Tunnels (Book 1) Mass Market Paperback – February 1, 2009

This first book of the Tunnels series was a very good read. I am now on the fourth book of the series and I just want it to end! Going to send the series to my 11 and 15 year old great grandsons. Hopefully, they can get off their devices long enough to actually read the books!

Tunnels including the whole series is another incredibly well-written and plotted series for its age group and genre. It has a fantastic plot which constantly keeps the reader into it. I heard that it was going to have been made into a movie at one point, but was really disappointed when it got canceled, however, this is a book that one must read.

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.----------------------------------------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!

This book series has consumed a large portion of my life. I bought a copy of the first book a couple weeks after it was released, and I read it and loved it. I sat on my couch and read through the whole thing without stopping. I know it sounds unhealthy, but I legitimately did not even eat for the 28 hours that I slowly read through it.

Roderick Gordon presents the reader with an adventure tale of a young boy that likes to dig under the ground to see what is there. He goes in search of his father that has disappeared while searching for artifacts under the ground. The adventure is both exciting and plausible making the reader want to continue on with the next installment at the end of the book. This book will appeal to readers from 8 to 80.

Well, I’m giving it 3 stars because I never finished reading it when I was living in Madison, but from what I can remember it was pretty good. So I ordered it again which it was a gift the first time around but I lost it due to moving out of my apartment back to Chicago unfortunately all I remember was getting about 8/9 chapters in

I really liked the book because it is difficult to find a book that will fit both a girl and a boy. It could have done without the under aged drinking and violence but sadly that is what kids want to read today. The authors left the ending wide open so that the reader had to purchase the next book. Overall, I thought it was an excellent book that I would definitely use with my students and have in my school library circulation.

Great series, received the book in excellent condition. I got the set to read again since a friend and I first read through them when they were coming out. I had forgotten that the first book starts up a little slow, but I'd highly recommend sticking around for book 2 (Deeper) to make a final judgement on continuing or dropping the series. Absolutely satisfied with my buy, and will probably buy another set for my brother for Christmas. We both love the setting.