I while back I was combing through this subreddit and r/suggestmeabook looking for books that were similar to Diane Wynne Jones’ stellar fantasy novels (the *Chrestomanci* books, *Dogsbody*, *Howl’s Moving Castle*, etc.), and I came across some great suggestions from other posts for lots of different series. One of most suggested was Susan Cooper’s *The Dark Is Rising Sequence*, so I decided to give it a shot. I just finished the last book last night, and…what a journey! I’ve been blown away by the quality of this series, and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before now! I legitimately sat on my bed for a long time after finishing it, just trying to take in everything I’d experienced. My quick thoughts on each of the books:
1. *Over Sea, Under Stone*: A nice, quick read that gave me similar vibes to *The Boxcar Children*, *Encyclopedia Brown*, and *The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang*, albeit with a little more peril. This was the title that most felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The good and bad characters were very easy to tell the difference between, the kids always fortuitously stumbled across answers to riddles at the perfect time, and everything ended with a happy summer ending. Overall, it was a fun time, and I really loved the twist at the end where >!Merriman is revealed to be Merlin!<.
2. *The Dark Is Rising*: This was the book that elevated the series from “pleasant” to “gripping” for me. This book also captures the cold, melancholy, but beautiful feel of winter mixed with the joy and coziness of being with family at Christmastime for me. It has a markedly darker tone than its predecessor, but it never becomes edgy. Cooper’s writing is very poetic and fitting for the themes of ancient rites and customs, and I definitely cried at a couple parts such as >!the parts dealing with the Walker, the part where the Stanton brothers were at Miss Greythorne’s manor, and the part where Will saves his sister!<. In my humble opinion, this book deserves all the accolades it received!
3. *Greenwitch*: By far the shortest book of the series, this was still a fascinating journey through the world of the Old Ones. I loved seeing the Drew children meet Will Stanton, and I found the introduction of the “Wild Magic” to be a thought-provoking take on Celtic/pagan traditions as opposed to Light vs. Dark. I also appreciated that they gave Jane more characterization than in the first book, where she felt a bit wooden and one-dimensional at times.
4. *The Grey King*: This was probably the most somber of the books in the series for me. Bran is an awesome character from the get-go (and only becomes more awesome when >! you realize his heritage!<), and the rainy, misty mountains of Wales was such a magical location to set the story. I loved the extreme emphasis on Arthurian and Welsh legends in this book, and it had some of the most heartfelt and heart-wrenching moments of the series (looking at you, >!Caradog Prichard, for shooting Cafall!<). 🙁 My family came from Wales to the U.S. almost 200 years ago, so I also loved learning more about the culture, language, and environment there.
5. *Silver on the Tree*: A mostly satisfying conclusion to one heck of a series. I really enjoyed seeing everything finally tie together, and I thought the Drew children’s, Will and Bran’s, and the Six’s respective sections of the book were all very unique and interesting. There were some twists I legitimately had no way of ever figuring out (>!Blodwen Rowlands was the White Rider?! R.I.P. my boy John Rowlands!<), so that also kept the book feeling fresh The ending reminded me a ton of the fifth book of Brandon Mull’s *Five Kingdoms* series, which may or may not upset a lot of people. It definitely gave me a very bittersweet feeling right at the end.
So, there you have it. I’m so glad I’ve been introduced to this series, and I’ll be sure to have my family and friends give it a try if they’re looking for any new books. I will say that the most common criticism I’ve seen against the series is the fact that the protagonists don’t appear to have much agency, which is an extremely valid argument. However, as a rebuttal, I’d like to add that in reading *Le Morte d’Arthur* and other medieval/Arthurian works recently, I feel like this style of writing actually goes hand-in-hand with the source material Susan Cooper was drawing from.
Anyway, thanks again for pointing out this series I somehow missed my entire life. What are your thoughts on this series? I’d love to know what you thought of the series, any ties you found with British/Welsh/Arthurian folklore, or any things you’d like to have changed about the story.
**TL;DR: The Dark Is Rising is a phenomenal fantasy series with strong ties to Arthurian folklore that I barely found out about not too long ago. How do you like the books? Did they draw any parallels with other books you’ve read? Would you change anything about them?**
Edit: Had to reformat the italics and bolding because I guess I don’t get how they work on PC…
by Original_McLon