23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Take me to The Realms..., September 13, 2009
I was turned on to the `Traveler' series "way back" in 2005. I was working at a different bookstore then and we, literally, had twelve advanced reader's copies sitting in our break room. They sat there... and sat there... and sat there. One day I picked one up and that's all it took. Literally, the first paragraph had me and has kept hold of me for four years. Having to wait two years between books hasn't been easy, especially since I devour them as soon as they hit the shelves. But I don't mind because I've really enjoyed this series.
`Golden City' was no different. I had my copy waiting for me, tore the cover off like it was Christmas, and told the rest of the world to leave me the hell alone. If you are a follower of this series you will love this book. How can you not? As I stated earlier, it's been over two years since `The Dark River' so it took me a minute or two to get back in the flow. Gabriel, Michael, The Tabula, Boone, Hollis, The Evergreen Foundation, The Brethren, the Harlequins, and my girl Maya. It was so nice jumping back in their lives and adventures.
This book is fun. Yeah, there are some seriously true political undertones here, but that wasn't what I focused on because I wanted... well... to have fun! I read for entertainment and that is what this book gave me. Others will read this and see the brilliance of JTH and his take on how society is slowly losing its freedom in the name of "protecting our safety", but that's up for you to decide. I enjoyed reading about Maya in the First realm, loved the tension between Hollis and Linden, stunned (not really) at the length The Brethren would go to implement their agenda, and Gabriel's travels through the Realms. There are a number of shockers in this book. What he does with Boone... man! The action is here and so are the futuristic martial arts that drew me in from book #1. The evil of The Brethren vs. the protecting nature of The Traveler creates a suspenseful, action filled ride you hate to get off...
Until the end...
Talk about throwing water on the fire, or yelling your ex's name in the throve of passion... the ending was not good at all. After 4 years of following this series and this is it? This is how it ends? I'm flying through this book like a 2010 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG on the Autobahn and then BAM!!! I hit a ten foot wall of solid concrete. There is only one thing that I can think of why this story ended the way it did: this isn't the end. Despite the assurance from websites, and the author himself that this is the last book, my conspiracy thinking self thinks otherwise. Rather, I HOPE otherwise. Will I think you guys like this book? I do. Will some of you like the ending? More than likely, I'm just one guy out of six billion. It's just, for me the end was a letdown after a truly superb series. Kinda like going to bed with Toni Braxton and waking up next to Star Jones (sorry for the visual).
Don't let the ending dissuade you from getting this book. It's 358 pages of wonderfulness; it's only the last five pages that have me scratching my head.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Strong beginning weak ending, September 13, 2009
I loved the first two books and eagerly awaited the last. The book had an amazing beginning and had a lot of potential but it sort of petered out. It seems like the author didn't develop a lot of the book's content and there were a lot of convenient events, "I just happened to hear about an underground river running exactly where we need to go" and, "Oh yeah, there is this super cool computer hacker that can help us". Events didn't have a developed explanation, they just kind of happened. I didn't get a real sense of a climax, It just happened to end and left me with more questions. Where is Gabriel and his brother the cold traveler? are they still in the fire barrier? are they fighting in another realm? Why did they both travel at the same time in the end anyway? It didn't make scene with that course of events, "Tag! you're it! You can't catch me!". Overall a decent book. Just don't put too much thought into it.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
sigh..., September 21, 2009
I haven't been this let down by a series since Stephen King's Dark Tower. The Fourth Realm series was wonderful up until there were only 10 pages left and I realized that there would be no ending. What a letdown.
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