The Grey King (The Dark Is Rising Sequence) [UNABRIDGED]

Rating:
Summary: Excellent audio version of an excellent book
Review: This is the fourth offering in Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series. It starts off in the middle of the action, as eleven year old Will Stanton struggles to wake up in the course of a serious illness. He is panicked because he *knows* there is something critical he has to do -- and he can't remember! He is sent to his "aunt"'s farm in Wales to recuperate (she is actually very close friend -- and cousin -- of Will's mother's). Although the family is very welcoming, Will can't rid himself of a sense of foreboding. As he recuperates, Will finds himself drawn to the hills, exploring them along with his traces of memory. When he is all but knocked over by an odd-seeming dog, enough of the memory returns to start him on a quest -- aided by the dog's also-unusual owner, Bran [ pronounced similarly to "brawn" ]. The events that unfold are full of menace and intrigue, suspenseful right up to the end of the story, where we uncover some of the history behind the relationships among Bran, his father, and the frightening owner of the neighboring farm.............. Having loved Alex Jennings' multi-textured presentation of "The Dark is Rising," I felt I was taking a chance with this audiobook, as I was unfamiliar with the reader (I had also been unfamiliar with Jennings prior to "The Dark is Rising"). I needn't have worried -- Richard Mitchley brings warmth and understanding to his characterizations, and seems to this non-Welsh-speaker to very naturally use the Welsh pronunciations that abound in this book, and I love Mitchley's work as much as I loved Jennings'.

The verse which begins the story is as follows (one slash for end of line, two for end of stanza): "On the day of the dead, when the year too dies/Must the youngest open the oldest hills/Through the door of the birds, where the breeze breaks./There fire shall fly from the raven boy,/And the silver eyes that see the wind,/And the Light shall have the harp of gold.//By the pleasant lake the Sleepers lie,/On Cadfan's Way where the kestrels call;/Though grim from the Grey King shadows fall,/Yet singing the golden harp shall guide/To break their sleep and bid them ride.//When light from the lost land shall return,/Six Sleepers shall ride, six Signs shall burn,/And where the midsummer tree grows tall/By Pendragon's sword the Dark shall fall.//Y maent yr mynyddoedd yn canu,/ac y mae'r arglwyddes yn dod.

Rating:
Summary: hmmmmm......
Review: This is a good book, but if you like fantasy, you would enjoy Tolkien better. I've not read any other Dark is Rising books so I have no comment on them. Susan C. had the right idea but a true fantasy is with elves, dwarves, dragons, demons, necromancers, worlocs, witches, wizards, ect. which is in Tolkien books more than The Dark is Rising sequence.At least based on The Grey King.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: I felt this book was an excellent writing. I was suprised to learn that this is classified under the reading level of 9-12 years of age. I checked out the book from my local library, it was an original copy from when the book first came out, I do not know if it has changed in this newer version, but in my opinion, the one that I read, and the content of it, was more of an older teen to young adult book. It was a really great book; myself, being a fast reader, read it in a little over a day and a half. Normally a book this size would take me a little longer than that because I have little time to read sometimes. However, this book did an excellent job of drawing me in and getting me to actually make time to read it. When I started reading it I did not stop until my eyes hurt, just to give an example of how much I enjoyed it. Susan Cooper did an excellent job on this book. I would suggest this book to any reader, of any age. Although for the younger readers it may be a little more complicated reading, I do believe it would be a wonderful learning experience for them. As soon as I read this book I instantly headed back to my local library and checked out "The Dark Is Rising". So far it is just as good. I give this book 5 stars

-Brian

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not great
Review: The Greay King, and Suan Cooper's series as a whole, is good, but not great. It is certainly a beautiful tale. The story is set in Wales and is related to the Arthurian legends, in the discussion of the Pendragon, and in other ways also. The book is calm, and quiet.

