Susan Mary Cooper

The Dark Is Rising

Sarah Sammis

I'm really terrible at reading series in sequence. That's why I like books that stand alone even if they build on an larger story sequence. The Dark is Rising (and the series of the same name) is an excellent sample of a book that stands strongly on its own and contributes to an entertaining series.

Will Stanton gets a warning just before his 11th birthday (which happens to fall on Midwinter's day) that he must help defeat the Dark as he is the last of the Old Ones. Over the next many days he must collect the necessary signs to fend off the growing Darkness manifesting in the form of an endless blizzard.

The Dark is Rising brings together a mixture of Norse, Celtic, Arthurian legends along with time travel and contemporary fantasy. Cooper manages the blending of these elements well and the time travel is especially well done.

Luca Masters

This felt like a low-detail story about an old, sacred mythology, which is great, except it also needs characters with agency, and maybe a plot. Will has no agency--things happen to him and the world around him, and occasionally he knows what to do because Old Ones have Knowledge, but there's no decision making in order to address obstacles. Similarly, the plot feels preordained. It has no agency in its shaping. This is just How Things Go in the old story.

I recall liking it as a kid, but never being super into it. That's sort of how I feel now, but I like it less.

Michael Springer

There was a lot more going on in this book than in "Over Sea, Under Stone," and with this book the series is beginning to feel mythical and epic. An enjoyable and quick read, but there wasn't anything here that surprised me. An eleven-year-old boy is journeying around and finding little mythic trinkets in Legend Of Zelda fashion, and it's all happening in a few days right around Christmas. I would've loved this as a kid, but now it all feels old hat. But, I enjoyed it enough that I will continue the series.

Melanie Richards

The world-building was v. confusing for me.

Kathy Allatt

Arden Stirling

The Dark Is Rising (The Dark Is Rising Sequence)

Duncan Henderson

Susan Cooper

This night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. It's Midwinter's Eve, the day before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. This will be a birthday like no other. Will discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and that he must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark. The second novel in Susan Cooper's highly acclaimed Dark is Rising sequence.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence

Emma Cragg

inomniaparatus

Deepika Ramesh

George

Jayson Rhynas

'This night will be bad, and tomorrow will be beyond imagining' It's Christmas-time in the Stanton family house: presents, carol singing, good cheer. But for eleven-year-old Will Stanton something sinister has begun, inching round his subconscious, shouting silent warnings he can't decipher. Then on Midwinter Day Will wakes up to a different world - silent, covered in snow and ancient forest, a world of another time. A world where evil lurks. Because Will is not the ordinary boy he always thought he was. He is the last of the Old Ones and the power to vanquish the evil magic of the Dark lies within him. Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can read an interview with the author and discover the ancient beliefs that inspired the story. Vintage Children's Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The Dark is Rising

Hannah Swithinbank

Lara Engle

zaynah

Boothby

The perfect book for the Christmas season. It is Midwinter's Eve, the night before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. Will is about to make a shocking discovery - that he is the last person to be born with the power of the Old Ones, and as a guardian of the Light he must begin a dangerous journey to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark.

Modern Classic

Vilandra

Gillian Rose

A group of children in Cornwall, including the three Drew siblings, Will Stanton, and a mysterious boy named Bran, are drawn into a dangerous battle between the forces of Light and the Dark.

The Dark is rising

Taylor

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift-- that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.

The Dark Is Rising

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