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Buckinghamshire - The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper


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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
 
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
 
Synopsis:
It is Midwinter's Eve, the night before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. Will is about to make a shocking discovery - that he is the last person to be born with the power of the Old Ones, and as a guardian of the Light he must begin a dangerous journey to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark.
 
 
Other Buckinghamshire books:
 
Lark Rise To Candleford by Flora Thompson
Enigma by Robert Harris

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I have a question... I would very much like to join in the discussion of the DIR books but I am not really interested in doing a whole challenge as it just not my cuppa tea. Can I still comment and join in this thread without needing to be a part of the whole challenge?

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Absolutely Vimes.  Although it's a reference point for anyone taking part in the challenge, the threads are open to anyone and everyone to discuss the books for each county.  I'll try and keep the first post updated with links to reviews of the chosen book for each county, but the thread itself is open to discussion of the chosen book or any alternatives for that county.

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I read this book a few years ago in the lead up to Christmas, and I've recommended it to others since.  The story is a classic quest and the battle between good and evil, and an exciting tale set at Christmas time making it a great festive read.

A young boy who suddenly discovers he has been born with the power of Old Ones and is embarks on a quest to obtain the signs that will help defeat the Dark. He is thrust into a new world of magic and has to quickly learn of his heritage while at the same time facing the threats to his own family by the Dark. 

Exciting, fast-paced action with a thrilling tale, this is the second in The Dark Is Rising series of five books. The books were originally published between 1965 and 1977, and my friend told me he'd read it as a child and it was one of his favourite series, so I decided to try it myself. I had a complete sense of nostalgia while reading the book, as it felt exactly like the books I remember from my childhood. There's a certain style and feel to books from that era, and this ranks up there with any book I read as a child, without feeling dated or old-fashioned. 

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I read this very recently so will copy my review up here :)

Review: I was really annoyed to see that this was published in 1973!! Why on earth were they fobbing me off with Milly, Molly, Mandy at school then? I can't believe I missed out on reading this little gem of a story at the time when it would've been most exciting. No wonder I struggled when Tolkien showed up .. I had nothing to bridge the gap between him and Enid This would have fitted the bill perfectly.

Having said that though, even at my exalted age, I'm quite at home in children's stories. One of the things I liked about it was, although it was very rich in detail, it didn't try to over complicate things. It felt very solid and very believable (in an unbelievable type way ) Also I particularly liked the way it was set at Christmas .. it just added to the chill and excitement. An absolutely ideal book for reading to littlies over the Christmas period .. as long as they're not too little .. they'd need to be around eight/nine I would think to really appreciate it .. but then perhaps it might seem dated to them? I'm not really up on these things I am very happy with vintage stories though .. they stir up all my nostalgic feelings. It had a similar feel to The Wolves of Willoughby Chase .. in style that is .. though this story has more of a supernatural element .. and it's a style that's just perfect for crispy autumn/winter nights. I'm happy to find that there are a whole raft of Susan Cooper books as yet untapped by me .. goody! 4/5

 

Special thanks to Claire for recommending :friends3: 

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My review of The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper.

 

I first read this book a few years back and have since then reread it quite a few times since then, I have to admit that I was sceptical about it as it was a YA book but it had changed my mind within the first ten pages. With characters that had depth to them and scenes that were described to you in a beautifully simple way that makes the reading of this book easy and effortless. As well as having an array or mythological significance woven into every page that sparks ones interest in the past. It is a classic coming of age tale set in the cold and magical time of Christmas and new year in a small English town. It is a great book that is always worth a reread.

 

 

P.S This is my first review that I have ever written, so please forgive any mistakes or things that it is lacking in... :)

Edited by Vimes
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  • 1 month later...

Have just finished The Dark is Rising, having decided to read it as one of my Christmas books. Full review to come later, but in the meantime, suffice to say that it pretty much blew me away, particularly in the first half. It's rare for a book to make me nervous (scare is too strong a word), but this was one. I'm not normally a fantasy fan, but I loved the juxtaposition of the 'normal', if very large, family celebrating Christmas, with the titanic mythical struggle being fought out around them and the people of the village, all completely oblivious.

This is commonly labelled as a young adult/children's novel. Susan Cooper herself has stated that she had no particular target group, writing it 'for herself'; I think it's been labelled as such largely because the main protagonists are children. Personally, I think it's very much a story for all ages with a power and subtlety that certainly thoroughly appealed to this adult.

Edited by willoyd
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I agree The Dark is Rising is definitely a book for all ages, i first read it in my early twenties & finally read the whole series only a couple of years ago, i think it has a kind of old fashioned adventure story appeal to it.

