The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Over Sea,Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree (Puffin Books) - Susan Cooper

...another story...

The overarching theme of The Dark is Rising Sequence is the battle between the Dark and the Light. 'Over Sea and Under Stone' and 'The Dark is Rising' both serve primarily to introduce us to the main characters who will prove to be so instrumental in the remaining three books.

Over Sea and Under Stone introduces us to the Drew family and Merriman, and the battle being waged between the two sides, and ...
...is my least favourite of the five books, as it seems to suffer a little from being a slightly nervous beginning, not elaborating as much on the characters as it could have done, although Cooper more than makes up for this later on.

The Dark is rising completes the introductions by introducing us to Will Stanton, the main protagonist of the sequence, and also serves to delve a little deeper into the ongoing war. (There are other reviews ... more

i first came across these books when i was fourteen, and reread them at least twice a year - something ive never done with another story...

The overarching theme of The Dark is Rising Sequence is the battle between the Dark and the Light. 'Over Sea and Under Stone' and 'The Dark is Rising' both serve primarily to introduce us to the main characters who will prove to be so instrumental in the remaining three books.

Over Sea and Under Stone introduces us to the Drew family and Merriman, and the battle being waged between the two sides, and if you've read your childrens storys could be seen to bear some resemblance to a Famous Five novel, however Cooper's writing carries a much more epic quality to it. This is my least favourite of the five books, as it seems to suffer a little from being a slightly nervous beginning, not elaborating as much on the characters as it could have done, although Cooper more than makes up for this later on.

The Dark is rising completes the introductions by introducing us to Will Stanton, the main protagonist of the sequence, and also serves to delve a little deeper into the ongoing war. (There are other reviews on this book specifically, including one written by myself so I shan't go too much in to this one) the book is probably the longest of the five and details Will's quest to find the Six Signs, taking him on a wild adventure beginning on his eleventh birthday lasting right through past twelth night.

Greenwitch, the third book of the five brings the Drew children, Merriman and Will Stanton together in their first joint quest. This is in my opinion the weakest of the five books (one had to be!) and whilst it is still brilliantly written, it was I think always going to be a hard task to do so, especially without the hindsight of having finished the entire sequence. Set in Cornwall, the Drews and Will are tasked with the retrieval of one of the Things of Power which can be used in the struggle by the Light against the Dark. Merriman is of course there to aid and guide the children in their quest.

'The Grey King' brings the story across to Wales where the Drew children and Will are on their next quest, and whilst there meet the final member of their party, Bran, the albino welsh boy to whom there is more than meets the eye. This book, whilst with its fair share of excitement does a great job in character development of the main characters, and in particular shows Will settling full into his stride as an old one, once given the chance to be as we head towards the thrilling climax to the series;

'Silver on the Tree'
The race is on, and the Dark and the Light are preparing for the final battle. This book has everything you could hope for and more in terms of plot, development, thrills, and a conclusion which leaves you utterly deflated that there will be no more, but doesn't leave unanswered plot questions as Cooper ties up the story and world she has obviously spent so long creating perfectly.

Susan Coopers approach to these books is nothing short of courageous. Instead of opting for the 'safer' option of making her story universally readable and recogniseable (not that it isn't in my opinion) she instead takes a bold step by taking and combining British (mainly Celtic) folklore and mythology, and arthurian legend (and I'm not talking the cliched stuff there) and intertwining it all so perfectly, that when the Welsh influences are added to this (in the version I have of this sequence, at the beginning of one of the books, she writes a thank you note to the people who had checked her Welsh) she has successfully created a reality that you can't help but be sucked into and believe in totally, whether you are ten or one hundred and ten.
It is obvious to see that she has done her research when it comes to some of the more historical aspects of the books and when she writes about a place you know she has been there (as her website can confirm).

In all, these are my favourite books of all time, and whilst i think anyone under ten might be struggling to read them a little, the book has lots for everybody, and something new each time you read them.

In my opinion, these books are better than the Harry Potter books, because they are timeless - having been around a fair while now already, and still attracting new fans, it's an absolute shame that they haven't attracted the critical acclaim they deserve, because I can guarentee I will still be reading them for myself in 50 years if im still here, and any children that are in my way had better be ready for a bedtime story they will want to continue to listen to! 

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