The Closed Tunnel – Blitz – The Review Booth

Anthony Harold

Publication date: February 4th, 2025
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:

Ink & Cinema Official selection Best First Ten Pages 2023, USA.

Based on real materials.

What if we told you that 3,000 feet underground is a network of high-tech cities connected by tunnels? Yes, right now.

The main character of this story, Tony from New York, accepts a job from the strange head of a pharmaceutical company. It takes him first to the National Geophysical Research Lab on Long Island and then—unexpectedly!—underground.

He finds himself in Luxor Ville, the city of the elite, and explores Hearton City with genius scientists presumed dead or missing on the Surface.

Meanwhile, in the ancient tunnels, the world’s greatest physicists are conducting an unbelievable experiment that should redefine our understanding of the laws of the universe…

Why are the richest people buying up the last subterranean luxury apartments? How are NASA and Neil Armstrong connected to the underground world? How does the hostess of the Elusive Cafe predict the future?

And is there a common secret that unites Hearton City’s inhabitants, or is it an illusion?

Feel the forgotten vibe of the TV series Lost, unlock a jar of puzzles in the wave of The Da Vinci Code, and prepare for a journey into the depths like in Wool/Silo!

The Closed Tunnel units author’s own inventions, suspense, fantasy elements, physical experiments connected to Montauk project, mystery and thriller, fashion (!), real underground wonders, and a pinch of spice.

There are diverse characters, multiple POVs, Elusive Cafe, ancient board game, scientifically created oracle cards, and a central question: whom to trust.

EXCERPT:

2022

Luxor Ville, an underground city for the elite.

3,000 feet beneath Long Island, New York.

Anita Rosenberg

Anita felt she wasn’t truly living, merely existing as if her life was a sketch repeatedly erased halfway through only to start anew. She wanted to be a fashion designer. Every now and then, depending on her mood, Anita would try to create her clothing collection on a digital board, but it always turned out to be a disaster.

Perhaps things would have been different with global Wi-Fi underground, rather than just the limited intranet available. Yes, she received fashion magazines from the Surface every Monday, but only to realize that her imagination would never be enough to conjure up something radically new. Perhaps Anita had concepts but visualizing them was a particular challenge. She could have asked Frances to teach her drawing, but the idea felt beneath her dignity.

Anita was thirty-seven and had never worked a day in the traditional sense. At first, she aspired to study communications. On the day of her entrance interview, she bumped into Henry Rosenberg, a professor of quantum electromechanics, in the university’s hallway. Their hot, private communication went remarkably well. She pursued her studies for just a year before Henry landed a lucrative project involving underground tunnels.

Overexcited, Anita eagerly jumped at the chance to leave her studies behind. She moved into Henry’s mansion, spending several years hosting extravagant parties while her husband was away on business. She rapidly gained two million followers by posting about her lifestyle and promoting various fashion crap. It became an endless cycle of addiction to likes and soulless parties where Anita felt alone in a crowded room. This became her addiction, her lifeline, and her only proof of existence.

She earnestly explored other avenues to leave her mark, even compiling her Instagram posts into a book that became popular among her lovers and her husband’s friends. Then came a pregnancy, a miscarriage, an existential crisis, and eventually, her upgraded flawless body—a compromise for agreeing to live ‘buried’ underground with Rosenberg.

On the one hand, Anita knew she could have achieved more if only she had known how. But she convinced herself that her life was meaningless anyway. She deliberately chose to be the kind of person who didn’t care how the lipstick got to the store or where the food in the refrigerator came from. Anita was certain that this approach helped elevate her status by emphasizing that there were other, more important things she was interested in.

The truth was, she felt utterly lost in a world where society expected popular lifestyle bloggers to have personal drivers, engage in photo sessions and projects, attend launches and premieres, host pool parties, buy branded items, attract substantial public attention, and utter philosophical phrases worthy of going viral.

She had all that. She thrived in her Insta-stardust life, reveling in her status and setting herself apart from ‘ordinary people.’ Anita believed she shouldn’t worry about the feelings of waiters and couriers, but at the same time, she tried not to be rude to them.

For rudeness, she had Rosenberg.

He promised her a life of even greater opulence in Luxor Ville, granting her every desire, including her own separate apartment. The problem was, Anita no longer knew what she wanted. More and more, she looked to the bottom of her wine glass for answers.

And then she thought, If I can’t find the true meaning and joy of life on the Surface, what are the chances they are buried beneath it? Anita had no idea but decided to try. Going underground is supposed to be even cooler than a trip to Mars, right? The prospect of creating tons of exclusive content for social media excited her.

Marketers touted Luxor Ville not merely as a bunker for escaping global threats but as a “vast underground city where you could continue to live your best life.”

But no one had told Anita that there was no Internet under the Surface, just like on Mars.

Yet, even before she grew bored, Anita saw celebrities and members of America’s wealthiest families flock to the city. They had a blast at Luxor Ville, but a year later, everyone had left as quickly as they had arrived.

That was when Anita found out about the Plan.

AUTHOR BIO:

Anthony Harold is the author of the upcoming sci-fi sensation The Closed Tunnel. This book explores underground cities connected by ancient tunnels and will hit shelves in February 2025.

Anthony holds a Master’s degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Economics. He has an impressive background of nearly 15 years in the space industry, including developing space-based laser systems and managing finances for a leading rocket company.

Anthony dislikes most modern movies due to plot holes, so he prefers to read and, better yet, write. He’s passionate about delving into the mysteries of Earth, exploring ancient history, and studying the wonders of techno-civilization.

Currently living in Cyprus with his grown son, a lively Jack Russell terrier, and his talented wife, who doubles as his editor and marketer, Anthony enjoys spending his free time on the tennis court, jogging along the coast, or fishing.