Customer Reviews

Tunnels (Book 1)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The strength of Tunnels lies in its potential scope: a subterranean world, trapped by earth and time, a concept that pays subtle homage, intentionally or not, to Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Gordon and Williams have crafted a detailed, albeit unsettling, vista for the wayward reader. Yet, as with the murky surrounds of The Deeps, it is not only the labyrinthine world that is dark, the themes and concepts contained within the book are equally so. There are scenes of torture, drug references and violence that nudge this book away from the comfort zone of the average teenager, or adult for that matter. Parental caution is advised for younger readers.

Sadly, the problem with `Tunnels' lies not within the inventive and fascinating storyline, but in the narrative and aspects of character development. The first third of the book lacks pace, and runs the risk of losing all but the resilient by the time young Will Burrows finds The Colony on page 171. Another anomaly is the presence of two clear writing styles. This often leaves the reader off-kilter. And despite a book that runs for 460+ pages, the characters lack depth. In fact, it is difficult to connect to most of the characters, including the protagonist.

So, you may well ask why is this reviewer giving Tunnels three stars? Well, I can see massive potential and clear scope in subsequent books. I suspect that by the end of this story people will gauge the whole rather than individual parts. I will be in line to read book two. Only then will one be able to judge, inexorably, just how deep Tunnels will really go.

Barry Cunningham is best known for being the publisher who brought Harry Potter to the world by signing then unknown writer J.K. Rowling after she had been rejected by numerous other publishers.

Since then, I'm sure he's been on the lookout for the "next big thing". Apparently the wait is over. In what's touted to be the "next Harry Potter", Mr. Cunningham has signed another unknown author, or rather pair of authors, Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Gordon and Williams had previously self-published their book as "The Highfield Mole". After what I'm sure was exhaustive marketing analysis, the book's title has been changed to "Tunnels".

It's an unfair comparison to call a new book the "next Harry Potter". It's akin to saying a company is the "next Microsoft" or an up-and-coming band is the "next Beatles". There is no way any book will live up to the hype. And this book should not be compared to Harry Potter. It is its own animal. And it's pretty good.

"Tunnels" is interesting and entertaining - eventually. I won't recap the plot here because you can read the official description above. The problem is that it takes 170 pages before anything happens. I almost gave up on it. None of the characters introduced in the first third of the book are compelling. They just don't come to life.

Also, the writing in the first part of the book isn't that great. It's too wordy and over-laden with adjectives. It also suffers from "adverb disease" ("Will said quietly", "Rebecca said triumphantly", "Chester said awkwardly"). It's a chore to read.

Then Will and Chester go underground. The writing improves in the second half of the book as things begin to happen and some interesting characters emerge.

"Tunnels" is good, but you're left hanging at the end, waiting for Book 2, which is supposed to be published in 2008.

I predict that "Tunnels" will find its audience, but it will not be a huge success. The universal appeal of Harry Potter was its magical world, co-existing with the regular world, but hidden from us Muggles. The magical world was whimsical, mysterious and fun. Readers escaped into that world and, when they were finished reading, couldn't wait to visit again and again and again.

"Tunnels" also has a hidden world, but there's nothing magical about it. It is mysterious, but it is also brutal and violent. People are tortured and killed. Vicious dogs attack with intent to kill. Even the regular world depicted in "Tunnels" is bleak. Here is a sample description of a neighborhood near Will's house:

"It was also the favoured spot for kids on their track bikes and, increasingly, stolen mopeds, the latter being run into the ground and then torched, their carbon-black skeletons littering the far edges of the Pits, where weeds threaded up through their wheels and around their rusting engine blocks. Less frequently, it was also the scene for sinister adolescent amusements such as bird- or frog-hunting; all too often, the creatures were slowly tortured to death and their sorry little carcasses impaled on sticks in sadistic youthful glee."

Yuck.

One of the main characters, Chester, whiles "away the time...by swatting bluebottles and wasps with an old badminton racket, easy targets as they grew lazy in the noonday heat." Later, he flicks "the mutilated remains of a large fly off the frayed strings of his racket."

Yuck again. Does this sound like someone you'd want your kids to hang out with?

