The Dark Is Rising: Book 2 of The Dark Is Rising Sequence

As a child, I loved this book. It felt like a great journey into a magical world all around us, a journey we took through the eyes of the protagonist Will Stanton. When I recently re-read the book with my daughter, I found that it didn't quite live up to my memories of it. The sense of discovering a hidden side to our world is by far the strongest part of the novel, but reading it now I found the characters to be extraordinarily passive, particularly the main character Will. Throughout most of the novel he is drawn from place to place, and events bring to him a steady stream of allies, enemies, learning, and treasure--but we rarely see Will taking active steps to control the events around him. Even his allies seem to spend most of the novel waiting for the right time or events--almost all the initiative in this book is taken by The Dark--but we get to see them very little, and understand them even less. The result is that when you put the novel down, you may feel like you just saw an interesting landscape--but it is hard to find the conflicts in the story, or the protagonist's response to them, that could have any parallel in real life.Nevertheless, I've awarded it four stars, mostly because of how strongly the book stood out in my mind for so many years. The sense of excitement at finding hidden depths in our world, of reading a book that could teach you all you need to know of magic in one sitting, of the beautiful and elemental signs, of a race of Old Ones who lived alongside us but carried the memories of a conflict that had spanned millenia--all these and more were fantastic bits of worldbuilding that I now wish had been accompanied by a stronger storyline.

I'll skip any summary of this book or of the series; dozens of reviewers have done that quite well. I assume that you are familiar with these books, probably have read this volume, (likely more than once), but now wish to have the book available as an audio CD. Perhaps a long car trip is in the offing? Good for you.I am happy to report that, at least for me, this audio version gets high marks across the board.First, I can hear it and understand it. No mushy sound recording. No odd imbalance in volume that requires you to keep turning the volume up and then down. All of the spoken words are crisp and clear.Second, there are no sound effects or such folderol.Third, there is a single reader. This is not a play for voices and is not read by a number of different character actors.Fourth, Alex Jennings is a marvelously effective reader. His approach is dynamic but not overly dramatic. He is never coy or arch, and does not ham up any of the big scenes. In the first chapters he can be a bit tentative in distinguishing among the major characters and is inclined to give short shrift to minor characters, but after that he settles into the various roles and adds a distinct and recognizable identity to each character.Finally, the reading is very respectful. By that I mean the book is not read as though it were just some silly children's book. It is treated as the triumphant work that it is and this adds greatly to its weight and impact.Please note that there are 7 discs. Runtime is a bit under nine hours.

Will Stanton is the seventh son of a seventh son -- which means he lives in a crowded, noisy family! As the book opens, Will is excited about his approaching eleventh birthday, but he is also alarmed by strange goings on in the neighborhood -- the birds are acting strangely and none of the family's animals will approach him. Soon Will learns why these things are happening. He is about to be indoctrinated into his rightful position as the last of the Old Ones -- an ancient race that has been protecting the world from the conquest of evil. Now it's Will's turn to shoulder some of the burden and participate in the struggle. That's an awful lot for an 11-year old to take on! But Will is not alone. He meets others who will help him, in particular Merriman, a gruff but kindly mentor figure."This night will be bad. And tomorrow will be beyond imagining." Susan Cooper is a gifted writer and she sets a mood of foreboding creepiness right from the beginning. While there is an almost constant aura of menace, there is minimal violence, and Will constantly learns lessons of bravery, honor, and the importance of knowledge and learning. Sort of H. P. Lovecraft meets the Hardy Boys.I agree with some criticism that there is too little struggle and problem solving involved in actually getting the six signs Will needs to find, but the story is still strong and a worthwhile read for middle readers.

I bought Over Sea, Under Stone middle of this year for my 12 year old neice and she enjoyed the book so I carried on and bought this book for her. Like many people leaving reviews I also read this as a child and as a consequence of buying this for my neice I went back and re-read my own copies of Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark is Rising. I was far too young to leave review when I first read these books and Amazon didn't exist then anyway. This book is a step up in terms of its strength of writing from the first book in the sequence and my view is it's a strong story. I was both excited and in turn extremely disappointed by the film of the book and it is to be avoided at all costs. But the book is great for kids and those of us that read it as a kid. The whole sequence of books is worthwhile and as relatively weak as Over Sea, Under Stone is, I would strongly recommend buying these sequence of books for young kids who enjoy reading. I'm so pleased I encountered these books as a kid as they shaped my further reading interests even into adulthood and they have even shaped the style of movies I go for.

I first came across The Dark is Rising when I listened to the radio adaptation 20 years ago. It really captured my imagination, so I went out and purchased all five books in the series. This (the second in the series) is my favourite and can be read without reading the first one beforehand. Having said that, the other books are all worth reading as well.Just before Christmas I wanted to re-read the story, so I dug out my old paperback of the series and found the print was so small I was struggling to read it without hurting my eyes. Time to purchase the Kindle edition and enjoy it on my Paperwhite. Some books are worth buying more than once, and The Dark is Rising is most certainly one of them.A wonderful coming of age story set at Christmas time in an age before computers and mobile phones. There's an innocence to the characters that some might find off-putting these days, but it's worth it for such an imaginative story. Now I've read this book, I know it won't be long before I will be purchasing the other four as Kindle editions.

My 11year old son has given up on this book early on saying it is too creepy and was scaring him so he couldn’t sleep. I was surprised because no mention was really made of that in reviews I had read and I was under the impression it was more of an adventure story. I decided to read some myself and my son is absolutely correct.Now, the reason it can infect you with fear is because it is written well and with pace, but I would not recommend this book for kids his age for bedtime reading at all. Unless you’re looking for scared kids and sleepless nights that is. I would recommend getting a sample of the book to see whether your kid will tolerate it well first.

I first read this book when I was doing by gcse English and that is when I fell in love with it. Susan Cooper has a wonderful sophisticated way with words that weaves image and feeling together while still being able to appeal to both the adult and child in me. There is wonder in these pages, and magic and mystery all set in the backdrop of English countryside. As Will learns the truth of himself and the rising Dark, Cooper compells us to read on and discover with him. Don't be put off by him being an 11 year old boy, he needs no ageing up (like the terrible movie) to make him relatable, Cooper's storytelling does that.A great read for children and adults alike.

This is a brilliant sequel and really sets the scene for the rest of the series, the characters tie in well with the first and I read it within a week. Brilliant characters, plot and for a children's book it is pretty scary. Very fast pace. I would thoroughly recommend this for ages 12-15, especially with the lovely new matching cover designs!(Photos taken after reading and include full set purchased separately)