• The Traveler

  • The First Novel of "The Fourth Realm" Trilogy
  • By: John Twelve Hawks
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (2,734 ratings)

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The Traveler  By  cover art

The Traveler

By: John Twelve Hawks
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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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)

What listeners say about The Traveler

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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90 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Would make a great movie!

This terrific story, was similar in story line to the Matrix but with a much more believable base.
The author created characters you cared about and the pace was perfect. Plenty of action, not just for the sake of action but to further the story always. Scott Brick shined as usual as narrator and brought everything to life with his unerring style.
Looking forward to the next installment. The scenes in the book are perfect for a movie, I hope one comes of it.

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82 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Really beneath Brick

Scott Brick brings this clunker to life as he could for your local phone book. Sadly, this material is really not worth his talent.

The plot is standard Orwell ripoff with predictable over-the-top bad guys who are puppeteers for the gubmit. The good guys are supposed to be heroic, but how heroic is it to hide from the system rather than openly challenge it? They end up looking so scared and pathetic that you sometimes find yourself hoping they'll just lose that next sword fight and end their misery. But, no chance of that unless one decides to stop being maudlin and morose. If one of them starts to enjoy life they are guaranteed to lose the next sword fight. Evidently heroic misery is its own reward.

All of that would be forgiveable if the plot were the least bit imaginative. It's not. I've read better comic book plots.

Twelve Hawks introduces the book by claiming he "lives off the grid", yet here we are buying his book from the heart of the grid. I'm guessing the grid knows where to send his royalty checks. He's taking himself way too seriously.

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47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

I tried so hard to like this book

I won't disparage anyone who enjoyed this book, but despite wanting to like it so much, I could barely bring myself to listen to it. Scott Brick is one of my favorite readers, but even he couldn't save this book. The overall plot has some interesting ideas, but the characters are copy and pasted cliches from every hollywood movie you've ever seen. The writing is tedious and flat. I thought if I had to listen to the phrase "vast machine" one more time I was going to throw up.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Just happy to be done with this book!

This audiobook started with some interesting ideas, but then strayed from them to give a lecture on the problems of modern society. The authur sounds like a complete lunatic and the narrator would be better suited reading sappy poetry; both factors make this audiobook torture to listen to. Don't waste your time.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

It makes you stop...and think,

I have to be honest, I only got this book because it was read by Scott Brick.
I knew I would enjoy it. I never knew how much it would make me stop and think.
This book was very different from his usual reads. More than just a mystery or fantasy, this book has a spiritual element. As I listened, I was reminded of Orwell's "1984", and it caused me to wonder just how close to "Big Brother" we have gotten. John Twelve Hawks,through the characters he created in this book, asks a lot of questions. The answers perhaps are a little too scary for us to hear.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Dreadful!!!

This was an awful book from start to finish. I was never interested in the plot or any of the characters.
It felt like nothing was ever going to happen and unfortunately for me (and any other reader or listener) nothing ever does.

Poorly written, uninteresting linear plot and hollow characters - no one wonder John Twelve Hawks wants his true identity to remain a secret.

Give this one a miss!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome book

An excellent and thought provoking work that blends modern life, religious ideas, and speaks to the heart of our concepts of freedom. This book will have you questioning ideas you have taken for granted and introduce concepts you have yet to consider. I wait with bated breath for the next installation and so will you! Enjoy and beware of The Grid.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

More than half way thru and no

I am more than half way thru with no sign of any "Traveling". Just heavy-handed violence and cynicism. However, I am going to be "traveling" on to another audiobook. This one is just too paranoid and cynical. I'm sorry that I wasted a credit on this. Oh, and the reader is disappointing as well. Please don't waste a credit, just wait for the movie to show up on the USA Network.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow! I loved this book!

Although I could be called a conspiracy theorist, I don't believe some things can be called theories once there is hard evidence attached to it. The fact is American citizens, as well as citizens of the globe, are losing their freedom to the powers that be. We are watched continuously as we drive to work, shop, and live our lives. With one swipe of a card our entire history becomes apparent. Of course, our leaders claim it's all in the name of safety. They create events to keep us in fear. In fear we agree to lose our privacy because our government will keep us safe. But at what cost? "The Traveler" dives into the realm of the not so distant future. As a matter of fact, everything the author writes about is real. There are really facial recognition cameras, identity chips, etc. This book brings to life a frightening reality of what is already happening, has already happened. It makes us aware of the fight we need to put up for our freedom, instead of just rolling over and playing dead. A great scenario of the dangers of our lack of privacy is in the "Ordering Pizza in 2010" short on the internet. This isn't so far away, and we should really take our personal freedoms much more seriously. "The Traveler" was entertaining, fast paced, well thought out and executed with great characters! A must read.

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10 people found this helpful