Book Title: Tunnels
Authors: Broderick Gordon and Brian Williams
***.5 (3 and a half stars out of 5)
Tunnels is a british novel filled with suspense and intrigue. It is about teenage Will, who lives in a dysfunctional family and is bullied at school, and who shares his father's strange obsession of digging holes underground. He befriends another outcast Chester, and together they discover a mystery in the dark world that Will so loves. Then, Will's father goes mysteriously missing. Chester and Will uncover a series of clues in the search for Will's father that lead them to a creepy underground world of strange, pale people that have never seen the light of day. When Chester is imprisoned by a horrible, mind-torturing race of policemen called The Styx, Will makes it his duty to rescue both Chester and his father from the sick and twisted Tunnels of the Colony. But a botched escape plan, complications in which Will discovers his "real" family, dangerous betrayals, martyred heroes and a cliffhanger ending keep you wanting more of this dark story.
Overall, the book is a fun read. It is at times suspenseful, original, and well-written. However, the plot is underdeveloped, and clearly a "first book". The characters are less than true-to-life, and act in improbable ways. The novel, while entertaining, does not convert you, or keep you guessing. Unlike more masterful fiction, the story remains just that, a story, and does not consume you into forgetting that it isn't reality. Still, it is very entertaining, and will make for a good new series. The ending was unsatisfying, which always bothers me, but it was clearly intentional. Much credit must be given to the book for the originality of its ideas and writing style, the likes of which I have not before seen. I recommend the books to well-read pre-teens and teenagers looking for a light summer read.
Following movie rating guidelines, I rate this book PG-13 for graphic violence and disturbing images.
Buy it here for $10.79 new or $6.50 and up used.
Creeped Out By Tunnels,
Lizzy
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