Veil reminded me a lot of Bird Box and since that’s one of my top horror books, I was immediately hooked. Where Bird Box leans more into supernatural horror, Veil takes a sharp turn into sci-fi territory. As someone who doesn’t usually read sci-fi, I thought Janz made it feel surprisingly grounded and believable.

This book was nonstop action and tension, and I could easily see it being adapted into a TV show or movie. I’d definitely watch it. You've got invisible creatures snatching people out of thin air, bloody fight scenes, and the kind of post-apocalyptic chaos that brings out both the best and worst in people. It’s brutal and wild, but still has moments of real emotion.

It’s also a parent’s absolute nightmare. Losing your children, your partner, and having no idea what happened or how to fight back? Heartbreaking. But the story doesn’t wallow in that grief. It keeps moving, with just enough heart to keep you rooting for the characters.

My only issue (and it’s more of a personal thing) was the vocabulary. Janz loves his fancy words, and I found myself looking up a definition way more than I wanted to. Not a dealbreaker, but it did pull me out of the story a few times.

Overall, this was fast-paced, intense, and emotionally grounded. And I really hope there’s a book two coming... because I need more.

⭐️4.25⭐️

In this story, people are vanishing from parks and city streets without reason or warning. Once the vanishings start happening in broad daylight, people take refuge in their homes, but nothing seems to stop the invisible creatures. John Calhoun loses his son first, then his wife, and after two months of surviving with his 13-year-old daughter, she too, is abducted. With nothing else to lose, John sets out with other survivors in hopes of lifting the veil and saving his family.

This book was so intense and is exactly what my mood reading heart needed. It’s fast-paced and Janz delivered such an action-packed story, I honestly had a very hard time putting it down. There wasn’t a single moment I found myself bored in this entire book. It is very much horror/thriller, but also scratched that sci-fi itch!

The stakes are high in this one, and the characters are all fantastically fleshed out. I even found myself tearing up during certain parts of the story! Honestly, this book would make the absolute best movie.

My only real struggle with the story comes from the secondary plot stressors that felt like an overly embellished echo of the Covid-19 pandemic. At first I understood the relationship and themes being addressed, but after a few chapters, it started to feel a bit overdone and forced. I also struggled a bit with the ‘telling’ writing style of the story, which I think can be common with action-based first-person narratives, but it took me out of the moment during key scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am curious if there will be a sequel. The potential is there, and I hope there is one to help tie up some loose ends. If you are looking for a book to fill the void after reading Bird Box by Josh Malerman, this is one you should absolutely pick up!

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for granting me early access to this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finally got my hands on this book. When I found out what it was about, I had to read it. Janz did not disappoint. The concept was brilliant, and the amount of potential it had leaves tons of room for you to be let down. I wasn't let down once. Mark my words: This will be a movie soon.

📖 People are literally getting snatched and vanishing in thin air. All over the world. John loses his entire family. He meets a group of survivors, and one of them can see the creatures because of a brain injury from a car accident.

Suspenseful, entertaining, terrifying, and satisfying. Literally destroyed this book. Janz got a new fan 🤙🏼.

Thank you, netgalley, black stone publishing, and the man himself, for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review. (Made a Netgalley account for this book.)

An action packed apocalyptic tale that grips readers from beginning to end. This story revolves around a man who tries to protect his family from an unforeseen force that threatens humanity. After his son vanishes on the first night John tries his hardest to shield what’s left of his family from further dangers. As time goes on more people vanish, first at night then during daylight. No one knows what is attacking and taking their loved ones. Society begins to crumble as humanity struggles to fight back. Other threats begin to emerge from the chaos and people begin to fight one another. Among the mayhem John tries his best to maintain hope and keep his daughter safe however various threats soon meet him at his front door.

This story takes you on a ride of emotions from intrigue to grief to excitement and curiosity. The insidious threat that lingers and threatens the characters is both terrifying and captivating. The atmospheric dread the author paints adds to the story and lets the reader feel the intense pressure that comes from an apocalyptic scenario. The story puts the reader in the place of the character making them question what they would do in the moment. As a reader you can’t help but wonder how you’d react to the frighting entities in the story. The story has a lot of depth both in its action scenes as well as character development. This book is a page turner, you won’t want to put down. There are many questions in its lore and you’ll be left wanting more after finishing the story. Overall it’s a great tale, it’s full of great scenes, and the threat is downright chilling.

