Tunnels by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon

Synopsis(from http://www.bn.com/, as usual):

A thrilling adventure story about a mysterious underground world, read by Jack Davenport. Fourteen-year-old Will Burrows lives with his parents and younger sister Rebeccain London. He has little in common with any of them, except for a passion for digging, which he shares with his father, a museum curator and doctor of archaeology. When his father suddenly disappears after a row with his mother, the police believe he has just gone away for a while to cool down. But Will is unconvinced, and decides to investigate with his best friend Chester.

This book can be purchased from http://www.bn.com/ (online) for $7.19, in paperback,
and in hardcover, $12.95.

The sequel to Tunnels is: Deeper

The sequel to Deeper is: Freefall

The sequel to Freefall is: Closer - Scheduled for publication on the third of May(in the UK, and a year later in the US).


Vincenzo Natali to Direct the Movie Adaptation of Tunnels

There is not much information available concerning the movie adaptation of Tunnels, but this is the info I have managed to obtain:

1. The director is Vincenzo Natali.
2.  The screenwriters are:  Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist.
3. The producers are: Ryan Kavanaugh and Mark Canton
4. The executive producers are: Neil Canton and Danny Davids
5. The second draft of the screenplay has been written.
6. In the particular draft, two characters' ages are inaccurate in relation to the book.
7. The budget for the film: $1, 000, 000.


Fan Central

FERVENT FANS OF TUNNELS:

"I would recommend this book to anybody who likes fast, exciting action. Good for any age (<12), and it is so exciting! I can visualize this book so well in my mind, it's awesome."


"I think this book was great1 I loved the first book "Tunnels" and "Deeper!" I've already finished Freefall which is the third one of these series! A while ago, I sent the authors an e-mail, a few months later, they e-mailed me back! But to warn you all, these books have a lot of sadness and death in them as well as adventure and mystery. YOU MUST READ THIS SERIES!!!"

"I love this series of books! The authors have created such a unique and thrilling storyline. This is a definite page-turner and I would recommend it to anyone. The uniqueness will keep you wanting to read more. I cannot wait until Freefall comes out!"

SMART FANS OF TUNNELS:

"-The "not-being-true-to-the-book-ocity" has been an issue with TONS of movies. Especially Harry Potter. I think Tunnels needs to be very spectacular; like no movie anyone has ever seen. Therefore, I won't care if the movie comes out in late 2011. As long as the movie is worth seeing. They need to have NO flaws or changes from the book. For now, I just wanna read Closer."


RIDICULOUS FANS OF TUNNELS:

"-but i hate harry potter, it's too popular-"

INNOVATIVE FANS OF TUNNELS:

"Just spitballing ideas here...

And I don't know if they have chosen actors/actresses yet, but
Tunnels is a unique series, right?
so why not do something unique in choosing actors/actresses?
What about having a contest, something like creating a website where people (fans of the book) can upload video auditions to play parts in the movie? maybe?
Because i think it would be a good idea to bring in people nobody has seen before.
And i'm sure there are people out there that have talent that just haven't been discovered."



Reviews/Recommendations(from http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Tunnels/Roderick-Gordon/e/9780545078818/?itm=1&USRI=Tunnels#TABS)


Fourteen-year-old Will Burrows has a passion for digging around his small town of Highfield, which is so old it dates back to Roman times. He and his father, curator of the town's history museum and archaeologist, spend their spare time looking for ancient artifacts, abandoned underground train tunnels, or maybe something more interesting: evidence of ancient settlements. Outside of his exciting hobby, Will's life is dreary. His family is dysfunctional. His older sister Rebecca does all the shopping, cleaning, and cooking while their mother spends her time in front of the TV. Will's appearance works against him—he is pale with white hair, and his only friend is big, bumbling Chester who is also on the outside of teen society. Suddenly, Will's humdrum life turns dark and desperate. His father disappears, their family is without any money, and Will suspects that his father may be in danger connected with some secret excavation. Can he find his father with Chester's help? Some mysterious figures begin to tail Will; the new-found father's journal also mentions being followed by the same furtive strangers. Will and Chester persevere in their search and are suddenly thrust into a dark, frightening underground world filled with people who look like Will. Some claim to be his family. Some, the Styx, are truly frightening: they use torture to get information from Will and Chester. How will Chester and Will escape? Can they find Dr. Burrows? What about the foreign yet familiar underground people that claim to be Will's grandmother and younger brother? Meanwhile, what is happening topside to Rebecca and Mum? The underground world becomes deeper and deadlier and Will wonders if he will eversee the sky or sunlight again. This is a beautifully written young adult novel, so compelling and realistically drawn that the reader will not be able to put it down. Black-and-white illustrations add wonderfully to the dark fantasy world. A sequel, Deeps, is scheduled to be out in 2009. Wow! Reviewer: Judy Crowder



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Hope you enjoyed reading this post on Tunnels by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon. A classmate recently lent me the book, so anticipate a post or two on the book when I have completed it. Marvel has read Tunnels already(I'm unsure as to whether she read the other books in the series), so she may add to this post or create another post with her reflections on the book. If it would be to your interest, you could acquire Tunnels, read it, and then participate in a discussion of the book later on.

Any news about Tunnels not included in this post? Personal reflections and opinions of the books?
Comments are welcome, but please do not include spoiler content in your comments except in exclusive posts designated for discussion of the particular book.

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