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A review of The Dark is Rising Sequence

by Susan Cooper

Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree

Reviewed by: Susan Buckner
About Susan Buckner

The Dark is Rising Sequence I’ve been reading and re-reading this series since I first came upon it in 1975, and every time I find new facets to the tale. This Newbury Award-winning sequence is a must read for lovers of Celtic folklore, lonely children who feel they have more to offer the world, and anyone interested in beautiful fantasy tale-telling.

In Over Sea, Under Stone, we are introduced to the mysterious Merriman Lyon, who is not quite what he seems, and the Drews, Simon, Jane and Barney; and to the eternal battle between the Light and the Dark. The children are drawn into the struggle in their quest for the Grail, a golden cup inscribed with a message that may someday save the world.

The Light is brought down to earth in The Dark is Rising. Will Stanton goes to bed an ordinary ten-year-old boy, and wakes as one of the Old Ones, the most powerful of the guardians of the Light. He is given a quest, to find the six Signs of the Light, before the Dark can rise on Midwinter’s Eve. Merriman Lyon returns, now revealed as one of the Old Ones, and a Lord of the Light. Will takes on the perilous quest, racing against time to save himself and his family.

The Drews and Will meet in Greenwitch, and overcome their initial distrust of each other to find a sunken treasure, the parchment which will decode the inscription on the Grail. Jane meets the powerful but childlike Greenwitch, a force of the Wild Magic, who gives her the key to solve the mystery.

The scene shifts to the lonely hills of Wales in The Grey King. Will is sent to his aunt’s farm to recuperate after a serious illness. There he meets Bran, a strange, solitary boy who somehow knows everything about Will and the conflict between the Light and the Dark. But his secret is stranger still: Bran is the son of King Arthur, and a key player in the upcoming final battle to establish the Light or the Dark as keepers of the world.

The battle plays out in Silver on the Tree. Will and Bran go into the Lost Land to retrieve the crystal sword, the only thing that can succeed in giving the Light the advantage in the battle. The Drews each face a series of mounting tests, proving their fitness to stand with the Light. At the climax of the conflict, the Six use their strengths together, and the Dark is finally driven from the land.

A capsule summary of these works doesn’t do them justice. These are not “children’s books” by any stretch of the imagination. Although their focus is middle-school age readers, these books can be read and enjoyed by anyone with a fantastic bent.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: The Dark is Rising Sequence

Copyright © by Susan Buckner, 2002

Reviewed by Susan Buckner:
-- Gone With the Wind - by Margaret Mitchell
-- Watership Down - by Richard Adams
-- The Chronicles of Narnia - by C.S. Lewis
-- The Dark is Rising Sequence - by Susan Cooper









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