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22nd out of 54 books
—
17 voters
The Veil of Gold
by
Kim Wilkins (Goodreads Author)
When an ancient gold bear is found walled up in a dilapidated St. Petersburg bathhouse, researcher Daniel St. Clair and his frosty colleague Em Hayward set out for the university in Arkhangelsk to verify its age.Along the way they are mysteriously set adrift.Maps are suddenly useless.Lost and exhausted they turn north, sinking even deeper into the secrets and terrors of
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published
July 22nd 2008
by Tor Books
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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, pe...more
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 prob...more
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 prob...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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...more
When a mysterious golden statuette...more
Feb 11, 2013
Kelly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
mythological-fiction
This is one of those "oh I'll just read one more page... yikes where did the last 3 hours go?" kind of books. Better still, it's an introduction to a whole batch of folklore I haven't really come across before so I'm looking forward to investigating it as a follow up.
But... the ending? Without wanting to give too much away, I was disappointed. I felt like I spent all this time starting to care about the characters, getting immersed in the world and then it felt like the author passed an invisibl...more
But... the ending? Without wanting to give too much away, I was disappointed. I felt like I spent all this time starting to care about the characters, getting immersed in the world and then it felt like the author passed an invisibl...more
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.
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 pow...more
This book was a little predictable at times but not to the books detriment. I found that I cared less and less for the male protagonist Daniel the more I read. He is like the proverbial damsel in distress, always getting into trouble and needing his butt saved by his traveling companion Em. That sort of character is annoying enough when it is a woman, when it is a man it becomes all man cold and pitiful. I really enjoyed the world that she built, Wilkins has a talent for supplementing the real w...more
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 revea...more
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 revea...more
(originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog)
Well, I never heard of this author or book before in my life until Calico's book club (she's well known in her home country of Australia) and so going into this I wasn't sure what to expect. Boy, was I given a gem! I really enjoyed this story! I can easily say it's a Squee! type of book. You know, one that by the end of it, you're *squee*ing because it was so awesome?
Anyways, I better go into some detail here. There are some very specific reasons...more
Well, I never heard of this author or book before in my life until Calico's book club (she's well known in her home country of Australia) and so going into this I wasn't sure what to expect. Boy, was I given a gem! I really enjoyed this story! I can easily say it's a Squee! type of book. You know, one that by the end of it, you're *squee*ing because it was so awesome?
Anyways, I better go into some detail here. There are some very specific reasons...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A golden bear statuette is the catalyst for a tale of two worlds in The Veil of Gold. Mir is the place where humans live, while its counterpart, Skazki, is the parallel world of stories and folkloric gods and magical creatures. The engimatic little bear was discovered discovered in a construction site in modern St. Petersburg; finding herself back in the light of day, the bear has a mission, and "marks" two people to carry it through. Rosa, whose uncle now owns the bear, entrusts Daniel, her for...more
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-pr...more
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-pr...more
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I enjoyed this book like a summer film. That is, I wouldn't recommend it to my book-nerd friends, but I was more-or-less pasted to the pages.
This contemporary fantasy taps in to Russian folklore to bring new life to an tired concept (magical and human worlds separated by a veil), and tell a fairly unique and fast-paced story about the repatriation of a sinister golden bear. There are no ambrosia-drinking elves to shelter with on this hero's quest, however; the non-human characters are generally...more
This contemporary fantasy taps in to Russian folklore to bring new life to an tired concept (magical and human worlds separated by a veil), and tell a fairly unique and fast-paced story about the repatriation of a sinister golden bear. There are no ambrosia-drinking elves to shelter with on this hero's quest, however; the non-human characters are generally...more
A mysterious gold bear discovered in the walls of a Moscow bath house draws former lovers Rosa and David, and David's colleague, Em, into a magical Russia of story that exists in parallel with the real Russia (Mir). Unfortunately, magical Russia is more horror than fantasy. Wilkins deftly weaves folklore, folk magic, and Russian history into a satisfying whole. I love what she did with Rasputin.
Some really lovely detail and description of Russian folklore - but I was disappointed at the whole premise and heart of the story/mystery of why she refused to stay with her lover. It got hard going at the ending for me as it had all gone on for too long without any explanation. I enjoyed the beginning a lot LOL especially her stay at the bee farm. So not bad, just kinda weighty.
For some reason I had a bit of trouble getting into this one. However, once I was in, I was swept away by Wilkins' easy story telling. I blew through the second half of the book in a few hours.
