The Golden City: A Novel (Fourth Realm Trilogy) [Hardcover]

John Twelve Hawks (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 8, 2009 | Series: Fourth Realm Trilogy

A world that exists in the shadow of our own . . . the thrilling conclusion to John Twelve Hawks's Fourth Realm trilogy, The Golden City is packed with the knife-edge tension, intriguing characters, and startling plot twists that made The Traveler and The Dark River international hits.

John Twelve Hawks's previous novels about the mystical Travelers and the Brethren, their ruthless enemies, generated an extraordinary following around the world. The Washington Post wrote that The Traveler “portrays a Big Brother with powers far beyond anything Orwell could imagine . . .” and Publishers Weekly hailed the series as “a saga that's part A Wrinkle in Time, part The Matrix and part Kurosawa epic.” Internet chat rooms and blogs have overflowed with speculation about the final destiny of the richly imagined characters fighting an epic battle beneath the surface of our modern world.

In The Golden City, Twelve Hawks delivers the climax to his spellbinding epic. Struggling to protect the legacy of his Traveler father, Gabriel faces troubling new questions and relentless threats. His brother Michael, now firmly allied with the enemy, pursues his ambition to wrest power from Nathan Boone, the calculating leader of the Brethren. And Maya, the Harlequin warrior pledged to protect Gabriel at all costs, is forced to make a choice that will change her life forever.

A riveting blend of high-tech thriller and fast-paced adventure, The Golden City will delight Twelve Hawks's many fans and attract a new audience to the entire trilogy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The final volume in Hawks's fantasy thriller series, the Fourth Realm trilogy, brings to an end the struggle between the forces of evil, the Brethren-run empire known as the Tabula, and those of good—the Travelers, Harlequins and other fighters of the Resistance. The first book, The Traveler, promised, and delivered, much; the second, The Dark River, was bleak and a bit of a disappointment. With the third, Hawks has returned, somewhat, to the excitement of the first, though those expecting a final, titanic battle to decide the fate of the world will come away frustrated. In the end, the action scenes are too few and too brief, and the explorations into the other Realms don't come to much of anything. Some fans might wish the author had spent less time on the easy-to-understand philosophical underpinnings (e.g., freedom is the essence of our lives—not surveillance and control) and more time on swinging swords. Newcomers should read the series in order. (Sept.)
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Review

Raves for the New York Times bestselling The Traveler and The Dark River

“This novel’s a stunner … You won’t want to put the book down.” —People

“Page-turningly swift … John Twelve Hawks has drawn upon both pop-cultural and literary touchstones and modified them to create a cyber-1984.” —New York Times

“A thrilling sequel … Engaging and relevant.” —Time Out New York

“Portrays a Big Brother with powers far beyond anything Orwell could imagine … Political prophecy is rarely such fun.” —Washington Post

“Constant action … A must-read … Will have you scratching your head wondering what is real … We may well be seeing John Twelve Hawks on the bestseller lists for years.” —Detroit Free Press

“The Dark River is a thought-provoking treatise on mind with matter and the increasing loss of our privacy.” —KansasCity.com

“The book lives up to its hype… The plot twists and turns… Scarcely ten pages go by without action… What sets the novel apart is its underlying philosophy… Thought-provoking thrillers are a rarity indeed, but Twelve Hawks has delivered.” —Tampa Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385514301
• ISBN-13: 978-0385514309
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Take me to The Realms... September 13, 2009

By Jason Frost TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Strong beginning weak ending September 13, 2009

By Skippy Jones

Format:Hardcover

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars sigh... September 21, 2009

By ride

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.