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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’s stunningly suspenseful debut is an international publishing sensation that marks the arrival of a major new talent. From the Hardcover edition.… (more)
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All that aside, I found this book to be very entertaining. Definitely great summer reading. The premise seems influenced by a combination of the paranoia and new age spirituality in The Matrix, while the sword-wielding, karate chopping female heroine is straight out of Tombraider and Kill Bill and the training of the titular Traveler borrows heavily from Star War's Yoda and Luke, but altogether it equals more than the sum of its rather derivative parts. Combined they make for a thoroughly diverting tale.
The characters weren't quite as fleshed out as I might have preferred (Twelve Hawks commits the cardinal sin of frequently telling more than showing) and there was a bit too much exposition, but nonetheless the prose is economical and it can be unusually suspenseful in parts. Plus It's very up-to-date, very topical. The Patriot Act even merits a brief mention. I suggest that if you share my deep-seated distrust of the current scope of the government's power and the omnipresence of technological invasions of privacy, you should read this book.
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.
One special group of human beings, called Travelers, are able to travel to other dimensions. Another group, called Harlequins, are dedicated to defending Travelers. But now the Brethren (also known as the Tabula) want to capture a Traveler so they can complete their construction of a society where no secret can be kept.
But these issues, while perhaps interesting topics of discussion, are ultimately much less relevant than the fact that this is a highly entertaining thriller, with a premise that will appeal to fans of "The Matrix" franchise and an anti-control theme that will resonate with conspiracy lovers and Robert Heinlein readers. Heinlein once wrote that "political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." Mr. Hawks's work fully embraces this same theme as well as the Aldous Huxley-ish viewpoint that science without mysticism is ultimately meaningless.
In the tradition of the best thriller writers, the author manages to avoid the pitfalls common to many first-novelists, juggle multiple points of view, and keep the pages turning with cliffhanger chapters. He also writes with a direct, unpretentious style that aids in the suspension of disbelief and fits well with the technology-laden world he has created. And his characters, particularly Maya and Gabriel, have more depth than the cookie-cutter heroes common to books of this sort.
At times, this book teeters on the edge of becoming an over-the-top amalgamation of too many proven Hollywood elements (martial arts, quantum physics, Buddhist meditation, "Highlander"-esque chases, a "Terminator"-like bodyguard, travel to other dimensions a la "The Matrix," etc.), but the author's palpable passion for the philosophical threads running through the book somehow links everything together in a way that is both entertaining and mentally stimulating.
-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
One
Overall, I enjoyed the book and its characters, and I'll probably pick up the next in the series to see where they go from here.
This book has the same made-for-film feel to it as Dan Brown's books-a flashback here, a car chase there, explosions, sword fights, mixed martial arts, a little romance- though the writing isn’t quite as hackneyed. It is, however, just as paranoid and blends just enough fact with conjecture (or fiction) to keep the reader thinking the entire time it might all be true. It also does not shy away from the spiritual in the way that many pop-lit books do. Indeed, the spiritual realm drives the plot of the book, the motivations of everyone involved, and even the reader.
I read this on a recommendation (and when you suggest books to so many people, there is a requirement to read all recommendations) and I learned more about the person who recommended it than I did about the importance of living “off the grid” (we get it, the author is clever because he lives off the grid-he’s not a sheep like the rest of us). I will read the rest of the trilogy and I’ll probably find a number of people to recommend it to. It’s not great literature, but it is a fun read.
Tries to do a more SF/F flavored Da Vinci Code (he uses the Templar's like a tea bag, and quickly dunks them in).
Like watching the bottom of an octopus - with no real
Story is silly, and the characters are underdeveloped. I didn't really care about what happened and it was like reading a video game - all motion and no real story.
The Characters tend to be a little one dimensional but do avoid being cookie cutter jokes. All in all the book offers a unique look at where the world might be going buts gives the hope that people banding together always have a shot at overcoming the odds. 87/100
It plays to the paranoia that grips some people about the coming Constantly Observed Society. When the government knows
The evil Powers That Be are seduced by the prospect of advanced technology from an alien life form who only requests access to our world. A greedy and compliant Traveler is just what they have been looking for. Will the aliens come to this reality? Will The Brethren kill all non-compliant Travelers, dooming the world to stasis?
Yes, the writing is juvenile, but it did keep me reading straight though. Even cardboard characters can have an allure.
I thought this book provided a fantastic point of view about living off the grid in addition to a great storyline too.
All the other reviews are right, but it reminded me of how John Norman (the GOR books) could write an
Alas, we'll always have a shortage of gifted writers who also have something compelling to write about.