Twelve Hawks , John (2005). The Traveller. London: Corgi Books. 2006. ISBN 9781407071886. Pagine 498. 12,86 $Twelve Hawks , John (2007). The Dark River. London: Corgi Books. 2008. ISBN 9781407038032. Pagine 515. 11,55 $Twelve Hawks , John (2009). The Golden City. London: Transworld. 2010. ISBN 9781407056746. Pagine 370. 17,69 $The Fourth Realm TrilogyUn’altra recensione tardiva. Sono 3 libri che ho letto nell’estate del 2010, dopo essermi imbattuto nel primo della serie perché incuriosito da una citazione di Albert-László Barabási nel suo Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do (un altro libro letto e non recensito).L’intera saga – che naturalmente t’acchiappa, ma non vale realmente la pena di leggere – è dominata dalla paranoia del Grande Fratello attraverso i secoli, e soprattutto nella nostra era di sorveglianza totale (dal Big Brother al Big Data). I membri di una società segreta vivono off-the-grid. Come l’autore dei tre romanzi, di cui in realtà non si sa nulla.E persino io, di cui non si può certo affermare che non sia compulsivamente curioso, posso vivere benissimo senza.* * *Qualche citazione (riferimento come sempre alle posizioni sul Kindle).Cominciamo da The Traveller. At that moment, she was trying to control her anger and find the calm place within her heart. Think of a stone, her father used to tell her. A smooth black stone. Pull it out of a cold mountain stream and hold it in your hand. [2289] Privacy had become a convenient fiction. [2856] «Love is just another means of manipulation […]» [2923] «Freedom is the biggest myth ever created. It’s a destructive, unachievable goal that has caused a great deal of pain. Very few people can handle freedom. A society is healthy and productive when it’s under control.» [3731] «[…] History is a puppet show for childish minds.» [3927] He wanted a road map, not philosophy. [4742] «Every new experience is unusual. The rest of life is just sleep and committee meetings. […]» [5376] «[…] The realms are dominated by a particular quality. In the Sixth Realm of the gods, the sin is pride. In the Fifth Realm of the half gods, the sin is jealousy. You need to understand that we’re not talking about God, the power that created the universe. According to the Tibetans, the gods and half gods are like human beings from another reality.» «And we’re living in the Fourth Realm ….» «Where the sin is desire.» Sophia turned and watched a king snake moving slowly down a conduit pipe. «The animals of the Third Realm are ignorant of all others. The Second Realm is inhabited by the hungry ghosts who can never be satisfied. The First Realm is a city of hate and anger, ruled by people without compassion. There are other names for this place: Sheol, Hades, Hell.» [5430] […] the appearance of freedom with the reality of control. [5910]Passiamo a The Dark River. Maya had watched the growing attraction between Hollis and Vicki. It was the first time she had ever noticed the evolution of two people who were falling in love. At first, their eyes followed each other when one of them got up from the table. Then they leaned forward slightly when the other person was talking. When they were apart, they spoke about the other person in a bubbly, foolish manner. [833]Infine The Golden City. «Even crazy people have enemies …» [1573] «If the gods have left the stage, then it’s just the two of us.» Matthew stepped toward his son. «So who are you, Gabriel? And what kind of world do you want to live in? I’m not going to tell you what to believe. All I can do is guide you forward, and make sure you don’t turn away from your own vision.» [4588] They were Styrofoam words — light and unsubstantial, packing materials to blunt the sharp edges. [4667] «As ideas lose their power, stories and visual images become more and more important. Leaders offer competing stories, and this is what passes for political debate. […]» [5497] «We can regret the past, but we can’t change what happened. We can anticipate the future, but we can’t control it. All we have is this moment—here in this room.» [5888] «Privacy is the ability to control access to information about one’s Self. It’s easy to see that this invisible, all-pervasive system will destroy any sort of privacy. We’ll lose the power to protect our Self from the scrutiny of unknown groups or individuals. […]» [6700]
Remember when Michael Jordan retired? I mean, the first time? He made that amazing, game-winning shot, and left at the top of his game. When he returned from retirement, I was disappointed. I felt it would be almost impossible for him to improve on his amazing success. John Twelve Hawks' first book in the Fourth Realm Trilogy, The Traveler, was suggested to me by a friend and fellow science-fiction lover. I was immediately impressed with the freshness of the idea, and completely plausible near-future, surveillance society dystopia in which the characters struggled to survive. The conflict between the Harlequins and Brethren was gripping, and some fascinating metaphysical questions were raised. The action was not overstated, and the characters engaging. The originality of the premise kept me turning pages, eager for more. Of course, this review isn't about The Traveler, but rather about it's sequel, The Dark River. Which is a shame, because there was so much to say about The Traveler, and only one striking thing to say about The Dark River: Like Jordan, Hawks should have stopped when he was on top. The Dark River is a profound disappointment on so many levels. The novel reads more like a script for a Hollywood sequel, picking up where the The Traveler left off, but capitalizing only on the fact that we wanted to know what would happen to Gabriel, Maya, and the rest of his characters. No new twists to Hawks' fictional world are presented until the end, and then in such a way as to make the reader think he was hastily throwing together a mish-mash of world religions to perpetuate his nebulous ideas and intentionally leave a cheap cliff-hanger ending so as to keep the reader returning for the third book in the series. The book isn't all bad. Hawks does develop his characters a bit, but it is difficult to do as violent action sequences begin with the first five pages and don't stop until the final scene. The development that does occur feels forced and formulaic at times. In short, The Dark River left me with the same impression as one gets when an excellent and original feature film is turned into a television series for continued profit. There really isn't much here that's new, only a continuation of the same ideas that leads to different spectacular fights and occasional intrigue. For this series to take such an enormous fall in quality between the two novels is astoundingly disappointing. So disappointing that I likely won't be returning for the third book. The epic shot was made at the end of the first, and I prefer to remember the series as it was when it was on top of it's game.
