The Traveler

The First Novel of "The Fourth Realm" Trilogy

By: John Twelve Hawks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Maya is hiding in plain sight in London. The 26-year-old has abandoned the dangerous obligations pressed upon her by her father and chosen instead to live a normal life. But Maya comes from a long line of people who call themselves Harlequins, a fierce group of warriors willing to sacrifice their lives to protect a select few known as Travelers.

Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are brothers living in Los Angeles. Since childhood, the young men have been shaped by stories that their late father was a Traveler, one of a small band of prophets who have vastly influenced the course of history. Travelers are able to attain pure enlightenment, and have for centuries ushered change into the world. Gabriel and Michael, who may have inherited their father's gifts, have always protected themselves by living "off the Grid", that is, invisible to the real-life surveillance networks that monitor people in our modern society.

Summoned by her ailing father, Maya is told of the existence of the brothers. The Corrigans are in severe danger, stalked by powerful men known as the Tabula, ruthless mercenaries who have hunted Travelers for generations. This group is determined to inflict order on the world by controlling it, and they view Travelers as an intolerable threat. As Maya races to California to protect the brothers, she is reluctantly pulled back into the cold and solitary Harlequin existence. A colossal battle looms, one that will reveal not only the identities of Gabriel and Michael Corrigan but also a secret history of our time.

Moving from the back alleys of Prague to the heart of Los Angeles, from the high deserts of Arizona to a guarded research facility in New York, The Traveler explores a parallel world that exists alongside our own. John Twelve Hawks' stunningly suspenseful debut is an international publishing sensation that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

Listen to the second book in this series: The Dark River: The Fourth Realm, Book 2.

©2005 John Twelve Hawks (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This novel’s a stunner.... You won’t want to put the book down.” (People)

“The stuff that first-rate high-tech paranoid-schizophrenic thrillers are made of.” (Time)

“A fearless, brilliant action heroine (think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill); a secret history of the world; a tale of brother against brother... and nonstop action as the forces of good and evil battle it out....Readers won’t regret taking this wild ride.” (The Times-Picayune)

Told friends and family

I started reading a chapter in the bookstore and was immediately engrossed. But before buying I checked Audible and found that it was a choice.
I'm 3/4 through this story. Normally I only listen to the books when driving. This one I'm listening to as I work on the computer and do many normal tasks.

Just can't put it down.
The story has many elements.

1.Thought provoking. The premise of big brother monitoring us and taking away our freedoms. It is close enough to reality that one can "suspend belief" as she/he listens.
2. The Narrator is perfect for the book instead of trying to change the voice to emulate a woman or different characters. For the most part he keeps his same pace and voice with some minor inflections. I liked this it was more like reading the book than listening to a play.
3.A great take on spirituality and mysticism. Nothing new just extracts from major religions.
5.Finally there is lots of action and a intricate plot.

I haven't written a review this positive since I listened to the story of Pi. This is a book I feel like saying to every friend I meet, have you read the traveler. Awsome you have to pick it up.

Very interesting...

I enjoyed listening to this book and found it very interesting. The only downside is that it is a trilogy and I don't have the other 2 volumes. I look forward to hearing the rest in the future. Definitely worth it.

Hyped, but fun

It wants to be the matrix, wants to be different..... isn't either, but it's still a fun read. I will read the next two when they come out. This author is a lot like Grisham... he writes with the movie rights in mind.

travel fast as the grid closes

What did you like best about this story?

This was an interesting twist on parallel universes, and mans continual quest for power over others. I enjoyed how it lead me to view our current world from a different angle, and made me wonder even more about our apparent geopolitical crawl to a one world government. That said, I hope one would take the time to enjoy this book as entertainment with a different lens.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once I started listening to the book I wanted to see where the plot was leading not so much because it was exciting, but because it was interesting.

Any additional comments?

Again, it is an easy and appealing listen.

Great!!!

We can't wait for the next book, my whole family listened to it!!! The reader was great too!!!

The Traveler

I donno!!!! John Twelve Hawks has set up a mysterious aura around himself. Sounds like another gimmick. And.... why does anyone want to give their lives for travelers. What good are they? But... he has made me paranoid enough not to send in warranty cards. The IRS will still find me. smile. I'll get the sequels, though. Narrator doesn't know how to pronounce the Arizona state tree "The Saguaro". Get him squared away for the sequel.

Fiction that illuminates life! ⭐️

Have read multiple times and provides insight into the realities we encounter everyday and accept as real.

Second listen after 15 years

I have recently acquired a taste to listen to some of the older Audible downloads in my library. The Traveler is one of those that I originally listened to a couple of years after it was published. Some 17 years after its original release, I realize that many of the concepts and technologies were indeed prophetic.

At the end of the day, I think this is a philosophical novel about control and obedience. Fast forward from 2005 to 2022 and you can see that many of the technologies and concepts that are introduced in this novel are starting to be part of our main stream discussion. You can take this novel as a cautionary tale, or as a call to arms. I don’t think there is any best answer at the end of the day. This novel, however, should generate some thoughtful discussions amongst those who read it.

Mixed

I listened all the way through, but this was rather weak. The premise was not the problem, but the style is poor and the ending just prepostorous. We expect the good guys to win, but it is as though the author just completely gave up and ignored all the previous strenghths of the bad guys.

Go Read 1984

This book is basically a modern day copy of 1984. Granted everyone and their brother copied George Orwells big brother idea, but there really isn't anything all that new here. People seem to compare this to the matrix, though they forget the matrix was visually stimulating and this book isn't. I hate to rip on an author, but I didn't find any new angles here.