Product Description

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift--he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from dominations by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day and 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 fill of wonder, terror, and delight.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7437 in eBooks
• Published on: 2004-01-07
• Released on: 2004-01-07
• Format: Kindle Book
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.com Review

"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, and one go alone."

With these mysterious words, Will Stanton discovers on his 11th birthday that he is no mere boy. He is the Sign-Seeker, last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to battle the powers of evil that trouble the land. His task is monumental: he must find and guard the six great Signs of the Light, which, when joined, will create a force strong enough to match and perhaps overcome that of the Dark. Embarking on this endeavor is dangerous as well as deeply rewarding; Will must work within a continuum of time and space much broader than he ever imagined.

Susan Cooper, in her five-title Dark Is Rising sequence, creates a world where the conflict between good and evil reaches epic proportions. She ranks with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien in her ability to deliver a moral vision in the context of breathtaking adventure. No one can stop at just one of her thrilling fantasy novels. Among many other prestigious awards, The Dark Is Rising is a Newbery Honor Book and a Carnegie Medal Honor Book. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Review
Psychology Today "Susan Cooper is one of the few contemporary writers who has the vivid imagination, the narrative powers, and the moral vision that permit her to create the kind of sweeping conflict between good and evil that lies at the heart of all great fantasy. Tolkien had it. So did C.S. Lewis. And Cooper writes in the same tradition." -- Review

Review
"So perfect is the match between Alex Jennings' voice and this mysterious magical tale--that it is difficult to imagine any other voice reading these words." -The Horn Book Magazine

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Customer Reviews

An Interesting and Welcome Second in the Series
Will Stanton turns eleven on midwinter's eve...and up until now, he's led a normal, if somewhat hectic life as the seventh (and youngest) child in his normal family. It is on this, his eleventh birthday, that he finds out he is anything but normal and also the beginning of a series of events that will help him define the man he will become. While I did thoroughly enjoy The Dark is Rising...I think the greatest draw for this book (and the series as a whole) is for children (or young adults if you prefer), ages 9-14 (or so). The "light" and "dark" are fairly cut and dry, no shades of grey here...the characters are ALL good or ALL bad, no subtle shading or real depth to them and while I do feel this is appropriate for the age range (because that's rather how kids of this age are still seeing the world, things are "good" or "bad"); it's a shame the author doesn't challenge us and help introduce a more nuanced character set to the readers (perhaps in later books in the series), because this is also the age range where pushing that comfortable envelope should begin to be introduced. Having said that, I want to be clear that while I do see the characters as lacking depth to a certain degree, I did enjoy the book and would definitely recommend it, and it's just not as richly drawn as it might otherwise be if it were geared toward an older audience or if the author had written richer characters. Additionally for such surprisingly flat, one dimensional characters the text itself is highly detailed and extremely well written, though in places a bit confusing (for example where she refers to Will's friend...he's actually one of his brothers, but this is unclear early on and is distracting).

Cooper successfully weaves both British and Celtic folklore/mythology into the threads of the story and successfully creates an entire world in which Will must navigate to successfully achieve his quest (with time travel, even). We meet a variety of characters through Will, both Light and Dark and travel along with him as he struggles to come to terms with his new found knowledge, responsibilities and powers...it's not an easy quest for an 11 year old, nor does he suddenly "become" an Old One, it's a struggle for him the whole of the journey (as it should be for an eleven year old). One of the best features of the story is that Will's home life is happy and healthy...he is part of a tight-nit family unit. His family is normal: a two parent home where no one is sick, crazy, or otherwise absent or in need of rescue (at least as the story begins) and best of all, the entire family is well adjusted and actually get along (i.e. there is no bully or abusive siblings, no schoolyard conflicts, he's not a misfit, and there is no wicked step parent). While they do not really know about or help with Will's struggle or challenges, they are ever present and he must work in this quest and still fulfill his family obligations and remains a part of the family throughout.

Overall, The Dark is Rising is an interesting and entertaining tale that readers of all ages can dig into and love. It's got strong mythological bones, interesting plot points, and relatively well defined and likeable characters which help to allow readers to forgive it's few flaws (somewhat flat characterization...especially of the "Dark" characters, some confusing plot points, and the real lack of anything difficult being required of the "hero" when it's all said and done). I give it 4 stars and hope that later books in the series provide a bit more challenge for this (and other) characters as the series develops.

Don't judge these books by the movie !!!
This series of books (especially, The Dark is Rising) is one of my favorites. The recent movie, The Seeker, based on The Dark is Rising, did not do the book justice. The moviemakers attempt to modernize the story, take out some of the mythological aspects, and add in some teenage angst trivialized the character of Will Stanton (the Seeker of the Signs), whose appeal is in part based on his dual nature as an ordinary 11 year old boy and the last of the Old Ones (immortals charged with the defending the Light against the Dark), and how he adjusts to being both at the same time.

These books share some features with some of my other favorites:

1) Harry Potter books by JK Rowling;
2) Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer;
3) Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet; Many Waters);
4) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster with great line drawings by Jules Feiffer;
5) Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage...Septimus, like Will, is a seventh son of a seventh son;
6) Edward Eager's books (Half-Magic, Magic or Not?, Seven-Day Magic, Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle, The Well-Wishers, The Thyme Garden).

I was less enthralled with the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and on re-reading them as an adult....they are a bit preachy...and I never have been able to read through the Lord of the Rings (though I loved the great unabridged audiobook version that I listened to in my car while commuting to work a few years ago prior to the release of the movies).

Any of these books can be enjoyed as good stories with quests and adventures, good and evil, with lessons about assuming responsibility, the nature of friendship, perserverance, and loyalty thrown in for good measure. More literate (usually older) folks can appreciate the linguistic and mythological underpinnings of the books.

So if you enjoyed any of the other books I listed above but haven't read The Dark is Rising sequence, why not check it out? But don't bother watching the movie.

I wanted to like it, but...
This book was a complete let-down after the first of the series. Everything about it seemed completely over-the-top, starting with the one character repeated booming out `THE DARK... THE DARK IS RISING!' It went downhill from there. Every possible fantasy cliché was realized (including `mystical' sounding rhymes and poems), the characters were a bit insipid and uninspiring, and the plot seemed thin. I found myself not caring in the slightest how it ended, and once it did, felt no compulsion to read any further in the series.

There are far better children's fantasy series out there, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, The Spiderwick Chronicles, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and, yes, the Harry Potter series.