Tunnels
The Chicken House, 2007
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN: 0439871778
480 pages
Synopsis
Young Will Burrows feels estranged from his life and his family. He has only one friend at school, and it almost seems as if no one in his family is actually related to him. The only interest he shares with his father is their love for digging up archaeological remains around London. Suddenly, though, his father disappears, and Will must figure out what was behind it. Tracing back through his father’s footsteps, or tunnel steps, he discovers a world beneath London that has existed for centuries, now long forgotten called “The Colony.” Soon he discovers that this sub-world was once his home, but what about the father that raised him, and what about his life on the surface?
Critique
When J.K. Rowling’s agency claimed that they had found the next great book series that would take the world by storm, I was skeptical. However, there are some legitimate aspects of that claim. Tunnels is definitely fun and engaging. It creates a similar feeling of wonder and excitement, and the books are certainly similar in how long they are. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much, but Gordon and Williams pleasantly surprised me.
I would argue with Christopher Little Literary Agency and say that Tunnels does not incorporate what made Harry Potter such a huge success, which is the allure of the wizarding school, that at any moment, any normal eleven-year-old could suddenly get an invitation into a world they thought never existed. The world that is created in Tunnels is exclusive, and not necessarily inviting. Even as an adult, I pictured myself in the world of Harry Potter, but I have no intention of ever wanting to be part of The Colony.
On the other hand, Tunnels is an exclusively original fantasy, which makes it engaging and imaginative in other ways. The elements throughout and the back-story on how this underworld was created are unique to this tale. Certainly, this isn’t the first time that a story has been told about people going down into the earth’s crust, Journey to the Center of the Earth being the most popular. However, the world created in Tunnels is entirely unique to this subterranean fantasy. There are no elves or dragons, no vampires or werewolves and the only magic that shows up is through scientific discovery. I recommend this to any readers 11+.
The other book in this series so far is Deeper (book 2), Freefall (book 3), and Closer (book 4) which has not yet been released.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read: Original Fantasy: Original Plot: Language: Asthetics: Depth In Characters: Depth In Story: Social Commentary: Layers/Complexity: Classroom Text: Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
Since this is largely a work of fantasy, the science of the world is different than our own. However, the exploration of the tunnels, and the cavernous underworld is interesting and somewhat applicable to geological studies.
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