Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 17, 2009

Jason rated it:

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

(Longtime followers of my creative projects know that in general I don't like publishing bad reviews; that for the most part I see it as a waste of both my time and yours, in that I could be spending that time instead pointing out great artists you may have never heard of. However, since one of the things this website is dedicated to is honest artistic criticism, I also feel it's important to acknowl More...

8 comments like (23 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2010

Alex rated it:

THE TRAVELER BY JOHN TWELVE HAWKS: This book actually generated quite a bit of buzz before it was released last June and I had it recommended to me by a few people saying that it was in the vein of Stephen King, and since I'm a fan I would probably enjoy this. I managed to get an ARC through the bookstore I used to work at and then it sat on my shelf for about six months until I picked it up and decided to start reading it last week. I finished it about four days later after pretty much eating i More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Amy rated it:

This book was not at all what I expected...but I loved it. I am not generally a big sci-fi/alternate reality fan but loved this read.

The author raised tons of important points regarding "big brother" and how easily our every move can be monitored by the "vast machine." I am not an alarmist but it is a little scary how easily our movements could be traced through seemingly little things such as grocery store discount cards and security cameras in ATM's.

More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Apr 25, 2009

Sandi rated it:

I read "The Traveler" a couple of years ago and I still think about it occasionally. The whole concept of what a Traveler can do was kind of New-Agey, but I thought the idea of people trying to live off the grid (without anything connecting up to computers) was very unique. If you read the blurb, you'd think this was a science fiction novel. I suppose it can be argued that it is a science fiction novel. However, in retrospect, I consider it to be a fantasy novel that uses a lot of More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2008

Chris rated it:

6/26/08
I'm still deciding if I can finish this book. Its pure summer fluff, but it is sooo bad I almost can keep reading . . .

6/27/08
I can't take it any more -- there are so many other good books, sci-fi or not, that I could be reading. I just can't waste my time on this crap. It's a bit of the Matrix, a bit of Highlander, with a lot of John Woo thrown in for good measure. This book has every cliche known to man (or rahter, known to 12 year old fan-boys) tossed togeth More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2008

Erica rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2011

Laura E. rated it:

I think I'd actually give this a 2.75 out of 5 if I could, but 3 is fine because a lot of the flaws of the book don't matter when you're consuming it in audiobook form, as I did. (The audiobook reader does a wide range of accents and voices for every character, which makes it very enjoyable.)

Those flaws: the plot is extremely straightforward, the characters aren't much developed, and anyone who's not a "citizen" or a "drone" in this CCTV-happy, consumerism-driven so More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 31, 2008

Jim rated it:

Pretty tiresome tripe. While the subject matter is very interesting, the book becomes a slog. It is weighed down by its own cliches and overly worn themes.

Essentially, there exists a group of people with special powers to cross over to other dimensions. Then there are a group of people who are sworn to protect them. Then there are a group of people working to hunt them down. All this takes place in a very near future dystopian surveillence society (future as in....like a month More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2007

Steve rated it:

Nice. The first in a series, but neatly tied up at the end, so it can stand alone. Classic plot with an interesting take on history, religion, and modern society... gee, if I wanted to believe it was all true, I could... there are no obvious contradictions between the fiction and perceived reality. Which makes it a very nice read, and I look forward to picking up the sequel when it comes out, which should be real soon now.

Oh, yes, the plot: Maya should be a Harlequin. Harlequins More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2010

Monk rated it:

Probably my favorite book of the last couple of years. The Traveler and its follow-up are a very cool blend of techno-thriller and fantasy, and they move along at an incredible pace. I live a very busy life and usually can read books only in 15-page bites before I pass out at night, but these books are load-up-on-Pepsi-Max-'cause-you-ain't-going-to-bed-brother kind of books. The story arc deals with two brothers and their inherited ability to travel between dimensions, but much of this first More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

Riveting! Highly recommended. Science fiction meets homeland security run amok meets the next prophet. Featuring a bad-ass woman as the ultimate fighting machine. I'm torn between wanting to see it made into a movie and leaving it alone as a great book. Listened to it as an audio-book, and the reader was fantastic. He did all the accents wonderfully and really added a lot to it.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 02, 2011

La Stamberga dei Lettori added it

Ho comprato questo libro per caso: girando per la libreria l'occhio mi è caduto sulla copertina, ho letto sommariamente la quarta di copertina, e l'ho preso. Un anno dopo è saltato fuori dalla marea di libri ancora non letti. Ed è stato un piacere.