Finally, I couldn't help feeling a sense of déjà vu while reading "Tunnels". It evoked memories of Jeanne DuPrau's "The City of Ember".

I recommend "Tunnels", but be aware of what you're getting yourself into - bleakness, darkness, dirt, grime and violence - with the promise of a rip-roaring adventure story.

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Michael Mihalik is the author of Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money. Learn how to gain control of your finances, pay off your debt, and create financial security!

While I generally enjoy a good book for kids, I didn't enjoy this one much. The premise is interesting: an underground world, full of mystery and intrigue; a missing father; a determined, intrepid boy. Unfortunately the execution does not do the premise justice. The prose is full of passive voice and awkward sentence construction (one wonders what happened to the editor); the plot is needlessly complex; the characters, essentially flat. Worst of all, the ending is completely unsatisfying; it provided absolutely no closure at all.

Don't be gulled by the "Harry Potter" hype. You'll be disappointed.

I had heard the hype back in June and had the opportunity to get a copy from England in late July. I was so excited to have a copy and couldn't wait to read it. When I started I would read a few chapters and put it down and another book would come along that I wanted to read and I'd read the whole book before I picked Tunnels back up, and it would repeat, I'd force myself through part of the book only to set it down for a better book. I kept waiting for it to get going, but it never did. They finally make it to the colony after 170+ pages and you think "Finally," but alas still not much to get excited about. There is almost no character development or action, mainly just needless exposition and meandering. Then the US version came out in December and I decided I was going to make myself finish the book. With about 100 pages left I was ready to throw it on the fire for kindling I was so frustrated with it.

So much of this book is pointless and unnecessary, the authors could and should have covered the same amount of ground in half as many pages, but instead it just drags on and on and pardon the pun, but they just keep digging the heroes into a deeper and deeper hole that is impossible for them to get out of before the end. With 30 pages left I could see no possible way that the book would have a satisfying ending and it didn't. Sure it's "Book 1" and you know they aren't going to wrap up the whole story, but they provide almost no closure at all. Because of the lack of character development you care so little as to what happens to most anyone in the book. Then for what little development they have, they manage to make many of the characters act completely against their nature. You know so little about a character, but know from what you have been told that they'd never do that. It's just so frustrating.

The first part of the book focuses very heavily on the dad, but then he essentially gets forgotten about in the last 2/3 of the book where he gets one short chapter and nothing else. The bad guys, The Styx, are ominous, despicable, and threatening, but they are also flat and faceless. One of the Styx is nicknamed Crawfly and he's really the only one that stands out, but the character is completely underused and not called out until much too late in the story.

There is almost no satisfaction in the ending, this book is really just a setup for book 2, but you couldn't pay me to read book 2. The world the authors present is spectacular and interesting, there are clever aspects and moments, but they are loosely littered over the story with little cohesion. Perhaps people are looking at the potential and giving it too much credit based on what could have been, but it really isn't there and there shouldn't be this kind of hype based mainly on what could have been. I read almost exclusively young adult fantasy and fiction, I run a book group for grown-ups that read kids' lit, and I can easily say that this is the worst young adult fantasy/fiction book I have ever read. Don't believe the hype!

Young Will Burrows loves accompanying his father on digs and finding antique treasures of any value. But when Will's father disappears one night, Will suspects that he was working on something alone. Worried and curious as to where his father ended up, Will soon enlists his best friend Chester to help him find his father, who he suspects has discovered old tunnels beneath the city. But what Will discovers is beyond his imagination.

This was a highly entertaining and suspenseful young adult novel. Very dark (pun not intended), with mysterious characters, this story is full of mystery and surprises. Gordon and Williams have created a fascinating culture, though a bit creepy and disturbing. I'll most likely follow this series as the sequels release in subsequent years. I'm really interested to see what else lies beneath ground.

