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Summary: It is like being in another world in a forgotten time.
Review: The journey of Will Stanton continues as on the day of the dead, he, the youngest, opens the oldest hills through the door of the birds. Then fire flys from the Welsh 'raven boy' Bran when his dog's silver eyes see the wind and the Light has it's harp of gold. Will becomes ill and has to make a trip to Wales to recover. He meets up with a Welsh boy Bran and travels through a quest that only he may do. But without his master Merriman can he make it? For Will is no ordinary boy but last born into the circle of the light and the 'Old Ones'. But his friend Bran is also not so ordinary for he is the Pendragon(King Arthur's son)who was brought to this other time and other world. Enchanting story for all ages above 11.
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Summary: One of the best books in one of the best children's series
Review: The Newbery people obviously thought so, anyway. Really though, to limit a series like this to the realm of children's literature is a disservice to adults. While The Dark is Rising series is a necessity for any imaginative 11-year old, it is also absorbing for any reader willing to examine issues more crucial than the usual boy-meets-girl, whodunnit, or political "thriller" of standard adult fare.A new character, Bran, is introduced here. He is a sensitively drawn Welsh boy, an albino, laboring under the burden of his strange looks, as well as mysteries surrounding his birth and eventual destiny. He and Will form a friendship and partnership that echoes a much earlier one between Merriman and Bran's father -- the echoes of legend here are shaped in some incredibly subtle writing, yet should be obvious to anyone who knows the least bit of British mythology (the Matter of Britain). It is clear though, as in the earlier books, that the author herself has much more than a cursory knowledge of that myth cycle and of local folklore.
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Summary: I like this because it is about two boys on a quest.
Review: The reason I like The Grey King is because it is about a boy named Will and a boy named Bran. They are on a quest to stop the Grey King from taking over the world. Bran knows a lot about what is going to happen. Will doesn't know any thing until Bran tells him.
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Summary: This book was very exciting and educational.
Review: This book is about Will, Bran, Pen, and Cafall. Pen and Cafall are dogs. And I feel kids will like this book because it is about two boys and two dogs that have to save the world which takes a lot of teamwork. Also, I think grownups will like this book because it is full of science fiction. I read this book for my third grade book report.
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Summary: The Welsh Side of Arthurian Legend
Review: This book moves Will Stanton from England and Cornwall to Wales, and introduces Bran, a complex and somewhat thorny adolescent character. The two young men, each with unusual gifts, must learn to work together and in the process grow as individuals as well. This is a somewhat dark book--closer in tone to The Dark is Rising, but without some of tht books lightness and humanity. In this book you can feel the metaphysical dark pushing in on the world.
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Summary: Incredible book!
Review: This book was the best one of the series. The entire series is one of my favorites, and I only wish there were more of them. The only thing that bothers me is that this series is classified as young adult, when it's a great read for people of all ages.
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Summary: The Grey End
Review: This forth installment in "The Dark is Rising Series" seems to combine elements from the previous four. The "Hardy Boys" feel of the first book unfortunately returns, and while not full blown is enough to pull the book down somewhat. On the up side though some of the mystique of the second book that emulates "Dark Shadows" is there, standing side by side with the third books more complex immagery. So in the end were this book made into a movie, while it would have been doable in the 60s, lacking anything that would have looked too cheasy, it would also be possible to be done in the 20th century without adding in two hours of mindless action that didn't occurr in the book, just to make the f/x guys happy (do the cave, the Grey King, and a time travel scene for Gwene and Bran, then send them on to the next movie with a smile and a months paycheck for two weeks).
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Summary: Pretty good
Review: This forth installment in "The Dark is Rising Series" seems to combine elements from the previous four. The "Hardy Boys" feel of the first book unfortunately returns, and while not full blown is enough to pull the book down somewhat. On the up side though some of the mystique of the second book that emulates "Dark Shadows" is there, standing side by side with the third books more complex immagery. So in the end were this book made into a movie, while it would have been doable in the 60s, lacking anything that would have looked too cheasy, it would also be possible to be done in the 20th century without adding in two hours of mindless action that didn't occurr in the book, just to make the f/x guys happy (do the cave, the Grey King, and a time travel scene for Gwene and Bran, then send them on to the next movie with a smile and a months paycheck for two weeks).
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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.
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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.
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