The Myth Hunters

Book One of the Veil

by Christopher Golden

Bantam Books, $12.00, 350 pages

Chris Golden does it again…and again… and again. He creates the most compelling and wonderful stories with enough horror to cause that little frisson down my neck. Our hero, Oliver, is again – an innocent, decent man who gets dragged into a situation not of his making. Through a cover of both wonder and horror, Oliver is confronted with the reality of Jack Frost in his living room. Jack Frost, who is bleeding water on the carpet, and requesting – no, demanding – Oliver’s assistance, is Oliver’s gateway into another world. Jack is being pursued by a murderous creature who will also pursue Oliver after he saves Jack’s life by leaping off a cliff into the winter ocean and ending up in a different world. This world is where all the myths went when they left our world. But someone or something is hunting the myths who still cross over and visit our world. And now Oliver has their attention. Oliver is also an anomaly to all the other denizens of this world – an Intruder – who must be killed on sight lest he return to his own world with news of them. But with Jack Frost as his protector and mentor, he hopes to find a way to convince the rulers of this strange world that he is no threat. It’s just really hard to concentrate on that task when so many nasty, horrible creatures are trying to kill him, Jack, and Kitsune, a fascinating, beautiful woman who shapeshifts into a fox. And, on top of all that, Oliver is consumed with guilt for having left a woman he loves at the altar, his sister scared and confused about his absence, and maybe even his father, the man who squashed all his fantasies and dreams. But the more he thinks about it and learns about this new world, the more Oliver begins to imagine himself never leaving it…

In addition to our three main heroes; back at home, his absence is being investigated by a local detective who becomes quite determined to find answers to all the impossible questions he’s found. Where did Oliver go in the middle of the night, in the middle of a blizzard – without his car? Is the brutal death and mutilation of his father, the little girl in a small town 100 miles away, and all the other children in cities around the world linked to Oliver? And did his sister’s disappearance mean that she’s in league with him – did they murder their own father? Or is it something much more sinister that has made them equally victims?

If I start going on about how much I love this story, I’ll have to continue in the next issue. The characters are real, they are in my head. There is wonder and awe throughout this story. The description of Kitsune’s shapeshifting leaves me aching for the reality and the fight with the cherry-tree demon is nothing short of really fabulous storytelling. The gods of the Harvest were just plain creepy and the whole story is amazingly satisfying in only 350 pages.

Since this is Book One, you will have to find Book Two. I mean – really have to. This is a cliffhanger story, not a gentle decline in the story with the characters pursuing a new goal in the second book. I can’t remember when I’ve anticipated a sequel with so much longing. – Catherine Book