The Dark Planet

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

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

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 I