As a lover of Russian folklore, I really enjoyed all of the monsters coming to life. Wilkins must have done a lot of research and got the Russian culture pitch perfect. Even the mythical creatures had a certain "Ruskie" tone. I really enjoyed the thread of supernatural Wilkins weaves through historical eve...more
As a lover of Russian folklore, I really enjoyed all of the monsters coming to life. Wilkins must have done a lot of research and got the Russian culture pitch perfect. Even the mythical creatures had a certain "Ruskie" tone. I really enjoyed the thread of supernatural Wilkins weaves through historical eve...more
I loved the part of the story pertaining to Russian history and fairytales and magic. It was fantastic and mesmerizing; however, I didn't like any of the contemporary characters and found them to be hollow and unrelatable. The writing was mediocre at best, off balance most of the time, and I really could not stand Rosa, Em, or Daniel, but I'd still recommend this novel because it was fun and entertaining.
I picked this up because I know someone with the same name as the author. Turns out this Kim Wilkins is a popular Aussie author with this just her second novel available in the US. The conceit here is great; a parallel spirit world that influences Russian history. The characters were not well developed, likable or particularly interesting. The heroine has real promise, but makes some choices that left me scratching me head.
This is kind of a strange book. I had a hard time slogging thru the first hundred pages. I thought the characters were pretty cheesy. But the last two thirds are interesting, filled with Russian history and folklore. It has a strong ending, except for one inexplicable death of a major character. I will probably find her first American debut novel and try it out, too.
I loved being transported to each place this book took me. When I read it I had know idea what it was about...sometimes I don't really read a book's summary. This is such a rich blend of magic, reality and fantasy. If you don't like that genre of book, you will not like it. For me, however, it was a perfect read.
It had a lot of potential and some interesting moments, but I was disappointed overall. The story seemed to drag, some of the plot was very predictable, and I didn't like the ending at all, nor did I really like Rosa, so I didn't particularly enjoy the scenes told in her POV. It was an okay read for me, but I much preferred The Autumn Castle to this book. I did enjoy all of the Russian folklore, though.
this is set in Russia and involves contemporary people being drawn into the world of Russian folktales. Intertesting so far. I liked the setting, Russia, both contemporary and folkloric, but it was really slow moving and very very long. I have to get more interested in characters and hve some idea of their motivations to stick with it through the slow bits. In addition, I'm not very familiar with Russian folklore, and no doubt missed some of the resonances that would have added to the interest/...more
This novel hit me by surprise. It has a brilliant narrative voice which takes us on a fascinating journey through modern-day and historical Russia. Major historical events are intervoven with fairytale creatures and the main characters are deep and interesting despite their negative traits.
I don't want to give a spoiler but near the end there's a heartbreaking tragedy, so sad but at the same time beautiful and joyful - this scene alone (and the narrative leading to it) makes the book so valuabl...more
I don't want to give a spoiler but near the end there's a heartbreaking tragedy, so sad but at the same time beautiful and joyful - this scene alone (and the narrative leading to it) makes the book so valuabl...more
I was not dissapointed by this book at all, i couldn't put it down. Although slow to begin with, unlike Autumn Castle and Giants of the Frost it started to turn into the Kim Wilkins exciting page turner i have come to know and love.
Out of all the Kim Wilkins books i have read, Rosa Kovalenka is my favourate heroin by far. She has so much attitude, and is not so much of a goody two shoes, which i absolutly adored about her.
I really enjoyed this book and would recomend it to any one who enjoys a...more
Out of all the Kim Wilkins books i have read, Rosa Kovalenka is my favourate heroin by far. She has so much attitude, and is not so much of a goody two shoes, which i absolutly adored about her.
I really enjoyed this book and would recomend it to any one who enjoys a...more
I really enjoyed the book, an urban fairytale set in present day Russia with history and mythology woven throughout. Not the best writing and somewhat predictable, but the story really drew me in from the beginning and the quick pace made the novel's flaws insignificant.
Interesting fantasy book that encorporated a lot of Russian mythology, which I know very little about. Also, there aren't any bad language/adult situations (well there is a scene with a rusakala but it isn't really described in detail), so it can be recommended to teens.
I found it interesting and appreciate how the author has woven in Russian fairy tales. Unfortunately, it is, like much Russian literature, rather long-winded. However, though a bit predictable, I found the ending satisfying.
This is a pretty good fantasy book. I liked the idea of getting stuck in a Russian fairy tale land, but it does goes on and on. I think it could have been shortened a hundred pages or so to good advantage.
This was the Reading List winner in the Fantasy category for 2009. For the complete list, go to
http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/aw...
http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/aw...
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Also writes under the name of Kimberley Freeman.
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Sep 22, 2008 06:30am