Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams[]
Young fourteen-year-old Will Burrows spends much of his time with his father on archaeological digs. He finds most of his happiness and peace of mind while on such occasions. He and his friend Chester are typically picked on in school, mostly because they have skin problems. Will has very pale skin and Chester has eczema. In fact, this is one of the factors that brought Will and his friend together.
Lately, Dr. Burrows has been seeing strange men about their home of Highfield in England. Strange clues lead him to an entrance to an underground tunnel, which takes him down to a mysterious world, and above ground, he has been deemed missing.
Meanwhile, Will and Chester have also made a strange discovery of their own, which provides more clues to the mysterious world Dr. Burrows will soon stumble upon. The boys learn of Will's father's disappearance, and choose to investigate. They find the Doc's journal, which has many entries about some discovery, unlike most of his others, where it is merely some fossil. In one of his last entries, it states 'I must go down there'. It was obvious to Will that his father had been on to something. Why he had not told Will, he did not know, and he was perplexed.
After hope seems lost, and Will and his pal are about to give in, they discover a caved-in tunnel in the basement of the Burrows house. Taking a risk, they decide to re-excavate it and go through, hoping that at the end they will find Will's lost father. They have no idea what adventure awaits them...
Also, if you have read and enjoy this book, check out the sequels; Deeper, Freefall, Closer, and Spiral.