On holiday in Cornwall, the three children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that--the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their lives in peril. This is the first volume of Susan Cooper's brilliant and absorbing fantasy sequence known as The Dark is Rising.
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"This is a well-written fantasy book for youth. Her books have received many honors. She wrote them long ago (well not too long ago, I was alive)but they have a timeless quality to them. The story is linear but interesting. She develops the characters well and is quite visual. I highly recommend the series to younger readers who like Harry Potter and other magical stories and especially anyone who is interested in King Arthur mysticism. They are clean, no swearing, good stuff books like they used to write!"
— Lynette (4 out of 5 stars)
" Settings vivid, and magic in our world is always fun. "
— Ron, 2/9/2014" Three children on vacation in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest that entraps them in the eternal battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark. "
— Carissa, 1/20/2014" Never read this classic of Junior fantasy. Scary and intense, but I was disappointed that the characters do not continue in the "sequence" of novels. "
— Yvonne, 1/17/2014" Love Susan Cooper's writing style! "
— Jeannine, 1/11/2014" Absolutely adored this as a child "
— Ziggy, 12/28/2013" This is a fantastic series--I read it years ago when I was visiting a friend in Olympia, Washington. They were written for kids, so are a really quick read, but great stories. "
— Emilie, 12/21/2013" Great book. Not as good as the other books in the series, but worth reading. "
— Sinho, 12/20/2013" I know this is a prequel and the start of a series and so, in a way, it suffers like The Magician's Nephew does with the Narnia books. While it's a nice, self-contained story about Precocious British Children finding the Holy Grail, I kept wanting the REAL action to start. "
— Phyllis, 12/15/2013" We listened to this while we drove to Utah. It took the whole drive but we all really enjoyed it. "
— Kara, 12/9/2013" Just re-read this book. Less fantasy that I remembered and more simple treasure hunt. "
— Arlene, 12/3/2013" Better pacing than most of the rest of the series. "
— Lia, 10/17/2013" I read this entire series when I was young. I have only encountered it once since then, but I still remember almost everything in them and how enthralling they were. "
— Shanna, 8/3/2013" This series is phenomenal. It's an exciting, fast paced, plot line that has all sorts of twists. A good one for the "magic aspect", and has [unpurposeful:] analogies to the Christian faith. "
— Sean, 6/13/2013" First of the series before the Dark is Rising (see that). It's much brighter and more interesting. You should read it. "
— Maddy, 6/13/2013" I like books about smart kids, and this is certainly one of those. The story wasn't particularly complicated, but it was well-written and kept me interested. I'm interested to see how the series plays out. "
— Andrea, 5/12/2013" This was a suspenseful children's tale of two brothers and a sister on a quest to find a certain artifact and protect it from some bad guys. I like this book and plan on reading the other books in the series, especially the newberry winners in the series. "
— Wendy, 5/1/2013" I read this in about 24 hours, and liked it, but it is a little slow-moving, and there was less of the fantastic than I was expecting. It's definately an interesting way to begin a fantasy series, and I'm interested to see how the sequence plays out. "
— A.L., 10/21/2012" This book is about siblings having a great adventure on their summer vacation. They're being pursued by evil while fighting for good. It's a bit younger, but really a blast! "
— Ashleigh, 7/26/2012" Quite enjoyable, although not the usual happy children's fare. "
— Patrick, 11/25/2011" Loved this series when I was younger. Highly recommended!! "
— Yvonne, 10/23/2011" even though these books are really old i still enjoyed reading them i had been hearing about these books for years and only now have i finally started reading them "
— Solomon, 8/5/2011" I LOVED these books as a kid! "
— Bryan, 7/1/2011" This should be a good series. "
— Crystal, 5/21/2011" Another YA fantasy classic I reread on a regular basis. Susan Cooper's books are dark, lyrical, unforgettable. "
— Chris, 4/29/2011" I remember loving this series as a kid — dark, haunting, exciting. "
— Gabriel, 4/23/2011" One of my first favorite fantasy books. "
— Steven, 3/24/2011" These are children's books, but still some of the <strong>best</strong> I have ever read. "
— Michael, 3/20/2011" Classic. Should be better known. "
— Farmgirl, 3/16/2011" I like this series, both for mysef and for students. It has the classic dilemma of good vs evil and ties in legends of King Arthur, and the Green Witch in an adventure that catches the reader's attention quickly. "
— Janice, 2/20/2011" A very good series. Loved it. "
— Johanna, 2/9/2011" A must for every fantasy library! "
— Melissa, 1/26/2011" I remember loving these as a child, and found them to be much darker than I had remembered upon reading them as an adult. Epic battle between good and evil. "
— Hilary, 1/26/2011" It draws on the King Arthur/Holy Grail thing. Pretty interesting "
— Qing, 1/14/2011" Just as good as when I first read it. I hope some kids who saw the craptacular movie will check out the books and find out what they missed. "
— Travis, 1/6/2011" An AMAZING series! A must read! "
— Kusanar, 1/4/2011" LOVED. Her descriptions are wonderful, I loved the settings & characters. Fast-paced yet she gives you time through the descriptions to actually develop an idea of where you are to really be able to experience things as the characters do. "
— ara133photography, 12/29/2010Susan Cooper is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her classic five-book fantasy sequence The Dark Is Rising won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor and has sold millions of copies worldwide. She is also the author of Victory, a Booklist Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth book and a Washington Post Top Ten for Children novel; King of Shadows, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor book; The Boggart; Seaward; and many other acclaimed novels for young readers. She lives in Massachusetts.
Alex Jennings is an award-winning narrator and actor of stage and screen. He has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. He is also known for his role as Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, in the Netflix series The Crown, along with his roles in The Queen, Lady in the Van, and The Wings of the Dove. He is a three-time Olivier Award winner and has been nominated for a BAFTA.