Hawks, John Twelve: The Traveler
The Traveler (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1) (2005)
Writer: John Twelve Hawks
Genre: Science Fantasy Thriller
Pages: 128/456
My Rating
Couldn't Finish It: I can't remember when, exactly, this book caught my eye, but I remember the moment itself: I saw all three covers (hardcover, trade, and mass market) staring at me from the shelf. And while I never knew if these three versions were released simultaneously or not, I could tell that there was some serious promotion going on behind this title. And hey, the covers, for the most part, looked snazzy.
So I kept the book in mind. Then a friend of mine told me how much she loved it. And then the second book in the trilogy, The Dark River was published, and the art for the hardcover was just yummy. And I ended winning said copy of hardcover, so I decided then and there to go ahead and get the first book.
Joke's on me. The book started out promising. I loved the prelude with Maya and the tale of how her father betrayed her and nearly got her killed. Maya's following chapters also held promise and I was happily turning pages until Hawks changed the POV. I got a little grumpy then, reading the villain's POV, but whatever. But then Hawks changed it again, giving me the POV of Gabriel, one of the guys mentioned in Maya's chapters, and the book started going downhill from there.
For starters, I didn't like Gabriel at all. Too nice and no edge. No real characterization. I got really tired, really fast of his and Michael's story because it wasn't interesting, because I already knew the truth about them from Maya's chapters but they didn't know, and because I didn't believe Michael's motivation for living the life he does. He wants money to buy them safety, yet he doesn't in any way credit his mother's admittedly insane-sounding ramblings? Whatever. I don't like these guys. But by time we get back to Maya, I'm given other POVs that I just don't care about, and I'm learning that this is one of those books where SCIENCE IS BAD.
Now maybe, by the end, Hawks redeems this notion, but at this point, I have no interest in finding out. Don't get me wrong, despite stuff that was making me grumpy, this is a ridiculously fast read. But what kept tripping me up were the POV changes into characters I didn't care about, and learning the truth about this Big-Brother-esque world where the bad guys use the Big-Brother-technology to spy on and eliminate their enemies. Look, I love Orwell's 1984 in a way that's probably a little unhealthy, and I appreciate the dangers, I really do, but unfortunately we live in a society where Big Brother has become something of a joke and is more synonymous with violation of privacy than it is with absolute, total, governmental control of the individual. Today, Big Brother has nothing to do with 2 + 2 = 5, nor does it have anything to do with the complete and total rewrite of a history the individual knows is wrong but accepts regardless. No, today is all about Big Brother as a violation of privacy, and The Traveler is just ANOTHER thriller to capitalize on that concept and fear.
What's worse is the preliminary discussion of quantum theory, and how its possibilities are becoming embraced by the bad guys, and therefore is BAD because the bad guys want to quantify how the good guys travel back and forth between "realms". Whatever. Maybe this all works in the end and doesn't make quantum theory sound like a joke, but like I said before, I'm not interested.
The book reads like it's written by someone who doesn't have a lot of SF under his (or her)*** belt, and I'm getting the impression that those readers who enjoy this book, like my friend, may not have a whole lot of SF under their belts either. I know that statement's probably going to get me into trouble, and it's not meant to sound like an insult, it's just that the more SF you read or even experience through film, television, and gaming, the less enamored you become of flashy, overdone concepts that are written for beach/airport reading. I, for one, would've been perfectly happy reading forward had the voice been stronger and more interesting, or if I could've really sunk my teeth into a character to root for, but I didn't.
There's also the possibility that this book falls under the fluff radar of some readers: something you read and love no matter how well or poorly it's written. God knows I've got fluff I am perfectly happy to enjoy, and like I said, I could've enjoyed this one on that same level, IF it'd managed to grab me. It didn't.
So what's to become of this title? I've got book two, a rather nice hardcover, but I have no intention of reading it unless I get so bored and want something I don't have to think about, and then I might consider picking up The Traveler to finish, which would give book two a fighting chance. That, or I might pass it along to someone who'd better appreciate it than I would. On Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, Pat mentions the second book is "the sort of book Clive Cussler, Graham Hancock and Dan Brown would come up with, should they ever team up together to write something." For any potential readers, that description alone should give you a solid indication whether or not this is a trilogy you want to sink your teeth into. Had I seen that description before getting my hands on these books, I would've passed.
*** = apparently, John Twelve Hawks is a pen name of someone who's yet to be revealed. So it could be a he. Or a she. But for some reason, the pen name almost makes me think this whole thing is some kind of joke and who knows, maybe it will be whenever (if-ever) the author's identity is revealed.
Next up:
Infected by Scott Sigler