The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks

The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
432 pages
Finished July 9, 2008














The Dark River is a sequel to The Traveler. These books are part of a trilogy. The first book, The Traveler, was beyond fabulous. I think the books can be considered dystopian - people aren't living in poverty, but the world is constantly being watched by Big Brother. Everywhere you go, you are on The Grid.

The Traveler follows a Harlequin, Maya, who is out to avenge the death of her father. Before doing so, she must first protect Gabriel, a man who has essentially lived off of the Grid with his brother since they were children. A Traveler is a person who can leave their body in spirit and travel to other realms.

I was so anticipating this second book in the trilogy - the first book was fabulously written, intense, and very imaginative. Unfortunately, I felt like most of the second book (the first quarter, for sure) moved very slowly. I was anticipating a fast moving novel, but it seemed a little lacking at first (with an exception or two).

Luckily, the book picked up, and the ending...WOW. Let's just say I can't WAIT until the final novel in the trilogy comes out (whenever that may be). The end definitely made up for what the first part of the book was lacking, and it definitely made me (as the reader) incredibly anxious for the last installment.

I would definitely recommend checking out this trilogy - I probably didn't do the book justice trying to describe it. :)

Also, one other note - after I read the second book, I started to look up information on the author, and it seems his (or her) identity is a secret. Allegedly even his editor has never met him. The author contacts his editor via a satellite phone, which is not traceable, and also uses a voice scrambler so the voice can't even be recognized. The author also claims to live "off the grid." Crazy - it makes the story even more interesting to me!

Four stars for The Dark River.