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495th out of 1,210 books
—
6,529 voters
The Dark River (Fourth Realm #2)
A brilliant follow-up to the New York Times bestseller, The Traveler, The Dark River follows the Harlequin, Maya, and the Traveler, Gabriel Corrigan, on their search for Gabriel’s lost father.
In his first novel, John Twelve Hawks introduced the world of two brothers, Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, who learned they were Travelers, a line of prophets through history who are a...more
In his first novel, John Twelve Hawks introduced the world of two brothers, Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, who learned they were Travelers, a line of prophets through history who are a...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
July 10th 2007
by Doubleday Canada
(first published January 1st 2007)
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THE DARK RIVER BY JOHN TWELVE HAWKS: John Twelve Hawks returns with The Dark River, the second of the trilogy, after The Traveler, in the Fourth Realm series. We last left off with Gabriel on the run from the Tabula with his Harlequin, Maya, having just sabotaged the Tabula’s quantum computer system which was part of the Virtual Panopticon: the Tabula’s effort to create a worldwide system to watch and know what everyone is doing all the time. The Dark River continues the story of this dystopia i...more
Aug 17, 2007
Starshine
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who want to know what happened after "The Traveler"
I absolutely LOVED "The Traveler", as can be seen by my 5-Star rating. I couldn't put it down, and I was actually greatly torn between going on to "The Dark River", or reading Book 7 of Harry Potter. Yes, that's how good "The Traveler" was. Harry Potter won out, naturally, but as soon as I put it down (and recovered), I picked up "The Dark River".
I have to say, I was let down. The story no longer felt as compelling, the pace seemed to slow, and there didn't seem to be a lot of new information. I...more
I have to say, I was let down. The story no longer felt as compelling, the pace seemed to slow, and there didn't seem to be a lot of new information. I...more
I am completely fascinated by this series. It has such a dark paranoid feel to it....in some ways, a flashback to my mentality in college and previous career. I'd say the series is well worth reading, if only because anything that talks about ubiquitous monitoring of our lives (ie, police cameras in Baltimore and London, ATM cameras, store cameras) as well as parkour deserves to be read by more people. The fact that the author is anonymous, and that Neal Stephenson and Stephen Hawking have been...more
Another great book from John Twelve Hawks - this one a followup to the first one in this series The Traveler. These books really give you the creeps when thinking about how our privacies really are quickly vanishing.
Publisher's Summary
The Dark River opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel's father, who has been missing for nearly 20 years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his Harlequin protector, Maya, immediately mobilize to escape New York a...more
Publisher's Summary
The Dark River opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel's father, who has been missing for nearly 20 years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his Harlequin protector, Maya, immediately mobilize to escape New York a...more
Twelve Hawks , John (2005). The Traveller. London: Corgi Books. 2006. ISBN 9781407071886. Pagine 498. 12,86 $
Twelve Hawks , John (2007). The Dark River. London: Corgi Books. 2008. ISBN 9781407038032. Pagine 515. 11,55 $
Twelve Hawks , John (2009). The Golden City. London: Transworld. 2010. ISBN 9781407056746. Pagine 370. 17,69 $
The Fourth Realm Trilogy
Un’altra recensione tardiva. Sono 3 libri che ho letto nell’estate del 2010, dopo essermi imbattuto nel primo della serie perché incuriosito da una...more
Twelve Hawks , John (2007). The Dark River. London: Corgi Books. 2008. ISBN 9781407038032. Pagine 515. 11,55 $
Twelve Hawks , John (2009). The Golden City. London: Transworld. 2010. ISBN 9781407056746. Pagine 370. 17,69 $
The Fourth Realm Trilogy
Un’altra recensione tardiva. Sono 3 libri che ho letto nell’estate del 2010, dopo essermi imbattuto nel primo della serie perché incuriosito da una...more
I really shouldn’t be reading depressing books. For some reason I’m having a predilection for tending towards melancholy…and this series’ bleak outlook on life is not really what I need right now.
