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Aton
Series · 4 books · 1967-1989

Books in series

Chthon book cover
#1

Chthon

1967

Chthon was Piers Anthony’s first published novel in 1967, written over the course of seven years. He started it when he was in the US Army, so it has a long prison sequence that is reminiscent of that experience, being dark and grim. It features Aton Five, a space man who commits the crime of falling in love with the dangerous alluring Minionette and is therefore condemned to death in the subterranean prison of Chthon. It uses flashbacks to show how he came to know the Minionette, and flashforwards to show how he dealt with her after his escape from prison. The author regards this as perhaps the most intricately structured novel the science fantasy genre has seen. It was a contender for awards, but not a winner.
Phthor book cover
#2

Phthor

1975

Phthor is the sequel to Chthon, less intricately structured and less complicated in plot, but still quite dark and ugly in theme and detail. Rather than flashbacks and flashforwards, it has a Y outline, with the stem the initial story and the ends alternate futures, neither of which is acceptable to Aton’s son Arlo. Arlo has his own encounter with a Minionette, and naturally destruction is upon him and all with whom he associates. Write/editor Charles Platt was so impressed with the chthonic setting that he wrote two additional sequels, Plasm and Soma, which are even darker and grimmer.
Plasm book cover
#3

Plasm

1987

# AE5015. Platt's engaging sequel to Piers Anthony's novels Cthon and Pthor. "Trapped by his possible pasts and futures, could Aton free himself - and the Universe - from Cthon?" 284 pages.
Soma book cover
#4

Soma

1989

The fourth book set in the Chthon universe, the first two written by Piers Anthony, this one and Plasm written by Platt. Aton-Five was both more than and less than human. Imprisoned on Chthon, he was being trained to become a super-soldier, a deadly weapon. 237 pages.

Authors

Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony
Author · 170 books

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time. Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Charles Platt
Charles Platt
Author · 19 books

From wikipedia: Charles Platt (born in London, England, 1945) is the author of 41 fiction and nonfiction books, including science-fiction novels such as The Silicon Man and Protektor (published in paperback by Avon Books). He has also written non-fiction, particularly on the subjects of computer technology and cryonics, as well as teaching and working in these fields. Platt relocated from England to the United States in 1970 and is a naturalized U. S. citizen. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See: Charles Platt, born 1869

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