The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. New York: Doubleday, 2005. ISBN: 0-385-51428-X

This is science fiction with a new-age twist, a war between good and evil, with ties to conspiracy theories. Maya, our protagonist, is, almost against her will, a Harlequin, a modern day knight, a protector of the Travelers, those unique human beings that can travel to other planes of existence. Buddha, Jesus, these are examples of Travelers from previous centuries. The Harlequins are the heirs of the Knights Templar, fighting the evil Tabula, whose goal is the elimination of both the Travelers AND the Harlequin and the subjugation of the masses to the mind control of television and consumerism.

Although raised by her father to continue the Harlequin tradition, at the outset of our tale Maya has given up that life, and joined the ranks of the ordinary citizenry. But her father recruits her for one last mission, to go to America to find and protect two young men who may have the capacity to become the last Travelers known to exist.

The Tabula, too, have decided on a new strategy. They wish to capture a Traveler or two, and study their brains directly, learning how to “Travel” in order to contact a shadowy race that exists only on another plane of existence.

Carnage and mayhem ensue, with Maya in the thick of the battle. A taut, suspenseful tale, somewhat along the lines of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, but with a much better storyline, and without most of the overtly Christian trappings. Recommended.