"Il viaggiatore" è un ottimo romanzo di nuova fantascienza, che rielabora temi canonici in un prodotto altamente originale, e che si presta a diversi livelli di lettura. Uno è senza dubbio metaforico: la sfida dei Viaggiatori, individui che r More...

0 comments like

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

First in a projected trilogy called The Fourth Realm, The Traveler impressed all critics. Twelve Hawks presents big ideas about free will and determinism, good versus evil, social control, and alternate dimensions, all while impressing with knowledge ranging from the New Testament to string theory. Although reviewers compared the novel to the films Kill Bill, Star Wars, and The Matrix__with echoes of authors Dan Brown, Stephen King, George Orwell, and Michael Crichton thrown in__they called it w

More...

0 comments like

Dec 22, 2008

RF rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2012

Ricky rated it:

It was much, much better the second time; I absolutely ripped through this book. I don’t know why I wasn’t interested in finishing the last 50+ pages back in November, but man oh man is this book exciting—it’s one of the more cinematic books I’ve read since Morgan’s Kovacs books. I love Maya; her character is very cool with the internal conflict, her beauty, her black hair (a rarity among women), and her viciousness. Her combat sequences were so easy to picture, and the way that 12H writes, I More...

0 comments like

Oct 14, 2011

Felix rated it:

Несколько лет назад редактор Джейсон Кауфман показал, что способен сделать из дерьма конфетку, превратив роман Дэна Брауна “Код Да Винчи” в “самую читаемую книгу всех времен и народов”. Теперь у Кауфмана новые игрушки. Например, такие как “Последний Странник” – свежий коммерческий проект, вполне способный по мнению пиарщиков затмить всех своих предшественников. “Последний Странник” – по сути обычная городская фэнтези, написанная довольно простым и неказистым языком, но на данный момент она уже п More...

0 comments like

Aug 20, 2011

Andrew rated it:

The Traveler has major merits when it comes to being a really fun summer read for guys (i.e. action-packed, a story of heroism and taking a stand, and, you know, all that other mystical seize-the-sword bullshit that no one in real life ever gets the chance to actually do but men absolutely love reading about, myself included).

The Traveler reads like Stephen King before he bought a Thesaurus. The plot is intricate and Twelve Hawks seemed like he really did his research and I can tell More...

0 comments like

Apr 20, 2011

Steve rated it:

I tend to agree with the other reviews here, both the good and the bad. Yes, the writing is cliche'd, heavy-handed and wooden. And yes the story elements have all been seen before recently.

But by framing it as "this is really happening, it's not just a story", John Twelve Hawks makes me look around and wonder just how far-fetched this stuff is. The vast conspiracy network is totally unnecessary for the rest of the dystopian Panopticon stuff to happen. None of the techn More...

0 comments like

Feb 14, 2011

Nyra rated it:

Durante sus primeras paginas no logró atraparme, el género en particular no es de mi gusto habitual por lo que se me hizo soso para seguir y sumamente largo (488pag), sin embargo, a medida que la muy bien estructurada historia coge vuelo todo cambió, no logre parar! Su final es uno de los que mas me ha gustado en los libros que he leido recientemente. El escritor no se midió a la hora de desarrollar sus personajes, los lugares, los distintos elementos que conjugan esta obra que para mi no es sol More...

0 comments like

Jan 26, 2011

Leif rated it:

I hate to sound clichéd, but usually, when I look at the cover art of a book, I can guess if I will enjoy it or not. I am aware of the saying about judging a book by its cover, but honestly, people are paid good money to make sure that those covers appeal to readers that will enjoy the book. I saw this cover, and it looked cool. I figured that it was probably a cool book inside that cover. I was wrong.

I had two problems with the book. First, I found the book kind of unbalanced. T More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 29, 2010

Angela rated it:

Good thriller with a mix of technological paranoia and pseudo-samurai mythology. The story revolves around Maya, one of the last Harlequins, an ancient order of fighters sworn to protect Travelers (those who can astral project between realms of reality) at any cost. The Travelers and Harlequins have been systematically hunted down and assassinated by the Tabula, a worldwide organization dedicated to enforcing surveillance culture and ensuring that humanity remains docile and obedient. Maya uses More...

