3.

I really wish that when I was a child, I was more adventurous and would devour this kind of books, thus obtaining a whole world of experiences. It was so much fun and enjoyable to read!

5.

Next year, I will definitely read it synchronously with the days. Hehe.

Expanded version:

3. I truly wish that during my childhood, I had been more adventurous. I longed to devour this sort of books, imagining that I could thereby acquire a whole realm of experiences. The process of reading was so delightfully entertaining and pleasurable! It was as if I was transported into a different world with each turn of the page.

5. Next year, without a doubt, I will read it in sync with the days. Hehe. I'm really looking forward to this new reading adventure. It will be a wonderful way to engage with the story and perhaps discover new aspects and interpretations along the way. I can already picture myself getting lost in the narrative, fully immersed in the world that the author has created.

The Dark is Rising (The Dark Is Rising #2) by Susan Cooper is an outstanding fantasy book that is truly a gem for middle grade kids.

Even though I didn't have the opportunity to read the first book in the series, I found myself completely engaged from the very first page.

This book is filled with a wonderful blend of elements. There is a hint of suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. The mystery adds an air of enigma, making you eager to uncover the secrets hidden within the story.

The magic is captivating, transporting you to a world full of wonder and possibilities. The adventure is thrilling, taking the characters on a journey that is both exciting and dangerous. And the intrigue keeps you hooked, as you try to figure out the motives and plans of the various characters.

What I really appreciate about this book is how well it captures the middle grade attitude and lifestyle. It understands the concerns, dreams, and emotions of kids at this age, making it relatable and engaging.

Susan Cooper has done a great job with this book, creating a story that is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking. It's a must-read for any middle grade kid who loves fantasy and adventure.

I highly recommend The Dark is Rising to anyone looking for a great book to get lost in.

I first read Susan Cooper’s magnificent The Dark is Rising sequence around thirty years ago. This time, the re-read of the second book in the series, which gives the series its name, was inspired by the wonderful gift from my daughter - this beautiful cloth bound Puffin Classics edition. From the very first page, the story still has the power to completely enthral. Will Stanton, the last of the Old Ones, is preparing for his eleventh birthday on Midwinter Day, and his life is about to change in ways he could never have imagined. Farmer Dawson’s warning that ‘This night will be bad, and tomorrow will be beyond imagining’ is one of my all-time favourite lines in literature. Its stark power makes the reader anticipate something truly elemental, and they will not be let down. Set against the snowy landscape of Susan Cooper’s Chiltern childhood, and incorporating elements of local folklore, such as a vivid life and death chase with Herne the Hunter and the Wild Hunt, it is very easy to understand why The Dark is Rising has become a modern classic of children’s literature.

I have a complex relationship with this book. In my early teens, I adored it. However, upon a recent re-read, I was disappointed. The imagery remains stunning, but the worldbuilding now leaves me unsatisfied.

It has a flaw in the way it unquestioningly labels things as Good and Evil. The Good are simply good by birth. Merriman, the protagonist's teacher, emphasizes the burden of being for the Light, which I now find disturbing rather than noble. Their burden includes being misunderstood by ordinary people and having to sacrifice those around them. This involves memory-wipes and changing and endangering ordinary people's lives, all mandated by the rules of the magic they serve. In the end, like many fantasy stories, the Good side seems good mainly due to poetic associations like light, Christmas, and warmth.

The Evil are said to choose their path. This could have been an opportunity for interesting characterizations, but it isn't fully explored. The "Rider" is marked as evil mainly by the sinister feeling he gives the protagonist, and Maggie Barnes, the only sexually-expressive character, is dismissed by the eleven-year-old protagonist as "the girl."

The Walker is the one character whose choice of evil we see. He was an orphan and Merriman's liege man who loved him like a father. Because of their bond, he was chosen for a spell protecting the Book of Gramarye. When Merriman retrieved the Book, he used the Walker's life as collateral. Shocked, the Walker betrayed Merriman. Even though Merriman understood his choice, he cursed him to carry a symbol of the Light for hundreds of years, living as a tramp and unable to die.

