundanes, has retreated into its own special country and is zealous in protecting its privacy from normal humans. Since Frost now owes Oliver a life debt, they set off to find out how he can stay alive with all of Story breathing down his neck. Along the way they meet a beautiful shapeshifter, Kitsune, who becomes Oliver's designated love interes almost from day one. She and Frost are quite concerned with learning who has started killing off the Borderkind (legendary figures who can cross between the worlds at will) while avoiding death themselves. Oliver is by turns fascinated with the new world he's discovered-- magic, after all is what he always wanted-- and guiltstricken over his abandonment of Julianna on the eve of their wedding.

Adventures ensue.

The book is a good read, I will give it that. Here's a spoiler for you: I was pretty much hooked when the Sandman crossed the Veil and started ripping out people's eyeballs. The main storyline is a fairly typical quest story, and the main characters aren't all that interesting, but the plot twists are many and varied and things happen fast. I actually preferred the seocndary plotline, wherein Detective Halliwell of the mortal world finds himself investigating the sudden disappearance of a large number of eyeballs. Halliwell's interesting, and much more sympathetic than Oliver, who unfortunately comes across as a bit of a whiner. Julianna becomes an active character quite late in the book, but I look forward to seeing her in the next story.

The big problem with The Myth Hunters is that its premise is... unoriginal, to say the least. Harry Potter's the most obvious example, but there's also Artemis Fowl, as well as any number of the YA novels I read in middle school. Ordinary hero swept into world of magic-- becomes extraordinary! As for "hopeless romantic with poetic soul, who longs to be an ARTISTE but lacks the courage to defy his/her overbearing father"-- yeah, stop me if you've heard this one. Big surprise: Oliver also has fond memories of his mother, who was a laughing and imaginative creature TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD, etc. Kind of like Leia's mom. Or Snow White's. Or...

(Actually, Oliver reads more as a typical YA heroine than a typical YA hero, which is kind of funny.)

The lack of an original concept isn't actually a huge problem, because Golden actually does have a really interesting take on the whole "secret land of magic" bit, and does a lot of cool stuff with it. What really bothers me are the periodic reminders-- a la Holly Whatserface from Artemis Fowl, which I couldn't stand for much the same reasons-- that Humans Are The Source Of All That Is Evil In The World. No, Really. And They're Killing The Magic. Killing It! It's kind of like watching Ferngully-- entertaining story in a beautiful fantasy setting, laced with guilt-trippy reminders that Humans Are Destroying The Rainforest, Didn't You Know? (Since Oliver is obviously Zach, and Kitsune is... Whatserface, then I guess Frost has to be Batty. Kind of fitting, realy.) This would not actually be a bad thing, since plenty of children's literature is studded with lessons just like this one. The problem is that these sad little morals are aimed at adults. They're jarring, and tacky.

Anyway. My other issue with the story-- this is a really nit-picky review, I think-- is that one of the two biggest female characters, Oliver's sister Collette, is painted with a fairly sexist brush. Collette is supposed to be a divorced thirty-something career woman who lives in the city and loves her job and her independence. When we see her, she is typically wearing flannel pajamasand cuddling up in the bed she slept in when she was a little girl. She calls her father "Daddy." She is (spoiler) kidnapped, midway through the story, and stuck in a cell, where she... sits. And retreats into her mind, where she watches old movies. And screams a bit. That's it. I can't stand damsels-in-distress in any case, but they're doubly offensive when they're infantilized like this-- she might as well have been an actual child, or had some mental handicap, because that was certainly how she behaved. Bad form, Mr. Golden.

Now, Kitsune, I've got to admit I like her. Golden did a really good job with her, because she really does read as "fox" rather than "human." She's tough, she's wily, and she can rip a man's throat out in seconds while in fox form, which is pretty impressive given the size of your typical fox. I was actually going to complain here about Oliver making too big a deal of how "exotic" she is, but I've been looking through the book and only found a couple of references to "flair of the Orient" and "exquisite Asiatic features." (There were others, but I didn't feel like looking for them.) It's not as bad as I'd thought, but exoticizing the main female lead even to this extent is... not very 21st century. And also I don't think that foxes have "jade eyes," and neither do most Japanese people.

