Rating: 
Summary: By far THE BEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN!
Review: These books are without a doubt THE BEST that I have ever read. I first opened them around the age of 8 and devoured ALL of them in an astounding amount of time. They are written as a modern resurgence of ancient celtic mythology. They educate the reader about ancient mythos without their even realizing it (I have read them at least a DOZEN times and it took me awhile to understand this). these novels are much like the Chronicles of Narnia (by C.S. Lewis) in that they are a great story, which has deeper levels if you care to delve into them. The best method I can use to get people to read these is to tell you about my brother. He is a 10 year old boy who is active in sports and hates reading. For school he had to read a book of his choice and I told him to try The Dark Is Rising. It took some doing, but when he really started reading it, he couldn't put it down. Soon after, he read every other book in the series until he had read them all (and was desiring more)
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Summary: A series that is wonderful and delightful for all ages
Review: This series of books beging with Over Sea and Under stone to the very last one is a wonderful coherent set of books. The author Susan Cooper keep a theme running through all five books that is highly intricate and inventive. The first time I read the books to just this past week when I read them again I was inspired by her imagery and story telling. I highly recomend these books to any one who like to read. IF you don't like to read then this is a good series to get you started. Again I say this is a wonderful collection of books for all to read and you can be sure that me childern will read them too
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent young readers material drawing upon Celtic mythos.
Review: Susan Cooper's Old Ones (or The Dark) series presents a tale
of good versus evil. A group of kids stumbles upon ancient
secrets, and one discovers that he is himself one of the Old Ones,
a group of immortals (or near immortals) dedicated to fighting
the chaos and evil of The Dark and its minions.
The novels draw upon myths of England and the Isles, and the climax is certainly rewarding...
Rating:
Summary: Still one of the Best
Review: It's great to start to see Susan Cooper around the place again. With all of the Potter hype and the renewed interest in the wonderful Diana Wynne Jones, Susan Cooper deserves some time in the limelight for the outstanding Dark is Rising sequence. She's steeped in anglo-saxon mythology in much the same way as Alan Garner, but has created a much warmer and more accessible world than Garner. The first book in the sequence was clearly originally written as a stand-alone book, but I would guess it planted seeds of ideas which took a decade to germinate when she picked up the story again. After the long gap, the next four books came quite thick and fast (coinciding with my childhood) and the writing of them is dynamic and exciting. The characters are fantastic, with the Merlin figure Merry being one of the most endearing attempts to create that arch-sorcerer. They are great fun from start to finish and are as intelligent, fresh and fantastic as when I first read them nearly thirty years ago (ouch!).
Rating: 
Summary: Great read, but not a great ending.
Review: I read a review before I read these books, that proclaimed they were written in the tradition of R. R. Tolkein. As I progressed through the entire series, I just loved the great adventures, the fantastic characters, and all that the mortal children were learning as they worked through saving the world as they knew it. While this book is written in the grand style of R. R. Tolkien and other greats like him, it is not in his tradition whatsoever. Tolkein's stories were absolute good against absolute evil; his characters learn and grow, and everyone is better off in the end. At the end of Cooper's book, the children completely forget everything that happened. Their great relationships that were formed, the lessons they learned, and strength they gained, were totally gone. The rest of the characters, good or bad, those who were true to the cause of the light, and those who were evil and traitorous, and put in serious jeapoardy the lives of the children, all ended up in a happy and wonderful life together.
So, read it if you choose to. It's a terrific story, and a great ride. But if the characters forget everything that happened, and the bad guys don't get theirs, then give me a really good reason for the story to have happenend at all. Just know what's coming, and don't get your hopes up for something worthy of Tolkien.
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Summary: So very happy....
Review: Okay, this isn't really so much a review as just being excited that I tracked these books down. I was having a discussion with a couple of friends earlier tonight about books we read when we were kids. I remembered having read this series and absolutely loving it when I was about, oohhh, 10 or 12 or so, I guess (I'm 25 now). However, I could only vaguely remember the plot and could recall absolutely none of the titles (and the one I thought I did remember I had wrong). It all came flooding back, though, when I looked in the children's book category and found "The Dark is Rising" in the series section. I thought I was going to cry I was so happy to have actually tracked it down. I could talk about the story being compelling and all, but it's pretty obvious that these books must've made an impression if I remembered them after almost 15 years. Now I want to see if I can find my old copies and read them again.
Rating:
Summary: The Dark is Rising Sequence
Review: The Dark is rising sequence - I first discovered this book in sixth grade in a friend's house. It was the hardcover edition and the pictures were interesting so I read it. Later on, I bought these books right here.
The books are about the Light and the Dark. One of the main reasons I thought this book was excellent was that they weren't just for young people. The characters were highly understandable and the language wasn't just one of those easy-to-read ones. Personally, I like 'The Dark Is Rising,' 'The Grey King,' and 'Silver On the Tree' better than others. Books taking place in Cornwall was kind of vague and not adventurous.
All in all, I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Best fantasy series ever written!
Review: I first read the Dark Is Rising sequence when I was in 5th grade (16 years ago - yikes!) and I have yet to find another fantasy series that feels so genuinely, hauntingly magical. Cooper's writing style is simple and lacks the flowery prose that is common in many popular fantasy novels, but the enchanted atmosphere she creates is perfect. I can't recommend this series enough. If you like these books, I would also recommend reading Seaward.
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Summary: Harry Potter fans will love this!
Review: If you haven't read this collection of stories, and you like fantasy, then you are missing out! I just recieved them as a gift, and I can't put them down. I've read one book per night, and I am currently towards the end of The Grey King. These books are appropriate for children, but they are a wonderful, quick read for adults as well! They have completely sucked me in, and I know you will enjoy them.
Rating:
Summary: Great for adults who have little time to read "adult" books
Review: My son picked up The Dark is Rising from the library and pointed it out to me. Well, since I have very little time to attack thick books, I started reading it. I LOVED this book. I had never heard about it as a kid even though I read lots of myth, fairy tales, science fiction at that time. If you or your children like the Harry Potter books, then you will very likely enjoy this book (I haven't read the whole series yet). It's a magical world that she creates. I looked up Susan Cooper on the internet and read that she was not the one who categorized these books as "children's" books. She writes, and her publisher is the one who put them in this category. I think that it's not just for kids!
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