Besides seeing this as unfair to the Walker, I realized the story assigns moral value to feudal loyalty. It would have been better for the Light if the Walker had accepted Merriman using his life. Instead, he wanted equality, but in the story's morality, Merriman and the Light are too great for that. When he protests, he is given misery.

Other parts of the story also promote traditional, hierarchical relations. For example, when the Dark assails the village and the local gentrywoman offers shelter, the protagonist's father's refusal is seen as stubborn pride. The scene of the villagers gathered around the aristocrat is presented as beautiful and harmonious.

These elements are mostly subtle, but they align the old, patriarchal social order with the Light, which is an unfortunate tendency common in many fantasy stories.

Stop me if you've heard this one: A boy residing in England finds out on his 11th birthday that he possesses special powers. An early confrontation with an adversary leaves him with a scar. Under the guidance of a few mentors, he is trained and learns about the Dark, which he can overcome by gathering several ancient objects.

Well, setting aside my growing annoyance with J.K. Rowling's lack of originality, I truly relished this (earlier) novel, which was unexpectedly well-written. (Particularly when compared with A Wrinkle In Time, which I read right before this.) Regrettably, the forces of the Dark are kept rather vague, and Will's quest appeared too effortless throughout, as if it were simply happening to him. However, I delighted in the meticulous placement of details and the large number of significant supporting characters, including 8 siblings.

I must mention here that the book employs a great deal of Christian imagery, has several crucial scenes occur in a church, and is set almost entirely during Christmas time. But I was impressed by how little this bothered me - it scarcely has the blatant Christian overtones of C.S. Lewis or Madeleine L'Engle. (Once again, another favorable comparison with A Wrinkle In Time.) Moreover, one character makes the point that the traditions involved predate Christianity, and indeed this book should appeal to anyone interested in the Pagan origins of Christmas.

To be honest, I didn't manage to complete the book. As I reached the two-thirds mark, I found myself asking, "Why am I reading this? Do I even have a clue about what's happening?" It was at that moment that I realized I was simply reading (or listening) for the sake of it. So, I made the decision to move on to something more pleasurable.

For a book centered around magic, there appears to be surprisingly little of it. The narrative structure somewhat reminds me of my experience reading The Dark Tower by Stephen King a few years ago. I seem to recall how the scenes and characters shifted randomly and without much rhyme or reason. The same holds true here. We are whisked from one location to another without much explanation as to why. It seems that the purpose of most of these scenes is to muddle the world rather than clarify it. This creates a false sense of magic when, in reality, we know that the powers held by these Beings are actually much more straightforward and simple.

The book gives the impression of being the outcome of a brainstorming session among 4th graders. "Let's all be special magic people, and we all have a secret name that makes us powerful! And we all speak our own language that no one else can understand! And we can time travel whenever we want! And the bad guys are just dark - that's it, they're just dark."

I never managed to understand why a race of Old Ones placed so much faith and trust in a single young boy. I never understood why, despite having so much power, these Old Ones couldn't seem to just do what they needed to do. I never understood why these symbols of power became lost in the first place. I never understood why there is any peril at all since the Dark presumably can't harm any of the Old Ones. Maybe there were answers to these questions scattered throughout the book, or perhaps they emerged at the end. But regardless, I didn't find it worthwhile to figure it out.

The ideal time to read this book would be extremely slowly, perhaps a chapter or two at a time, over the Twelve Days of Christmas. However, I never possess the patience for such a leisurely pace. As always, I adored The Dark is Rising. It features those quiet moments of enchantment, the beautiful writing that captivates the reader, the warmth of the family relationships, and the reality of the bickering yet protective group of siblings. There is more than just simple sibling squabbling; there is also more adult and complicated stuff. The entire relationship between Merriman and Hawkin is a complex one and foreshadows what John Rowlands says about the Light in a later book. The morality of the Light represents a cold, clear justice.

