The overall storyline picks up the complexity developed in the first and enhances it. I enjoy the idea of the secret Brethren, Harlequins, and Travelers battling out humanity's future. However, two things kept this from being a five-star book for me. First, Twelve Hawks interrupts various storylines to jump to others at very odd moments right when I'd be very into the current one. I get it that he's trying to tell what's going on in various places at the same time, but how he does it is ineffective. Second, I just don't get why 1) Gabriel would be so stupid as to try to go into the First Realm to rescue his father without his talisman 2) Maya doesn't just plop the talisman in his hand, as it should then appear for him in the First Realm. Those both feel like major plot holes to me.

For my review of the trilogy as a whole, check out my blog: http://wp.me/pp7vL-3f (no spoilers, promise!) ( )

This second book in the trilogy was good. In the beginning of the book is a short recap of what happened in the first book The Traveler. The Dark River has the Brethren in full gear and Michael at the wheel. Gabriel is on a quest to find his father who he thought was dead before his brother does. This search takes him to a realm run on violence and hate. Maya the Harlequin who is supossed to protect Gabriel at any cost is removed from that responsibility because she crossed the line between the code of Traveler and Harlequin. Can she save Gabriel so he can fight his brother and this vast machine that monitors our lives without us knowing? The third book should be out around Sept. of 2009. ( )

Really enjoyed The Traveler -- this one was much more difficult to stick with. ( )

Both "The Traveler" and "The Dark River" are based on an interesting, even alarming, premise--that a secret cabal is trying to set up a prison for the entire populace based on electronic surveillance. The irritationan and alarm that almost everyone experiences about increasingly intrusive data-tracking lend the book a certain credence. In "Dark River", however, the author presents a book that appears to be nothing more than a cliffhanger for the next in the series, leaving the reader with nothing resolved and a pile of questions: Will Maya and Gabriel fnd each other? Has brother Michael really gone over to the dark side--or is he going to have a change of heart? Will Hollis become a Harlequin? Will father be found? Does anyone care? Not me. Two of these were more than enough.. ( )

So I recently read two books that kind of scared me. They were very good, but it made me want to move into the mountains somewhere and never come back. They are Traveler and Dark River. Dark River is the sequel and what the author doesn't get into about the big brother type things that are happening RIGHT NOW in Traveler he goes into in this book in so much more detail. After the first book I was a little freaked and wanted to move to a hippie commune and change my name to Snowflake but after the second book I think that might not be enough.

So what scared me? How about the fact that this technology that he talks about in the book to track people like they're hunting animals already exists. And if this technology is known, what do they have that is still in the testing stages? Did any of you see that short piece (that no tv news media reported on by the way) about these little strange flying devices in DC that look like dragonflies but are possibly cameras? Seriously???!!!! Where could they go with that if no one knows they're cameras? And if surveillance cameras don't scare you, you have no idea what they can do. Go check this out: http://www.notbored.org/nannycams.htm...

and more generally: http://www.notbored.org/scp-faq.html

The cameras are the just the smallest entity of what is going on though. So until the day that I become Snowflake WaterSuite, I will be much more careful about how I present my information to the world.

Back to the books though. I was very impressed with the not only the storyline but also John Twelve Hawks writing style. I've read so many fantasy/sci-fi stories that when I come across someone who writes different it's like drinking fresh water for the first time. Unless you've read a thousand fantasy or science fiction novels, you may not be aware that about 9 out of 10 of them are the same story with different character names. It makes trying to find something to read a little frustrating if you go into the book store thinking, "I wonder what's new in THAT section..."

I am definitely looking forward to being freaked out again by the third book! ( )

I like the idea of the book, and I also wanted to like the book. However, what can I do: characters are shallow and writing is quite poor. I'm disappointed. ( )

When The Traveler ends it is obvious that the story is not over – kind of like Darth Vadar escaping after the first Star Wars movie. But it does reach a logical stopping point. The Dark River leaves us hanging with a very unresolved plot. It’s as bad as a “To Be Continued” TV show. Even when someone shot JR we just had to wait through the summer re-run season to find out what happened. But I suspect we’ll have to wait two years to pick up this story again. The Traveler could stand on its own as a book. The Dark River cannot. I don’t think it would make any sense to start the story with the second book. And I almost wish I had waited for the third book to come out before starting any of them.

