Somebody's Watchin' Me

The Traveler
John Twelve Hawks
Vintage

A few months ago, one the big debates being discussed in the Toronto media was whether or not the city should install CCTV cameras to monitor activity in a few "problem" areas in the downtown core. Frankly, the idea that the city could track my movements even more than they already do gave me the creeps. Don't worry, I'm not one of those "live free or die" types, but I do believe that the both the government and big business know way too much about what I do, where I go, and what novel I'm likely to choose next at the bookstore. We could just chalk it up to being one of the perils of living in a post 9/11, information age. Or not. I think it's a matter of perspective.

John Twelve Hawks, the author of 2005's The Traveler, might argue that it is possible, and somewhat preferable, to fly under the information radar and "live off the grid" since it is the only real way to live free. The novel focuses on a pair of brothers, Gabriel and Michael, who are suspected to be Travelers -- that is, men who can escape their physical beings and use their energy or "Light" to travel to other dimensions. An evil empire called the Tabula (headquartered in Purchase, NY) want to capture the brothers and use their powers to open a portal and map a path between realities. While Michael is eventually captured and convinced to use his powers for the dark side, Gabriel manages to elude his seekers and flees to the Arizona desert. He is assisted in his escape by a young woman named Maya -- a trained killer sworn to protect Travelers, and a couple of Angelinos who believe in the cause.

I really liked this book. Twelve Hawks (if that, indeed, is his real name) has managed to put together a novel that defies categorization. Part sci-fi/fantasy, part thriller, part social criticism, this novels works, and works beautifully, on so many levels. Despite the fact that I understand this novel is the first in a trilogy, there is very little fat in the text and even the characters names are invested with meaning. Twelve Hawks has done a fantastic job making this an intelligent, engaging read. Four points of light out of five.