Good start to series
As a teacher, I try to read a lot of the books I purchase for my classroom. Tunnels is a book I had heard about and finally got around to reading recently. Tunnels is the first book in a series. (Amazon says the second book comes out February 3 in the U.S.) It follows the life of Will Burrows, a 14-year old who lives with his family in London. Will's father is the curator of a seldom-visited local museum, while his mother is a shut-in who spends all of her time watching TV. Will is also very fanciful, leaving his younger sister to pick up the pieces, cooking and cleaning for the family.
One thing Will and his father have in common is a love of archaeology. The two of them dig tunnels beneath the city to look for artifacts. One day, Will's father disappears. As Will is looking for clues, he discovers a secret tunnel in the family's basement. Will decides he must go after his father, and brings along his friend Chester. Will and Chester find a mysterious underground society at the end of the tunnel. The people living there do not like people from the surface of the Earth, so they add difficulties to the search for Will's father.
I'm not a huge fan of fantasy novels, but I read through this one pretty quickly. The plot was easy to follow as the author included a lot of description and kept it moving with plenty of action sequences (although it did take a little while to set up the action). I will definitely be reading the next book (Deeper) when it comes out, and this is a book I will be recommending to some of my students who are stronger readers.
may not be appropriate for kids
Awesome book! I would not recommend the book to anyone younger than 13. It is very dark, scary and takes to long to get to the action. I started reading this to my 5th grade students and had to stop because they weren't being "hooked". I finished it and was amazed by the quality and depth of the story. I am not sure why some complain about character development. I found the opposite to be true. I would suggest this book to anyone teenager and older I loved this book!
Tunnels
For this review I read Tunnels by: Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. This book was fiction.
Tunnels is about a boy named Will whose father shares his love for archeological digs. After a fight between Will's parents his father goes missing. Along with his friend Chester Will finds him self in search of his father. This is not as easy as he thought, Will and Chester get a big find when in Will's dads office but will that help or hurt them.
I thought this book was pretty good. I would recommend this book for people who like adventure.
I DIG IT !!!
Tunnels is a GREAT adventure! First of all, you should know this is NOT a charming children's story. There is no happily ever after, or riding off into the sunset. This is a gritty adventure within a new world, not in outer space, but right below our feet! The first part of the book establishes the characters, which helps the reader absorb the perspective of innocent youth and their daily endeavors. Once Will and Chester set out, they encounter events of incredible magnitude. They are thrust into situations that teenagers are not typically expected to endure. (Not even well rounded adults could prepare for what happens to the boys.) The writers did a great job of establishing how life without sunlight could be possible, their descriptions of the cities and surrounding areas are easily imagined, and some of the naturally occurring underground weather-type events are really creative. I'd love to elaborate more on the story, but I don't want to give away any part of the plot. I can't say anything negative about this story, and I am looking forward to the next book, "Deeper", which is due to be released March 2009.
P.S. I really liked the cat...I hope he shows up in the next book.
Subterranean adventure that's worth the read
A 14 year old Londoner named Will Burrows finds that his father, Dr Burrows, a dedicated archeologist, has suddenly disappeared. So, Will and his best friend Chester have to go on a long and adventurous quest to try and find his dad. During their search,they discover an unknown, curiously different, yet long ago founded, underground city right beneath the streets of London. Here they encounter a entirely different society of people with an evil ruling class that they must get deeper into to try and find their missing Dr. Burrows. The adventure only multiplies from here in the book "Tunnels"...
I found this book difficult to put down as it is so intriguingly different from many of the books out there as it takes place in a secretive subterranean world below London. It's a book that totally sucks you in with great writing, imaginative setting and unique characters. TUNNELS definitely makes you fly right through the 472 pages of it's story, totally yearning to get your hands on the sequel! So, guess what? We bought the sequel from somebody in the UK and had it shipped asap so I didn't have to wait to read DEEPER & it was totally worth the effort as the sequel is equally awesome!
ps -this is a ravenous student reader's point of view ( my son who practically lives among the pages of young adult books despite only being 10 as he has an 11th grade+ reading level and constant hunger for great books)
(48 reviews)
