Sunday, November 8, 2009

End of a thought-filled trilogy



The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks finishes the trilogy begun by The Traveler. The final book has a mystical quality to it and a tone very different from the first two. Gabriel and Michael travel between realms in the endgame between the Tabula and those seeking personal freedom. Tabula's ultimate goal is revealed: humanity is to be barcoded and manipulated through fear. Michael sets a child abuser loose to terrorize parents and encourage them to computer chip their children for safety as step one of the process. This made me think of the dreadful local news at night. I've stopped watching because the reports are intended to frighten us and I need my sleep! It is so easy to fall under their spell and see murderers around every corner. So Twelve Hawks again captures an aspect of modern life and questions the motive.

This is a reasonably satisfying conclusion to a thoughtful series. I could have lived without the religous allegory and would have appreciated a more concrete ending to our characters' stories. I'm not convinced the author doesn't have a second series in mind, although he says in his notes that he is finished with it. So many loose ends....

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