Freefall (novel)
Freefall, Book 3 in the Tunnels series.
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| Author | Roderick Gordon, Brian Williams |
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| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Series | Tunnels |
| Genre |
Science Fiction Subterranean fiction Lost World |
| Publisher | Chicken House Ltd |
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Publication date
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4 May 2009 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 599 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Deeper (2008) |
| Followed by | Closer (2010) |
Freefall (sometimes known simply as Tunnels 3) is the second sequel to the book Tunnels, and is the third book in the series by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Contrary to a number of erroneous comments in the media, Freefall was not the final novel in the Tunnels series, and the fourth book, Closer, was published by Chicken House in the UK on 3 May 2010.
Freefall picks up the story where the second book left off, and describes the events after Will Burrows, Chester Rawls, Elliott, and Bartleby have plummeted down a huge opening in the Deeps, finding themselves at an even greater depth in the Earth. As the story unfolds, Will and his father, Dr. Burrows, discover a way back to Topsoil and return to Highfield, a new character, Martha, is introduced, and there are two major confrontations with the Rebecca twins, the main antagonists of the series.
Closer, Further (Part 1)
The opening chapter describes how Chester Rawls is the first to regain consciousness on a fungal shelf deep down in the Pore where he, Will Burrows, Elliott and Bartleby have crash landed. After Will has located his brother’s dead body(Cal)and given him a burial of sorts, he and Chester carry the injured Elliott with them as they set about exploring this alien and frightening world. The task of moving through the passages with the burden of Elliott and their equipment is made easier thanks to the reduced gravity at this depth in the Earth.
With the help of Bartleby’s tracking ability, they discover that there is someone else down there with them, but are attacked by giant carnivorous creatures called spider-monkeys. They are saved by the intervention of a new character called Martha. She takes them to where she lives, a shack evidently built by the survivors of a galleon which was sucked down another of the giant holes like the Pore, so she can tend to Elliott and protect the two boys.
Meanwhile, the Rebecca twins, who were pushed into the Pore by Sarah Jerome in her last dying act, are aware that Will is alive, and begin to plot against him with two Styx Special Forces soldiers, called Limiters. One of the Rebeccas and a Limiter approach Will's father, Dr. Burrows, and attempt to bully him into finding them a way out of the Pore. Dr. Burrows seems to have very little comprehension that the Styx are dangerous and capable of great cruelty and murder.
Martha's Shack (Part 2)
At Martha’s shack, Elliott’s condition deteriorates as she catches a voracious fever, and Martha warns Will and Chester that her son died after the same thing happened when he injured himself on an expedition two years previously. Much to Will’s surprise, the other Rebecca twin turns up alone at the shack, and her life is only spared after Will stops Chester and Martha from killing her. The twin claims that she is innocent and has had to go along with her sister’s evil plans. Will appears to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Chester and Martha are highly skeptical. Will is further won over by the Rebecca twin as she gives him two phials, which purportedly contain the Dominion virus and its antidote.
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