This is an eerie and entertaining story for fans that enjoy creature/apocalyptic horror. If you want a book that delivers action in most of its chapters you’ll like it. No one is safe and you’re left wondering who will be taken next. If you’re a fan of Stranger Things or War of the Worlds this book will deliver a jam packed story full of thrills. I enjoyed every bit of it and completed it within 24 hours of starting it. My only issue that keeps me from rating this a 5 was the formatting, the formatting for Kindle needed a lot of work and was distracting. I imagine the formatting will be improved before release however at the time of reading it was all over the place and needed improvement.

Veil by Jonathan Janz is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and is perhaps the best alien invasion/abduction book period. It also almost claimed the title of my favorite Janz book, but Children of the Dark still holds that title. If you knew how much I love that book you’d understand what a compliment it is to say Veil nearly stole that honor. And I will not to be the least bit surprised if many claim this is Janz’s best, especially any fathers out there.

The lead of the story, John Calhoun, is such a great character. It is impossible not to sympathize with him and the torment he goes through. People are disappearing. Not just missing, but literally disappearing. It starts slow, and no one knows what is happening, but then it happens to John’s son while he is out with him one night. His son rounds a corner and when John catches up, only a few steps behind his son is gone…and there is no time nor anywhere he could have run off to, he’s just gone. And not just him, dozens go missing around the same time, with more disappearances happening each night…then it’s not just in the night, it’s happening during the day to. And before long there are witnesses, people being grabbed by invisible forces, dragged away and then just disappearing. This is an alien invasion unlike any I’ve ever read about before. This is an amazing story, chronicles the lengths a father will go to for his family and the scary but all too real likelihood of how much of society might react to such a situation. While there is a satisfying ending to the story, there is also room for more to come, and I truly hope Janz plans on continuing this saga.This is one of those books I know I’ll read again and again over the years. It also cements my belief that Janz is one of the best out there writing today. Thanks so much to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked this book! The world building was creative and it inspired a bit of fear similar to how it was to read/watch Bird Box and A Quiet Place. I won't spoil anything but I love how the worldbuilding is revealed throughout the story and it doesn't feel forced. I loved the relationships between characters and how they grow and change throughout the story.
Thanks NetGalley for providing this awesome book!

Wow! What a ride! You are hooked right from the first page and it's hard to put this one down.
You get everything in this book - sci-fi, horror, violence and in the mix of it all so many raw human emotions. And how about that cover? So beautiful, mystical and creepy. I love it!
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a fast paced, well written horror.

Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book was like riding a rollercoaster. I was up and down. There were times I was completely into the story and then I’d find my mind wandering a bit but then I’d be pulled back into the story when things started picking back up. The ending absolutely gutted me.😭

Veil follows High School teacher and dad, John. Every day the real world starts to slip away more and more. There’s been a string of large disappearances all over. Nowhere is safe. What’s even more terrifying is that this force or being or whatever it is that’s causing the disappearances is invisible. There’s no way to see it and it happens so quickly that there’s no time to react. Then his family is taken from him and he’s desperate for answers. He wants to do everything he can to save them and bring them back home.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and the author for this ARC. Veil releases September 16th, 2025.

Jonathan Janz delivers a chilling alien invasion blockbuster like nothing you’ve read before! Full of horror, sci-fi nerdiness, and loaded with emotion and heart. Seemingly
Made for the big screen, This book was freaking awesome! I’ve been dying for a really great alien invasion or alien abduction novel and Janz delivered that in spades! Tight pacing, wonderful characters, and overflowing with imagination. This one should be a huge hit. The writing here is just top notch. And the cover on this one is gorgeous. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Delicately crafting a sci-fi horror for those that was a COVID-esque era story mixed with aliens, Jonathan Janz has yet again terrorized me in the best way. This is abrutal, read, where the main character John is bounced between an alienr ace kidnapping thousands across the globe, and the evil of humanity. For those of us who remember the anti-maskers, the toilet paper hoarders, the formula shortages (I for one have cried in an empty formula aisle), the human element is almost more brutal than the aliens. Janz does a fantastic job at showing the duality of human nature, and the ties that bind us. And that ending....man there better be a sequel.

