The House of Power (Atherton Series #1)

by Patrick Carman

Overview

Edgar, a gifted climber, secretly scales the treacherous walls separating the three worlds of Atherton: the humble grove that is his home...a mysterious highland realm of untold beauty and sinister secrets ...and a vast wasteland below, where a monstrous danger lurks that could destroy them all.

While searching the forbidden cliffs for a treasure lost in his faded memory, Edgar discovers the first of many startling revelations to come: the three realms are beginning to collapse, turning his entire world inside out. Atherton is not what it seems, but something far more dangerous, with a history locked inside the mind of a madman and a future beyond Edgar's wildest imagining.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316166713
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Series:	Atherton , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	348,185
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Patrick Carman's previous books in the Land of Elyon series (The Dark Hills Divide, Beyond the Valley of Thorns, and The Tenth City) have all been New York Times bestsellers. He is also the Creative Director of pcstudio, a packager and pioneer of the multimedia "vBook" (video+book), a format launched in 2009 with Skeleton Creek. He recently authored the fifth title in Rick Riordan's 39 Clues series, The Black Circle.

Editorial Reviews

The world of Atherton consists of three distinct, interconnected lands stacked atop each other like a layer cake. At the top are the Highlands, home to Atherton's rich and oppressive ruling class; the middle layer is the Flatlands, populated by Atherton's subservient working class; the bottom layer is The Wastelands where none dare venture, for the few that have done so have never been heard from again. When the three worlds inexplicably begin to collapse into each other, and the Highlands and Flatlands prepare for war, it may well be young, insatiably curious Edgar who holds the key to Atherton's survival. With soft, well-articulated vocalizations, Davis portrays a wide range of characters here, and his intimate delivery proves perfect for pulling the listener into the heart of this complex fantasy. The augmentation of his performance with strategically placed music and sound effects only serves to enhance his storytelling. Ages 8-up. (May)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 7-10
This first book in the series starts out reading like a pastoral fantasy set on a fig farm where children and adults labor side by side to handle the trees and reap the harvest. The farm is on Tabletop, which is bordered by a rising cliff on one side and a drop-off on the other. Edgar vaguely remembers his deceased father telling him that he had placed something in the cliffs for his son. The boy teaches himself to climb up there even though it is forbidden. When he finds the book his father left him on the cliff face, he knows that he must travel all the way to the Highlands above to have someone read it to him. But the world is getting more treacherous as the ground itself begins to rumble, shift, and change. The book that Edgar has holds the secrets of their entire world and its changing future. Despite the setting, this novel is actually not a fantasy but rather pure science fiction where a manufactured world created by a madman is throwing the inhabitants' lives into turmoil. It is a fast-paced novel with a unique setting, fascinating plot, and cliff-hanger ending. It shines because of the author's imagination and skill. The characterizations of even the secondary figures are skillfully done, which makes the world all the more vivid and believable.
—Tasha SaeckerCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

The world is Atherton; the inhabitants are human; the government is dystopian-a standard science fiction/fantasy formula. But there is more than that. Carman's complex plot frequently surprises even though he plants hints galore and indulges in a judicious amount of foreshadowing. Epigraphs from Shelley's Frankenstein introduce each of the novel's sections, along with snatches of dialogue-bits and pieces that hint that Atherton may be more than it appears to be-a world with three levels: a lush highland, an arid middle plateau and a seemingly sterile lowlands. The child characters-orphaned hero Edgar and his two friends Samuel and Isabel-are well-developed, while the "evil" lords are more stereotypical, living in the Highlands and ruling Tabletop's denizens by terror, pushing them into rebellion. As the story unfolds, Edgar discovers how Atherton was created and where it is located. Black-and-white illustrations add facts about the world and its ecology. A humdinger of a cliff-hanger will leave even reluctant readers demanding more, and soon. (Science fiction. 9-12)First printing of 150,000

Kirkus Reviews

Edgar lives in the desolate Tabletop, a place overshadowed by the mysterious Highlands. No one from Tabletop has ever been to the Highlands until Edgar successfully climbs up and finds a world opposite to his. He soon finds out the two worlds are, catastrophically, merging. Listening to this tale is a fully rounded experience. Carman’s novel is engaging, and Jonathan Davis’s narration is masterful. His cadence is a delight, and he moves gracefully from the stentorian tones of the rulers of the Highlands to the boyishness of Edgar to the resonant voice of the omniscient narrator. Dramatic points in the story are further enhanced by a sweeping musical score. Finally, bonus material includes illustrations from the book, studio photos, and more. M.R.P. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 07 - AudioFile