Review - Tunnels

One of the recent books I finished was Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Apparently this was an "International Bestseller" though I don't know why.

For some reason, I could never really get into this book. From the start of the book, I felt like the authors were trying too hard to be too descriptive. I nearly overdosed on their overuse of adjectives. For example, the last sentence on the first page: "Will recoiled slightly as a clammy breeze bled from the ominous gap Dr. Burrows had created." It was like that for the first few pages then actually got better. Or at least it was not as noticeable.

The story is of Will Burrows who, like his father, likes to do archaeological digs. But when he discovers a strange tunnel, his father suddenly disappears. No explanation in the book whatsoever. But apparently Will knows, so he and his best friend Chester, go underground to find his father. They are both captured by the residents of the underground and jailed. Will is released when he discovers he was not a "topsider" but a resident of the deep. His real mother is actually on the run, he has no idea where is father is, he discovers the sister he has lived with for 14 years is not really his sister but a spy, and he has a half-brother.

This is clearly the first part of a series, but this title left me so unfulfilled that I really have no desire to read any of the titles remaining in the series. I'd rather spend my time on something a little more entertaining and written better.

So now it's on to Richard North Patterson's' The Race. I guess I didn't get enough politics in the last 2 years!