The Golden City

The Fourth Realm, Book 3

By: John Twelve Hawks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

A world that exists in the shadow of our own...the thrilling conclusion to John Twelve Hawks's Fourth Realm trilogy, The Golden City is packed with the knife-edge tension, intriguing characters, and startling plot twists that made The Traveler and The Dark River international hits.

John Twelve Hawks's previous novels about the mystical Travelers and the Brethren, their ruthless enemies, generated an extraordinary following around the world.

Internet chat rooms and blogs have overflowed with speculation about the final destiny of the richly imagined characters fighting an epic battle beneath the surface of our modern world.

In The Golden City, Twelve Hawks delivers the climax to his spellbinding epic. Struggling to protect the legacy of his Traveler father, Gabriel faces troubling new questions and relentless threats. His brother Michael, now firmly allied with the enemy, pursues his ambition to wrest power from Nathan Boone, the calculating leader of the Brethren. And Maya, the Harlequin warrior pledged to protect Gabriel at all costs, is forced to make a choice that will change her life forever.

A riveting blend of high-tech thriller and fast-paced adventure, The Golden City will delight Twelve Hawks's many fans and attract a new audience to the entire trilogy.

Listen to the first two books in the Fourth Realm trilogy: The Traveler and The Dark River.©2009 John Twelve Hawks (P)2009 Random House Audio

Makes you think

This is the third book in the series. I enjoyed reading the first two but found it easier to listen to the third due to limited time available for reading. Enjoyed this.

End of a Great Trilogy

What made the experience of listening to The Golden City the most enjoyable?

The different character voices of Scott Brick.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Golden City?

The ending.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Loved listening to him and the different voices he was able to create.

The Golden City

I read the review by Brad and they echo my sentiments. I too am looking for the 4th book. This ws a great story and a lot of fun The characters have been so well developed and the story can continue!!

Left me wanting more...

The Fourth Realm trilogy by John Twelve Hawks is not conventional science fiction by any means. In fact, it is debatable whether it belongs in the science fiction category at all - but I will leave that to other readers to sort out. I picked up the first book (The Traveler) in print form in a used bookstore. It sat on my "to read" shelf for months, until I ran out of anything else to read. As soon as I started reading, I was hooked, and listened to the subsequent two audiobooks. with their excellent narration by Scott Brick. I only wish there were more, as I became very caught up in the story line, the theme and the characters. John Twelve Hawks is a mystery (google the name), which may enhance the reading experience for some. Two remarkable attributes made this book stand out for me: (1) Scott Brick, who is obviously a popular narrator of audiobooks, did an outstanding job with this series, especially with the female characters. I am often irritated by some male narrators who portray all women in silly falsetto voices, completely distracting the listener and making it impossible to consider these characters seriously. Mr. Brick delineates each character well, and the strong female characters in this book are not diminished; and (2) the characters are allowed to grow and develop as the saga unfolds. Whoever John Twelve Hawks is, I hope to read more books by this author.

Fitting ending to an excellent trilogy

After finishing the second book I was disappointed there was not more time spent in the alternative worlds. The third book did not disappoint. This book features plenty of other world travelling. The main characters all get satisfying ends to their journeys.

Too Political

The first Traveler was one of my favorites. But as the series progressed, more politics and less action.

Worth your credit...

The whole series is a worthwhile read. The ending isn’t as bad as some reviews are saying. I think it’s actually quite apropos. Thoughtful and enjoyable series!

Overall a great book, but ending felt rushed

JTH managed to keep us hanging in there until the end. He didn't disappoint this reader, either, as The Golden City held a couple of surprises and the same roller coaster ride as before with some new twists and turns. However, I felt the ending was a bit rushed and not as thought out as his first two. I wanted a more polished ending, not too much, but not that little. I have to say it left me a bit "huh". But, wow! What a scary bad guy and what a realistic crisis that pulls Californians into submission. Whoa! Whoever you are, John Twelve Hawks, I like your style! Awakening society with fictional writing that parallels what is really going on right now. Is this really your last book? Say it isn't so!

The Golden City

So that was a great 3rd book, but my question is when is the 4th one coming out? I am going to be pissed if that is the last book! You need to have a real ending not one that leads into something else but nothing ever comes!! I really liked the body of the story but the ending was disappointing.

Some truths should be known

In the concluding book of his Fourth Realm series, John re-iterates and further enlightens readers to the truth of the open world we live in. I appreciate that John doesn't pin a global conspiracy on any government, or government agency, but simply points out that when a government, or Google for that matter, aggregates enough information and provides search and index capabilities into that data, it can and will be mis-used. Further, John points out that scare tactics by those who seek dominion are used to persuade populations into relinquishing their freedom (e.g. Patriot Act) to obtain safety. However, those who seek to dominate are the least trustworthy and most dangerous humans of our race. As a cold warrior, I was taught that among other things America was great because we didn't have gulags in Siberia where people snatched from the street were sent without due process. Now America has Guantanamo in Cuba, and who is to say who's in there? If our government collects file cabinets full of information of each citizen, who is to say some foreign power cannot break into the database and manipulate those running for, or those in political office or other positions of great responsibility. We should all ponder how our emotions are being used against us, and perhaps John's next book should be "How to live off the Grid". I was entertained, educated and edified by John's concluding book, and highly recommend it. And of course Scott Brick is among the finest of readers.