How is 'the new Harry Potter' casting its spell?
Jean Hannah Edelstein
June 12, 2007 4:36 PM
It's got to be a literary first: following the failure of his career as an investment banker, but not bereft of self-belief, Roderick Gordon sold his own home in order to finance the publication of his first novel, Tunnels, co-authored with Brian Williams, a friend from university.
Within hours, it seems, the hardback edition had sold out and Barry Cunningham, the editor who signed up JK Rowling at Bloomsbury in 1996, had bought the rights for publication at his independent children's list, Chicken House, declaring that it will fill the void that will be left with the imminent conclusion of the Harry Potter series.
They've already made �500K in foreign rights deals, apparently. Says Cunningham: "Tunnels has it all: a boy archaeologist, merciless villains, a lost world, and an extraordinary journey to the centre of the earth." A boy archaeologist and merciless villains? My literary cup overflows.
14-year-old Will Burrows has little in common with his strange, dysfunctional family. In fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for archaeological excavation. So when his dad mysteriously vanishes, Will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. He unearths the unbelievable: a subterranean society that time forgot. "The Colony" has existed unchanged for a century, but it's no benign time capsule of a bygone era. Because the Colony is ruled by a merciless overclass, the Styx. Will must free his father--is he also about to ignite a revolution?
KIDS DIG TUNNELS!
"My eyes were my gray metal shovel and my dark unexpected tunnel was the book. I kept digging my way deeper into the plot to find out what was going to happen next."--Alexa, age 12
"...a unique mix of fantasy and adventure that keeps you wondering what's going to happen next....the vivid descriptions will transport you to a whole new world."--Matt, age 14
"...I was on the edge of my seat until the last page. It was intricately mystifying. Full praise to TUNNELS--I want more!"--Garrett, age 12
# Reading level: Ages 9-12
# Hardcover: 512 pages
# Publisher: The Chicken House (January 1, 2008)
Tunnels fan site
Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams self-published Tunnels under the title The Highfield Mole in 2005. Although they had sent excerpts to various publishers, they did not concentrate on pursuing that road because they had decided to self-publish through their own company, Mathew and Son. Barry Cunningham (the publisher who signed JK Rowling) discovered the book and signed it for Chicken House. From there it went through some editing and re-emerged as Tunnels. According to Roderick Gordon, the newfound publicity has been a "whirl wind", something they never dared imagine when they initially published the book. The authors were unsure of the success with the book and were happy to simply break even. According to Mr. Gordon "I even went around leaving copies on buses and in taxis, and also carefully placing them on benches and in trees in the various parks that I visited with my children so someone would spot them and might take them home to look at. I reckon the squirrels were a little bemused when they chanced upon the tree copies!" Now those books are being offered for sale on Ebay for over $500!