This time, I noticed quite a lot how Britain-centric the sequence is. Every now and then, it makes references to other parts of the world, such as the Jamaican carnival head and the darker skinned Old Ones. But it constantly talks about the battle for “this land,” as if the struggle between Light and Dark throughout history is solely focused on Britain. I'm not certain that this attitude can hold up anymore, regardless of how simple and obvious it may have seemed when the books were first written. I love how deeply rooted the books are in Britain, with its landscape, people, and the intertwined different histories like the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Roman. However, the focus on Britain as the entire center of the fight against the Dark appears shortsighted.

Still, there is another aspect to love, which is the glimpses of mythology surrounding the books. It's not just the Arthurian mythology but also the mysterious king whose dead hands held the Sign of Water for Will, the lore of the smiths, the Old Ways, Herne the hunter, and more. I truly wish I could read beyond the pages and explore all that richness.

Originally posted here.

Published 8 years after Over Sea, Under Stone, Volume 2 showcases the significant growth of the writer in her craft. I'm hesitant to classify this as a "children's" book, despite the protagonist being just 11. The Drew family is gone, and the scene has shifted entirely from a Famous-Five-wannabe summer adventure for kids to a rather serious YA fantasy of good vs. evil, Light vs. Dark. Although the symbol of the Light is a circle quartered by a cross, it's explicitly stated not to be the Cross of Christ but much older. I attempted to find an allegory in the tale, but there really isn't one. The text draws on British pagan/folk beliefs and handles them in a way that could be disturbing for impressionable readers of Will's age. It might also make the Dark a little too fascinating. I'm sure that wasn't the author's intention, but I've witnessed it happen with this series and others. Some reviewers have compared Cooper's series to Narnia; in my opinion, there's no real comparison as the Christian ultimate-good is replaced by the "old magic" of paganism. At one point, Merriman basically says that the Cross and the Rector's idea of an "exorcism" are powerless in comparison; thus, no Christian allegory here. Even though it's set at Christmastide, apparently, the "dark forces" and the "light" are going to battle without recourse to (or more than a marginal awareness of) the Light of the World.

It's true that many young people on the verge of adolescence sense their powers emerging and dream of heroic deeds or being born for a special destiny. This time around, my adult self wondered how it is that Will is born an "Old One" (immortal? It seems so) and yet his family has no clue, except for one moment when one of his many brothers asks him what's going on and gets no reply. How is it that Will has this fantastic hero-destiny, and yet no one tells him what he has to do or how to go about it, beyond "seek the signs"? Even the "book" doesn't seem to assist him much, not really. All those special skills he supposedly absorbed at the first and only reading and that supposedly automatically became a part of him don't seem to be utilized; he just stumbles around like any other preteen kid, hoping to get it right. I know he's supposed to grow into his mission, but it leads to some rather incoherent transitions.

I was slightly amused that Cooper uses the term "gaggle of rooks". A British author of her age and background, who positions herself as a (fictional) authority on ancient folk beliefs, surely knows that the collective noun for rooks is "parliament" or, curiously enough, "building". A group of crows would be a "muster" or a "murder", and a "congress" of ravens (who must be more colonial in spirit), but a "gaggle" is only for geese. Even I know that! She would have been much safer using the generic term "flock". Although published in the 1970s, the text feels set a bit earlier than that, not least because the Dawsons are still farming with Shire horses.

The writing is excellent, and it's a thrilling adventure story. Someone asked if you have to read Over Sea, Under Stone to understand this one: No, you don't. It helps to know the Arthurian legends to grasp the significance of the cycle, but even that isn't horribly necessary for this installment.

