The Traveler (John Twelve Hawks)

What's goin' on? Something is wrong with this picture.(not so great me)These reviews are so polarized it makes me think of those reviews for coulter and her ilk in their political follies. It's as if these people read this book with their minds made up beforehand and looked for anything that might be remotely 'bad' about it.Because of all these bad reviews I put off reading it for a long time. And after reading it I wonder if those people read a different book. JTH can write and writes well. The plot is exciting and always left me wanting to find out what was going to happen. Character developement is good. There are a lot of things that are deep and worthy of contemplation. The examples these people give for bad writing are ridiculous. Read the synopsis and if it's something that appeals to you by all means read it. I have trusted reviews only to a small degree and now even less. I should've known better than to delay reading this fine book. I look forward to reading the series.

While browsing at lunch in a tradtional walled bookstore, I picked this up. The back of the book made it sound like something just up my alley. Imagine my surprise when I pick it up and start reading about Harelquins, Travelers, the Tabula, Citizens, Drones and The Vast Machine. See, this wouldn't be a problem if the author had decided to give even a small explanation about this world. Instead, he jumps in headfirst and at the expense of character development uses Harlequin, I swear, at least once in every paragraph. If I understood whether these things were groups, races, organizations, mutations of some sort...anything would have been helpful. At about page 75 I thought I was going to gauge my eyes out. Not one word on the back of the book indicated any of this. Note to the publisher and the author - browsing shouldn't be this much of a crapshoot. I just cannot get over my disappointment.

Some other reviewers have compared this to the Matrix. Let me tell you, the action is nothing like the Matrix, and neither is the pace. Lots of talking, flashbacks, and description here more than action. Overall the book took a slow pace, and I found the author a bit wordy. That said, I liked the premise of the story. The backstory as to who and why and where it starts fills kind of rolled in though and not well explained. Perhaps a cheap pawn off excuse for the rest of the story. The dialogue feels stilted and the flow is a bit rough around the edges. Good points - Characters grow and change during the story. Some really likeable characters. Good descriptive detail where important. Open viewpoint on religion - bonus points for that. This is my first novel by him that I've read. I'm going to buy the 2nd book in the trilogy. Expecting the writing to only get better.

I came on this book cold--I knew nothing of the reviews, the author's mysterious identity, etc. It was just a book on the library shelf. And so I read this book as a virgin, innocent and pure. After thoroughly enjoying it, I was surprised to learn about the author's mystery and the book's buzz. The book does deserve some attention. It's a fun story, and it speculates on a world not so different from that of Bush and Cheney. Tools of the the War on Terror feature heavily in the novel, and evil emanates from those who distrust that which they cannot control. With the War on Terror with us for many years to come, such fiction is not only interesting, it is important. As other reviewers have suggested, the characters are flat. The author has a lot to learn about writing--the novel lags at times, and the reader can easily drift in and out of the novel's draw. But, for the most part, I eagerly returned to the book, hungry for more looks into a world so very like our own.

Enjoyed the book, enjoyed the sequel. Agree with the "so-what-ers" regarding the New World Order stuff. What is their aim? They want to control the world and make lots of money for themselves? There are plenty of people doing that already without the need for a new world order. Now "John Twelve Hawks" or Nigel Smith (which is his real name - he lives in Solihull near Birmingham in the West-Midlands, not on in the high plains desert in New Mexico - I suspect he was exposed to Wall of Voodoos album, "Call of the West" young in life), what you need to give your books some direction is a "set piece". Look, (places guiding arm around Mr Hawks' shoulders, or can I call you "Twelvy") with your global super-villains, you need 3 things. Firstly they should have a big base under a volcano or in space or something, secondly they should have a clear mission statement detailing their evil plot ("We intend to be a world class evil organisation, which values its employees, instils a shared responsibi... Read more