Last Word First: A bit of a slow starter, but great once it gets going. Dig in!Will Burrows loves to dig. He digs tunnels all over the place, sometimes with the assistance of his father, a museum curator who has dreams of making a huge discovery and making a name for himself. But when Will's father disappears and one of the tunnels is mysteriously filled in, Will's innocent hobby suddenly takes on a menacing cast. Will's quest to find his father leads him to discover a subterranean world he never could have imagined.
Let me just say, Will's family will have you feeling awesome about yours. His father is obsessed with his failed career and exploits Will's digging in hopes of making a great discovery. His sister is an obsessive control freak, and his mother never surfaces from her TV viewing. Will himself is one of those characters that really annoyed me at first, but then I grew to like him and I can't remember why he bothered me.
The best part of this book is the detail of the underground world Will discovers. There is an entire civilization below ground, but life there isn't perfect. An elite group called the Styx hold the colony in an iron grip. The tunnel world is dependent on and interconnected with the world above ground, but almost no one above ground knows it's there, and the underworld dwellers despise "topsoilers." I only wish I could have heard a little more about it, as I'm assuming I will in later books.
Gordon and Williams do a great job in this story of building the suspense and then truly delivering on it. My husband also loved this book. With plenty of action, mystery and suspense, it definitely has plenty of appeal for the Y-chromosomed among us.
My only real problem with this book was that it was a bit slow near the beginning. A lot of time went into establishing Will's (rather dysfunctional) family life, and then his family didn't really have much of a role in the story. At 472 pages, the book is long enough that I think they could have trimmed the fat a little here. Readers might be discouraged by the first few chapters and end up missing out on a good story.
More info: Tunnels has a sequel, Deeper, available now. The third book in the series, entitled Freefall is available in the US today. You can read up on the authors and the series at the official website. Latest news is available at the official fansite, TunnelsDeeper.
Movie News: Tunnels is being made into a movie, expected to be out in 2010. There isn't much info available now, but you can keep an eye on the IMDB page for updates. I think this has the potential to be a really great movie!
About the Authors: Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams first met in college in London and have remained friends ever since. Gordon, a former investment banker, now lives in Norfolk, England. Williams, an installation artist, lives in Hackney. (from the book jacket)
Click the book cover image to purchase from Amazon.
