I remember absolutely loving these books as a child. I started with "The Grey King" when I was in the 5th grade and trying to read all the books that appeared on the "Newbery Medal" poster that was on the wall of the school library. That poster lead to my reading a lot of fantastic books, but the "The Dark is Rising Sequence" definitely had the most lasting impact on my memory. Feeling a desire to revisit the series, I picked it up when I went home for Christmas and brought it back to my home in Japan. This Spring I picked it up and finally gave the entire series a rereading. 20 years have passed since I picked up "The Grey King," but it still holds up remarkably well (truly the best in the entire series). In fact the entire box set was really satisfying to reread, though the books with the Drew Children never achieve the same level as the stories that focus on Will Stanton. I definitely recommend the stories to anyone who enjoyed the Harry Potter books, but keep in mind that these books, while dealing with the fate of the entire world, are much simpler in their narration than the much longer Harry Potter books. ( )

If your young readers enjoy the Harry Potter series, they will enjoy these also. Susan Coopers books are more serious. They books are full of magic and dark evil. You won't find the humor like the potter books, but you will find page after page suspense

I first read this series ten years ago when I was still in primary school. My teacher mentioned it to me as something she thought I'd like and she was right. When I found it again a couple of years ago I read the whole series in about a week and remembered why I adored it. I will credit this series forever as the one that made me fall in love with reading and it will always hold a place in my heart. A simply wonderful fantasy that has the ability to hold my attention effortlessly. I'm not sure that it would be as special to me if I was reading it now for the first time but as it stands, this series is one of my favourites of all time. ( )

Pre09:
Characters: Love the lead and the other old ones. The rider is great too.
Plot: Convoluted as crap. Not really the selling point.
Style: Gothic all the way. Very memorable. Love the sense of wonder as a kid. ( )

This 4th entry in "The Dark I Rising" sequence was the Newbery Winner the year it was published and definitely the best in the series so far.. For my taste, one of its strengths is that the Drew children don’t appear. My adult son who read the series before I says I'm too hard on the Drew children; he likes them.

The story takes place in Wales and we get deeper into the Arthurian legend. The new character, Bran, is interesting and you care about both Bran and Will. Will’s task, with Bran’s help (who turns out to have a pivotal part to play in the contest between the Dark and the Light) is to wake—with the golden harp—the six who must be roused from their long slumber to be ready for the final battle between the Dark and the Light. The Grey King is the spirit of the mountain determined to keep Will from succeeding. This is the best book in the series so far. It also gives such a good description of Wales that now I would like to go there. That will please my older son, who gave me this set, because Wales is one of his favorite places. ( )

Start with book #2. If you like it, read the others starting with one and continuing with 3. Book 2 is the best. ( )

Contemporary story of finding the Grail, set on the Cornwall coast , very charming.
Written in the tradition of "Narnia", though I prefer this one. ( )

A wonderful fantasy children's series. ( )

These books came highly recommended by several friends of mine. Mainly because of their ire at the upcoming movie "based" on the second book. I was told that I would read these books to see how the story *should* be told, or face pain of death. It's like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all over again. Only without a good movie result at the end. I'm liking Over Sea, Under Stone a lot and am confused as to how Hollywood is going to make a movie based on this series with no mention of Arthurian legend. Oh, Hollywood. You crazy kids.

This is one of the few "fantasy" books I've gotten involved in; it was very good. I was a bit disappointed when the recent movie came out. It was nowhere near as good as the book, but that always happens. ( )

This series was my ABSOLUTE favourite growing up. The stories of magic and intrigue set in the UK fascinated me for hours on end. I love the twists, the symbols and preferred it to Narnia. It made me think I needed to learn to speak Welsh! ( )

One of the greatest series based on the Arthurian/Pendragon legend, and one of my favorite series of all time. ( )

An excellent series with just the right mixture of Welsh legend, the supernatural, and character interaction and development. The description is vivid without being overly verbose and the characters are not simply instruments of the plot. Read alone - 13+, Read-aloud (with some appropriate editing) 8+ ( )

The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper has been a favorite since the fourth grade. The books relate the story of the eternal battle between the Light and the Dark. These books should be right up there with The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter, but they are woefully underrated and underappreciated.

The sequence is imbued with Celtic, Welsh, and English folklore, as it is set in Cornwall and Wales and has requisite appearances by Herne the Hunter and the Pendragon. There are five books in the sequence. Read more here. ( )

Read the entire series at once - triggered by a mention on LT of the Seeker movie (no, I don't think it will be good). I very much like The Dark is Rising (the individual story) - it's very rich. My favorite, I think, is Greenwitch, then Over Sea, Under Stone. Grey King is quite depressing, though very powerful, and I don't think much of Silver on the Tree even though it finishes things off. As usual, I finished it slightly confused...there is a _lot_ of symbolism, particularly in Silver. So is Bran one of the Circle or not? He must be, because the 'three from the track' have to be the Drews...but he's not an Old One. And is the 'one (who) goes alone' Merriman, then? Or if Bran had gone, could Merriman have stayed? Would he? Or is the third from the Circle the Lady? No, it was Bran holding a Sign...when it wasn't John Rowland. Sheesh. Vatefer. Good stories, though the earlier ones are better, and I'll keep them. ( )

Classic story of good versus evil. Well written and full of mythological parallels. Godd for older kids or younger teens. ( )