John and his young son Sam are out walking one night when a family spat between them sees Sam walk ahead in a huff, only to almost instantly disappear. But he's not the first to go missing, and soon scores of people are vanishing. After John's wife and daughter join the missing, he meets a ragtag group of people who think they have the answers. Whatever is happening is coming from another dimension, but a rare form of surgery can open humans up to seeing it. Seeing little choice, John volunteers for the procedure, as going beyond the veil is his only hope to save his family.
Right from the start this is an adrenaline-fueled action/adventure that never relents. A different direction than his previous novels, Janz has written a sci-fi/horror story with elements of Lovecraftian and post apocalyptic horrors amidst a tale that is ultimately about family and sacrifice. 3.5/5*

Wow! This one really kept me reading - I found myself still looking at my Kindle as I walked around the house. Frightening, engrossing, thoroughly entertaining, and quite inventive. Great science fiction horror, grounded in our current world. Recommended!

Veil by Jonathan Janz
Five stars!

“The creature back there.
Could you smell it?”
I nod

Nothing can save you from what you can’t see.

👀Horror
✨️Suspense
👽Science fiction
🫣Invisible threats
😫Vanishing people
😭Emotional distress

People are vanishing. John's son vanishes right around the corner in the middle of a disagreement. Nationwide, people are disappearing at an accelerated rate. John’s wife is next dragged away into the woods by an invisible force. Bunkering down at home, John and his thirteen-year-old daughter hope they are safe. They are… for now. When things get bad and his daughter is taken, John is desperate. He must find his family and save them. He’ll try anything, even risky brain surgery, that should enable him to see the creatures.

What a book! Whew!
It was fast to start the abductions, and it really kept the suspense up for the whole book. I didn't feel any lulls in the pacing. As a parent, it was a stressful book. The thought of people, my kids, and spouse being dragged off by invisible beings with no way to help anyone was dreadful. And it just gets worse. I wanted to read it all in one go. I was so invested in what was going to happen. It really captured what could happen in real life and how people would react to these types of phenomena. How awful people could be to each other. It felt well researched for the more complicated science parts and facts throughout the story. My emotions were all over for this book; I even found myself crying in public (don’t judge me. it hit hard, okay).
It was not my first Jaz book. I really enjoy his writing style. His writing had such a good way to make you feel for these characters. There is a need to find out what is going to happen. I do think this is one of my top books now. This would make a fantastic adaptation to the screen. It was so good.

I was provided an early copy to read and honestly review. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley.

You know that feeling on a roller coaster when you're riding in the front car, and for a split second, you peek over the edge, and you know there is no turning back?

Yeah. That's a Janz novel.

This book is non-stop action and violence and suspense. There were moments I held my breath with the characters, moments I celebrated with them, and moments I grieved with them. I went through all the emotions throughout.

No one does it quite like Janz. I can't wait to see what he brings us next.

*Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a digital ARC of this one!*

I’ve been reading and reviewing long enough to remember the YEAR OF JONATHAN JANZ. If you’ve not heard that, well you missed out on getting a couple new Janz releases plus I think almost a dozen re-releases, all within the same year. This was maybe 2017 or 2018 and it was a gloriously amazing time to be a Janz fan! Throughout Janz’s literary career, one thing has become absolutely paramount in every single story he writes. The man cares about his characters. What I mean about that, is it’s very very veeeerrry rare to find a one-dimensional character in his story. There’s not a lot of folks just there to be there and not move the story along and you’ll learn what makes them tick.

That was what had me so excited when ‘Veil’ was announced. Janz hasn’t been afraid to subgenre hop in the horror world – he’s done everything from werewolves to vampire’s to spooks and specters and ghosts and everything in between. But he’s not done anything truly in the alien/sci-fi world, and fresh off the alien desecration that Adam Nevill unleashed with ‘All the Fiends of Hell,’ I couldn’t wait to see what Janz had up his sci-fi sleeve.

What I liked: The story follows high school teacher John, who is dealing with a heavy life. He’s separated from his wife Iris, constantly fighting with his older son and trying to stay connected to his younger daughter. And on top of that, he feels like a lesser person, dealing with a significant limp from a leg length discrepancy from an accident when he was younger. But that all pales in comparison to what’s begun to happen around the world. Without any sort of rhyme or reason, people are going missing, plucked from the sky by something… never to be seen again.

