Shortlisted for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize, 2020.
"A singular achievement -- a taut, thrilling, fully-rendered vision of dystopia. Bonnello's pacing and action will keep you on the edge of your seat." – Steve Silberman, author of Neurotribes.
"A fantastic twist on dystopia, with edge-of-your-seat thrills and unlikely heroes... I loved it. – Michael Grant, author of the Gone series.
Three weeks have passed since the events of Underdogs. The British population continues its imprisonment in Nicholas Grant's giant walled Citadels, under the watchful eye of innumerable cloned soldiers. The heroes of Oakenfold Special School remain their last chance of freedom.
As a result of their last mission, Grant has been forced to speed up his plans for Great Britain and beyond. Ewan, Kate, McCormick and the rest of the Underdogs must face the horrors of his new research, knowing that it raises the stakes as high as they will go. Failing this battle will not merely result in losing soldiers and friends, but in losing the war entirely.
According to the odds, the Underdogs are near-certain to fail. But they have spent their whole lives being underestimated and did not survive this long by respecting the odds.
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Chris Bonnello
Chris Bonnello is an award-winning writer and an international speaker, also a novelist and a special needs tutor. He is the author of the Underdogs series of neurodiverse war novels, and the writer behind autisticnotweird.com. His diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome came at the age of 25, after growing up believing himself to just have – as documented on official forms by a professional educational psychologist – a “slightly odd personality”.
Bonnello launched Autistic Not Weird in April 2015, a venture which has seen him attract over 125,000 Facebook followers and over 2.5 million website hits, and delivering speaking engagements as far away as India and Sydney Opera House. His first two Underdogs novels were crowdfunded through Unbound and was enthusiastically received by readers worldwide, especially in the special needs and disability communities.
Bonnello passed his master’s degree in Creative Writing with distinction, graduating in December 2017. He was also the winner of the Top Journalist and Online Social Media categories at the 2017 and 2018 Autism Hero Awards, and most recently received the award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual on the Autism Spectrum at the National Diversity Professionals Awards in 2019.
His personality remains slightly odd.
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12th July 2022The final Underdogs book is approaching 90%... want to help bring it to life?
Hi everyone,
It's been five months since I last gave an update on Underdogs: Tooth and Nail's page- I usually post updates on book 1's Unbound page, but I keep forgetting that those who joined the series after 2019 may not see them! So, here's an update here instead.
Underdogs: Uprising- the grand finale of the series- is now on 88%. This is despite an enormous budget (if Uprising had the same…
9th February 2022Reminder: the final Underdogs book needs your help!
Hi everyone,
Thanks to a sudden wave of support (maybe due to it no longer being January), the final book in the series – Underdogs: Uprising - is now on 54%!! Huge thanks to everyone here who has already played a part in bringing it to life, and helping the series towards its apocalyptic final showdown.
Its crowdfunding journey started on Monday and at time of writing it’s hit 21% of its target. (In case that doesn’t impress you, bear in mind that the new target is more than TRIPLE the target for book one, and the same amount of money would have been…
14th November 2021One week until the final Underdogs book becomes available to pre-order!
Hi everyone,
As you may have seen by the title… the end is coming.
Underdogs: Uprising – the fourth and final book in the series – is soon to be open for pre-order, and the launch date I’ve been given is November 22nd (next Monday).
I won’t clog up your emails with much information beyond that, not least because I want to avoid giving spoilers for Underdogs: Acceleration (with the ebook…
12th August 2021Sunday 15th August is the deadline for getting your name in Underdogs 3!
Hi everyone, I’m delighted to say that time is running out!
We’re almost at the “final proof” stage of Underdogs: Acceleration, which means the book will be totally put together and almost ready for printing and distribution.
What this means is we have to finalise our supporters list on August 15th (Sunday) - the list of names in the back of the book to thank everyone who brought it back to…
16th April 2021A few reasons you may want to pre-order Underdogs 3 (plus a little news)
Hi everyone,
So the structural editing phase - the hardest phase of publication - has just finished for Underdogs: Acceleration.
And I know it sounds like such a clichéd marketing phrase, but I honestly believe the new book is by far the best of the three. (And trust me, it took a LOT for me to give myself permission to say that. I don't make such statements easily, but in just about every category…
5th March 2021Stretch goals! (Or why you really want to pre-order Underdogs 3 if you haven’t already.)
So Underdogs: Acceleration is moving ahead, and details are due to arrive about the timetable for the publication process. The most relevant point for all of you being this:
Those who pre-order the book will receive it about six months before the rest of the world.
Keeping it to a two-sentence explanation: basically the book will be ready for autumn, but releasing it just before Christmas…
20th January 2021Details about the publication of Underdogs 3 (including release dates)
So for those who haven’t seen yet, Underdogs: Acceleration has now hit 100% and is due to be published. It is nothing short of phenomenal that the third book in a series, with a target more than twice as high as the original, got fully funded in under two months. Thank you so much to all 273 of you (to date) who have brought it to life.
The day after it hit 100%, I had a phone meeting with Unbound…
13th January 2021Underdogs 3 just hit 90%! (Plus discount code)
So close now. So close.
With enormous thanks to the 243 people who have supported Underdogs: Acceleration so far (I'm serious- with a budget twice as high as the first book, I never thought we'd be in this position less than two months in!), the next instalment of the series is just 10% away from starting the publication process.