At times, though, it is a little too calm and quiet. Great fantasy, in my opinion, should at least give us a glimpse of some overarching conflict. If the fantasy is truly great, the sides should not be clear cut. This series suffers from the fate of many others: original and good writing, but not truly special. Its alright to talk about Light versus Dark, but the conflict has to give us a sense of awe at the way events are going. It has to evoke a response from us. Tolkien does this well; so does Philip Pullman in the His Dark Materials series. The conflict here only picks up at the very end; even then the images I associated with this book are too pure and the Light side is also too bland. The book I first read, The Dark is Rising, was written better, in my opinion.

Give this book a try. But it certainly isn't near the top of the fantasy genre. If you liked The Dark is Rising, you might be a little disappointed in this book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful exploration of magic and humanity
Review: _The Grey King_ is arguably the strongest book in Susan Cooper's _Dark is Rising_ sequence. A winner of the Newbery Medal, it is the story of Will Stanton and his new friend, Bran Davies. Will, a character who appeared in _The Dark is Rising_ and _Greenwitch_, is the youngest of the Old Ones, a group of magical beings fighting to protect the world from the Dark. In this book, he is sent to relatives in Wales to convalesce from typhoid. He learns he is in Wales to win a quest for the Old Ones--and for the first time, he must do it without the direct guidance of his friend and mentor, Merriman. During the course of the book, his new friend Bran becomes deeply involved in Will's quest and both boys learn a lot about themselves. The title character, the Grey King, is a member of the Dark who is bent upon preventing their success.

On one level, this book is an all-out fantasy adventure. There is a cryptic poem, magic, good and evil lords, and fascinating uses of classic Arthurian legend. On a deeper level,however, this is a story about coming-of-age and family. Will learns how to be an independent Old One rather than an apprentice. Bran struggles to understand his mysterious past and his place in the world. This book is more than just a thrilling adventure--it is the story of people's choices and what "family" really means. In other word's, _The Grey King_ is deep *and* fun.

I highly recommend this book to all readers. It may be a little hard for very young readers--but middle readers and older will enjoy it. I reread this book (and the rest of the series) at least twice a year. It should be read after the three previous books in _The Dark is Rising_ sequence (_Over Sea, Under Stone_; _The Dark is Rising_; _Greenwitch_). Lovers of Arthurian legend will particularly appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: The Grey King
Review: Will Stanton discovers he is an immortal servant of the Light, whose quest is to find the golden harp and awaken the Sleepers, while battling against the force of the Dark atempting to control the world. This gorgeous work of children's literature is the fourth in a series of five books and most deserving of its 1976 Newbery Award. In addition to being a fantasy novel of time travel and Arthurian legen, Cooper's work is an exploration of Welsh language, culture and geography, and its myths and folklore. When Bran give Will a rudimentary lesson in Welsh pronunciation, the language is brought alive: "Will groaned, and took a deep breath.' 'And the ch is sorth of breathy, the way the Scots say loch.'" Will's language lesson is resolved with a bite of humor. "You see, yours does sound wetter. Sploshier. I expect all Welsh babies dribble a lot." The novel overflows with poetic descriptions of the rolling Welsh countryside: "...the sweeping slopes of the valley began to rise were golden-brown with bracken, dry as tinder in this strange Indian-summer sun. Hazy on the horizon all around, the mountains lay like sleeping animals, their muted colours changing with every hour of the day from brown to green to purple and softly back again." The invisible force of the Dark appears more sinister and evil, when contrasted with the tranquil pastoral setting of the Welsh countryside. The Christian symbolism imbedded throughout the novel adds wonderful complexity to Cooper's masterful writing. As Will endeavors to outmaneuver the Dark and slowly matures into his identity as the Old One, his character at times is implausible, "but that is the price we have to pay for freedom of men on earth..." Will's words to Bran appear out of character for such a young boy. This is an imaginative read for grades six through eight.

Rating:
Summary: A Magical Read
Review: The book opens with a Welsh poem: "On the day of the dead,when the year too dies/Must the youngest open the oldest hills/Throughthe door of the birds, where the breeeze breaks..." A beatiful, mystical and magical beginning to a beatiful, mystical and magical book.

