Friday, December 18, 2009
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
10:30 PM | 
Posted by
JonG
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks, Vintage, $7.99, Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages, July 2006
Introduction & Overview:
The Traveler is the First novel in a trilogy called The Fourth Realm by Author John Twelve Hawks. As the novel begins, Travelers were believed be extinct and Harlequins, who were few in number, were thought of as an unnecessary and wanted presence.
Maya was raised from early childhood by her father Thorn, to be a Harlequin. A Harlequin is a trained bodyguard whose sole purpose is to protect the lives of Travelers at all cost and without concern for themselves. They operate very much in the tradition of the Samurai down to their devotion to duty and the sword carried in a tube around the shoulder. Maya rejects her Harlequin upbringing, preferring to live a "normal" life.
Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, unknown to themselves, are Travelers. A Traveler is able to leave their body and travel to alternative realms. There are six 'realms' or "parallel worlds' styled after the six realms of Buddhist teaching (gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, hell). i In the novel, the realms are real places coexisting in the universe. The realm we live in is the fourth, the human realm. Because they have traveled to different worlds, Travelers tended to see things from a different prospective and were thought of as prophets or shamans by many people.
Linden, a French Harlequin, cajoles Maya into finding the Corrigan brothers and ascertaining whether or not they are able to traverse the realms. To help the Corrigan brothers develop their 'gift', Maya needs to enlist the aid of a Pathfinder. A Pathfinder is a special kind of teacher who usually has had spiritual training. They show Travelers how to cross over into the different realms using one of the 99 paths.
The Tabula are a group devoted to order. They base their principles on the works of the philosopher Jeremy Benthan and his Panopticon, which basically states that all actions should lead to the overall unity of mankind. ii They believe "You don't need to watch everyone if everyone believes they are being watched". The Tabula developed the Vast Machine to help accomplish this goal. The Vast Machine's main component is a Quantum Computer that enables the Tabula to watch over humanity and the world. Travelers and Pathfinders, along with their proctor Harlequins, spend their lives living "off the Grid" to avoid detection by the Tabula's Vast Machine. The Tabula believe the teachings of the Travelers are a danger to humanity and world order, thus they are determined to exterminate the Travelers.
As the plot proceeds, Maya must find the Corrigan brothers, get them to understand the meaning of being a Traveler, and find a Pathfinder to help them cross over into the six realms. Maya must accomplish her mission before the Tabula find the Corrigan brothers and use them for their own goals.
Comments:
I interpret this novel as a social/political morality play, written in a science fiction/fantasy genre style. John Twelve Hawks presents large concepts about these issues: the erosion of personal freedoms, surveillance, the loss of privacy and government control/double talk. These issues appear to me to be relevant to our times, but to others they may appear as rhetoric. There are elements of spirituality (not necessarily religious) overtones dispersed throughout the story line, but I didn't find them to be overwhelming. One of the science concepts that I found interesting was the Tabula's Quantum Computer. The quantum computer used subatomic particles suspended in an energy field to radically expand its computing power.iii
I think people will either like this book or hate it. Some may feel it contains scare tactics and/or new age dribble. As you may be able to tell by the number of links I included, this book brought out my curiosity and made me think. His characterization is good, as is his pacing. I enjoyed the thought and detail put in to the story line and it kept my interest throughout. "I can acknowledge that The Fourth Realm combines science fiction, fantasy and thriller genres within a dystopian framework. I hope that science fiction fans will think - "hey, this isn't exactly what I'm used to, but I enjoyed reading it." - John Twelve Hawk. iv When all's said and done, this isn't exactingly what I'm use to, but I enjoyed reading it. I'll give it a B+.
[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_realms
[ii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham
[iii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computer
[iv] http://www.sffworld.com/mul/146p1.html
Introduction & Overview:
The Traveler is the First novel in a trilogy called The Fourth Realm by Author John Twelve Hawks. As the novel begins, Travelers were believed be extinct and Harlequins, who were few in number, were thought of as an unnecessary and wanted presence.
Maya was raised from early childhood by her father Thorn, to be a Harlequin. A Harlequin is a trained bodyguard whose sole purpose is to protect the lives of Travelers at all cost and without concern for themselves. They operate very much in the tradition of the Samurai down to their devotion to duty and the sword carried in a tube around the shoulder. Maya rejects her Harlequin upbringing, preferring to live a "normal" life.
Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, unknown to themselves, are Travelers. A Traveler is able to leave their body and travel to alternative realms. There are six 'realms' or "parallel worlds' styled after the six realms of Buddhist teaching (gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, hell). i In the novel, the realms are real places coexisting in the universe. The realm we live in is the fourth, the human realm. Because they have traveled to different worlds, Travelers tended to see things from a different prospective and were thought of as prophets or shamans by many people.
Linden, a French Harlequin, cajoles Maya into finding the Corrigan brothers and ascertaining whether or not they are able to traverse the realms. To help the Corrigan brothers develop their 'gift', Maya needs to enlist the aid of a Pathfinder. A Pathfinder is a special kind of teacher who usually has had spiritual training. They show Travelers how to cross over into the different realms using one of the 99 paths.
The Tabula are a group devoted to order. They base their principles on the works of the philosopher Jeremy Benthan and his Panopticon, which basically states that all actions should lead to the overall unity of mankind. ii They believe "You don't need to watch everyone if everyone believes they are being watched". The Tabula developed the Vast Machine to help accomplish this goal. The Vast Machine's main component is a Quantum Computer that enables the Tabula to watch over humanity and the world. Travelers and Pathfinders, along with their proctor Harlequins, spend their lives living "off the Grid" to avoid detection by the Tabula's Vast Machine. The Tabula believe the teachings of the Travelers are a danger to humanity and world order, thus they are determined to exterminate the Travelers.
As the plot proceeds, Maya must find the Corrigan brothers, get them to understand the meaning of being a Traveler, and find a Pathfinder to help them cross over into the six realms. Maya must accomplish her mission before the Tabula find the Corrigan brothers and use them for their own goals.
Comments:
I interpret this novel as a social/political morality play, written in a science fiction/fantasy genre style. John Twelve Hawks presents large concepts about these issues: the erosion of personal freedoms, surveillance, the loss of privacy and government control/double talk. These issues appear to me to be relevant to our times, but to others they may appear as rhetoric. There are elements of spirituality (not necessarily religious) overtones dispersed throughout the story line, but I didn't find them to be overwhelming. One of the science concepts that I found interesting was the Tabula's Quantum Computer. The quantum computer used subatomic particles suspended in an energy field to radically expand its computing power.iii
I think people will either like this book or hate it. Some may feel it contains scare tactics and/or new age dribble. As you may be able to tell by the number of links I included, this book brought out my curiosity and made me think. His characterization is good, as is his pacing. I enjoyed the thought and detail put in to the story line and it kept my interest throughout. "I can acknowledge that The Fourth Realm combines science fiction, fantasy and thriller genres within a dystopian framework. I hope that science fiction fans will think - "hey, this isn't exactly what I'm used to, but I enjoyed reading it." - John Twelve Hawk. iv When all's said and done, this isn't exactingly what I'm use to, but I enjoyed reading it. I'll give it a B+.
About the author:
John Twelve Hawk (JXIIH) claims to live "off the Grid" like the characters in his book. However, little is actually known about him. Many people speculate about his identity and rumors abound. One, for instance, is that John Twelve Hawk is a pseudonym of one of the authors at Doubleday. Other guesses range from J. K. Rowling to Stephen Hawkins. On his website (at Random House/Doubleday) he claims "I am currently living in a cottage in rural Ireland. There are no CCTV cameras for miles around. I don't have a phone or regular access to the Internet." v I don't know the truth about the controversy. Personally I prefer "off the Grid" but suspect the pseudonym is the truth.
[v] http://www.randomhouse.com/features/johntwelvehawks/
John Twelve Hawk (JXIIH) claims to live "off the Grid" like the characters in his book. However, little is actually known about him. Many people speculate about his identity and rumors abound. One, for instance, is that John Twelve Hawk is a pseudonym of one of the authors at Doubleday. Other guesses range from J. K. Rowling to Stephen Hawkins. On his website (at Random House/Doubleday) he claims "I am currently living in a cottage in rural Ireland. There are no CCTV cameras for miles around. I don't have a phone or regular access to the Internet." v I don't know the truth about the controversy. Personally I prefer "off the Grid" but suspect the pseudonym is the truth.
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