I'll keep it short, and give you these three main points:
1…
4th January 2021Underdogs 3 is entering its final stretch...
Hi everyone,
83% and counting. Truth be told, I was not expecting Underdogs: Acceleration to be this close to publication already. Not for several more months, at least! A huge, huge thank you to the 222 people (at time of writing) who have brought the heroes of Spitfire's Rise so close to their third adventure.
16th December 2020Underdogs 3 discount (and other significant news)
Hi everyone – three significant updates today!
Well I don’t know what journey I was expecting on the road to publishing Underdogs: Acceleration, but it wasn’t this!!70% funded at time of writing – and due to the increased budget, this is the equivalent to 152% of Underdogs’ target, and 110% of Underdogs: Tooth and Nail’s. In just a few weeks, and heading up to Christmas too. Thanks so much, all…
30th November 2020Underdogs 3 has just been launched!
Hi everyone,
The Underdogs have returned, and the next journey has begun.
And honestly, the response to the campaign so far has flabbergasted me. And I'm not the type of person who uses the word "flabbergasted…
2nd July 2020What to do if you've not received your copy of Underdogs 2
Hi everyone,
So you may have gathered by now, but.... Underdogs: Tooth and Nail has been released!! And with the messages and reviews trickling in, I'm feeling rather happy with how it's been received so far. (I'm particularly relieved by those who have told me it's "even better than the first book", because honestly that's been my opinion for a long time.)
A quick update for those who…
26th March 2020Want to see something beautiful?
Hi everyone,
During these unexpectedly difficult times, I've been very, very encouraged that Unbound are continuing to work on publishing their books as normal (even if from their own homes). So there's no delay in the publication of Underdogs: Tooth and Nail.
In the meantime... take a look at this amazing cover they've designed for it!!
I don't know about you, but I utterly love it.…
1st February 2020Underdogs 2 pre-order deadline: midnight, Monday 3rd February
Hi everyone,
Well, it's been a huge journey once again.To the 403 people (at time of writing) who have turned the Underdogs novel into the Underdogs series, thank you so much.
The deadline for pre-orders - and the rewards associated with them - is midnight tonight (assuming Unbound emails this update out on Monday), and I'll be watching the final pre-orders come in with a huge sense of gratefulness…
8th November 2019Underdogs 1 is now an audiobook! (And Underdogs 2-related updates)
Good news everyone!
Ever since the original Underdogs (its Unbound page being here) was confirmed for publication, people have asked me whether an audiobook version would come out too. (After all, a book like Underdogs in particular needs to be accessible.) Originally I wasn't optimistic: after all, audiobooks cost a surprising amount to produce, and a producer would only pay for it if they believed…
25th August 2019We did it!!
Hi everyone,
As the title implies, there’s been some rather good news this weekend.
The Underdogs are guaranteed to return now!
Massive, massive thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered Underdogs: Tooth and Nail (also known as Underdogs 2) so far – now the countdown can begin to publication.
So what happens now?
Assuming the sequel goes through the process identically…
16th August 2019With Underdogs 2 hovering at 90%, I'm calling today...
With Underdogs 2 hovering at 90%, I'm calling today... "International Tell A Friend About Underdogs Day"!
The sequel may be doing extremely well (had it been given the same budget as the original, we'd be on 126% already), particularly given how many of the original novel's backers haven't had a moment to read it yet, but progress through the 90s is very slow. The difference could well be made…
5th August 2019Exclusive bonus content, as a thank you for your support.
Hi everyone- some of you may already have read this news from the update on the original Underdogs' crowdfunding page (or on its Facebook page too!), but here's some good news for those who haven't.
At time of writing, Underdogs: Tooth and Nail is almost exactly 80% funded. Can it reach 100% by Saturday's initial deadline? Honestly, I'd say it's 50:50. But Unbound have been very accommodating,…
26th July 2019Closer... closer... (oh, and a new reward level)
Hi everyone,
I am absolutely astonished at how fast Underdogs 2 has progressed lately. In the last week we've gone from having 54% of the necessary pre-orders to basically 70%!! Huge, huge thanks to everyone who has put this book on track to succeed- if the pattern continues we'll end up reaching 100% well in time.
Of course, I'm not taking anything for granted or celebrating too early. (The…
19th June 20191/3 down, 2/3 to go...
Hi everyone, enormous thanks to everyone who has supported Underdogs: Tooth and Nail so far!
So, where does the novel stand right now? Well, we're just over a third of the way through the 90-day campaign, and as the title implies, 33% of the necessary pre-orders have been made before it can be published.
By sequel standards, this isn't bad at all! Bear in mind that whereas the whole world could…
Christina Hummel asked:
How does preordering work while moving twice during the next 6 months? Like when is the book shipped and when will it arrive? (international shipping)
Unbound replied:
You can change the delivery address in your Unbound account at any point up until we send the book out. http://help.unbound.com/articles/3925-how-do-i-change-the-delivery-address-for-a-specific-order
We also always send an email asking supporters to confirm this before sending the books out, so this should cover address changes. I hope this helps.
Unbound support.
How does preordering work while moving twice during the next 6 months? Like when is the book shipped and when will it arrive? (international shipping)
You can change the delivery address in your Unbound account at any point up until we send the book out. http://help.unbound.com/articles/3925-how-do-i-change-the-delivery-address-for-a-specific-order We also always send an email asking supporters to confirm this before sending the books out, so this should cover address changes. I hope this helps. Unbound support.