The Traveller: a thriller so different and powerful it will change the way you look at the world (Fourth Realm Trilogy)

by John Twelve Hawks

Fans of Scott Mariani, Ken Follett and Michael Connolly will love this riveting, fast-paced, high-tech thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author John Twelve Hawks.

"A cyber 1984...Page-turningly swift, with a cliffhanger ending" - NEW YORK TIMES
"Compelling...Picture The Matrix crossed with William Gibson and you'll have a sense of The Traveller" - NEWSDAY
"The pace is fast, the characters intriguing and memorable, the evil dark and palpable, and the genre-bending between fantasty and thriller seamless..." - KIRKUS REVIEWS
"So good I couldn't put it down" -- ***** Reader review
"Both thought-provoking and entertaining. I was totally gripped" -- ***** Reader review
"Expertly crafted" -- ***** Reader review

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WHAT LIES AHEAD IS ALREADY HERE...

America is a difficult place to live below the surface. But Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are trying to do just that. Since childhood, the brothers have been shaped by the stories that their father has told them about the world in which they live. Since his mysterious disappearance, they have been living 'off the grid' - that is, invisible to the intrusive surveillance networks that monitor our modern lives.

But no-one is as invisible as they would like to believe. Nathan Boone, a mercenary, has been tasked to hunt down the brothers. The only person who stands between them and certain death is Maya, a tough young woman playing at leading a normal life. But her background is anything but normal. She has been trained to fight and survive at whatever cost.

When she is summoned to protect the brothers, she must leave everything behind if she is to succeed.

• ISBN10: 0552152692
• ISBN13: 9780552152693
• Publish Date: 1 March 2006 (first published 4 July 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Corgi Books
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 608
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

This is a story very close to the bone with modern survelience techniques and the feeling that your freedom is being traded for same-ness. That we're all being encouraged to live and act like sheep instead of finding something that moves us and being true to ourselves. I'm not as paranoid as the author but I do find myself finding some questions about the path this world is taking

This is a story about some of the powers in the struggle for freedom or virtual slavery. The Tabula or Brethren are on one side. They want order, they want predictable, they dislike randomness. They have managed to get through to another realm via a computer but they need a Traveller to get all the data through so they can improve the order in the world. One of their problems is that they have been systematically killing off the Travellers, so now the pool of candidates is very shallow. In fact it's two brothers with potential, Gabriel and Michael.

Gabriel and Michael come from a long line of Travellers. They've been trying to live in the shadows and "off the grid" for years. Michael yearns for normality, stability; Gabriel lives his live for those fleeting moments where he feels at one with the world. Neither of them have any idea what being a Traveller is all about.

Maya is a Harlequin. The Harlequins oppose the Brethren and try to keep the Travellers safe, while keeping the world of imagination and choice open. She's been trying to live a normal life over the past few years but she is one of the few Harlequin left who can keep choice open for the two brothers.

It's a bit over the top sometimes and the characters occasionally blurred for me. I didn't get a strong feeling of place in any of the cities and the story lagged occasionally. That being said I did find it an interesting read, it reminded me somewhat of White Wolf's Mage Role-Playing Game but without the magic. Instead of Magic it had Astral Travelling. It didn't make me want to rush out and get the sequel but it also didn't make me want to throw it across the room. However he did belabour the point a few times too often and I often felt like I was being talked down to. The post-script did nothing to make me anything but convinced that this guy is a conspiracy nut. Possibly correct, but still a bit of a nut with some pet ideas that he really wants to belabour.