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The First Novel of the Fourth Realm Trilogy
by John Twelve HawksThe Traveler explores a parallel world that exists alongside our own. A world that exists in the shadows of our own. A conflict we will never see. One woman stands between those determined to control history and those who will risk their lives for freedom.
A world that exists in the shadows of our own.
A conflict we will never see.
One woman stands between those determined to control history and those who will
risk their lives for freedom.
Maya is hiding in plain sight in London. The twenty-six-year-old has abandoned
the dangerous obligations pressed upon her by her father, and chosen instead to
live a normal life. But Maya comes from a long line of people who call
themselves Harlequins—a fierce group of warriors willing to sacrifice their
lives to protect a select few known as Travelers.
Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are brothers living in Los Angeles. Since
childhood, the young men have been shaped by stories that their late father was
a Traveler, one of a small band of prophets who have vastly influenced the
course of history. Travelers are able to attain pure enlightenment, and have for
centuries ushered change into the world. Gabriel and Michael, who may have
inherited their father's gifts, have always protected themselves by living “off
the Grid”—that is, invisible to the real-life surveillance networks that monitor
people in our modern society.
Summoned by her ailing father, Maya is told of the existence of the brothers.
The Corrigans are in severe danger, stalked by powerful men known as the Tabula—ruthless
mercenaries who have hunted Travelers for generations. This group is determined
to inflict order on the world by controlling it, and they view Travelers as an
intolerable threat. As Maya races to California to protect the brothers, she is
reluctantly pulled back into the cold and solitary Harlequin existence. A
colossal battle looms—one that will reveal not only the identities of Gabriel
and Michael Corrigan but also a secret history of our time.
Moving from the back alleys of Prague to the heart of Los Angeles, from the high
deserts of Arizona to a guarded research facility in New York, The Traveler
explores a parallel world that exists alongside our own. John Twelve Hawks'
stunningly suspenseful debut is an international publishing sensation that marks
the arrival of a major new talent.
As action adventure goes, The Traveler is difficult to fault - it's the first in a planned trilogy that is partly a cautionary tale of modern life and partly a psychological thriller with strong sci-fi overtones (think 1984 meets The Matrix). The Traveler is guaranteed to raise the paranoia levels of any conspiracy theorists to breaking point, but it also offers a valuable wake up call to all of us who buy into the convenience of modern day life without thought for where our increasing reliance on computerized everything could lead us!..continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Who is John
Twelve Hawks? According to his
editor at Doubleday, Jason
Kaufman (who also edited The
Da Vinci Code), nobody knows
- not even Kaufman. Twelve Hawks
claims to live 'off the grid' -
meaning that he lives in such a
way that the government can't
track him - no credit cards, no
driver's license and nothing
that would allow the government
to invade his privacy.
Kaufman says 'we talk quite
frequently [by phone], and I
believe he always speaks with a
satellite phone ... and a
satellite ...
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