Nonetheless, I picked up book two and blew through it, leaving the half-read history of Ethiopia book languishing for attention in my bag. Don’t worry little history book…soon I shall get to you too. But there was more meat here.
Sort of. This is a rather direct, simple book for “technological thriller”/...more
Nonetheless, I picked up book two and blew through it, leaving the half-read history of Ethiopia book languishing for attention in my bag. Don’t worry little history book…soon I shall get to you too. But there was more meat here.
Sort of. This is a rather direct, simple book for “technological thriller”/...more
I enjoyed The Traveler, despite its cliches, but with The Dark River, I sometimes found myself embarrassed to be reading it. This was most acute when the story suddenly turned into The Da Vinci Code. Look, I'm not above reading fluff, obviously, but I do draw the line in some places, which is why I've never read The Da Vinci Code or Twilight, so I felt kind of betrayed when my fluff turned into "that other" fluff out of the blue. Some other issues:
1. Vicki went out like a bitch. She was a good c...more
1. Vicki went out like a bitch. She was a good c...more
What a place to end a book! This was, by far, the most abrupt ending of a book that I've read in a long time. I'm amazed at the terseness and hopelessness of the last two pages, even though I was expecting a cliffhanger. But this was much more than that--it was a chapter ending in which the next chapter is the beginning of the next book. Maya takes center stage, and her continuing modification of her own values proceeds through this middle part of the story. She is a Harlequin, and she can't rej...more
After reading The Traveler - book one of the Fourth Realm trilogy, The Dark River was a let-down. One of the things that I really liked about The Traveler - the absence of loose-ends that lend a book that is part of a series the ability to stand-alone - is missing in this book two of the trilogy. The loose ends keep you dangling and they are like an abrupt and irritating turn on an otherwise straight road.
The plot, basically, has not developed any further than it had in The Traveler. The Dark Ri...more
The plot, basically, has not developed any further than it had in The Traveler. The Dark Ri...more
Paranoid characters can be interesting. Paranoid books can be a fascinating journey into the heart of a whole different world. This thriller which is launched as an attack against the Machine that is dominating our world is filled with paranoia that starts on the first page and will stick with you after the last page. In comparison to the first novel though he forgot that the characters still drive the story and that you have to care about the story and that the bad guys have to strike some sort...more
Oh dear.
Following on from The Traveler, which was a promising thriller combining some interesting philosophy with a decently written adventure, this second volume takes that groundwork and flushes it down the toilet. The plot becomes ludicrous, the attempts at philosophy become badly thought out individualistic rants and the writing has somehow become painfully bad. Seriously to the point that it doesn't read like the same author. I'm not saying that The Traveler was Dostoevsky, but this is awfu...more
Following on from The Traveler, which was a promising thriller combining some interesting philosophy with a decently written adventure, this second volume takes that groundwork and flushes it down the toilet. The plot becomes ludicrous, the attempts at philosophy become badly thought out individualistic rants and the writing has somehow become painfully bad. Seriously to the point that it doesn't read like the same author. I'm not saying that The Traveler was Dostoevsky, but this is awfu...more
John Twelve Hawks keeps on going with his metaphysical thriller series, taking us along for the ride. This series is one of my favourites, and while The Dark River is not as carefully considered as The Traveler in my opinion, what it loses in subtext it makes up for in character development.
In this novel, we get to know Maya, Gabriel, and Michael more deeply. We also get to explore more fully the other realms and the shrouded-in-secrecy Brethren tradition. It's an amazing experience, getting to...more
In this novel, we get to know Maya, Gabriel, and Michael more deeply. We also get to explore more fully the other realms and the shrouded-in-secrecy Brethren tradition. It's an amazing experience, getting to...more
The author has presented an interesting world view and created a fascinating world in which his characters play out their drama. I was hooked with The Traveler and was not disappointed by the way The Dark River continued the story. This book is very much a chapter in a continuing story. I found it satisfying, but it leaves the characters in a fix you will have to wait for the next book to resolve.