We’re thrown into the deep end immediately. John and his son go for a walk to the store, discussing father and son issues, and what’s happening in the world, when his son rounds a corner and is just… gone.

That moment, quite early on, is the launching point for the world to turn upside down as the sky opens and hundreds of thousands begin to be plucked and disappear. Video footage emerges, curfews are enacted and after John’s wife also gets taken, him and his daughter hunker down and do their best to survive. Of course, there’s a nut job vigilante in the neighborhood, wanting to make sure all the dwindling supplies are stored in one place – for safe keeping naturally – and its those moments were we see how the novel also alludes to real life events – Covid and political upheaval and even presciently to what’s happening with ICE in the US right now. Janz does a phenomenal job of twisting this from first being an abduction novel and turning into a story about a father doing everything and anything it takes to try and find those he loves the most.

As it progresses, we learn what has arrived and what they’re doing and there’s a hard line that gets drawn between here and there and Janz plays those cards perfectly, showing us what just may await those who pierce the veil.

The final quarter of the novel is a full sprint. It’s tough to really describe everything without having spoilers, but I will say it worked really well to have this earth and non-earth juxtaposition where we feel grounded and then frantic.

The ending is a mix of heartwarming and heart wrenching and honestly that’s exactly what this book needed.

What I didn’t like: Two things stuck out to me. The first was that I found the son disappearing felt almost like it happened too soon. It was the rare moment in the book where I felt like we didn’t get enough of the father-son dynamic to really grab a strong grasp of their relationship before the son was gone.

The second was that the aspect of here versus there seemed like it was too easy to traverse across. Again, I don’t want to be a Spoiler McSpoilface, so I’ll leave it there.

Why you should buy this: Horror and sci-fi have been pals for ever since books began to be written and movies filmed. So, it should be noted that while this is ‘sci-fi’ it’s grounded in the horror genre and shows Janz’s horror sensibilities time and time again. This was frantic. Chaos infused claustrophobia. It was a father desperately trying to find his family and things from elsewhere arriving and wrecking havoc.

Janz is an elite writer, one who has honed his writing voice and mastery of prose over decades now, and once you begin a Janz book, you know you’re in sure and steady hands.

This book was achingly perfect and is sure to connect with long-time fans and bring in plenty of new fans and I expect to see this book – especially with that cover – become a mainstay on social media for many years to come.

An amazing horror/ science fiction survival story. A fresh take on alien invasion and what it might look like combined with excellent character development and fast action make this a book worth reading and re-reading. The ending, while satisfying did leave some doors propped open ( IYKYK) and could be a great topic for a book club. Overall a highly enjoyable, fast moving, and memorable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the books publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

People are getting mysteriously snatched- seemly out of thin air. When John’s son is taken from right in front of him, John is set on a path to get his family back together- one that will stretch him to near breaking and bring him to the edge of insanity.

I absolutely loved this sci-fi creature feature with so much soul! My middle school students are not quite ready for the violence and language, but I would absolutely recommend this for high school and up if you love real science based science fiction (Andy Weir fans this IS your next read) and fantastic monsters.

Thank you NetGalley!

A novel about aliens that allows us to glimpse the best and worst of humanity, Jonathan Janz’s “Veil,” is an action-packed, nerve-fraying, brain-sizzling, sci-fi horror triumph. I only started reading Janz about 5 months ago, and this is my fourth by him so far- it’s also the fourth time that he has blown me away, this time, literally to another dimension. I’d read the man’s shopping list. Gorgeous writing delivered alongside break-neck, whiplash-inducing pacing and one of my favourite protagonists, well ever, “Veil,” is a novel full of heart and love and hope- for people, for stories, for humanity to do better- and I for one would like to see not only a sequel (PLEASE Jonathan, make it so) but also a movie. Coming September 16th from Blackstone Publishing, “Veil,” is a smooth blend of King’s “The Mist,” with Lebbon’s “The Silence,” with Star Wars, and it is sure to frazzle the synapses of nerds everywhere.