1979

My absolute favorite series as a child was The Dark Is Rising. One of these days, I really need to reread it. (ETA: see below.) It's a bit like Harry Potter, but with a darker tone. (And of course, Will Stanton predates Harry Potter by decades.) It's a real shame that Hollywood's treatment of this classic book was so epically bad. It should be noted that while technically this is book two in the series, the saga really begins here, with Over Sea, Under Stone being a prequel of sorts.

Reread: 2013

I first read this book when I was ten years old, and although I have always held it dear as one of my favorite books ever, I only just reread it for the first time in decades. Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising features Will Stanton, the last of the Old Ones. (And no, we're not talking about Lovecraft Old Ones.) On his eleventh birthday, he discovers that he is a being of great power who is prophecied to "bring the circle to a close," ending a cycle of battles between the Light and the Dark that has been going on for thousands of years. Mentoring him in his quest is Merriman, one of the most ancient and powerful of the Old Ones, a stern yet compassionate old wizard.

Sound familiar? Yes, perhaps this series was the reason why, many, many years later, I took to Harry Potter despite being long out of the target age range for those books. In my opinion, Susan Cooper is an enormously better writer than J.K. Rowling. While Rowling's worldbuilding is a creatively zany hodge-podge of random fairy tales, mythological critters, and pun-Latin spells, Cooper's is a carefully constructed reinterpretation of English myth. There is tons of lore even in the first book, from the obvious Arthurian references to the men out of time cursed to wander the world forever, to the Wild Hunt. And on a prose level, Cooper just writes better than Rowling too. Her imagery and especially her poetry is far more artful.

That said, this is ultimately a rather dark and gloomy tale, even if the good guys win. There's very little of the fun and light-heartedness of Harry Potter, and no secondary characters who become best friends. Will Stanton's quest is mostly made up of tasks he must perform on his own, and his introduction to magic and the power of the Old Ones is not an entrance into a fantastic world of wizardry, but the realization that he's now an eternal warrior whether he likes it or not, and he's also been forever set apart from his family and everyone else he knows.

For a book targeted at young readers, it's pretty heavy stuff. There is of course not much direct violence (though there is death), and the good guys are always good, the bad guys unambiguously bad. (Though one character, a traitor who turned to the Dark, is as tragic a figure as Gollum, and far more sympathetic.) But this isn't fun times with wands and owls. It's freezing storms blanketing all of England and sinister rooks and as much scary stuff as you can throw at a preternaturally-aged eleven-year-old boy.

I really liked The Dark is Rising upon rereading it, though to be honest, I would probably rate it only 4 stars if it were my first time reading it. While in my opinion a better work of literature than most juvenile fiction, including that really famous one with the Johnny-come-lately boy wizard, it does lack that indefinable quality of joy and fun that I guess made J.K. Rowling the richest woman in England and not Susan Cooper. It's really a classic of children's fantasy literature, though. I will continue my reread of this series.

Warning: A few years ago, Hollywood made a movie called Seeker: The Dark is Rising. Do not see this movie! It is awful. I cannot describe how awful it is. Even aside from the book it's supposedly based on, it's just terrible and brainless (one of my few 1-star ratings on Netflix), but when compared with Susan Cooper's book, it is truly painful to watch. Susan Cooper deserved the J.K. Rowling treatment, and what she got was a dumbed-down Americanized piece of crap that bombed, deservedly, at the box office.

Originally read: 1979

This book holds a special place in my mother's heart. It is her absolute favorite.

Every December, without fail, she re-reads it. And during my childhood, she read it aloud to us numerous times.

Now, I often wonder. Do I love this book simply because of the precious associated memories it evokes? Or is it truly because the book is excellent in its own right?

And perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?

On the eve of his 11th birthday, Will Stanton, a seventh son of a seventh son, discovers a remarkable truth. He learns that he is the last of The Old Ones.

He has now come into supernatural powers that will prove invaluable in his quest to collect the signs of power and battle against the agents of The Dark.

For The Dark is rising! (I just had to mention that). Merriman Lyon, also known as Uncle Merry to the Drew children in Over Sea, Under Stone, makes an appearance to assist Will in embracing his new role and to introduce him to the other Old Ones.