0 comments like

Aug 16, 2010

Teghan rated it:

Oh my goodness, I do not have enough good things to say about this book. It is by far, one of THE BEST novels I have ever read. It was challenging, dangerous and BRILLIANT.

It starts off a tad slow, but once you get past the necessary into chapters it just rips along at a breakneck speed.

I ADORE Maya, the main character. I have never encountered a woman in fiction written to such complex perfection and written without gender bias. She is not painted as a sex object, she has More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 15, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

I started reading this book and got too involved before I found out it was the beginning of a series. I was really frustrated until I got to the ending. While the story is not concluded, the book didn't end leaving the reader with the same feeling as an itch that can't be scratched. I enjoyed the novel enough to want to read the rest of the series. John Twelve Hawks has a writing style that allowed the perspective of the story to change between characters while maintaining a detached narrative a More...

0 comments like

Aug 02, 2009

Hans rated it:

It seems wrong to document on an internet site linked to my Facebook page that I read The Traveler. The central message of technology being used to imprison people through a combination of fear/intimidation and comfort/distraction is straight out of our current world condition. I've willing added this data point about myself. Giving it a star rating shows yet one more data point that tells how best to market to me (or in the darker world of the book, control me).

I'm giving this a More...

0 comments like

Aug 06, 2011

Karolina rated it:

First part in the Fourth Realm Trilogy. Tells the story of two brothers, Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, who after their father's death have been living "off the gird", i.e. invisible to all governance surveillance. They carry with them a secret hidden even to them. They are travellers with the ability to visit other realms than our own. Nathan Boone, a mercenary, has been tasked by the Brethren (the controllers of us all) to hunt them down. In his way stand the Harlequins, a group of fi More...

0 comments like

Jun 10, 2011

Nikola rated it:

Istočnjačke religije, pa i neke novije sekte u americi koje tvrde da su u kontaktu sa višim formama inteligencije, tvrde da postoji više dimenzija, s tim da je prva ono što mi smatramo za pakao, druga nešto slično, ali u blažoj varijanti, treća realnost životinjske primitivnosti, četvrta naša, peta dimenzija polubogova, tačnije viši, duhovniji spiritualni nivo koji naše duše pokušavaju da dostignu pročišćenjem, i na kraju šesta, dimenzija takozvanih bogova, tačnije istih ljudi kao što smo mi, na More...

2 comments like

Jan 02, 2011

Shilpi rated it:

The blend of modern day (actually ultra-modern) technology and the legends was flawless. The characters were well-defined. Plus, more often than not, in the first book of fantasy book collections, there are loose ends that tantalize you till you finish the entire collection. They tantalize you because you know that information is being held back from you willfully - it appears contrived. In this book, the as-yet unknown information doesn't irritate you - you calmly reflect upon it, knowing that More...

0 comments like

Jun 14, 2010

Alice rated it:

Excellent sci-fi thriller that would strongly appeal to fans of urban fantasy. Twelve Hawks has essentially written a paranoid fantasy about CCTV, Carnivore, RFID chips, biometrics and massive databases. Since electronic privacy is one of the fields I study in graduate school, I knew quite a lot about almost every technology Hawks mentioned. I was impressed that he didn't need to exaggerate anything to dream up a deviously panoptic nightmare (unlike, say, Cory Doctorow).(*) The main character, M More...

0 comments like

Oct 25, 2011

lindsay rated it:

This started out as a 5 star book for me, but disappointed me as it went along and ended up as a 3 star book. It delved a little too much into mysticism and started to sound more like the "travelers" take something like a spirit walk rather than travel to other worlds or dimensions, which is what the blurb and the opening chapters seem to promise. I'm game enough to read the next book and see where it goes, but i'll be holding my breath. Also, and this is just a personal peeve, but the More...

7 comments like

Feb 21, 2010

notyourmonkey rated it:

Is this a first/early novel? Because it kind of feels like it. Ripping good yarn, with all sorts of interestingish world building and action sequences; atrocious dialogue. Characters exposit more than they speak, and nobody has a distinct voice.

Also, I'm afraid that this books suffers a little from that George Lucasian phenomenon of not realizing that hamfisted Good Versus Evil/"I want to control everything because I deserve it; I'm a pretty, pretty princess!" versus " More...

0 comments like