The Dark Is Rising (1973)

As lyrical and wonderful as ever. ( )

These are those books where you wonder if those 5 star reviewers even read the same book as you. This was extremely boring and poorly written. ( )

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is a series of vintage children’s fantasy books. Read my review here.

https://www.johncadamsreviews.com/single-post/the-dark-is-rising-by-susan-cooper

#TheDarkIsRising #SusanCooper #JohnCAdamsReviews #JohnCAdams #FantasyFriday #book #review #books #reviews #bookreview #bookreviews ( )

Pretty decent boy-wizard story but i preferred the previous book [b:Over Sea, Under Stone|11312|Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising, #1)|Susan Cooper|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443993959s/11312.jpg|742] which had less magic but more adventure.
This suffers from the usual Chosen One problem, too much predestination which undermines the tension of the story. Also its a bit video-gamey. The plot involves collecting magical items and at one point something happens which i can only describe as Leveling Up, it took all my self restraint not to shout 'Level 2' Achievement Unlocked: Uncompelling!

The other problem i had was that its really dark in tone in the first half, it felt like a kids version of The Omen or something. This dissipates significantly once the character Levels.

I know i sound like i'm trashing it but the writing is generally very good. The protagonist has a big and functional family which was interesting and not something you tend to see much of anymore.

I actually thought i might have to give it 4 stars, as the third quarter was really compelling and uncertain, but things felt more predestined again towards the end.

So not bad at all, really nice writing but not great plot. ( )

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special git -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 day of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror , and delight.