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My first glance through The Traveller gave me the impression that this was going to be another one of those mind blowing adventure books like The Da Vinci Code, as the cover so proudly stated. But to my surprise this book was strikingly different. For John Twelve Hawks takes you to higher planes of existence and creation. It was mind blowing all right – and unless you had a grip on your mind – you could get really blown off.
An entertaining fantasy novel, The Traveller revolves around three kinds of people who, all though seem to be as innocent and normal like the rest of us, are actually different. They are the Traveller who can pass to different realms namely air, water, earth and fire, the Tabula - the gang of villains who want to rule through manipulation and get rid of the travellers, and finally the Harlequins who are besotted to protect the travellers even with their lives.
The tech-political thriller begins with Maya, daughter of a famous harlequin, 'Thorn' whose final wish is that Maya should protect the last heirs of a famous traveller. Thus she is thrown rather involuntarily in the path of extreme danger to save the Corrigan brothers, Michael and Gabriel from the dreaded Tabula. As soon as she embarks on her hunt for the brothers who 'live off the grid' like the harlequins themselves, she discovers that there are enemies and spies amongst their own kindred as well.
What follows is a story of betrayal, courage, emotions, vicious murders, hybrid animals and treacherous plans to destroy the 'vast machine'.
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The Traveller, which is the first of the “Fourth Realm Trilogy”, is a gripping debut by John Twelve Hawks (pseudonym) who is known to keep his identity a mystery even to his editor and agent. His portrayal of our society breeds familiarity and fear at the same tine. As a leader of the Tabula mockingly says, "These days people are frightened of the world around them, and that fear is easily encouraged and maintained. People want to be in our Virtual Panopticon. We'll watch over them like good shepherds. They'll be monitored, controlled, protected from the unknown. Besides, they barely recognize the prison. There's always some distraction. A war in the Middle East. A scandal involving celebrities. The World Cup or the Super Bowl…Fear may induce people to enter our Panopticon, but we keep them amused while they're inside."
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At the heart of this intriguing cultural account, the reader can feel the skeptical author’s cynicism for the so-called civilized human race, living by the “sin of desire”. Travelling around, Hawks delves deeper as he tries to fathom the mortal human wish to have meaning in life and to what extent one can compromise to attain it.
This is neither an ordinary book nor a usual work of fiction. This one is for the mind. Those who have liked the Matrix would find The Traveller to be on a similar level despite the reflection of spirituality, morality and philosophy in the multi-layered book. The reader imagines the action not just on the ground but also on cerebral levels. A must read for those who like to “live off the grid”.
Reviewed by Ritupriya Chowdhry
Designed by Subhadip Mukherjee
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