What do You think about The Dark River (2007)?
What a place to end a book! This was, by far, the most abrupt ending of a book that I've read in a long time. I'm amazed at the terseness and hopelessness of the last two pages, even though I was expecting a cliffhanger. But this was much more than that--it was a chapter ending in which the next chapter is the beginning of the next book. Maya takes center stage, and her continuing modification of her own values proceeds through this middle part of the story. She is a Harlequin, and she can't reject that, but her love for Gabriel is something she can no longer deny. It's a very powerful and driving force in the story, and it contrasts sharply with the bleak outlook of the world being a giant virtual prison, as it has, in many ways, freed her from the Harlequin lifestyle that was created in response to Tabula values (if you can call them that). Hollis moves up in this story, and his conclusion with surprise character Mother Blessing's "passing of the torch" is very interesting, and has a lot attached to it in the third book. Will he become a Harlequin, taking the opposite stance from Maya? I'm still left waiting for a showdown between Michael and Gabriel, and there's no doubt in my mind that this will occur, as each have become much more powerful. And Matthew Corrigan's Light is still out there somewhere, driving the story forward, but still noticeably absent from the action. Here's to hoping he runs into his future daughter-in-law early in Book Three, whenever readers might be able to expect it. The Dark River is a more than suitable sequel in every way--it builds on what was given in Book One, and promises more from Book Three.
—Ricky Ganci
So, all the other reviews are true. I didn't want to believe it! But the sad fact is, it's just not as good as the first book (The Traveler). I thought maybe comparing it to the first book, having high expectations based on how good the first book was, was coloring the reviews of this book. But really, as a stand-alone book (forgetting there even was a first book) it's just not that good.The characters lack the richness needed for the book to stand alone. All the major characters are from the first book and rely largely on their characterizations from there to glide them along. No new complexities are introduced, no new lessons learned. Love between characters develops awkwardly, without much fanfare. The author doesn't paint the deep and complex inner worlds of the characters, rather just tells you what they do and leaves it to you to assume how they feel. The author tells, doesn't show: a rookey mistake (one that he wasn't guilty of before).As a reader, I wasn't page turning to find out what would happen next in the story. I sleepily went through the motions of reading, my mind wandering, wishing the story were told better. Characters went through the plot without many obstacles. Everything happened too easily. Things were in the first place they looked for them; strangers helped them too readily; electronic devices were always on target.And then as the story was ending, right in the middle of a crucial plot point, I was annoyed. I'd read through this bad book, only to come to a cliff hanger. So yeah I'm gonna read the third book, it better be better.
—Laura Broder
I'll admit it's been a while since I read the first in this series and remembered thinking it had promise, but from what I am getting from this book, I am not sure I even remember it that clearly. So, the Travelers can bring enlightenment by traveling to other realms...but the realms aren't exactly where I would think you could find enlightenment. For example going into a realm that is essentially what is understood to be hell doesn't exactly seem as if it will change the world. And if I can be so blunt as to say - I am pretty sure I never read in the Bible where Jesus (who they consider to be a Traveler) spoke about going to hell and coming back with inspiration. I wouldn't imagine there is anything inspiring there? I mean is this a sort of Dungeons and Dragons thing where you go in and search for some valuable object hidden in a nightmare realm? I just don't get it. Definitely feel like there are interesting aspects of the story nonetheless and agree that it hits on the usual paranoid question of "who's going to watch the watchers?" very well. I did feel the idea that the Harlequins are just murderers who are supposed to suffer and die to atone for some implicit sin in their existence has a very Catholic feel to it. Not sure what religion this is supposed to tie in with, but I am definitely feeling a Dante-esque vibe to it. Maybe I am just not getting something basic, but it's a little too all over the place for me and I just don't get what the point of the Traveler is any more than the free runners who only seem to know that they bring hope. After all what influence did his father have in the world before or after he had his sons?
—Julia