Jun 17, 2010
Alice
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who read the first one, nobody else
Shelves:
dystopia-postapocalyptic
2 stars? 2 1/2 stars? 3 stars? I can't decide, because although this was definitely not as good as the first one, at this point I'm addicted and will be plodding my way through the rest of the series. I do think Twelve Hawks lays everything out a little too clearly and obviously, whereas the first one had a lovely paranoid mystery about it. Still, if you liked the first book in this series, you'll HAVE to read this one to find out what happens, so there's not really much of a point to reviewing...more
This is the second in a series by this mysterious writer and the mystery surrounding the writer is a bit much for me...
THE DARK RIVER opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel’s father, who has been missing for nearly twenty years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his brother search for their father with very different agendas.
The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote...more
THE DARK RIVER opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel’s father, who has been missing for nearly twenty years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his brother search for their father with very different agendas.
The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote...more
Feb 20, 2011
Dave Brown
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
ebook
Remember when Michael Jordan retired? I mean, the first time? He made that amazing, game-winning shot, and left at the top of his game. When he returned from retirement, I was disappointed. I felt it would be almost impossible for him to improve on his amazing success.
John Twelve Hawks' first book in the Fourth Realm Trilogy, The Traveler, was suggested to me by a friend and fellow science-fiction lover. I was immediately impressed with the freshness of the idea, and completely plausible near-f...more
John Twelve Hawks' first book in the Fourth Realm Trilogy, The Traveler, was suggested to me by a friend and fellow science-fiction lover. I was immediately impressed with the freshness of the idea, and completely plausible near-f...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This sequel was a long time in coming. And for all the wait, its too short, more like a 'chapter' in the story rather than the next adventure. While this series has never 'traveled' in the direction I'd like it to go, its still oddly intriguing and I'm interested enough to wait around for the third installment.
To say that John Twelve Hawks-the pseudonym of the popular and reclusive author of the Fourth Realm trilogy-struggles under the burden of his success with the 2005 best seller The Traveler (**** Sept/Oct 2005) might be a bit of an exaggeration. Still, The Dark River tends to lack the punch and originality of the earlier novel. True to Twelve Hawks's vision, however, the second installment has enough gee-whiz moments and intense fight scenes to keep readers going-particularly those who enjoyed th
...more
I picked this up on a whim at the library because I needed an audiobook while I was canning. What a fun discovery. It's a really cool premise of people trying to survive "off the grid" in a Big Brother kind of world that basically already exists (everyone losing their privacy and rights, ostensibly so government can fight terrorism), which is freaky to contemplate.
My only complaints: I felt like it lost steam and direction when Gabriel went to the 1st Realm. Also, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger, w...more
My only complaints: I felt like it lost steam and direction when Gabriel went to the 1st Realm. Also, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger, w...more
The overall storyline picks up the complexity developed in the first and enhances it. I enjoy the idea of the secret Brethren, Harlequins, and Travelers battling out humanity's future. However, two things kept this from being a five-star book for me. First, Twelve Hawks interrupts various storylines to jump to others at very odd moments right when I'd be very into the current one. I get it that he's trying to tell what's going on in various places at the same time, but how he does it is ineffect...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I'll admit it's been a while since I read the first in this series and remebered thinking it had promise, but from what I am getting from this book, I am not sure I even remember it that clearly. So, the Travelers can bring enlightenment by traveling to other realms...but the realms aren't exactly where I would think you could find enlightenment. For example going into a realm that is essentially what is understood to be hell doesn't exactly seem as if it will change the world. And if I can be s...more
I was a big fan of The Traveler, but at some point in The Dark River, I just popped right out of the plot. The polarization. The good guys--the "elect." The evil other guys. They'll bring the world as we know it to an end. Fight that evil wherever you find it (& it's always in the other guy). The conspiracy. The need to hide! (and etcetera). Wouldn't the true heroes just walk transparently in the light, among the dangers, walk on water, or between the raindrops? And what is the vision for wh...more
I've mostly enjoyed this series so far. Seeing as I was raised by hippies and have run around in the punk scene for most of my adult life, I know plenty of paranoid/tinfoil hat types who prefer to live off the grid. The big bads in this book could have sprung forth from their deepest fears. That's not a complaint - it's a frightening situation, one that all of us in the first world can feel breathing down our necks. Even if we don't believe that we're being watched at all times, I think we're al...more
This sequel to The Traveler was entertaining, but the uneven pacing failed to keep the momentum of its predecessor. The first half of the book moves forward at a rather meandering pace, and the end of the book has so much wrapping up so suddenly that it feels half-assed. That's not entirely true. The very end was a blatant cliffhanger, which failed to wrap one particular storyline up, and it failed so utterly that the cliffhanger had me rolling my eyes rather than thinking, "I can't wait for boo...more
Great book - 2nd of a trilogy that warns of a danger posed by too much government observation - something I can agree with!