We follow John Calhoun, a biology teacher, a book-store owner, and most importantly, a father and a husband. These are relationships that are strained, with his wife Iris due to their finances, and on that fateful evening, with his son Sam because of the curfew he’s imposed upon him. These very domestic tensions give way to something far bigger however, when Sam storms off around a corner, and vanishes completely. As more and more people go missing, seemingly from the face of the earth, as lockdowns are imposed and conspiracies are created, it becomes increasingly unlikely that Sam has simply run away from home, and increasingly unlikely that he’s coming back anytime soon.

The action scenes Janz writes are truly something else. Otherworldly (if you will) denotations of tension and character, of nerve and nerve-ending. A horrifying, cloying motorway scene reminiscent of that from C.J Leede’s “American Rapture,” a truly tense home invasion, and a very claustrophobic underground brawl, are just a few scenes that jumped out, amongst others. Janz’s pulse-pounding, propulsive writing that is as tightly choreographed as it is sweat-inducing, makes for a reading experience that is paced like a heart-attack and about as relaxing as a root canal… it’s just how I like it.

There’s one scene in particular I have to highlight though, which takes place in the parking lot outside Aldi. What struck me harder in this passage was not the inter-dimensional threat overhead but the humans beneath it. Having, like most, had to sit in my home and watch COVID-era videos of super-spreader protests against masks and vaccines, of people fighting over toilet roll and bashing each other with cans of food, this chapter in particular, clearly shaded by that same experience, horrified me the most. The grotesque selfishness that blooms when humans are cornered and unchecked, and the self-interested acts of many of the characters, really does hold up a mirror, and what’s reflected in it, at times seems far more monstrous than any alien invader.

That’s not to say that the alien invaders are not absolutely terrifying too. In the first half of the novel Janz does something genius. King did it in “The Mist,” and Malerman did it in “Bird Box,” and that’s withholding the visual element. Yup, the aliens are invisible. Having people abducted, snatched off of the ground, is deeply scary anyway, especially for our protagonist as a father, but when the only inclination that this is coming is a thrumming, vibrating sound, and a nasty smell, well that’s a whole bunch scarier. The reader is forced to fill in the blanks, populate the void, with our imaginations, and when the curtain, or indeed the veil, is pulled back- it is of course far ghastlier than we thought.

What I fear I’ve done is presented this book to you as one that is about interdimensional kidnappings and the failings of humanity, and whilst both of those things are apparent in “Veil,” as I suggested in my introduction, it’s a book with a beating, human heart at its core. John Calhoun is a wonderful man, a wonderful dad and a wonderful protagonist, flawed, human, but unwaveringly decent. With explicit references to his love of King and “Providence,” by Caroline Kepnes (which I, along with the majority of readers certainly appreciated) I can’t help but wonder if this character is so well-developed and fleshed-out, because… John is Janz. John and the gaggle of good guys he befriends serve as a reminder that amongst the selfish and uneducated, there is such greatness within the human race, and that we are right to expect far better from it.
A truly masterful novel, that is about what it is to endure as a father and a human being, Jonathan Janz has yet again demonstrated that he can write just about anything. I feel it’s high time we let him write just everything. Novels, manifestoes… screenplays. Somebody call Hollywood.

Holy smokes, what a nonstop action ride this one was!! 🙌

Gave all the creepy scifi horror vibes!!! I can totally see this one becoming a movie!! Pulled me in from the very start and didn’t let go!! This one is definitely in my top 5 reads of the year!! Highly recommend, especially if you love scifi horror!! 👏

Thank you to Jonathan Janz, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!! New favorite Janz novel!!! ❤️

Veil throws you into a chilling new world where people are vanishing, and no one knows why. We follow John as he tries to protect his family and uncover the truth, only to find something far more terrifying than anyone could have imagined.

Janz’s writing completely immerses you in this eerie apocalyptic setting. It reminded me so much of the early COVID lockdown days, which made it feel even more real and unsettling.

Now I have to admit… aliens terrify me. As a kid, I had vivid dreams of being experimented on, so this book hit a personal fear of mine. And honestly, I loved it. The sci-fi horror blend was everything I’ve been craving lately.

This one creeped me out in the best way, and I’m seriously hoping we get a sequel. There’s definitely more story to tell.