My complete review is combined with The Traveler, and is on my Blog, Nate's Library, specifically at: http://nates-library.blogspot.com/200... ( )

http://sfreader.com/Home/BookReview/t... ( )

I loved the first book in this series (The Traveler). I am enjoying this book but it is missing something that the first installment had. I find that I don't really care what happens to Gabriel but I do very much care what happens to Maya. The introduction of Hollis and Vicki are welcome characters. You wonder if Hollis will fully embrace the Harlequin lifestyle.

I am looking forward to the third book.

The fun contionues.

I bought this one with much anticipation, desperate to know how Twelve Hawks' characters were doing. I wasn't disappointed. The book picks up where the last one left off without too much re-telling of the story. And, the book challenges each of the characters in new ways.

If I was at all upset about anything, it was that, after finding out that one of the characters father was alive, we didn't get much of him in this book. The whole book concerned searching for the father and at the end, we still don't know where he is. But, the book ends with a good cliff-hanger and now I'm watching for news of the third book.

How's he going to finish this up in three books? This story has the potential to last several books? ( )

I was disappointed with this after reading the first installment. It feels as though a book has been pulled apart into a trilogy. This was a mere shadow of The Traveler. Although I enjoyed it, I felt let down. I KNEW all of the characters from the first book, this one just just seemed like a bit of glue until the next book.

Then again, I could never write anything like it, so who am I to judge? ( )

Review on my blog. *SPOILERS*. ( )

Readable, no really, that's probably as good as this review is going to get. It's an interesting concept with such a lot of potential and it's mostly blown by the listing of places that the characters go. Places that really show no definitive personality of their own and instead end up feeling like the same place over and over.

It's not as good as the first one and it wasn't all that great to start with. The two brothers are hunting their father and the race is on to find him and help society, but it's never explained how Travellers help society and it really isn't obvious why people are doing some of the things they do.

Readable, yeah, but it has a long way to go to be great. ( )

The author has finally found some adjective and conjunctions. He seems to have an easier time telling this story and yet builds in the same furious pace and twists of plot that were seen in the first novel. There are some horrific scenes of death in this novel. The Brethren seem even less afraid of the consequences of large scale actions as they gather up more and more of the information landscape. And yet they can be hurt by taking down some of their large computer centers. Still, with inclusive technology growing by leaps and bounds, it is hard to see how anyone can escape the Vast Machine. ( )

might make a good tv series (Josh Whedon?), cinematic, lots of chasing, not much depth.

Two brothers are at the heart of a story with the fate of humanity at stake. Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are Travelers, those able to leave their bodies at will and pass through other realms of existence. Gabriel remains independent, using his power for the greater good, while Michael aids the shadowy group The Brethren, who are trying to take over the world. This book sets the stage for the inevitable showdown between Gabriel and Michael and their respective factions. Middle books in a trilogy are always the toughest to read, trying to connect the threads of the first book without giving away the big conclusion to come. Twelve Hawks succeeds pretty well, developing some of characters from his first book, The Traveler, and providing some more information and back story. There is a brief synopsis at the beginning of this volume, but with a story this complex, it’s recommended only for those who have read the first book in the series. ( )

I wasn't nearly as impressed with this book as I was with the first in the series (The Traveler). I didn't feel any emotional connection with the characters who met their fate in this book because their ending either seemed too contrived or I didn't know the character well enough for there to be any kind of emotional impact. I understood what the writer was attempting to impart upon the reader emotionally, I just don't think it connected. The characters in this novel seemed two dimensional and weak. The story seemed too short and there was no real payoff in the end. Now I'm stuck having to wait for the next book in the series before I can hopefully find closure to some issues. ( )

I have't read this one yet but loved the first one. I have a copy on hold at the library and am just waiting for it to come in.