Veil DEALS
Some horror hits you emotionally from the first line. Some horror sneaks up on you, quietly twisting something inside until you realize you’re in way too deep. Veil does both perfectly.
I got the ARC of Veil from Blackstone Publishing, thinking I knew what I was in for. I didn’t. What I got was a story that kept me gripped and turning pages until I was late to bed to work! I got a story that wasn’t afraid to hit hard emotionally while still delivering the kind of dread that keeps you racing through the pages because you just need to find out what is going to happen next.
If you’ve ever felt let down by a horror book that plays it too safe, or characters that don’t feel like real people, Veil by Jonathan Janz might surprise you. Janz doesn’t just tell you a scary story, he makes you feel like you’re right in it, whether you are ready or not.
Let’s talk about why Veil works, where it hits hardest, and why this is a must-read for all sci-fi horror fans like myself.
Veil Summary (Spoiler Free)
What would you do if your world were besieged by aliens that are taking away your loved ones… and you cannot even see them? This is the story of Veil…
… he rounds the corner and enters the parking lot… when I limp around the corner, he’s not there… I know in my gut that he’s gone. Just gone.
The story follows John, a father of two and a high school teacher, going through a separation from his wife. Right off the bat, his son just vanishes around the corner from where he was standing. We learn that there have been a lot of mysterious disappearances in the small town where the family lives, as well as all over the world.
As the disappearances keep increasing and the world turns into chaos, John’s wife is also taken. He is left with only his younger daughter holed up in his house, with a usually friendly neighborhood that becomes its own regime and localized militia, forcing residents to give up their food and supplies under the guise of serving the collective good.
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Running low on supplies, under constant threat of aliens taking away his last family member, and the local militia threatening everything John owns, the aliens strike back and manage to capture his daughter.
With nothing left, John escapes his neighborhood and joins a few survivors with a promise.
After a near-fatal accident has given one of the survivors the ability to see what normal human eyesight cannot, a completely unsafe brain surgery is their only hope to be able to see the aliens abducting everyone on Earth. John and others volunteer…
…all I can think about is undergoing an experimental brain procedure at the hands of a cosmetic surgeon.
After the veil is lifted, John and his friends will risk everything and venture into an alien world to save his family and everyone they can.
Strengths
Pacing
The pacing of the book might seem a little bit slow at the start, but this is totally on purpose. Janz lets the dread simmer just long enough to get under your skin, and when things finally kick off, you are already on the edge.
At the start, I was not sure about it, but it all made sense after getting further into the book. The story that John experiences creates a very relatable character and allows us to get into the mind of this person who is losing everything dear to him, left and right.
And as the tension builds, the pacing accelerates. There were times when I was flipping through the pages without even realizing that it was way past my bedtime…
As the pacing accelerates, the story also becomes more and more intense. It is written in a masterful and thought-through way, guiding the reader through this emotional and scary journey, same as what John is experiencing.
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Characters
What makes Veil hit so hard isn’t just the horror; it’s the characters. They feel raw, real, and messy in the best way. You care about them, which makes every twist hurt a little more.
As it stalks toward me, one moment visible, the next moment gone, I wish I’d never had the surgery. Some things are better left unseen.
There are not many characters in Veil, and that is a good thing. This allows Janz to create fleshed-out characters you can relate to. Every character is different in their own way, going through the insane story along with John.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletterHorror Elements
The horror in Veil doesn’t just pop out at you; it creeps in, quiet and relentless, until it’s everywhere. It’s the kind that messes with your head as much as your heart.
The story itself is not only well written but also full of traditional and sci-fi horror elements. Whether it is the dread of losing someone you love, the paranoia of isolation and the outside, or the clear threat of an alien invasion, horror elements are ever present in Veil.
They relish it. The sport of it, the suffering they inflict. They revel in our fear.
Living this horrific story via John’s first-person perspective gives the book a different feel, allowing the horror elements to seep in even deeper into the mind of the reader. This is what’s great about Veil: it brings all the great horror elements together and gives them to you from a different and personal vantage point.
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Weaknesses (But Not Really)
First-Person Perspective
I was personally never really a big fan of first-person perspective stories. Sure, they can work sometimes, and there is a reason for that view in some cases. When I first started reading Veil, I was not sure if this perspective would be limiting (which is one thing I dislike about first-person perspective stories).
However, it was not the case. This is why it’s hard to call this a weakness of the book, only if you are not a fan of it. But I can tell you that in the case of Veil, the first-person perspective adds that extra personal touch of fear for the reader. As I mentioned above, it gives the novel a different feel and makes sense for the character-driven story.
Verdict
Veil by Jonathan Janz is a character-driven sci-fi horror story that allows you to get up close and personal with not only the characters but the alien invasion and all of the horror elements it offers. It is a perfect book for anyone who enjoys horror books from the likes of Stephen King (who influenced Janz) and David Wellington.
Veil releases on September 16th, 2025, and is a must-read for sci-fi lovers and horror lovers alike.
*Disclosure: We only recommend books that we love and would read ourselves. This post contains affiliate links, as we are part of the Amazon Services LCC Associate Program and others, which may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
The Review
Veil
Veil by Jonathan Janz is a slow-burn sci-fi horror story that gives you the experience of horro in first person.
PROS
- Character-driven story
- Horror Elements
- Dread
- Emotional core
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