Product Description

There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes -- a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he came to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he met Bran, a strange boy who owned a white dog, he began to remember. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's task to wake-with the golden harp -- the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14726 in eBooks
• Published on: 2004-01-07
• Released on: 2004-01-07
• Format: Kindle Book
• Number of items: 1

From School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-While recovering from hepatitis, Will Stanton is sent to a farm in Wales where he is soon caught up in the battle against "the Dark." He struggles to recall the prophetic lines he once memorized and gradually, as he learns the local place names of the geographic features around him, the meaning of the lines becomes clear to him. Through Bran, a young boy with mysterious origins who becomes Will's friend, Will fulfills the prophecies and once again defeats the Dark. This fourth book of Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series (S&S Childrens, 1975) won the 1976 Newbery Medal. Twenty-five years later, it is still as powerful and mesmerizing as when it was first published. Richard Mitchley's reading is excellent and heightens listeners' enjoyment of Cooper's prose. His ease with Welsh pronunciation and the distinctive cadence of Welsh English adds greatly to the authenticity of the story's setting, which is an essential element of this book. He gives the characters distinctive voices without actually doing voices for each. Children not familiar with the earlier books in the series may find the basic premise a bit confusing since Will's status as an "old one" and the conflict between the light and the dark are not given much explanation. However, this audiobook is so well done that those who enjoy fantasy will relish it. It will also be a good choice for older children with reading disabilities when they need to "read" a Newbery title.

Louise L. Sherman, formerly Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

From the Publisher
There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes -- a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he came to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he met Bran, the strange boy who owned a white dog, he began to remember. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's task to wake -- with the golden harp -- the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light.

Customer Reviews

Rule...
Okay, folks, take a lesson from this book. This is how Arthurian fantasy is supposed to be. 'Nuf said.

Another struggle between Dark and Light
The boy Will recovering from a nearly fatal hepatitis
is sent to his aunt's in Wales to recover, but also
on a mission to retrieve the golden harp and awake the six sleepers.
In his way is Brenin LLwyd, the Grey King, who is one of the
ancient dark powers. His unlikely new friend turns out to
be a son of power out of time.
What I liked about this book is the explanation pronunciation of Welsh
names. Where many place Arthur in the midlands or lakes area,
it seem that Susan Cooper is for the hills of Wales.
This book is the third of these serial tales that I have read,
and I think Greenwitch (The Dark Is Rising Sequence) may be slightly better in characterization and plot.
Others have done this kind of writing better that I have read.The Owl Service is a good example.

Will finally makes sense
Overall, the Dark Is Rising series hasn't really lived up to my expectations. It's good children's fantasy, but not great. This fourth book, though, is the best so far. Will, this time in Wales instead of Cornwall, continues his quest for magical objects to be used by the Light to battle the rising Dark. Unlike the second book ("The Dark Is Rising"), here Cooper manages to balance the two aspects of Will's character, both as a boy and an Old One. And the farms and countryside of Wales are vividly described, the other characters clear and believable. Perhaps because this book doesn't have a lot of other magical characters running around in it, the plot makes much better sense and the characters' motives seem more clearly thought out. I enjoyed this book; it makes me more anxious to read the last one in the series.