Customer Reviews

The Dark Planet (Atherton, Book 3)

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My 11 yr old daughter loves this series and was so excited to get The Dark Planet, Book 3!

This review was written by my 12-year-old daughter:

The dark planet is a fun story, but it could be reduced by half in size and still tell the story in full detail. The author is extremely wordy, and the whole part of the story with Samuel and Isabel could be taken out almost entirely.

Edgar, the supposed main character does not grow or develop, and we don't really know enough about him. All the characters are very shallow, and all the "science" about the transformation of Atherton and The Dark Planet are completely unbelievable.

If you can't find anything to do, then this is better than a bad TV show.

Life in Atherton has changed and its people have started over. Edgar's encounter with his maker, Dr. Harding, has left questions that can only be answered by leaving the only home he has ever known.

Edgar's journey takes him to the Dark Planet; a sick and dying world filled with deadly creatures and air that fills the lungs with sickness. Edgar has come in search of information about his beginnings, but what he finds is so much more.

He's a part of Dr. Harding's plan to save the Dark Planet and its inhabitants. If only Edgar can survive the harshness of the Dark Planet and its people long enough to fulfill his destiny.

I loved Carman's LAND OF ELYON series and have enjoyed the ATHERTON series just as much, and maybe more. The characters and worlds of ATHERTON are thrilling and full of imagination and wonder. Carman has a magnificent way of unfolding a world and characters on the page that takes my breath away. Once I start reading, I can't stop until I reach the end. Even then I wish it could go on.

I enjoyed being immersed in the world and lives of the characters in ATHERTON, and THE DARK PLANET reached a satisfying end full of new beginnings.

Reviewed by: Joan Stradling

i have fallen in love with the atherton series ever since my friend handed me the first book telling me it was good. i wasnt expecting much but Patrick Carmen might just be my new favorite writer! i would recomend this obok to anyone who loves an adventure and a great story. this book was a great way to end the amazing triology of atherton!

This final book in the Atherton trilogy by Patrick Carman is among one of his best yet. With each book he writes he shows us how great of a writer he is. While I am a fan of his Land of Elyon series more than his Atherton series, I still enjoyed this book greatly. The book is well written and exciting and the characters are believable. I can't wait to read Patrick's next book!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of breaking bones.

"Cleaners," whispered Edgar.

The clanging of thousands of bony legs rushed beneath him. He could see the shadows of Cleaners shooting past in a herd toward the falling trees.

I've never seen ones that big, Edgar thought in awe. He could only make out their shadows, but it appeared these Cleaners were two or three times bigger than any that had lived on Atherton.

They must be thirty feet long or more! He thought. Two bites and Cleaners this big could remove every trace of Edgar from the Dark Planet.

Edgar faces more dangers than he ever anticipated when he makes his way into the Dark Planet --- formerly known as "Earth." The dreaded Cleaners are only one element in his dangerous journey. Following instructions from the brilliant, sometimes mad Dr. Max Harding, Edgar must risk his life to complete this mission. His instructions have come through a technological wonder created by Dr. Harding "before" the doctor's untimely death. Dr. Harding created Atherton in the hopes of providing a livable environment away from the diseased and dying earth. But his creativity did not stop there --- he also created Edgar: "I made you, Edgar. Just as I made Atherton." While Edgar accepts that Dr. Harding is his father and did love him, it is still hard for him to understand his own role in this strange mission to the Dark Planet.

Edgar leaves behind his friends, Samuel and Isabel, and is told to trust no one in Atherton --- especially Dr. Kincaid (who is his mentor) and his dear friend Vincent. Only later does Edgar understand the implications of these instructions and why they are so vital in revealing the final secrets that lie between Atherton and the Dark Planet.

Once on the Dark Planet, the boy is thrown into another world --- probably not unlike Atherton when it was under the power of Dr. Phineas (read the previous books to understand more about the strange Dr. Phineas) --- and begins to unravel some of the mysteries. By using a devise known as The Raven, he is guided to his father's birthplace known as Silo/Station Seven. Dr. Harding's childhood was spent as an orphan at the Silo. Edgar finds this area of the earth even more colorless, barren and filled with toxic fumes. It is run by an evil, ruthless woman known as Judix and her mindless cronies, Red Eye and Socket. The Silo uses children as slaves, and they work in unspeakable conditions, receiving beatings regularly from Silo and Socket.

During his explorations Edgar is captured and brought to work alongside the other children in the Silo. He also discovers that one adult is truly a friend. Her name is Hope, and she struggles to provide some kind of protection for the children. During this time he gets to know and befriends Aggie, Teagan, Landon and Vasher. These relationships and the total injustice of what is happening make him all the more determined to escape --- and to take Hope and his friends with him.

Meanwhile, Samuel and Isabel have decided to find Edgar because they know he must be in grave danger. Their explorations lead them into some of the deep, dark caverns running beneath the Flatlands, and it is here they are confronted by a giant dragon named Gossamer. Is Gossamer their enemy or their friend?

With all of these characters gathered on the Dark Planet, it suddenly seems totally hopeless that they will overcome the obstacles before them. Dragons, Cleaners, Spikers, the strange people working under Judix's command and the ever-threatening environment are overwhelming to them. Do they have any chance, and who can they really trust?

This final book in the Atherton trilogy definitely begins to explain more fully many of the happenings that have led to the awful situation in which our characters find themselves. Despite their cleverness and cunning, will they meet up and be able to beat the odds against them? Patrick Carman again successfully creates an awesome adventure with mesmerizing images. His messages concerning environmental issues ring loud and strong. Readers should start with ATHERTON: THE HOUSE OF POWER to better understand the complexity of all that is happening. What a great series for some powerful discussions about our natural world today.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

The Dark Planet brought a beautiful ending to the series of the wonderful world of Atherton. Patrick Carman was at his best in bringing his story full circle.

I must admit that I have not read the first two books in this series, but I felt that this third book kept saying the same not very interesting things over and over. And worse, the book had typos in it. If the point of this book was that we are ruining our planet Earth, the message doesn't come through. The book is 350 pages long, and what was related in it might have made a good 100-page story--maybe.