The Traveler

The Traveler (The Traveller in the UK) is a 2005 novel by American author John Twelve Hawks. A New York Times bestselling novel, It was the first in his The Fourth Realm Trilogy. Book two,The Dark River, was published in July 2007. The final part in the trilogy, The Golden City, was released September 8, 2009. The trilogy has been translated into 25 languages and has sold more than 1.5 million books. Setting The book is set in the near future, in a world where power lies in the hands of a secret organisation that calls itself the Brethren; its enemies call it the Tabula. The Tabula is a centuries-old secret society that believes in the importance of control and stability. The Tabula wishes to enforce a Virtual Panopticon: a society where all individuals become so accustomed to being watched and monitored that they act at all times as if they were being observed, and are thus controllable. This Virtual Panopticon is made possible through the use of surveillance cameras, centralized databases, RFID-like tags for each citizen, and assorted spy gear. The Tabula consider Travelers to be a threat to its control. The Travelers are individuals with a special gift which allows them to detach from their bodies and journey through elemental barriers to other realms. Pathfinders are individuals capable of teaching potential Travelers how to break free from their body. Harlequins are specially trained warriors who are committed to protecting Travelers. Travelers, Pathfinders, and Harlequins are hunted by the Tabula. Plot summary Maya, a young woman, is trying to live the life of a normal citizen. Her background, on the other hand, is anything but normal. She is the daughter of a famous German Harlequin named Thorn, who had been badly injured in an ambush by the Brethren. On a mission she killed two men of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. As a consequence Maya had tried to hide and leave her Harlequin past behind until one day her handicapped father calls for her. When visiting him in Prague, she finds him slaughtered by his enemies.