The Dark River

Book Two of the Fourth Realm Trilogy

By: John Twelve Hawks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The Dark River opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel's father, who has been missing for nearly 20 years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his Harlequin protector, Maya, immediately mobilize to escape New York and find the long-lost Traveler.

Simultaneously, Michael orders the Brethren, the ruthless group that has been hunting Gabriel, into a full-scale search. Gabriel yearns to find his father to protect him; Michael aims to destroy the man whose existence threatens his newfound power.

The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote region of Africa that is rumored to harbor one of history's greatest treasures. And as the story moves toward its chilling conclusion, Maya must decide if she will trade everything to rescue Gabriel.

Listen to the first book in this series: The Traveler.

©2007 John Twelve Hawks (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Engrossing....Part A Wrinkle in Time, part The Matrix and part Kurosawa epic." ( Publishers Weekly)
"John Twelve Hawks has drawn upon both pop-cultural and literary touchstones and modified them to create a cyber-1984." ( The New York Times)
"The stuff that first-rate high-tech paranoid-schizophrenic thrillers are made of." ( Time)

Thinly veiled explanation of the history of the world.

An interesting story telling the truth about what our politicians (and their handlers) are doing to control the masses. Just look at what passes for entertainment and news (little difference here) on the Mass Media outlets and the laws passed to allow surveillance of the population. Read it (or listen) and weep for our future.

felt incomplete

I enjoyed The Traveller. I even enjoyed the slightly hokey authors phone call from "off the grid". I think that these books address some real issues regarding technology and the assault on our privacy. In a series, I feel that each individual book should be able to stand on its own. "The Dark River" felt as though it was cleaved in two. There is very little closure at the end. The characters grew some but no major changes. I do not know if I will use a credit on number three. Now maybe the latest "Ender" book by Orson Scott Card...hmmmm.

I Liked It

The other reviews are lukewarm but I liked it. It had been 2 years since I heard the first one so I went back and listened to it again before I started book 2, maybe that helped.

It was great to meet Mother Blessing and to see the Hollis character develop. I love all the character development with Maya through both books. I'm wondering if Michael is who he seems or does he have more up his sleeve? Of course we're rooting the most for Gabriel and wondering...where is their father? I like that we don't know who is going to come through the battles.

The book also gives the reader food for thought with modern technology and the way we live 'on the grid' and under surveillance...some things are a little far-fetched...but still enjoyable.

For me, The Dark River went very fast and I'm looking forward to the last one...it's hard to imagine how it will end. I agree that it is dark and it doesn't look good for the good guys..I'm hoping for some positive light to shine through at the end.

Anticipation & Disappointment

Having thoroughly enjoyed 'The Traveller' I couldn't wait for the sequel. I was so pleased to see its arrival I broke off from the epic series I was in the middle of to listen to it. Unfortunately whilst I found 'The Dark River' to be enjoyable it was not as gripping and felt much looser and flimsier than the Traveller, as if it were a filler in a larger series rather than a book which could stand alone. I'll no doubt get the next in the trilogy, providing I come across it, but I don't know if I will look so hard for it as I did for this one.

Well.....it looks like I ended up liking this book

because I'm going to have to read the 3rd book in the trilogy.....I simply can't be left hanging.....too many characters I happen to kinda like/dislike and I'm wondering what in the heck is gonna happen to them.

I felt this book was better than the first one and maybe it was because the romance stepped up a bit......or that each character was doing something on their own and each story was pretty interesting...I just enjoyed this one much better than the first.

I'm hoping the 3rd one won't let me down..... :)

Not what I was looking for at the end.

I enjoyed the book very much until the ending. It was very well written until the ending. several times I had to go bacK and re-listen because I got " lost " in who was where and with whom. But all in all, I enjoyed this novel a lot.

Not as good as the first

While I don't want hollywood fairytales, this sequel was so dark, I'm not sure I'll read the final book in the trilogy. A really great book makes you feel somewhat invested in the characters and at the end of this one, I felt no hope for any of them.

Not quite like the first book.

I have to be honest - the second book was a bit of a disappointment after several years of waiting. The characters were underutilized for their potential and the ending felt like the author just ran out of steam. I will of course read the last book; however I now question the consistency of John Twelve-Hawks’ writing.

Fantastic!!

This was a fantastic 2nd book in the Traveler trilogy! Be sure to listen to the Traveler before listening to this book.

thoroughly enjoyed this book!

What made the experience of listening to The Dark River the most enjoyable?

It picks up where The Traveler left off. The story and its premise are great. Love the increase in new characters. You can't wait to find out more about them. I like the internal fight the main character has with their role in life. Torn between the expected and the morally right thing to do. I enjoy the fantastic new worlds. Very creative.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The emotion of the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The government, who will help me fight it!