[BOOK REVIEW] THE TUNNEL BY JOSEPH SALE

20/8/2021

a deftly handled combination of hokey action and intelligent insights into its main character's motivations, making for a satisfying read.

When I think of tunnels, crocodiles aren't the first thing that spring to mind, so I was a bit weirded out by that little bugger peeking out from the cover of Joseph Sale's latest book. Once you get into the meat of the story though, things fall into place pretty fast. Billing itself as a kind of creature-slasher, the plot involves a young woman forced by circumstance to seek an ancient killer in the depths below London.

Based on what I've read of Sale's before – namely his rock-fantasy epic Dark Hilarity and his unforgettable duck-based slasher story featured in the Burnt Fur anthology – I was expecting dense writing, layered with metaphors, rich imagery, effective foreshadowing, and vivid scene setting. And that's exactly what you get here, as well as a protagonist whose past is mired with family problems stemming from an abusive father, and whose fate seems predestined. There's a layer of mythology to go alongside the modern-times plot, including shared universe style callbacks to the author's other works, with well-thought out attention to detail and world building throughout. The pace stutters a bit at times, but never enough to fully derail your enjoyment.

The lead character of Georgina has an interesting journey, as she gradually works up the will to reclaim something special from her childhood, and work out her feelings towards her parents. The only problem is, there's a massive fucking crocodile in her way. One which might have a link to her past, or at least serve as a metaphor for it, in both subtle and explicit ways. It's great writing, with Georgina's perception of events defining the terror, relating each encounter with the croc to her own fears. Whether she can overcome those, and her past, are the main drivers of the story, and it's a rocky road, with a lot of pain both emotional and physical to be overcome by the blood-drenched denouement.

The scares don't just come from you following along with Georgina's train of thought though; there are also vividly shocking bursts of gore, the descriptions of which are pretty gruesome, giving you smells, sights and sounds which never fail to elicit a strong reaction. The beast itself is a true monster, large enough to give Coyote Peterson the willies. He's a messy eater too; there are more intestines on show here than a KNB workshop. And if you've ever walked down the Thames on a hot day and caught a whiff of whatever lurks beneath the surface, you'll be reading with one hand over your nose at times, especially as the characters descend into the sewers of London. The descriptions of the stink down there almost roll off the page in sickening waves.

All this gore and grue work in service of the story without being too gratuitous, though things do veer off into pure 70s/80s beast-on-the-loose movie territory at times, with some larger than life bit-part characters introduced only to be served up as fodder for the croc's mighty appetite. These lurches between less serious moments and the very real worries of the lead character make for some abrupt shifts in tone, but the fun never comes across as out of place. There's a Guy N Smith feel to some of the creature action, especially the scenes where some rather over-confident hunters converge in an attempt to snag the prehistoric pest.

In short, this is a deftly handled combination of hokey action and intelligent insights into its main character's motivations, making for a satisfying read.

THE TUNNEL BY JOSEPH SALE

A monster haunts London. Some believe it is the reincarnation of Jack The Ripper, come to clean the streets once again. Others believe it is merely a freak of nature. Whatever the case, London’s waterways, sewers, and coasts are no longer safe. As the death-toll mounts, and the creature grows bolder, a young webcam model, Georgie, begins to realise that there is a terrifying connection between her and the darkness stalking her city. World-class hunters are unable to stop the beast. The million-pound bounty on the creature’s head has proved ineffectual. Only she has the power to end the reign of the terror, but to do so, she will have to enter the tunnel… The Tunnel is a novel about the traumas we endure in childhood, the way the things we fear most return to haunt us, and the healing power of forgiveness.