The Golden City

The Fourth Realm, Book 3

By: John Twelve Hawks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A world that exists in the shadow of our own...the thrilling conclusion to John Twelve Hawks's Fourth Realm trilogy, The Golden City is packed with the knife-edge tension, intriguing characters, and startling plot twists that made The Traveler and The Dark River international hits.

John Twelve Hawks's previous novels about the mystical Travelers and the Brethren, their ruthless enemies, generated an extraordinary following around the world.

Internet chat rooms and blogs have overflowed with speculation about the final destiny of the richly imagined characters fighting an epic battle beneath the surface of our modern world.

In The Golden City, Twelve Hawks delivers the climax to his spellbinding epic. Struggling to protect the legacy of his Traveler father, Gabriel faces troubling new questions and relentless threats. His brother Michael, now firmly allied with the enemy, pursues his ambition to wrest power from Nathan Boone, the calculating leader of the Brethren. And Maya, the Harlequin warrior pledged to protect Gabriel at all costs, is forced to make a choice that will change her life forever.

A riveting blend of high-tech thriller and fast-paced adventure, The Golden City will delight Twelve Hawks's many fans and attract a new audience to the entire trilogy.

Listen to the first two books in the Fourth Realm trilogy: The Traveler and The Dark River.

©2009 John Twelve Hawks (P)2009 Random House Audio

Tough

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If the author had brought the same freshness that the first book had.

Has The Golden City turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not at all

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

Gabe

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Action-packed

Any additional comments?

It was kind of disappointing, the whole concept of the other realms. It could've been carried off in a more believable manner.
I do like what Twelve Hawks has said with this series.

Very very good.

This was a very very good story.

Disappointing

I waited so anxiously for this book, and it was such a disappointment when I finally got it. I loved the first two books, but this one just seemed flat. I fell asleep on it, woke up at the end and had no desire to go back and find out how I got there.

Golden City turns out to be Technibond

Seldom have I ever gone through a trilogy that got worse with each new installment, but this one manages it. After greatly enjoying The Traveler and moderately enjoying The Dark River, I was UTTERLY disappointed by The Golden City. Talk about an author 'mailing it in'. The book has no energy, does not resolve earlier scenarios, sets up new scenarios that it does not resolve, and ends with one of the weakest wrap-ups I have ever listened to. Overall it was BORING and I forced myself to finish it because I'd already invested the time on the series. Even if you have gone through the first two books, don't feel obligated to waste your time on this one, it is a total let-down.

A Poor Ending

A poor ending to what was, until this book, an excellent trilogy. I found the God level to be lazy and uninspiring. This book was so disappointing because the first two books are truly amazing.

DIS- A- POINTED

Huge Fan of Traveler and Dark River .. The ending of DR with Maya resigned to kick butt in the whatever realm was great... i loved the whole paranoia shtick.. it vibed with my spirit, however something is different about this third. No energy , JTH seemed to lose his anger and fire that made 1 and 2 fun.. I brought like 6 people to read this series. and all were disappointed by this lackluster conclusion. I guess getting rich from the first two books can take the fire out of your soul.

Weakest in the series

I really liked book one. But as this series has progressed, it has lost direction. This third part seems somewhat empty. Things come together but its all very predictable and lacking of the cleverness of the first book. Scott reads it well as we expect of him but even he can't put life into this corpse.

Pathetic end

Was OK until the ending. It has the worst ending I have ever heard (read).

Bad ending to a good story line.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

All 3 books were very compelling, that is, until the end of the third (this book) one. The problem is that it ends way to fast and too many of the answers to the story line are actually not answered.Like the aliens from one of the different realms that are in contact with earth and one of the brothers (which is a MAJOR MAJOR theme of the whole series and why one of the brothers was even necessary and important to the story) is never played out - you don't know anything of what happens with them and its not that he leaves it as something to ponder or is allowing the reader to interject their ideas, he just never follows thru with what they do - AT ALL!!!!! This is just one example of one unaddressed themes, most all the themes are just left , out there.The book seems to be written because John needed to finish the series but was probably put under time constraints which limited his abilities to think enough about where the story was heading and how to end it.All three books lead to the climatic ending which seems to be contained in all of a couple of pages. And its not only that it ends so fast but the way it ends - no cap to the story line. It just ends with a BIG LETDOWNShame on John for such a pathetic end. He should have stuck to his values and not be so overly concerned about the BIG PAYCHECK.Shame Shame Shame!!!I would strongly recommend not getting any of the books. Although they are quite good, the ending is just too much of a paycheck for John and nothing for us.Jim

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

As always - Very Good.

What character would you cut from The Golden City?

John Twleve Hawks - He should have hired someone who cared about how to complete the series

Any additional comments?

Please read all the reviews before you purchase any of the series!

Good read

Sad, scary, and believable