In a nutshell:When development sub-contractors accidentally tear down a wall in an old Russian bathhouse, they discover a small statue of a golden bear. The niece of the developer, Rosa Kovalenka, can immediately tell – through her second sight – that there is some strange magic surrounding the bear. To assist in identifying the bear’s origins and value, she contacts an old lover, Daniel St. Clare, who happens to be elsewhere in Russia as a history consultant on a documentary shoot. Daniel catches a ride with a co-worker, Em Hayward, to get to St. Petersburg. All three will become connected by the bear, as they decide that Daniel and Em will take the bear to a university for an appraisal.While driving to the university, Daniel and Em get lost on a rural road and their car dies. They are transported by the bear’s strong magic into Skazki, a world where the creatures, demons and spirits of Russian folklore live and have dominion.Meanwhile, when Rosa realizes what has happened, she connects with a volkhv – a magician – and his family, so that she may learn to harness her own power and cross over into Skazki. However, the family’s own troubles are soon to entangle Rosa as well.Interspersed throughout the book, a mysterious narrator tells the story of the golden bear, and how its story is intertwined with Russian history, and Russian nobility.Eventually all three story strands will come together in Skazki.Review:I was fascinated by the frightening and desolate world of Skazki, which Wilkins populated with malevolent inhabitants: ghostly revenants bent on possession, wizards who skin humans alive, a headless demon covered in spines, and the terrifying Baba Yaga. Daniel and Em suffer from hunger, cold, and fatigue as they journey to see the Snow Queen, who they hope will send them back to their own world in exchange for the golden bear. Their only allies are mercenaries who they bribe with Em’s gold jewelry. It’s a journey of misery for them, to be sure, and I was glued to the pages, wondering how and if they would survive.Rosa’s part of the story was also intriguing – more of a domestic fairytale in contrast to the epic nature of Daniel and Em’s story. She must use her cleverness to figure out who to trust as dysfunctional (and magical) family dynamics rage about her. I loved her solution for crossing over into Skazki – I totally did not expect it.Not everyone will like the main trio of characters, I suspect, but their flaws made me like them as characters all the more. In particular Daniel is often paralyzed with fear and Em is strangely incapable of feeling strong emotions, like terror or love. At one point, Daniel says, “We’re like two rejects from Oz, Em. You don’t have a heart, and I have no courage.”I loved Em’s story arc. The book jacket made it seem like The Veil of Gold would be all about Rosa and Daniel, so it was with surprise that I realized that Em would be my favorite character. I was fascinated by how she is completely aware of her inability to feel emotions as others do. She has become accustomed to being different in this way. I admired Em’s indomitable will to survive, although she tells Daniel early on that she fully expects to die in Skazki. Most of all, though, I was – am still – haunted by aspects of her story arc. I think of Em’s portentous encounter with Morozko, the father of frost, and also of the first time Em screams in pure terror (I’ll leave the reader to discover what causes that response.)This is a book that has sticking power. It is not perfectly written: I thought Wilkins was too explanatory and obvious when she wrote things like “And so [he] learned one of the most painful lessons in parenthood: to let her go.” That said, the story and characters have left an indelible impression on me.
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.
What do You think about The Veil Of Gold (2008)?
(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 wi
—Michelle
(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 why I enjoyed Veil of Gold. First, the characters. There's three main protagonists: Em, cold and unfeeling but very smart, Daniel, kind but insecure and fearful and Rosa, strong and independent and the love interest of Daniel. I thought it was so refreshing that the male character was portrayed as the 'weak' one: insecure and anxious, while the women were tough and confident. Who agonized over lost love? Daniel. Rosa sometimes, but for her it was different. It didn't come from a place of dependance or insecurity. Secondly, I loved the darkness of the story. These characters go through some tough stuff, especially Em and Daniel after they cross the veil. Wilkins isn't afraid to damage her characters and it kept the story unpredictable for me. Also, the use of Russian folklore was fun and added another layer. The way Wilkins blended magic and myth into our world was intriguing and energizing. Finally, I enjoyed the ending. I really didn't see it coming and I was thinking "what just happened?" but in a good way!There isn't much I didn't like about this novel, but since I have the section here I'll write some stuff down. The story lagged in some areas but I felt this was minor and not enough to make me not want to read on. My biggest disappointment was Rosa's big secret. I thought it wasn't signficant enough for her to make such drastic decisions (I don't want to spoil it so I'm being vague) and when we find out what's motivating her, I felt like it was a bit of a let down. However, this was just one part of the overall story and I quickly overlooked it.Definitely recommended. If you like urban fantasy, Russian folklore/culture or are just interested in something a little different, and a little dark, then this is for you. I hope Wilkins other books are reprinted in North America because I will definitely be reading them.
—Lisa
As with every other Kim Wilkins book I have read, I found this a compulsive read, quite impossible to put down. While Veil of Gold deserves a full five stars for beautifully evoked Russian setting, great pacing, and sheer scope of story (1000 years of history and huge stretches of Russia), I deducted a star for what I perceived to be unconvincing characterisation.I say 'perceived' because I wonder whether I've missed something. The three central characters (Rosa, Daniel and Em) are all so strong
—Venetia Green