We see Will Stanton, a seemingly normal English boy struck terribly ill, go to Wales to visit his aunt and uncle to recuperate, where he will have the adventure of perhaps a lifetime, sweeping everybody around him, including the reader into it. As we read of his quest to awaken the Sleepers, we learn a little Welsh culture, history, and language. We feel the emotions of the characters involved; experience their sorrow, bewilderment, hatred and joy. We dabble in a little High Magic, and realize the presence of the Dark, and the Light's endless struggle against it.

One of the great things about this book is that you don't have to read the other parts of the series to understand, and become swept up in the magic of it. Even though it's the second to last book, it was the first I read of the series. It speaks for itself.

If you liked C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia", you'll probably enjoy these books. It's the same struggle between good and evil told in a new way, and though I think this series is the easier read, it loses nothing off it's competion.

Diolch yn fawr!

Rating:
Summary: Another Thriller
Review: The Grey King is another teriffic book by Susan Cooper! It upholds its predecessors in its amazing contrast of fantasy and reality. When Will Stanton goes to Wales to recouperate after a serious illness, he encounters very strange events, as well as a new quest for the youngest of the Old Ones. He meets a boy named Bran with his dog Cafall on a Welsh hillside. Will and Bran become friends, and Will discovers that Bran knows about his true identity and his latest quest for the magical harp. When a fire starts on a nearby hillside, Will and Bran discover the destiny of their first quest together. As Bran chases who he thinks to be Cafall, who was lost, Will knows that the grey fox, a deputy of the Grey King, lord of the Dark, is around. The series of events leads to the discovery of the harp inside Bird Rock. I would tell you about the mysterious second half of the book,but the whole point of this review is to convince you to read this book, so READ THIS BOOK TODAY and you will soon know about the second half of this book which will thrill you like all of Susan Cooper's books!

Rating:
Summary: Very good book!
Review: I thought this book was very interesting, and i liked all of the history behind it. If you like Susan Cooper's books this is a "must read".

Rating:
Summary: Careful--it will hook you!
Review: When young Will Stanton, the youngest of the Old Ones (quasi-immortals fighting to keep the earth from the domination of the sinister Lords of the Dark) comes down with a severe case of hepatitis, he is sent to visit relatives in Wales to convalesce. But his illness has erased vital knowledge he recently received in the quest for the Greenwitch. Without it the Light doesn't have a chance... But his presence in Wales, he soon finds, is no accident. Alone and helpless, without the Great Signs of Light or the help of other Old Ones, he embarks on a quest to find a golden harp that will summon six sleepers for the final confrontation with the Dark. Yet his growing friendship with a taciturn young Welsh boy, Bran Davies, may be his most significant contribution yet to the great battle that is to come.

Of all of the Dark is Rising books, this one is my favorite. Cooper comes back to all of her favorite concerns from "The Dark is Rising" and takes them to new heights.

First, there is Will, a young boy fighting for the Light--and even his own life--in a battle none of the adults around him sees and fewer understand. Even John Rowland, the ambivelant sheep-herder who befriends him when he realizes that Will's presence is awaking dark forces even Will doesn't fully understand. Their discussions of fate and destiny; choice, sacrifice and necessity; form an intriguing philosophical backdrop to the adventures and add a depth to the series very rarely matched in the other books. Especially since John Rowland himself--the advocate of choice in the face of necessity--ultimately makes one of the greatest sacrifices of any of them. (I won't spoil the surprise in the next book!)

And then there's Bran, drawn inevitably into the conflict by a nature more magnificent and more significant than anybody realizes. Kudos to Cooper for making him the kind of character you like but have to admire on his own terms.

"The Grey King," of all of the series, gives me the best sense of Will in both his roles as an Old One and a mortal boy vulnerable to the Grey King's power.

Enjoy this--and enjoy the rest of the series while you're at it!