Overall, the story's definitely worth reading, and if it's around and you've got some time to kill I'd recommend it. I'm reserving final judgement until after I've read Borderkind, because I've got the feeling that the story could end up either really cool, or really dumb. Here's hoping it's the former. ^_^

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazingly satisfying and MODERN, as far as fantasy goes. I always picture satisfying fantasy to be something with an air of dust and age to it, when men spoke fancifully, and narrated their stories thus. All ensuing attempts, at least for me, seem to fail because, stories like Dragonlance are weak imitations, right down to the Tolkein verbiage. Golden attempts none of that and seamlessly blends the world of myth and legend with our own, in regular commonplace English. Even his hero, Oliver, is a normal, albeit wealthy man, with insecurities, temptations, and weaknesses, and he reacts to his strange predicament of being thrust "beyond the Veil" in normal, understandable terms.

As Amanda says, one gets a sense of Stephen King, and it's not just the Maine backdrop to the beginning of the story. I think mostly it reminds me of the Tower, with worlds behind worlds and the allusions to corners being turned onto parallel dimensions where things could be slightly, or significantly, off-kilter.

I enjoyed the use of myths and legends from around the world beyond just the standard Western litany of Greek and Norse gods and heroes. Among the main characters are a Native American trickster, a Chinese dragon, a Japanese trickster/demon and Jack Frost, who's just the winter man. Golden imbues each of these with strange, but culturally acceptable powers. At times, it seems Golden's research into these myths is just superficial, and they take on the most stereotypical elements of their complex histories, but the attempt is admirable. Certainly there's a wealth of material for him to draw on in the construction of the Two Kingdoms. What's kind of disappointing is the mix he chooses. I have my eyes out for recognizable deities and legends, and find them wanting. The less notable villains seem like hodgepodges of animal parts with no connection to real human legend at all, but his choice of main villain in the Sandman is sublime and well done. I have to admit that this construction of the legend is fascinating and frightening.

I feel three stars is appropriate, there's a wealth of potential that makes me excited, but execution-wise I expect better, but maybe I'm spoiled. I definitely am interested in seeing where this is going. Atlantis, the Mayans and greater legends await, or at least I hope.

[J. Else · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing of the book is a continuous motion like the waves on a beach, rising and falling. There’s always something new being discovered. Golden attempts to balance “our world” with the world “behind the veil” as these two lands collide in a series of horrifying murders and disappearances. The interjection of the deputy's investigation in “our world” felt to me like an interruption the rhythm of the world-building of the myth. I began to lose the focus of the book as Golden shifted between worlds.

The exposition is a bit graphic around the murders and during the fight sequences. Of course, I’ve mostly read juvenile fiction centering around myths, so I can tell this is much more adult oriented. These myth characters were also twisted a bit too much for me to recognize. There’s Jack Frost, Johnny Appleseed, Sandman, but the rest were a bit too far off for me to picture. I wanted a little more background on the rest of the characters. The Nicholas Flamel series does a great job of bringing historical and mythical figures to life and letting the reader in on the backgrounds stories of these figures. I wanted more exposition to really feel a connection to the “myths” I was reading about.

The end fight sequences were very cool when the veil characters were in their element. Reading Jack Frost versus the Falconer (don’t mess with Frost!), the trickster and his winged fighting technique, the storm dragon unleashed, and Kitsune shape-shifiting attacks, I admit, was pretty cool… though again, graphic.

The final reveal of who was behind the attacks fell flat on me. I wanted a recognizable surprise as this has been Frost’s underlying motivation. But after Frost learns the name, he does not reveal anything more. I found this a bit disappointing as there was no final punch to the story that left me gripping the final pages, white knuckled, for more.

