[I disappeared Sept. 19 because that night, my water broke and I had a baby the next morning. You can read all about that here.]

So I've been reading, and mostly suspense novels. That's what reading while you have a baby leaves you enough time for. Fast pacing, simple language... that's about all I can really wrap my mind around.

The Traveler works on those levels. Maya is a Harlequin, an ancient line of warriors sworn to protect the Travelers, people with the ability to leave our realm and travel to others. The Travelers have been the major force of change in society (it's implied that the Buddha, Jesus and several other religious figures, including Joan of Arc, were Travelers), fighting against the influence of the Tabula, a group trying to make society as mundane as possible to gain control.
The character development is good, though you feel no sympathy for cold, shut off Maya, even as she's supposed to be feeling forbidden attachment to the Traveler she's protecting. The plot, though, is well thought out, and full of neat references between subplots. Twelve Hawks often leaves the reader hanging at the end of chapters, leaving one character in a predicament (in one case, certain death) and then switching to other points of view before returning to the character, often long after the conflict has resolved. It moves the plot along, but leaves the reader unsatisfied.
The Traveler was a good read, and it kept the baby brain interested despite the frustrations. I'd read another of John Twelve Hawks books, if he writes another. His biography says he lives off the Grid (an important way to hide from the Vast Machine - society and its constant surveillance).