Official Review: I'm A Traveller by KL Watkins
Posted: 06 Aug 2017, 18:12
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "I'm A Traveller" by KL Watkins.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever had a Matrix moment where suddenly the world seems somehow changed and the things that seemed to matter suddenly don't? That's what happens to Joanna Carter, a researcher and theorist, while working on a top secret project for NASA. Referred to only as "the Project", we learn it's meant to save humanity and is so top secret that it's split into three divisions that don't know what the other divisions are up to.
I'm A Traveller by KL Watkins begins with Joanna working with her rats when suddenly she finds herself lying on the ground. Using newly-refined powers of deduction she realizes she must not have been there long, and although top secret projects have been sabotaged in the past there are no signs of it here. She soon realizes her rats are all different, they're acting... peaceful, relaxed, absolutely unlike they've ever acted before. It passes quickly but somehow Joanna feels different as well. The next day she takes off from work for the first time in ages, and she feels completely detached from everything she's ever known. She also seems hyper-aware, noticing the practices of animals and people more than before. Colors seem brighter and sharper, and she's drawn to things and places without knowing why. Despite the knowledge that her project is vital to humanity, she really couldn't care any less anymore.
Instead of work, Joanna ends up going on a journey to seek out what truly matters, why we're here, who we are and what we're doing. She meets kindred spirits in the unlikeliest of places, all the while getting closer and closer to whatever IT is that woke up inside her that day in her lab. Sometimes it seems to speak for her as if she isn't in control, and while she desperately wants to know what it is and will do anything to figure it out, she knows that once it's revealed she'll never be the same.
From the Amazon description and the two reviews there I was a little leery about reviewing I'm a Traveller. However, when I downloaded the sample and started reading it I knew I had to read it; it was captivating and incredibly well written. I couldn't be happier that I dove in - it maintained that level of intrigue, mystery and captivation for the following 200+ pages. The problem with a book like this one is that it's so hard to describe without spoiling it, and once I read it the Amazon description suddenly made great sense. Like the scene in The Matrix where Neo finally gets it, I'm a Traveller is an experience to a massive revelation. Joanna is as confused by what's going on in her own mind as we are, and so we journey together toward it, a revelation that's shrouded in mystery.
KL Watkins handles this journey masterfully, and from the moment I picked up the book I had trouble putting it down. Although a large part of the book would likely seem slow or dull to those looking for action, it's captivating in a way I can't even describe. All the while, seeds of information are snuck into each scene, to the extent that a second reading would bring on all sorts of "aha!" moments; moments that may not have entirely made sense to the reader or to Joanna herself in the moment make total sense after the huge revelation at the end.
And there's the most important part of any story that builds up to one startling conclusion: if the entire story builds toward one big moment, that moment had better be awesome. In the case of I'm a Traveller, it absolutely is. It's deep and poignant, but at the same time it's so surprising and amazing that it's something I won't forget for a long time. All of my favorite stories have that moment - whether it's that moment in The Matrix, the huge reveals in the Bioshock series of games or the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense. These are the stories that have stuck with me years or even decades after their release, and I believe I'm a Traveller will be right there with them.
As a book reviewer, it's my job to express what a book is about, whether a book is good or bad and why I feel that way. With I'm a Traveller I can't help but feel I'm failing at that last part because of just how much I enjoyed it. If I could give it 5 out of 4 stars I would, and it's with that spirit that I feel secure officially giving it 4 out of 4 stars despite the fact that it could use some editing. The only negative point about the book is that there's a patch in the book where the wrong word is often used - "passed" instead of "past", for example, or "wonder" instead of "wander". Typically that would force me take a point off, but since I truly feel the book deserves more than 4 stars anyway I still feel that's fair. While I can't possibly recommend this book more to those who love a good mystery or observations about the meaning of life, science or religion, folks looking for action should look elsewhere.
******
I'm A Traveller
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever had a Matrix moment where suddenly the world seems somehow changed and the things that seemed to matter suddenly don't? That's what happens to Joanna Carter, a researcher and theorist, while working on a top secret project for NASA. Referred to only as "the Project", we learn it's meant to save humanity and is so top secret that it's split into three divisions that don't know what the other divisions are up to.
I'm A Traveller by KL Watkins begins with Joanna working with her rats when suddenly she finds herself lying on the ground. Using newly-refined powers of deduction she realizes she must not have been there long, and although top secret projects have been sabotaged in the past there are no signs of it here. She soon realizes her rats are all different, they're acting... peaceful, relaxed, absolutely unlike they've ever acted before. It passes quickly but somehow Joanna feels different as well. The next day she takes off from work for the first time in ages, and she feels completely detached from everything she's ever known. She also seems hyper-aware, noticing the practices of animals and people more than before. Colors seem brighter and sharper, and she's drawn to things and places without knowing why. Despite the knowledge that her project is vital to humanity, she really couldn't care any less anymore.
Instead of work, Joanna ends up going on a journey to seek out what truly matters, why we're here, who we are and what we're doing. She meets kindred spirits in the unlikeliest of places, all the while getting closer and closer to whatever IT is that woke up inside her that day in her lab. Sometimes it seems to speak for her as if she isn't in control, and while she desperately wants to know what it is and will do anything to figure it out, she knows that once it's revealed she'll never be the same.
From the Amazon description and the two reviews there I was a little leery about reviewing I'm a Traveller. However, when I downloaded the sample and started reading it I knew I had to read it; it was captivating and incredibly well written. I couldn't be happier that I dove in - it maintained that level of intrigue, mystery and captivation for the following 200+ pages. The problem with a book like this one is that it's so hard to describe without spoiling it, and once I read it the Amazon description suddenly made great sense. Like the scene in The Matrix where Neo finally gets it, I'm a Traveller is an experience to a massive revelation. Joanna is as confused by what's going on in her own mind as we are, and so we journey together toward it, a revelation that's shrouded in mystery.
KL Watkins handles this journey masterfully, and from the moment I picked up the book I had trouble putting it down. Although a large part of the book would likely seem slow or dull to those looking for action, it's captivating in a way I can't even describe. All the while, seeds of information are snuck into each scene, to the extent that a second reading would bring on all sorts of "aha!" moments; moments that may not have entirely made sense to the reader or to Joanna herself in the moment make total sense after the huge revelation at the end.
And there's the most important part of any story that builds up to one startling conclusion: if the entire story builds toward one big moment, that moment had better be awesome. In the case of I'm a Traveller, it absolutely is. It's deep and poignant, but at the same time it's so surprising and amazing that it's something I won't forget for a long time. All of my favorite stories have that moment - whether it's that moment in The Matrix, the huge reveals in the Bioshock series of games or the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense. These are the stories that have stuck with me years or even decades after their release, and I believe I'm a Traveller will be right there with them.
As a book reviewer, it's my job to express what a book is about, whether a book is good or bad and why I feel that way. With I'm a Traveller I can't help but feel I'm failing at that last part because of just how much I enjoyed it. If I could give it 5 out of 4 stars I would, and it's with that spirit that I feel secure officially giving it 4 out of 4 stars despite the fact that it could use some editing. The only negative point about the book is that there's a patch in the book where the wrong word is often used - "passed" instead of "past", for example, or "wonder" instead of "wander". Typically that would force me take a point off, but since I truly feel the book deserves more than 4 stars anyway I still feel that's fair. While I can't possibly recommend this book more to those who love a good mystery or observations about the meaning of life, science or religion, folks looking for action should look elsewhere.
******
I'm A Traveller
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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