With Atherton’s fall completed, the remaining people have settled back into their new way of life. Despite this, Edgar misses this cliffs, and only knows one other place to climb: off the edge of Atherton. During his climbs, Dr Kincaid realized the importance of contacting the Dark Planet, and sends Edgar off the edge in order to find the old dock.

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Why this book?: The last of this nostalgic series for me. This was the book I accidentally started with all those years ago. According to my memory, I read it two or three times before realizing there were other books.

I enjoyed the first, wasn’t as impressed with the second, and then there’s this one. As I mentioned in my review for the second, this trilogy could have easily been a duology, where the first two are combined, and then there would be this book. The main reason I say this is because the first two focus on the fall of Atherton and the people’s survival. This one, however, is fairly different, and that’s probably the reason my younger self never really registered this as a series. It’s probably also the reason I read it so many times: because I was confused as to where missing information might be.

Either way, back to the book. At first I really couldn’t see why I enjoyed this book so much, mainly because it just never clicked with me. It repeated exciting events from earlier like it would help increase the suspense in this one but really it just made it boring. I found myself zoning out within the first half rather than actually paying attention because I just didn’t find myself interested in rereading a short culmination of the first and second.

After a while, though, I could eventually see why I enjoyed this story when I was younger. There were elements of both sci-fi and fantasy, with dragons and a ruined earth. I was a very emotional kid and this book was about taking care of those kids that needed it. The Dark Planet was a book very much about the kids and why they’re important. Everything about it was just a fun adventure about saving kids and showing them that they’re important and that there are happy endings.

So while I struggled with this story at first, the overall meaning behind the story and what the author was trying to do was very heartwarming and important.

Final Rating: ★★★★☆

Overall?

At first I really struggled with this story, because it was so different from the first two but still somewhat representative. But, by the end, I still enjoyed this nostalgic story that emphasized the importance of taking care of the younger generation. There were different things that made this story unique from the first two, and I would have to say that this is my favorite of the trilogy.

Would I Recommend?

As a middle grade read, I think that this was a very good read. It was fun, enchanting, with a genre-bending story and, the best part, dragons. I personally enjoyed rereading it, but I’m not sure if I would have read it if I hadn’t read it when I was younger.

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Additional Information:

Published: April 1st, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Page Count: 350

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Middle Grade

Synopsis: via Goodreads

In the dazzling conclusion to the epic story of Atherton, Patrick Carman takes readers on the most rewarding journey of all, to the perilous realm of The Dark Planet: Earth.

When Edgar discovers a way to leave the mysterious satellite world of Atherton, he couldn’t have imagined the gloom that awaited him on the dark planet, where the oceans are toxic, the forests are full of mutant monsters, and children toil in darkness, controlled by ruthless maniacs. Max Harding, an orphan of the Silo, the maker of Atherton, and the last hope of a dying world, left this place behind, and now Edgar is determined to complete the mad scientist’s spectacular plan, revealing Atherton’s true purpose.

Edgar’s quest to discover Earth’s dark secret leads to an out of this world adventure in the final book of the Atherton trilogy.