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper Mom's review: Here's a quote from her, and a link to her blog's review: "It's like 'The Hardy Boys'. 'Oh, you want to explore a haunted island? Let me pack you some sandwiches and ginger beer. Don't forget to dress warmly!'. But the others in the series are better." click here to see her review of this book and the rest of the series. My review: It's OK . I found it entertaining, but felt as if I knew everything that would happen next, what I would have for lunch the next day... All right, it wasn't like that, but I did feel a strange sense of de ja vu. I probably won't read it again 'till Easter, but that's what normally happens. I would recommend this book to 11-13/14 year olds, and adults. It's very long, and I found myself skipping paragraphs and had to reread them[AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGGGGH!!!]. ( )

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper is the first book in the "Dark is Rising" series. Three children find a map with clues to finding the Holy Grail. Aided by their mysterious Great-Uncle Merry, and under their oblivious parents noses, they battle evil mundane and surreal to find the grail and keep the Darkness down. Think of this as "The Secret Seven" with a little magic thrown in. I liked that the human villains ranged from nice looking to surly and sinister, after all evil can be appealing and goodness can look disheveled or surly.

I would recommend this book to the following people I know: A 4-6th grade teacher for his classroom, an 11 year old girl who likes Harry Potter and Tamora Pierce, a 4th grade boy who likes mysteries and his 53rd grade brother who likes historical fantasies.

The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree history, time travel, Welsh tales, and the classic struggle of good and evil into a set of progressively engrossing incidents. I still don't care for the Drew children and I think they are the least developed of all the characters.

The box set says that these are "Teen Fantasy" but the giftee (now 12) and her younger sister (9) both understood and enjoyed the series.

Note: This is a review covering the entire sequence.

Basic Reason for Beginning: I was recommended this book by a friend of mine, who loves it. (In fact, I think her words went along the lines of 'I have multiple copies of it. You can keep this.')
Basic Reason for Finishing: Can't. Put. Down.

Full review.

Would I recommend it? How's this for answer: If you haven't yet read it, get ye hence to a library or a bookstore and read it.

Also? I fell in love with the poems written. ^-^ ( )

I bought this book purely after seeing it had been recommended online. Being a great fan of YA/fantasy literature, I thought this was a must-have in my book collection.

The result - I was very disappointed. Reading it for the first time as an adult I found the style, pace, quality of writing, depth of characters, and originality of ideas (in short, everything!) inconsistent between each of the stories. The forces of good and evil were unexplained in origin and were particularly vague, meaning that I had little sympathy for the 'good guys' winning at all.

The book deals with the usual good vs. evil, where the good are of the 'Light' and the evil are of the 'Dark'. And that is about as far as the explanation ever goes.

The first book of the series 'Over sea, under stone' is like reading the Famous Five - alright, but uninspiring.
The second, 'The Dark is Rising' is the best of the series. Thankfully the annoying kids in the first book have gone and we're introduced to the main hero. This book was a good read.
The next book that follows brings these children together (just as we thought we'd got rid of them). Both 4 and 5 have a handful of good ideas in them, but not enough to carry the series to its conclusion.

The sad thing is that the ideas in the book do have the potential to be made into a fantastic story, it just never achieves this.

Children's fiction has moved on a long way since this book was written. I could easily name half a dozen children's fantasy authors of the last 10 years whose books blow this one out of the water.

It gets 1.5 stars because the second book of the sequence is a decent read. Unfortunately, you need the others to complete the story. ( )

The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone is a good kid's book, but not remarkable, but The Dark is Rising is a really powerful story, Greenwitch keeps the pace up, and The Grey King is simply stunning. Silver On The Tree doesn't quite hit the same heights, but has many good things in it. For me, the middle three books blow Harry Potter far, far, away. ( )

well, i read this book when i was quite young (8 or 9) so i can't remember it that well, but i really liked it. Way better than harry potter; not as cliched ( )

Books 2, 4 and 5 would be four stars; 1 and 3 a measly 2½ or 3 - hence the 3½.

Celtic myth, Arthurian legend, all set in a 70's "present" that's strangely absent. If you're willing to accept that, then you might like this suite of books. If not - don't bother!
That said, I really enjoyed reading it. ( )

A favourite from childhood, still very readable today a couple of decades on. 5 books in the series. The first details the adventures of three children on holiday in Cornwell. A light touch in the writing really gets the feel of children, exploring a world apart from the business of adults.

in the title volume (2) a completely different character set, Will becomes 11 yrs old and strange events suddenly evolve deeper significane. Why is a tramp bothering his family? What happened to his birth sign? Why is the snow so heavy this year.......

Book three, the Drew children are back in Cornwell, but now WIll is amoungst them. Who is he, will he spoil their plans? For the treasure of last year has been stolen, and they mean to get it back. William seems to know their Great Uncle though and proves to be of assistance in the end.

Book 4, Will is alone again, sent to S.Wales as the darker powers in the world make their move. A friend comes to his aid, though the Dark intervines, and humans prove to be in the end, only human. The darkest of the stories in many ways.

Book 5, All togther now, the great push for the defining moment in history as both sides show their true colours. But in the realm of humans, human ties hold far more power than the greatest magic, but with love betrayed how will the choice be made?

All great writing, keeping the same light style and childlike wonder at the world, even when times are hard and difficult choices need to be made. ( )

One of the best kids' series ever. I just loved these. ( )