In
John Twelve Hawks's so-called Fourth Realm trilogy two secret
organizations are locked in a centuries old battle . . .
The one group called the Brethren is intent on creating
a 1984-like totalitarian world government in which they can spy on every
single individual on the planet and thus maintain the status quo (they are
the bad guys in case you haven’t caught on yet).
The other group are called the Travelers, and is a
motley assortment of mystics who has the unique capability to travel to
other parallel dimensions.
Somehow their talent makes them a threat to the
Brethren and plans for global domination and the Travelers are in turn
protected by a society of elite samurai sword wielding body guards calling
themselves the Harlequins. They are the good guys in case you wondered.
And if you were wondering on how exactly their gift of inter-dimensional
travel is a threat to the Brethren, then you’re not the only one: the
books are a bit vague and fuzzy when it comes to specific politics and
ideology.
But that doesn’t really matter: the books are written
in a very visual style (there is not a lot of time for introspection and
character development when you have to battle ominous secret
Illuminati-like organizations) as if they were originally intended to be
screenplays for movies in the first place. And to be honest, the Fourth
Realm books would make for some brainless Hollywood Blockbuster
Matrix-style action flick. Either that, or make
a nice premise for a mythology rich mini-series or TV series.
Purely as books they make for okay airport reads. Not
too demanding, but not too rewarding either. So come on Hollywood: here is
the next National Treasure or Lara Croft wannabe franchise .
. .
(Proof that the Illuminati exists: the word isn’t
recognized by MS-Word’s spell check function, which means that Microsoft
must be onto it as well!)
The Dark River: Book Two of the
Fourth Realm (Fourth Realm Trilogy) (Hardcover)
by John Twelve Hawks
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (July 10, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385514298
ISBN-13: 978-038551429
