Atherton is a 3-level, man-made planet created by a scientist as a new start to escape the dark planet. People living on Atherton went through a 'reconditioning' process where most of their memories were stripped away so they only retain what is needed to live in their station on Atherton. Edgar is a boy who lives on Tabletop and works on a fig farm for the evil Mr. Ratikan who controls all access to food and water. Edgar knows that the Highlands are forbidden, but a vague memory, 'It will come to you.' sets him to climbing to the Highlands in search of that hidden something. And what he eventually finds is a book containing information about a catastrophe about to take place. Unfortunately, he cannot read. You see, the scientist who created the planet was truly a mad scientist and intentionally set all of this in motion. Warning- The ending is a total cliffhanger. Make sure you have book two, Rivers of Fire, because you will want to jump right in. The third book is The Dark Planet
Date read: 3/27/2009
ISBN-13: 9780316166706
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