The Underfoot Vol. 1: The Mighty Deep (1) - Softcover

Fisher, Ben; Whitten, Emily S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1549302892 ISBN 13: 9781549302893

Publisher: Oni Press, 2019

Synopsis

It has been untold years since the Giants-That-Were disappeared, leaving behind the animals forever changed by their strange science. Now, granted the gifts of intelligence and self-awareness, the valiant Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries struggle to keep their horde alive in the dangerous new world.

In The Underfoot: The Mighty Deep, H.A.M. has been hired to save their badger allies from dangerous flooding, but first they'll need new recruits. Only the best of the best can join the ranks of H.A.M., and the colony's most ambitious young hamster pups compete for their chance at glory and prestige. Those who succeed, however, soon discover that life outside their burrow is not the grand adventure they imagined, but instead find a world of deadly threats and conflicting stories about their species' origins.

Combining heroic battles, dark mysteries, and heartfelt friendships, The Underfoot: The Mighty Deep is the beginning of an epic sci-fi trilogy chronicling the animal kingdoms left to rise and fall in the absence of the Giants-That-Were. When the hamsters learn the truth about their past, will they find the strength to overcome the forces aligning against them, or will their tiny horde be wiped from the earth?

About this title

Review

"Starts fast and keeps running, with a world I could believe, characters I truly cared for, and an adventure full of action and twists that kept me turning the pages!" - Paul Tobin



"Underfoot is a fast-paced adventure in the tradition of military action tales like The Dirty Dozen or Where Eagles Dare, with the astonishingly plausible twist that the heroes are a hard-as-nails mercenary team of fluffy hamsters. I thoroughly enjoyed every suspenseful moment reading this book!" - Colleen Coover


SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Gr 4-8-In this suspenseful, postapocalyptic tale, humans (Giants-That-Were) have long since vanished. Thanks to scientific experimentation, the remaining creatures are self-aware. The hamsters have become survivalists and mercenaries working for other animals while defending themselves from equally intelligent predators. Their mission is to destroy a beaver dam before the homes of their allies, the badgers, are flooded and destroyed. The world-building in this book is exceptional. Every page brims with subtle verbal and background clues for readers to carefully assemble into a fascinating backstory. The characters are expressive, and many different breeds of hamsters are drawn in loving detail. These rough, tough, but very cute hamsters exude camaraderie and determination, and speech bubbles are placed with great care for maximum impact. Abrupt, vivid color changes highlight dramatic moments, and the heightened tension and action move the narrative along, sometimes at breakneck speed. VERDICT Fans of dystopian tales and animal adventure stories will adore this first in a trilogy, and the cliff-hanger ending will have them demanding the next installment.


SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Gr 4-8-In this suspenseful, postapocalyptic tale, humans (Giants-That-Were) have long since vanished. Thanks to scientific experimentation, the remaining creatures are self-aware. The hamsters have become survivalists and mercenaries working for other animals while defending themselves from equally intelligent predators. Their mission is to destroy a beaver dam before the homes of their allies, the badgers, are flooded and destroyed. The world-building in this book is exceptional. Every page brims with subtle verbal and background clues for readers to carefully assemble into a fascinating backstory. The characters are expressive, and many different breeds of hamsters are drawn in loving detail. These rough, tough, but very cute hamsters exude camaraderie and determination, and speech bubbles are placed with great care for maximum impact. Abrupt, vivid color changes highlight dramatic moments, and the heightened tension and action move the narrative along, sometimes at breakneck speed.
VERDICT Fans of dystopian tales and animal adventure stories will adore this first in a trilogy, and the cliff-hanger ending will have them demanding the next installment


PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -- Someone has erected a dam, and the Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries have been called upon to destroy it. Without their recently lost trapsmith, though, breaking up the dam will prove near impossible. Still, they draft a few younger hamsters who may not be entirely ready to make their way into enemy territory. There, they will confront reptiles, birds, and sentient animals who have uncertain motives. Fisher (the Great Divide books) and entertainment journalist Whitten, making her debut, introduce readers to a fascinating world that blends elements of GI Joe stories with Brian Jacques's Redwall books. In between chapters, written artifacts offer a glimpse of a previous time, when humans created sentient animals in labs before freeing and abandoning them. Artist Nguyen excels at depicting realistic, emotive talking animals, and she manages shadowing and foreground well, spotlighting the earthy-toned hamsters. Though the premise of the story is basic (destroy a dam), the complicated threads and well-developed, quirky characters create a compelling adventure that readers will want to explore in future series installments. Ages 13-16. (Apr.)

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–8—In this suspenseful, postapocalyptic tale, humans (Giants-That-Were) have long since vanished. Thanks to scientific experimentation, the remaining creatures are self-aware. The hamsters have become survivalists and mercenaries working for other animals while defending themselves from equally intelligent predators. Their mission is to destroy a beaver dam before the homes of their allies, the badgers, are flooded and destroyed. The world-building in this book is exceptional. Every page brims with subtle verbal and background clues for readers to carefully assemble into a fascinating backstory. The characters are expressive, and many different breeds of hamsters are drawn in loving detail. These rough, tough, but very cute hamsters exude camaraderie and determination, and speech bubbles are placed with great care for maximum impact. Abrupt, vivid color changes highlight dramatic moments, and the heightened tension and action move the narrative along, sometimes at breakneck speed. VERDICT Fans of dystopian tales and animal adventure stories will adore this first in a trilogy, and the cliff-hanger ending will have them demanding the next installment.—Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

About this edition

• Publisher: Oni Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1549302892
• ISBN 13: 9781549302893
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Nguyen Michelle