Imagine trying to expand your favorite 20 Page picture story book you had as a kid into a 470 Page Book, that seems to be the general premise here, of course the material in tunnels is a lot darker but you get the Idea. Tunnels takes 470 pages to tell what could be told by a better writer in less than 250 pages, don't get me wrong, I love lengthy books, but Lengthy books with a story to tell, Tunnels takes forever to get nowhere, and at a point begins to overdescribe and repeat stuff when the readers by now have already gotten the piture, and when you finally get to something that you feel needs further explanation, Like the Organization of how the STYX, how they live, more details on how the underground world functions it falls incredibly short, Basically Tunnels is like a 470 Page Prologue, If I was the type of reader who quits book half way through I would have quit reading this. It ends in a Cliff Hanger, as a set up to book 2 but by the time I got through the book I knew that I definitely will not be buying, or reading nor do I Care what happens to Will Burrows anymore.

Don't get me wrong it's not totally Terrible, there are some nice Ideas in here, but the writing is just terrible. There is definitely lots of better books out there.

Harry Potter beware! Here comes Will Burrows! The book was fabulous. Fast reading. Great story line. And for us older folks .. large, clear print. If you loved Hogwarts you'll want to know about The Colony.

Tunnels is the first book in a new YA series that has gotten a lot of hype recently. How does it live up to the hype? In mixed fashion.
The book focuses on Will Burrows, son of amateur archaeologist and local museum curator Dr. Burrows. The two go on amateur digs together and a reference is made to a large discovery Dr. Burrows made that was "stolen" by a more famous archaeologist.
We learn all this relatively early and are further introduced to Chester, Will's new friend and fellow outcast at school; his TV-obsessed mother who stays zombie-like in the living room; his precocious 12-year-old sister who runs the family's finances and shopping; and a group of mysterious men who wander the streets clad in dark overcoats, hats, and sunglasses.
The set-up is relatively slow and some parts are more successful than others. His mother and sister never seem fully realized, and some of their actions seem somewhat arbitrary. His father, on the other hand, is handled much better and it is when Dr. Burrows vanishes that the book starts to perk up a bit, though only gradually.
Will and Chester begin to investigate and while it takes some time, and one wonders at the strangely lackadaisical response of many involved, eventually they re-discover a mysterious tunnel Dr. Burrows had been exploring and decide to enter it themselves.
Here the energy and ingenuity of the book begins to finally come into play as they land eventually in The Colony, an underground city whose secrets are intensely and at times violently guarded, a city who seems to be only the topmost site of many underground lands. The book takes a darker turn into adventure--involving capture, chases, family secrets, shocking plot twists, questions of society and politics, strange creatures, and death (some violently). The potential here is strong, but it only sometimes achieves it fully.
The pacing is not particularly smooth at the start of the underground adventure; as with Dr. Burrow's disappearance, the amount of time that passes and the characters' actions seem a bit disjointed. The same happens toward the end a bit. And some of the characters' decisions seem to rely overly much on the bad guys not doing some common sense things. The settings pique the reader's interest, but we never really get a strong sense of place and the same is true of the workings of the colony itself. It's interesting and sinister and mysterious, and the underlying tension is clearly implied, but it's all a bit thin, lacking a true sense of history and substance. One wishes for about 100 fewer pages of plot and maybe another 40 or so of detail.
The book ends on a cliffhanger leading clearly and directly into book two. And clearly, or maybe I should say one hopes, that some of the thin background will be filled in via the sequel. Though Will is heading into new territory after his father, so perhaps not. At this point, I'd say hold off on Tunnels until we see what book two brings. It isn't bad; it just doesn't stand out as particularly good. There's better YA fantasy/sci-fi out there (Gregor the Underlander, to name one that also takes place underground), though Tunnels has potential.

Enjoyed the character Will, It was like walking down a dark hallway, Not knowing what lies behind the next corner..I justed ordered DEEPER, part II of Tunnels. Cannot wait to see what happens to Will and his father...Andy age 53

I had heard that this was to be the next Harry Potter. Sadly, it falls a good deal short. I thought the overall pace was somewhat slow, and I really found myself not caring much one way or the other for the characters. Grant it, I was rather expecting something wonderful, but I really think that is the only reason I finished, and I am glad I did. It reminded me terribly of a set up book. I know HP did this, but it resolved conflict as well as continue the story. Tunnels just did not do that.