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)

Superb!!!

John Twelve Hawks deserves the highest accolades for this second installment in The Traveler series. It makes you wonder about the society in which we live and where it is headed. How close are we right now to becoming unaware cogs in the "Vast Machine"? It scares the hell out of me! The main characters are awesome and multidimensional. I feel like I really know them all. Gabriel, Maysa, Vickie, and Hollis are like my family. The antagonists: Michael, Nash, Boone, and Mrs. Brewster are evilly scary. But I understand their motivations also. Their lusts for power and control are easily justified with sophsitric arguments that supposedly will make the world safe and orderly. Or maybe, as in Michael, you are just going along with the flow and want your piece of the pie. The idea of realms and Travelers brings into this near future universe religion and mysticism.

I would highly reccomend this book to all readers whether they are Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Thriller fans.

Great New Series

Close enough to today's reality to be a little frightening. Big Brother IS watching and most of us are complacent enough to accept the small invasions of our privacy. What we sometimes fail to realize is that our rights and our privacy are being devoured in small bites and we continue to accept it so Big Brother continues to take bites. What do we do when its all gone?

off the grid

I wish I could go back in time and live off the grid myself, now I am too integrated there is no way! What a fantasy, sci-fi, non-fiction book! GREAT! So refreshing to see a new take on our modern world, a whole new conspiracy in an alternate universe but with the same earth and current events. Truly something to sink your ears into!

Excellent Series

Just as well written as the Traveller, it is a must read as the second in the series. My only complaint is that it ended so abruptly. It was as if the writer was on a dead line, so he wrapped it up and rolled the credits 20 pages too soon. I generally don't agree with most of the negative comments on the book. The first book developed most of the characters, this one does not have to focus as much on development of the core characters.

Not as good as the first one

To many corny details and not enough story. Liked the book in general but I listened to this after coming off of " The game of Thrones" and it fell short.

loved the 1st - hope the 3rd is better

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes - I just live the story line. I was hoping it would develop more in the 2nd book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dark River?

none

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

Great to listen to.

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

no

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to the next in the series.

Not horrible...

The Traveler series is a strange one, indeed. The author's call-in at the beginning of book 2 is hilarious. He is presumably on a cell phone, calling us from "off the grid" to warn us of a coming world bereft of love and compassion. But the series is chock-full of one-dimensional characters and gratuitous violence from both sides. Not exactly an ode to love and compassion. The historical context is entertaining from a reverse perspective, sort of like Dan Brown without the benefit of research. I won't call it a stinker because it kept my interest, but listening to it's like eating a big bag of junk food.

Scott Brick, whom I consider to be a good reader, seems to have trouble with accents in this one. The Brits all sound like Crocodile Dundee and the Italian guy sounds like Count Chocula.

Great follow-up to "The Traveler"

Beautiful writing makes the story hard to put down. Keen descriptions of high-tech surveillance currently available or under development make the story connect to real life in ways that are sometimes uncomfortable but necessary. Deeply human characters make the story compelling and even heart-rending in places. All in all, a fantastic read; I can hardly wait for the next installment. BTW, the reader was excellent

Unexpected Excitement

I listened to John Twelve Hawks' first book, The Traveler, and then immediately went on to The Dark River. At times, I thought I had the plot figured out--but then Hawks would present a twist that I wasn't expecting. The new direction was better than what I thought was going to happen. I'm looking forward to the third book in this trilogy.

GREAT!!!!

Very very very good. This is a must