The level of paranoia is high, and tiring to think about but makes sense as usual as there are few goodies v. loads of baddies with all the power. The bad guys computer systems seem very vulnerable though considering how important they are to their dreams of ruling the world.
And there's a shocking death rate in this!
QUOTE: If privacy had a headstone it might read: Don't wo...more
The level of paranoia is high, and tiring to think about but makes sense as usual as there are few goodies v. loads of baddies with all the power. The bad guys computer systems seem very vulnerable though considering how important they are to their dreams of ruling the world.
And there's a shocking death rate in this!
QUOTE: If privacy had a headstone it might read: Don't wo...more
More paranoid ranting. A couple of the characters are interesting enough that I'm finishing the series just to see what happens to them. There wasn't really a lot of action in this book. It sort of just kept going. 3 stars nonetheless for a couple likable characters and the scenery--not the omg-I've-been-places travel guide descriptions, but the alternate realms. I'm enjoying the idea of major historical figures having traveled to some of these (seriously fucked up) places, and deriving their in...more
First of all...
If you haven’t read The Traveler (The Fourth Realm #1), stop! Read this book first:
The Dark River (The Fourth Realm #2) continued the excitement, follow-up to The Traveler (The Fourth Realm #1).
A lot of action going on! The Dark River is in one of 6 realms. John Twelve Hawks described the setting is really awesome and brainrush! I felt like this author had been in these realms before! He is a true gifted storyteller.
Will definitely read its third book: The Golden City (The Fourth...more
If you haven’t read The Traveler (The Fourth Realm #1), stop! Read this book first:
The Dark River (The Fourth Realm #2) continued the excitement, follow-up to The Traveler (The Fourth Realm #1).
A lot of action going on! The Dark River is in one of 6 realms. John Twelve Hawks described the setting is really awesome and brainrush! I felt like this author had been in these realms before! He is a true gifted storyteller.
Will definitely read its third book: The Golden City (The Fourth...more
What is a guilty-pleasure read when it is not pleasurable? Why didn't I get off my ass and procure a book I would enjoy more? Why do I find myself compelled to read the third volume of this trilogy? What dark powers, John Twelve Hawks, are you using that I find myself opening up your novel, written at a sixth-grade reading level, the story a cheap rip off of The Divinci Code meets the Matrix ? I guess it's easy, like in ordering-off-the-dollar-menu-at-McDonald's easy rather than firing up the wo...more
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John Twelve Hawks aka J12H/JXIIH.
His real identity is unknown. He communicates using the internet and an untraceable phone and has never met his editor.
Several guesses have been made regarding his identity: that he was Thomas Pynchon, Dan Brown, or Steve Hawking among others...
More about John Twelve Hawks...
His real identity is unknown. He communicates using the internet and an untraceable phone and has never met his editor.
Several guesses have been made regarding his identity: that he was Thomas Pynchon, Dan Brown, or Steve Hawking among others...
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“If privacy had a gravestone it might read: 'Don't Worry. This Was for Your Own Good.”
—
28 people liked it
“Many physicists these days sound like the Delphic oracle - with equations.”
—
3 people liked it
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Feb 08, 2013 11:33am