I like it enough to keep reading the series, but it wouldn't be my first recommendation. Atlantis, the Mayans, and greater legends await, or at least I hope. I like history and mythology, but there was not enough historical grounding for me. It was mostly fantasy, which had some cool twists and elements, but I wanted more historical injections.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine if all the "myths" and "legends" in the stories you were told as a child were not only real, but they were under attack by an unknown enemy in the parallel world they live in, that's just out of view of most humans?

Oliver Bascombe discovers this is exactly how things are, when, on the night before his wedding - which he's not entirely sure he wants to go through with - Jack Frost staggers through the window of his house. Jack is near death and begs Oliver to help him.

When Oliver agrees to help, he doesn't realize that he'll end up crossing the Veil - the parallel world where the Myths [but don't call them that, as it's a big insult!] are trying to figure out who wants to wipe them out. Oliver ends up on the run, because humans aren't permitted to cross the Veil and then cross back, which is what Oliver plans to do once he's helped Jack, and the other new friends he meets to save themselves and their world.

This is a very unique and interesting story, and the characters are exactly what you'd expect the people behind the childhood stories to be like. They aren't like us, and they can be dangerous unless they are your ally.

The world the author's created is really clever and really different and the plot will carry you along with it.

The downsides of this story are 1) It's the first of a trilogy, so there isn't a real ending in this first book, and 2) There are some fairy gory moments of violence, as the other side is not at all civilized and they have some unique forms of killing.

I enjoyed the book, and will probably read the rest of the series.

[Jacob Jones-Goldstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be dull and uninteresting. I've liked what I've read from Golden before so its surprising at how ... mundane this story about legends come to life is. He really manages to keep all his characters two dimensional, with the exception of one side character who doesn't have much to do with the main plot yet. Odd that the book, featuring Jack Frost as a main character, has only one interesting character and it is a cop.

I don't really see myself continuing on with this trilogy. Although I might since book two won some awards.

[Sandee]

They lost me on the first few pages where first a window won't close because the snow is packed in it and then a minute later Oliver is blown back by the wind blowing in same window that is snow packed. I'll give it a few more pages...
...[buzzer sounding:] 2 more plot inconsistencies by page 50 has made this unreadable, no matter the general plot line. I don't know how an editor missed these things.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

DFN....oh I so wanted to love this book. Personifications of elements and mythological creatures is just up my alley. But I found it a bit boring after the first 150 pages or so. Why? I don't know really. It was slow...then fast.....then slow again. Flipping back and forth in the story was weird. I have read stories with twin POV before. Heck, I even wrote one....but ummm, they were so different.

Anyway....perhaps another time I will find I really did like it after all.

[Topher · Rating 3 out of 5]

another series i found when doing searches for werewolves, vampires, etc. a main character is jack frost....which is pretty cool. =-)

I like it enough to keep reading the series, but, it wouldn't be my first recommendation to people.

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting world and I loved Jack Frost. I do wish that Oliver was a more interesting main character, but hopefully he will grow as the series progresses. I'm glad that I grabbed them all at a library book sale and will eventually continue the series.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden creates an excellent adult fantasy world in this first volume of a trilogy, giving life to myths and legends from all across the world. A very engaging read.

[Mary T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oliver Pierced The Veil and now he regrets it. The end.

I'd give it maybe 2.5 stars. It's a really interesting concept, all of the myths and legends being true and personified. However, I never really connected with any character, as there is very little character development throughout the story. It held my interest enough that I will read the other two books in the series.

The following is just a rant, maybe a small spoiler.

It took so long to get back to the sister's part of the story I forgot what had happened to her. Not that much was happening in the meantime with her (she's kinda stuck in the one place), it was just taking too long to check back with her that I just assumed she was dead.

Oliver is the type of person I wouldn't like IRL, much less as a main character for a book. I didn't like him in the beginning, and I still didn't like him at the end. You are an adult man, please sort out your daddy pleasing issues. If Oliver had been a teenager, I would have believed that he's just some punk-ass kid that is going on a growing up adventure. But no. Oliver is a full adult male, not able to think for himself.

