The Traveler

The First Novel of "The Fourth Realm" Trilogy

By: John Twelve Hawks

Narrated by: David Carradine

Maya is hiding in plain sight in London. The 26-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's stunningly suspenseful debut is an international publishing sensation that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

Listen to the second book in this series: The Dark River: The Fourth Realm, Book 2.©2005 John Twelve Hawks (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This novel’s a stunner.... You won’t want to put the book down.” (People)

“The stuff that first-rate high-tech paranoid-schizophrenic thrillers are made of.” (Time)

“A fearless, brilliant action heroine (think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill); a secret history of the world; a tale of brother against brother... and nonstop action as the forces of good and evil battle it out....Readers won’t regret taking this wild ride.” (The Times-Picayune)

Maybe a movie

I read some reviews earlier that this would make a great movie and that it would be SO exciting. I think they are probably right. Everything of substance in this book could be set forth in a 2 hour movie. They might even be able to add a few layers. The most interesting part of the whole book occured in the first 30 seconds when Twelve Hawks (synthesized of course) spoke of being "off the grid". A lot of people are questioning wether or not this is a publicity stunt but I think that John Twelve Hawks has to be the real thing. It would take a total shut in who trully believed the machine was watching in order to write this book.

Only someone that absorbed could believe that these characters were even remotely believable. The bad guys (which is what they were, single layered without complexity) in this book had virtually no motivation. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a problem but it left the reader to believe that the "bad guys" truly thought they were helping the world. I love a good thriller but I hate characters without depth.

Maybe Steven Segal could make a good made for DVD movie out of this.

Ludlum vs Orwell

Well, I can't say it was a waste to get it but I wouldn't get it again. We've seen this sort of thing before in just about every Robert Ludlum book out there. Big Brother kind of stuff but the author was more concerned about warning us of the dangers than developing the plot and characters. Now, if he went more in depth into the worlds of "traveling" or the "big" computer system the antagonists were using (no plot spoilers), that could have helped. I think when it comes down to this type of "warning fiction", if you can't make the reader care, you're going to get no where. And that is where I'm left, I just flat out didn't care about what all these organizations could do.....maybe I should....hmmmmm.....

Good story until the end

I enjoyed the story. It was not inspired, but an OK read. Then, at the end in an interview with the author, I found out that he really believes there is a conspiracy! What a load.

traveler

This is the beginning a series of fast pace novels that bring you into a unknow realm of mystery and imagination.

Great story!

I have loved this story since we first met many years ago and have multiple copies of it. There are layers and a depth to it that you don’t get from the abridged version especially with a narrator who massacred it completely. The big ideas the author talks about are even more relevant today than when The Traveler was first published. If you have the option, skip this version and get the unabridged one. Maybe you can find one not read by David Carradine.

The Traveler

Listened to the first 40 pages and gave up.

Remined me of a William Gibson book!!

I have listened to over a hundred audio book (way over)and I thought this book was great. I didn't check to see who the narrator was and so did not know it was David Carradine until after I had listened to it. Personally, I think actors make better story tellers than announcers do and I thought Carradine did a good job, his style did not get in the way of the story(I did not stop the book to look up the name of the putz that was telling it).
The story was compelling and reminded me of a William Gibson book. His charactors are well developed and and have depth. The story moves along well; I was anxious to get back to listening to it. The only bad thing is that this is book one of three and I want to know what happens to the characters!
The author is more than just a writer of fiction, he lives a lifestyle that is outside the "system", like many of his characters do(there is an interview with him at the end of the book). A little bizzare but he writes very knowledgeably about the subject from that perspective.

Not sure why this is a bestseller...

I ordered this book because it sounded interesting and it was an Audible Bestseller, which is usually a reliable recommendation. I have to say, though, that this was one of the most unsatisfying books I have ever read/listened to. It was very long, and after some 15 1/2 hours, I would have liked the story to tie the details together. Instead, it left so many loose ends it seems like the author just wrote what he did to coerce us into buying a sequel. It took a while to care about the characters, too, and when I finally did, the book ended without telling me what happened to them. I would not recommend this book.

Good, but not as good as unabridged version.

Interesting and thought provoking. Much better illumination in the unabridged, Scott Brick read version. Well thought out and good interview with the author at the end.

David Carradine should not read books!

John Twelve Hawks was not well served by having David Carradine read his novel. I found his reading style so distracting that the book wasn't worth the time.