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John Twelve Hawks

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.johntwelvehawks.com

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Member Since

February 2026

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John Twelve Hawks is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Traveler, the first book in a trilogy that includes The Dark River and The Golden City. The Fourth Realm Trilogy has been translated into twenty-five languages.

Known as JTH by his readers, he followed the trilogy with Spark, a stand-alone novel, and Against Authority: Freedom and the Rise of the Surveillance States,.

His new novel, Certainty, was published in 2026.

For more than twenty years, JTH has lived a deliberately “anonymous life” to show his resistance to the continual government and corporate attack on privacy. He has discussed his life choices in a published essay, “Writing as the Sky Rains Death.”

JTH worked as a war correspondent and turned to fiction to underst ...more

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Combine Editions
John Twelve Hawks’s books

Average rating: 3.79 · 25,872 ratings · 2,365 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Traveler (Fourth Realm, #1) 3.86 avg rating — 12,281 ratings — published 2005 — 93 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dark River (Fourth Realm, #2) 3.79 avg rating — 6,445 ratings — published 2007 — 68 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Golden City (Fourth Realm, #3) 3.60 avg rating — 4,748 ratings — published 2009 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spark 3.72 avg rating — 2,021 ratings — published 2014 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Against Authority 4.15 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Certainty 4.18 avg rating — 130 ratings — published 2026 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to Free Your Mind in the Trump Era 4.13 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2017	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing as the Sky Rains Death 4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fourth Realm Trilogy (Fourth Realm, #1-3) 4.76 avg rating — 21 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How We Live Now 4.15 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Twelve Hawks…

21 posts
John Twelve Hawks's Blog

THE PURPLE FLOWER

In my early thirties, I worked as a journalist in an African country that was lurching into civil war. One afternoon I was drinking beer on the third-floor balcony of my hotel when I heard gunshots coming from the railroad station. I slipped a notepad into my shoulder bag, left the hotel, and walked toward the gunfire.

“What’s going on?” I asked the ticket clerk.

“Soldiers and policemen are trying t

Series by John Twelve Hawks

Fourth Realm (3 books)
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John Twelve Hawks (Goodreads Author)

3.79 avg rating — 23,497 ratings

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John’s Recent Updates

John Twelve Hawks is now friends with Rock
Jun 17, 2026 11:34AM · like
John Twelve Hawks and 5 other people liked Liz Mandeville's review of Certainty: "John Twelve Hawks has created a future world in which a global pandemic has devastated the global population and left the survivors struggling to live. Many people escape their marginalized lives by migrating to “boroughs” or travel centers, where th" Read more of this review »
Jun 04, 2026 01:26AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Certainty by John Twelve Hawks. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Certainty by John Twelve Hawks <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Twelve Hawks liked Jan Finken's review of Certainty: "My son works in the current AI field--he has mentioned how much AI will change the world many times. This book actually gives you the opportunity to live in the world through a book....so much to think about."
May 05, 2026 06:51AM · see review
John Twelve Hawks and 4 other people liked Bruce Lesley's review of Certainty: "I loved this book ─ but then I’ve enjoyed everything this author has written so that is my bias ─ cared about the characters, intrigued by the multiple plot lines especially as they converged near the end, and reflected on the creative future scenari" Read more of this review »
May 05, 2026 06:51AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Certainty by John Twelve Hawks. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Certainty by John Twelve Hawks <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Twelve Hawks made a comment on Demetri Papadimitropoulos’s review of Certainty " Thank you, Demetri. This isn't a review. It's a literary essay. You analyzed the book at a level that most professional reviewers at major outlets rar ...more "
Apr 22, 2026 03:34AM · see review
John Twelve Hawks answered Goodreads's question: What’s the best thing about being a writer? I take thousands of experiences and turn them into a story. Creating fictions helps me understand reality.
Mar 05, 2026 09:46AM · 2 likes · like
John Twelve Hawks is accepting questions on their profile page.
Mar 04, 2026 02:55PM · Be the first to ask John Twelve Hawks a question

More of John's books…

Quotes by John Twelve Hawks (?)

“If privacy had a gravestone it might read: 'Don't Worry. This Was for Your Own Good.”
― John Twelve Hawks, The Dark River

tags: culture, science-fiction, technology

59 likes

“Life is dangerous. That's what makes it interesting.”
― John Twelve Hawks, The Traveler

33 likes

“Every new experience is unusual. The rest of life is just sleep and committee meetings.”
― John Twelve Hawks, The Traveler

24 likes

See all John Twelve Hawks's quotes »

Polls

What book would you like to read in September?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

4 votes, 33.3%

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

2 votes, 16.7%

Howards End by E.M. Forster

2 votes, 16.7%

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

1 vote, 8.3%

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

1 vote, 8.3%

The Terror by Dan Simmons

1 vote, 8.3%

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips

1 vote, 8.3%

12 total votes

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