Horrible tunnels

And once again, I have another reason for not falling for the hype. Tunnels, the first in a trilogy written by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon, is just plain awful. What were some people thinking when they've described this young adult novel as the "next Harry Potter"? Were they high?

First, the premise is something we've come across several times already: a boy searches for his father in a secret underground civilization. The elements that keep the narrative going are so predictable that you can skip several pages at a time and still find your place. You're much better off reading Du Prau's wonderful young adult novel, The City of Ember. Or better yet, re-read your copy of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Aside from the unoriginal plot, the writing is terrible. Williams and Gordon just love those adverbs. Well, I love adverbs too. (Heck, they are essential parts of speech.) But I don't make it a point to insert one after every 5 words or so.

Will said quietly...
Rebecca said triumphantly...
Sweating and breathing heavily in the confined space, he began feverishly clawing at the dirt...
It was badly warped in the frame, but on the third attempt it suddenly gave...

I didn't even bother to finish Tunnels, although I did make it three-fourths of the way. It got me to thinking that, perhaps, having two authors doesn't help make the novel an excellent one. If anything, you get a highly uneven narrative. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan is so derivative of other vampire novels. The Pendergast novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are a hit-and-miss thing.