Chances are you've heard of The Traveler, if only in passing—the publisher and editor behind The Da Vinci Code have conspired to make this a success of equal magnitude.
John Twelve Hawks is already infamous for his anonymity, since he claims to live "off the grid." (So no water, power, or sustenance that he doesn't produce himself.) Speculation ran a little rampant when the book was first released—a family friend even asked my dad if he was the one who wrote it. If you ask me, the guy doesn't really exist. No author trying to stick it to the man would use mainstream fiction to do so.
The Traveler functions mainly as an Orwellian cautionary tale with some Matrix-esque fight scenes and metaphysical speculation thrown in. To be brief: An Illuminati-like shadowy organization known only as the Tabula controls modern society through technology. They're influenced by Bentham's idea of the Panopticon—a prison in which the prisoners couldn't see their captors, and thus had to assume they were always being watched. Their methods are fairly plausible, which I'll admit is a little scary.
Our only hope is a group of people known as Travelers, who can leave their bodies behind and travel to other dimensions, returning to us with enlightenment. (Think Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed.) They're protected by the capricious Harlequins, who live life by no set code and are therefore random enough to escape detection by the "vast machine." Maya is a Harlequin who has given up on her identity, but when her father is brutally murdered she honors his last request: that she seek out two brothers believed to be Travelers.
As you might guess, much violence ensues, with some political philosophy thrown in for flavor. Needless to say, Maya is only able to secure one of the brothers, and the other is brainwashed by the Tabula. Can anyone say "trilogy?"
ed/Pub:NB Edited: PC
Article comments
1 - mrm_benzma
refreshing to read a real thinker! a book that has one trying to remember various laws & principles of physics and yet there was no need to disintegrate into a sloppy love fest to hold ones attention. (a la divinci) alas, where is this international book of the month list?
2 - Jon Dews
I've just finished this book and found it refreshing after the latest of Robert Jordan's efforts. The Wheel of Time is beginning to rotate a little slowly for my liking!
The Traveller is one of the better books of its type that I've read in recent years and I'm looking forward to the next one, so come on James, get to it!
The characters develop slowly throughout the story and there is a pleasing attention to detail in the background to the tale. It definitely kept my interest throughout.