I really hope the author does more character development in the next books. I really want to go more in depth with the myth characters he's chosen as mains.

Also, the author seems to favor a few phrases. Most notably, "knitted his/her brows together" (this phrase just bothers me in general and the author just over-uses it in my opinion). And second, "pierce the veil". So I don't think they were even a band at the time of publication, but I just giggled every time the phrase came up and eventually Jaime became Frost in my brain for some ungodly reason and everything is messed up now.

[Judith Trail · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, Golden terrified me with his novel, Road of Bones. Then I read his other horror books and was totally a fan. This is a fantasy/horror novel and I also loved it. A very original story from some common fantasy ideas and an introduction to mythic creatures from other cultures that I really enjoyed. Oliver Bascombe, on the eve of his wedding to Julianne, is having cold feet. His life is feeling like it is playing out to a script written by his family and society, but not of his own desires. While taking a late night walk, he is swept up into what he believed was the stuff of fairy tales when he rescues a man made up of ice from a horrifying monster and together they go through the Veil to a land where legends and myths live. But things are not peaceful, because someone or something has begun a campaign to kill off the creatures of legend and the ice man (Jack Frost) and those other creatures are being systematically hunted and killed. Oliver helped Frost when he had slipped into Oliver's world, but in crossing the Veil, Oliver could neither return home nor would the laws of the land allow him to enter and live. Two big problems needing a solution, which the two protagonists attempt to solve. This is a very entertaining story, imaginative, creative, and compelling. I will definitely read the series!

[Veronica - I need a husband, to have a fancy last name · Rating 4 out of 5]

albo cos do mnie nie dotarło albo ktoś zepsuł tłumaczenie ale tyle razy określenie 'aktor' było zmieniane na 'prawnik', że się pogubiłam kim do cholery jest Oliver
+mimo, że go lubię to typ mnie wkurwia z tym swoim niezdecydowaniem
ale poza tym bawiłam się świetnie
+cały rozdział właściwie był o walce z ✨wiśniowym✨potworem. Like. Coś pięknego XD
I still mnie bawi to: "o kur*a, wiśnia". It made my day po prostu i aż mi przykro, że dopóki nie zrobię rereadu to już tak pięknego tekstu raczej nigdy nie zobaczę :(

[Van Rysseghem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probs to the writer for mentioning Tolkien, yet engaging like the grand master he was not. At times I skipped pages because the story didn't capture me as I had hoped. If you like multiple POV in the third perspective, gory details and a story line that is not as 'been there' as most others, this could be something for you.

[Cindy Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read, different. Somewhat slow but still a good book. There were things that I think should've been explained or elaborated on more and other parts that didn't need as much page time but still a nice easy read.

[Carl Buehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I had forgotten that it was the first of a series, but halfway through, I knew I would be looking for the next installment soon. Fluid writing mixed with a wildly imaginative story. What's not to like?

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait. What? Did I know this was the first of a trilogy that would leave me hanging? No sir, I did not.

A discontented lawyer is dragged into another world on the eve of his wedding. He must dig deep to find the hero within himself.

[Андрій Гулкевич · Rating 4 out of 5]

Досить гарне фентезі, про яке мало знають.

[Steven W · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit by the numbers but the ending picked up.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book of a fun trilogy. The classic humans had no clue about other universes. A fantasy around international folk legends.

[C Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't get it out of my head. This book is great. The next 2 in the series are ok but inconsistent.

[Kerry Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

7

[Maria Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, adult version of Narnia.

[Laurla2]

i liked it. went a bit slow in the beginning, and ends abruptly without finishing the story. must now go read the next book.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters and story line just as tedious and generic as the Ben Walker series. Golden is now 0 for 3 for me and I think I'm done.

[Elizabeth Thacker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't not enjoy this, but when I put it down, I did find it hard to go back to.