The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) [Paperback]

Christopher Golden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

Bestselling author Christopher Golden brings his epic, innovative trilogy, the Veil, to an astonishing conclusion as the mythic realm of heroes and monsters becomes the site of humanity’s last—and greatest—showdown.

In the world of the legendary, every myth and folktale is real. That is what Oliver Bascombe learned on the other side of the Veil, where humanity's legends have hidden away for centuries. But even legends have legends, and Oliver has learned of a prophecy that many believe he and his sister, Collette, have come to the Two Kingdoms to fulfill. Before they can discover the truth, the Bascombe siblings must help to stop an apocalyptic war that threatens to destroy the Two Kingdoms, unravel a conspiracy, and prevent a powerful sorcerer from severing the world of humans from the realm of the legendary forever.

But first Oliver will have to plot an escape from an impregnable palace dungeon where he and his allies have been imprisoned . . . for regicide.

As old heroes and friends ally themselves for one last battle, even older enemies stand arrayed against them. Is humanity ready to face its legends head-on? For Oliver Bascombe, the price may be dearer than even he could ever imagine.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stoker-winner Golden concludes his Veil series (following 2007's The Borderkind) with a battle of mythic proportions between King Hunyadi of Euphrasia and the twisted Atlanteans, who have deliberately destroyed the ancient truce between Euphrasia and Yucatazca. After Oliver Bascombe is tricked into killing the king of Yucatazca with King Hunyadi's sword, he must free himself, his sister, Collette, and his fiancée, Julianna Whitney, from the royal dungeon. Collette and the myth-creature Frost head to Euphrasia, while Oliver and Julianna persuade legendary beings to fight for King Hunyadi. Before the final confrontation, however, Oliver realizes that he must make a daring and dangerous raid on Atlantis itself. The run-of-the-mill epic plot, fueled by Oliver and Collette's seemingly unlimited and mostly unexplained magical powers, leaves little doubt as to the outcome of their undertakings. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Oliver Bascombe, his fiancée, Julianna, and his sister, Collette, are imprisoned in a dungeon, having inadvertently started a war between the Two Kingdoms. Ty’Lis, a conniving sorcerer from Atlantis, is behind it all, attempting to bring down both kingdoms, paving the way for Atlantis to rule the mythological realm. A ragtag group of myths is mounting a plan to rescue Oliver and Collette, who, as the children of a myth and a human, could bring an end to the war and tear down the Veil that separates the human world from the mythological one. As the battle rages, Oliver comes up with a daring plan to reveal the Atlantean machinations by rescuing a captive prince and, he hopes, ending the bitter war between the Two Kingdoms. Golden’s yarn rushes on at breakneck pace, making it impossible to put down. A stunning conclusion to the magical and gripping Veil trilogy (The Myth Hunters, 2006; The Borderkind, 2007; and this book) and must reading for fantasy fans. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553383280
• ISBN-13: 978-0553383287
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 14.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA's Best Books for Young Readers. Upcoming teen novels include a new series of hardcover YA fantasy novels co-authored with Tim Lebbon and entitled The Secret Journeys of Jack London.

A lifelong fan of the "team-up," Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. In addition to his recent work with Tim Lebbon, he co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series OutCast and The Menagerie, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent, currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, Golden co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion and co-wrote the book series of the same name.
As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson) and a network television pilot.

The author is also known for his many media tie-in works, including novels, comics, and video games, in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Angel, and X-Men, among others.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars End of a Trilogy, October 15, 2008

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) (Paperback)

Oliver Bascombe is imprisoned along with his sister Collette and his fiancee Julianna after having been tricked into killing the King of Yucatazca, one of the Two Kingdoms; an act that has helped destroy the truce and brought the kingdoms to war. Behind the scenes, it is the sorcerer Ty'Lis who is manipulating events. Ty'Lis and the Atlanteans are hoping to weaken the Two Kingdoms and end up being the supreme power. They have been killing the Borderkind and hope to close off all gates between the modern human world and the world of myth and legends.

Oliver and Collette may be Legend-born, people with unique powers to enable the Lost Ones (humans trapped behind the Veil--which separates the worlds of myths from the mundane world) to be able to cross back into the human world they originally came from, but if so, they have yet to come into their powers or believe in themselves. But they still have to somehow escape and try to keep the human Kingdoms from war and the Atlanteans from killing people and closing the gates.

The story is fast-moving and filled with battles and action and magic and monsters and plenty of horrors (both of monsters and of warfare). There is some character growth in that Oliver and Collette and Julianna need to deal with being crucial players in events that will be possibly world-shattering. And there is suspense and emotion as characters are threatened by the evil Sandman and by the violence of warfare.

There could have been a little more character development and growth, but this is the third in a trilogy, so most of the emphasis is placed on bringing things to a climactic ending. Even that isn't handled particularly well--the warfare is horrific and there is also heroism and sacrifice, but Oliver's attempt to shorten the war seems ill-planned and odd, yielding an unintended result. Things seemed to tie up a little too quickly, but it was still a solid ending for this trilogy. My small pet peeve is that Ty'Lis succumbs to a classic Evil Overlord no-no when it comes to dealing with Oliver and Collette. Ah, well. I guess that's why the Evil Overlord-types never win...!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended Reading for The Inquiring minds, January 18, 2009

By 

Carolyn L. Solomon "Book Addict" (Concord, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) (Paperback)

This was my first time to read a Christopher Golden Book. After reading one I read the whole set and thoroughly enjoyed them all. You have to read the whole set.

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Awesome Modern Fantasy, July 24, 2011

By 

N. Kunka (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Ones: Book 3 of The Veil (Mass Market Paperback)

Awesome. This series continued to build itself up and finally in the final book we see everything come to a bloody resolution. Golden manages a sense of closure that plays at your heartstrings and a desire to find out what eventually becomes of the characters, humans, legends and gods that he creates.

The grand conclusion left a little to be desired and some of the creatures in this final installment were a little laughable (flying sharks and octopi???), but there was a sense of "epic-ness" that definitely reminded me of Tolkein.

Poor Kitsune! And how cool is the new Sandman? I can readily imagine myself reading this again on a cold winter day with rain pattering at the window.