Once again, it's difficult not to notice the influence of other great British fantasy books. This time, it reminds me of Tolkien's The Two Towers.

When Galdalf arrives with reinforcements at Helm's Deep, Herne the Hunter takes on the role similar to Gandalf.

I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Just like the first book, I'm not nearly as familiar with the subsequent installments as I am with this one.

It's an exciting journey ahead.

Een echt midwinter verhaal, vol magie en over het Licht en het Duister. Wat ik in Nederland altijd het meest mis is het Britse landschap. Met dit verhaal kwam ik helemaal aan mijn trekken. Susan Cooper schreef dit verhaal nadat ze, toen ze midden twintig was, emigreerde naar Amerika en zelf het Engelse landschap en haar geschiedenis in elk detail ontzettend miste. Het verhaal is vol liefde voor het landschap, zijn geschiedenis en de Keltische verhalen en legendes die al eeuwenlang teruggaan.

“When the Dark comes rising six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; Water, fire, stone;
Five will return & one go alone...”

Voor wie het boek gelezen heeft en meer inhoudelijk erover wil lezen, is dit een erg interessant stuk van 'The Shadow Booth'. Het biedt meer inzicht in de wereld van het verhaal en de ideeën die erachter staan. Het kan helpen om het verhaal nog beter te begrijpen en te waarderen.

I suspect that the books of this sequence are among the most beautiful I've read.

I get that feeling especially with this book. The tone here has changed already from the Blyton-esque kids-on-a-great-adventure of the first book, and the character is different accordingly. It's almost a bildungsroman, for all that we only see less than a month of an eleven-year-old boy's life.

One of the main things I love about this sequence, particularly from this book on, is the characterisation. Where Simon, Jane and Barney were simplistic but also realistic in the first book, Will is now much more layered. Literally. There's a part of him that's a boy, and there's a part of him that's ancient and ageless, and in this book he's got to learn to balance the two, use the two, keep them separate where he can. In my opinion, this is beautifully done. One minute he's standing with the Lady and Merriman, fighting back the dark -- the next, boy like, he's making mistakes through over-enthusiasm. At first he cannot accept that he's not just an ordinary boy, and then he's playing tricks with his new-found powers. At the end, he acknowledges that sometimes he wishes he could just be an ordinary boy, but not always.

It's not just Will, though. Despite it being a short book, you catch glimpses of so many characters who are worth thinking about, and yet Susan Cooper never loses focus either. The Stanton family are particularly well-drawn, in my opinion. There's so many of them that you can't get a fully-rounded picture of any of them, but you still feel as if maybe you've been to tea with them a couple of times -- or I do, anyway. I feel like I'd like to date Paul, I'd want to hit Mary, I'd antagonise James, I'd... It's wonderful how Susan Cooper shows us so many characters and makes us care about them, so briefly and succinctly.

The writing, of course, I think is lovely. I whisper it aloud to myself. There are some beautiful images and scenes -- the Doors, for example, and the appearance of the ship, the signs... I love the way Susan Cooper writes.

I've read reviews where people felt that nothing happened in these books. I find that hard to understand -- there's moments of real brooding menace, real magic, but I think people who are expecting swordfights and high fantasy in that sense are going to be disappointed. Ultimately, the sequence concludes that the battle against the Dark is fought in men's hearts. That, in some ways, is not a "satisfying" conclusion -- yet it's a realistic one, and that's something I like.

Reread in December 2009. The bit that struck me most this time, somehow, was the dead king who carried the Sign of Water. Beautiful. It was as if that image alone encapsulated the essence of the entire story, adding a touch of mystery and wonder that lingers in my mind even now. The way Cooper describes the dead king, with his solemn expression and the power of the Sign he holds, makes it a truly unforgettable scene. It's moments like these that make this series so special and worthy of multiple readings.