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I have been reading this for ages due to lack of time, but a weekend away and a house to myself today means I finally finished it before the end of December.  This isn't a proper review (I will attempt to write more thoughts about it later) but I just wanted to say that I loved it!  I don't usually 'do' fantasy (I've read one or two that probably come into that category) but this was great - so atmospheric.  I felt the cold of the snow whilst reading it and the tension held all the way through the book from start to finish. 

 

I wouldn't normally read book 2 of a series first, but it definitely stands alone - I'm not actually sure what book 1 is about but I'm keen to try it eventually!  Anyway, top stuff!  :D

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I wouldn't normally read book 2 of a series first, but it definitely stands alone - I'm not actually sure what book 1 is about but I'm keen to try it eventually!  Anyway, top stuff!  :D

I've read book one, Over Sea Under Stone and it's not a problem reading book 2 first - completely different story. However, I think they start tying together in book 3, Greenwitch, so I'd read OSUS next and then keep to the sequence after that. OSUS is a bit more of a children's book. I understand Greenwitch onwards is more in the style of The Dark is Rising.

 

Anyway, it's a while since I read OSUS, so I'm going to reread that in the near future, and then get stuck into the rest of the series.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love the first book in this series - I never got far with the second one because it is a totally different story, and I generally don't like having to start from scratch like that. However, I will hopefully come back to them eventually because I do love OSUS. Love Uncle Merry :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Okay, I have finally gathered my thoughts, such as they are...
 
061-2013-Dec-31-TheDarkisRising_zpsc2abd
 
The Dark is Rising  by Susan Cooper

The ‘blurb’
'This night will be bad, and tomorrow will be beyond imagining'
It's Christmas-time in the Stanton family house: presents, carol singing, good cheer. But for eleven-year-old Will Stanton something sinister has begun, inching round his subconscious, shouting silent warnings he can't decipher. Then on Midwinter Day Will wakes up to a different world - silent, covered in snow and ancient forest, a world of another time. A world where evil lurks.
Because Will is not the ordinary boy he always thought he was. He is the last of the Old Ones and the power to vanquish the evil magic of the Dark lies within him.


Will Stanton is preparing for his 11th birthday on Midwinter’s Eve and looking forward to Christmas a few days later, but strange things start to happen in the small Buckinghamshire village where he lives with his parents and siblings. First there is an unusual reaction from the animals he meets – they seem wary, almost scared, of him, and then there is an odd conversation with Mr Dawson, the farmer, who presents Will with a strange ornament and a prophesy… “the walker is abroad…”, and when Will wakes up the next day, the world he faces is a very different one. Eventually Will discovers that he is one of the “Old Ones” – there are others in the village – and Will must fight evil to save the world around him and those he loves from Dark forces.

This book, which is an archetypal tale of good versus evil, is set in the county of Buckinghamshire. I’m not sure how much of a feel for the county the reader gets from this book. Not much I suspect, although it is interesting to me that a couple of characters use the word ‘thic’ as dialogue in this book because that’s also used in local parlance in place of the word ‘that’ and I didn’t realise it was used anywhere other than Somerset as I’ve never come across it anywhere else!

I very much enjoyed this book. I wouldn’t say it scared me, but it’s definitely atmospheric and Cooper’s writing creates such a feeling of suspense. The world that Will wakes up to on his birthday is eerily quiet and covered in snow, and this book almost made me feel physically cold whilst I was reading it! Although it was first published in the early 70s, it didn’t really feel dated, apart from the lack of technology, but I don’t think this book would work so well if written today – it’s hard to imagine this story happening in a world of internet and mobiles phones! Finally, and on a purely superficial note, it has a really gorgeous cover!  

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  • 2 years later...

Oh dear. I seem to have rather different thoughts to the rest of you!

 

I read this some weeks ago but only just getting around to catching up with my reviews.... (Copied from my book log)

 

I only read this because it is on the English Counties list. It's a children's book that never really appealed when I was of the target age range. 

 

However, I listened to the prequel, Over Sea, Under Stone, in preparation and got on really well with it so I had reasonable hopes for this one. 

 

I actually think listening to the prequel was a mistake. Not only does it feature different characters, there is an entirely different feel to it. I don't read much fantasy, but the first one is fantasy rooted clearly in reality. The children do not possess magical powers and the world doesn't suddenly start rotating on its axis. Everything takes place in a world we recognise. 

 

Not so The Dark is Rising and it annoyed me all the way through. 

 

I'm not a fantasy reader, but I like fantasy worlds to make sense in my own head. I don't want to be suddenly surprised 3/4 of the way through by something else the world can suddenly do to get the protagonist out of trouble. I want it to make sense in own head early on so I can get to grips with it. 

 

This is obviously a personal preference and these books are apparently hugely popular but it never ever engaged me and I found the final 50 pages a massive slog. 

 

2/5 (Meh)

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