Star Rating:
Synopsis of the novel by Adam Alexander:
The Deep Tunnel is a young-teen science fiction novel set in modern-day Chicago. A self-contained sequel somewhat reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time, the back cover reads as follows:
Having foiled an alien invasion with the help of some very out-of-town friends, Andromeda Brown’s seventh grade future looks set: boredom at school, extra-terrestrial help with her homework, and – hopefully – only modest amounts of detention. The world, however, has other ideas. A grisly death in the Chicago sewers can mean only one thing. The alien Kulrada are back. Even worse, her father has decided she needs a nanny. A human nanny would be bad enough, but no human would ever wear so much beige. Andromeda’s nanny is totally a Kulrada robot. Not knowing what she looks like, the nannybot has been searching for her all summer, and now, somehow, it’s cooking dinner in her kitchen while trying to work out if Andromeda is the target it’s looking for. If Andromeda lays low, her out-of-town friends will be unable to stop alien invasion 2.0. But if she tries to act, her cover will be blown, and the nannybot will tear Andromeda and everyone she knows to pieces. Andromeda’s life has once again become impossibly complicated. And that’s not even counting the sudden rash of earthquakes .
My experience with the book:
The novel revolves around a girl named Andromeda and her friends DeMarcus and Mhairi. It is a sequel to the first book- The Shifter's Trail. Although I did not have the opportunity to read this book, Adam provides a previously section that helps you catch up with the stuff you've missed and I hope that it is enough. The story starts with the Alien race named Grrrmmbls being in good terms ( far more than you could expect. They helped with home work and everything!) on the planet earth. Over the cours of book you also learn that there is a second set of aliens called the Kulrada who are the mortal enemies of these Grrrmmbls or any other species in general Adam has a funny way of describing the Kulrudas and I was truly laughing out loud. So the book basically revolevs around the good alien clan - Grrrmmbls who possessed earth names, the Kulrads- the bad guys and the children of earth. The story flow suggests that the earth was at threat when there are death in the human race and the threat begins to increase when the lead's father begins to bring in a Kulrada bot or so she suspects. Although, the children have hi-tech devices provided to them by the Grrrmmbls to investigate and/or contact them in any case, the children take matters into their own hands (typical!) and try to beat the evil alien invasion in the deep tunnel only to be rescued by the Grrrmmbls.
Overall, this book was a good light read with it's one-dimensional story telling approach. This story was truly engaging and I could imagine how 13 year old would love and enjoy such adventures. I could see how the kids struggled to keep such a huge secret while trying to keep their family alive.The excitement and the rush the kids feel while keeping this a secret, discovering new things and trying to contact these alien species are truly fascinating. However, I felt that at several instances the children were being told or taught by these Grrrmmbls and that is something I feel with my own experience, kids would not enjoy. Children liked to be treated as equals and like to be given the space to explore on their own and grasping the true meaning, but Adam has written the Grrrmmbls as a dominant figure who although takes the children's assistance, looks down on them in a parental caring way more than being a friend and taking them on the adventure. There were several pridictable and expected twists, but Adam has a way to keep the readers interested. Although you know what happens next, you still want to have a sort of confirmation and you continue reading for the same reason. There were instances where I felt a little lost, but this might be because I did not read the first book. Therefore, I suggest that you read the first book and then pick the second one up. The most important thing is to relate to the children and I personally feel that reading the first book first would help. Adam knows how to etch doubts in his readers minds by introducing new characters that makes you second guess every conclusion you might have drawn about them.
Although, the book ended with a predictable closing, I was happy with the way it ended and would probably be left with a sense of uneasiness if it had ended any other way.
About the novel :
Liked the review and want to check out the book?
You can find them on DartFrog Books (www.dartfrogbooks.com), Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
About the author:
In his own words , "An enthusiastic escapee from Harvard Law School, I live in Pittsburgh, PA with a wife, child, and two embarrassingly large dogs. My previous novel "Archangel" is a Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book of 2018. My young-teen novel "The Shifter's Trail" (the prequel to The Deep Tunnel) is an Indie Reader "Approved" novel and rated 5-Stars by Reader's Favorite. You can find me at www.adam-alexander.net. "
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