The Golden City

How do you give up something that has completely captured your imagination? How do you move on from something that has filled your thoughts and immersed you in a new and exciting world? The problem is the same for readers and authors alike, for the addiction of reading is no different from the addiction of writing. And in the reluctance to let go of a story, many sequels and series ending editions suffer, both in the creation and in the consumption. So, I can’t honestly say whether I was disappointed in John Twelve Hawks’ final edition of the Fourth Realm Trilogy, [The Golden City], because the book didn’t live up to the earlier installments or because I realized that the story was over.

A war rages for control of the Fourth Realm, show more the world as you and I know it. On one side, the Brethren, a shadowy conspiracy of the rich and powerful, seek to turn the world into a virtual prison where everyone is controlled by the belief that their every move and thought is monitored. The resistance is led by a Gabriel Corrigan, a Traveler who can release the Light from his body and travel to other parallel realms. Protected by Harlequins, a ninja-like society of warriors, Gabriel inspires those who live off-the-grid to fight the Brethren’s Vast Machine of computers, high-tech surveillance, and mercenaries. But Gabriel must also fight more than just the Brethren, because his brother Michael Corrigan, who is also a Traveler, controls the Brethren using knowledge gained from visits to other realms.

Twelve Hawks’ books are a mix of Jason Bourne action and Charles DeLint urban fantasy with a healthy dose of Huxley’s New World or Atwood’s Gilead. All three books, including this last installment, offer excitement and honest human drama. Twelve Hawks writes with more literary authority and originality than most modern-day thriller authors, and deftly balances a broad mixture of genres. The books are engaging and the story enveloping.

The only complaint to lodge is that Twelve Hawks sometimes seems rushed to get to the end of the book. There are sections of each book where he could linger to further develop a world or a character but he rushes on, either at the behest of some evil editor or for fear of losing his pace. Whatever the reason, fans of this series would have allowed, and perhaps enjoyed, a more leisurely and detailed story. The final blow was that Twelve Hawks christened [The Golden City] as the final installment in the trilogy. So, with the last page looming, every new world and character seemed too slightly drawn. In the end, I just didn’t want to believe that the story was coming to an end.

I can’t recommend these books highly enough. The first, [The Traveler], was a favorite for the year two years ago. And [The Golden City], even though I must forgive Twelve Hawks for bringing an end to the story, is a favorite for this year.

5 bones!!!!! show less

As good an ending as you can get for a series in which the author believes in the depravity of man without the redemptive power of God. The problems are all pushed into the nebulous future" and the battle between Tabula and Traveler are shown for the Dualistic philosophy they truly are.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book. Not as "cool" as the first book, but tighter and more engaging than the second. As soon as it was revealed that Maya was pregnant, I knew that Gabriel had to go. The only thing I don't understand is why Michael went so ballistic at the end. What happened to the calm, collected schemer?"

The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks finishes the trilogy begun by The Traveler. The final book has a mystical quality to it and a tone very different from the first two. Gabriel and Michael travel between realms in the endgame between the Tabula and those seeking personal freedom. Tabula's ultimate goal is revealed: humanity is to be barcoded and manipulated through fear. Michael sets a child abuser loose to terrorize parents and encourage them to computer chip their children for safety as step one of the process. This made me think of the dreadful local news at night. I've stopped watching because the reports are intended to frighten us and I need my sleep! It is so easy to fall under their spell and see murderers around every corner. show more So Twelve Hawks again captures an aspect of modern life and questions the motive.

This is a reasonably satisfying conclusion to a thoughtful series. I could have lived without the religous allegory and would have appreciated a more concrete ending to our characters' stories. I'm not convinced the author doesn't have a second series in mind, although he says in his notes that he is finished with it. So many loose ends....but a must read for fans of the first two books! show less

Not as pleased with this book as I was with the first 2 books. There were some elements to some of the storylines that I feel were left undeveloped. Why put them in there if nothing is going to happen with them? The closer I got to the end I kept thinking (as other reviewers said), "How is this possibly going to wrap up in the small amount of pages I have left?" I feel like the author was really going somewhere in the first 2 books and then lost track in this last book. I didn't expect a happy ending for this book by any means, but I definitely don't understand why he put some of the details in this book when nothing happened with them. I don't want to mention specifics and spoil it for anyone. Even though I have some frustrating show more feelings on how this book unraveled, I don't feel like it was a waste of time to read by any means. I enjoyed the whole series and I would definitely recommend it to others to read. show less

A big let down for me. I loved the Traveler and was really looking forward to this but it really didn't read like the climax of a trilogy -especially one that ha taken so long to be published. I have been reading a lot of epic fantasy recently and perhaps I was expecting too much for a contemporary thriller like this but there was no real progression of plot or characters from previous novels.

I have been patiently waiting for for a big climax and loads of travelling between the various realms but we barely spend any time there (again perhaps I am looking for the extensive world building from the fantasy epics I have become used to).

This really should have been the climax to book one and have moved forward from the point the true battle show more with the Bretheren begins.

This installment also seemed to be missing the trademark matrix style hand to hand combat scenes that were another reasons I loved the Traveler. You could argue he series has moved on emotionally from that to explore the deeper themes of the vast machine and the compromise of personal freedoms but that is not really explored any more deeply. There was also the opportunity to reinforce the osmosis of the cultures of the other realms into our own and whilst some references are made to the origins of some legendary creatures these could have been done much more subtly and pervasively - again to accentuate the depth and breadth of the influence of the other realms.

For a modern thriller about surveillance culture and the "vast machine" Dean Koontz's Dark River does a better job and for that matter so does the Will Smith Film Enemy of the State.

For the theme of travelling between different versions of out world/alternative reality/different "realms" etc see Stephen King's Dark Tower series, The Talisman - also King with Peter Straub and ultimately Clive Barker's mind blowing Imajica.

In short this read like the "trailer to the golden city but was unfortunately all we have been given.Disappointing. show less

I have just finished reading the 3 books in the Fourth Realm Trilogy back to back so did not have the problem of trying to remember what had gone before while waiting for the next book's publication.

I found the fist book The Traveller engrossing and the second The Dark River a little disappointing (although in my experience this is not unusual for the middle book of a Trilogy), and therefore started the final book with somewhat mixed feelings. Just which way will it go, good or bad?

Ultimately I found the finale rather a let-down. The book lack something of the dynamic style of The Traveller and seemed a little pedestrian at times, there was little depth added to the main protagonists characters', and in the end the Tabula seemed to be show more too easily defeated with no real great power struggle. Although admittedly it does seem difficult to imagine how else it could have ended given the reality of the world we live in.

In the final analysis it is good to be reminded that personal freedom of both thought and action are the concerns for all of us not just for our elected leaders and pressure groups but have to say that I feel that the author either ran out of ideas or steam or sold out as the ending rather had a Hollywood 'all lived ever after' feel to it.

An enjoyable diversion but left empty as the Hungry Ghosts of Ghost City. show less

The Golden City ended predictably: with a speech about the evils of the modern surveillance society we live in, laced with new age feel good philosophy about freedom and privacy. The story was...interesting, and at point gripping, but in many ways, predictable. The final ending leaves something to be desired, in it's resolution and completion.

However, it was worth reading if just for the thought provoking nature of the issue JTH wants his readers to address: do we have too much surveillance? Online, our transactions, cameras everywhere...does it limit our freedom and privacy? Are we losing our ability to function as independent creatures?