Short Book Review: The Traveler by John Twelve Hawk
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
My review
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
I started out really enjoying this book. It really was 1984 in a modern setting and for what that's worth I loved it. I also enjoyed the notion of Harlequins, especially the sort of training they receive, the weapons they use, and the beliefs they hold. The notion of Travelers was pretty cool too... at first. But then... somehow they just never lived up to my expectations. If one is trying to base one's story in Physics, then why would the barriers between realms be these mysterious lands of air, earth, water, and fire? And especially, why would the fire world be represented the way it is? It was all just a bit hoaky for me. Plus, toward the end of the book.... See, I'm a physicist by training, and so while I admit John Twelve Hawks has done some research on the subject of quantum computing, he has also taken quite a few liberties, and that's quite a turn-off. A quantum computer can't track neural energy into another realm. That's just weird. And to top it all off, the idea that Tibetan Buddhists got the Six Realms completely spot-on right is also just a bit incredible. In any oral tradition, information, even if it's true, that comes from only a couple of sources is bound to be muddled over time, and hence I'm a bit incredulous. So.. that's that. Toward the end of the book it was just OK, mostly due to JTH's treatment of all the other-worldly stuff. The stuff in our world? That was GREAT, which is why I'll still get the sequel but... I don't expect much.
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