Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: These are truly some of the besy books I've ever read! Each book that makes you sigh at the end because its so good. The plot is excellent, the characters intriguing and realistic, and the cryptic sort of poetry mixed in is beautiful! Its awesome.
Rating:
Summary: the world of faith and belief
Review: I never knew that children's stories could be so fascinating. The world of Will's is so unreal, yet the author makes it so real that one comes to believe that which is good and realise the most important thing we should not let go. HOPE. As long as we do right, the world can change for the better. This sequence gives us an optimistic view of things.However, the optimism does not bcome idealism. The stories do show that nothing can be perfect and one has to make tough decisions for a greater good. That's what makes the tales so real even though they are mere fantasy. But literature does represent the life of people and their dreams, which this sequence effectively shows. I highly recommend this sequence of trust, betrayal, hope and the search for truth and a better world for people to live. This might be written for kids, but anyone can read this thought-provoking sequence and enjoy the realistic plots. It's a typical good vs. evil, but the many twists and turns, and various heart-aching scenes leave one spellbound, and afterwards, think of our purpose in living in this world.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent sf/fantasy for any generation
Review: I discovered The Dark is Rising in my school's library when I was in fourth grade -- and immediately starting saving up enough money to buy my own copy. I saved up enough for it, then discovered (to my joy and frustration) that there were four more after it! So I started saving again (and again and again and again :) I love the Merlin/Arthur legends that are intermingled with Celtic lore, and all tied up into a nice modern-day tale that spans the shores of Britain. I still have my set, and I still dig them out when I do my "garage sale sorting" (as if I'd ever get rid of them!) For those kids who love Harry Potter now, or who loved the Narnia Chronicles, or even the fantasy of Star Wars; they will love this series. WHY have they never been made into a movie(s)?
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Summary: Historical fiction without a match
Review: Having been reading these books since I was a little thing, and still having them in the forefront of my shelves, there is absolutely nothing I can say to degrade these highly entertaining novels. Anything today that can both keep my interest and teach me to pronouce the Welsh language (which came in use this past summer, thank you very much Ms. Cooper) I find a treasure. These books give me chills everytime I read them. Myths and legends of these people have never been brought more to life and the enchanting rhymes seen all through the books have stuck in my head all these years. Ask me and I can recite them. I was lucky enough to be able to read this series to a child I babysat one summer and while reliving my own joy with this series, I was able to see the wonder and excitement spread to yet another avid fan of this sequence. Whether you're six or sixty, there is very little on the shelves today worth a read more than this!
Rating:
Summary: A deep magic
Review: The Dark is Rising thrilled me to the core of my being one winter many, many moons ago, and for years, I read it every Christmas, carefully fastening holly above every door of my parents' house! I am still haunted by the Walker, and I can still see the cross within a circle as I'm drifting to sleep sometimes. Stumbling upon these reviews during my first Amazon surf seems to be a sign: it's time to read the whole series again! Thank you, Susan Cooper.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest children's series ever written
Review: I first read The Dark is Rising when I was 11, the same age as the main character. I had already devoured the Chronicles of Narnia and loved the genre. Reading that book was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. It is ten years later, and I have read all five books at least half a dozen times, and The Dark is Rising probably 25 or 30 times. I simply never tire of these amazing novels. They opened a whole world to me, full of Welsh and Cornish legends, magic, and so much more. Before there was Harry Potter, there were these novels. Having read J.K. Rowling's series, which is very nice, I can say with no hesitation that these books are a thousand times better. This series is a must-read for both children and adults. I cannot recommend it enough.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Rereading
Review: I've read the whole series several times. Even knowing how it will ultimately end, it's still a lot of fun. I first read it as a child and enjoyed it. Years later I reread the series and found I still loved it.
The stories weave Arthurian elements and a variety of British Isles folklore sources into their own grand narrative, at the same time creating a folk lore of their own. This series isn't meant to be a definitive guide to folklore though and it takes some license with a few tales (possibly different versions).
At any rate, they are enjoyable and instilled, at least for me, curiousity about Arthur and some of the other myths, enough to make me read other, more traditional, sources.
I can't recommend them highly enough - I'd put them in the same category as Tolkien or Eddings even if they aren't quite as fantasy-oriented as their works.
Rating: 
Summary: a WONDERFUL read
Review: i loved these books! i could not put them down. they draw you in and don't let you go, even after you finish reading them! silver on the tree was good also, but the end was dissapointing. maybe it was the fact that it finished the series, but i felt it should have ended differently. even so, it is still a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Introduction to the New-Age for children
Review: Like most, I read and loved this series at a kid. It's neat to imagine doing personal combat with ancient evil as an 11 year. But kids aren't wise or aware. Re-read as an adult, the series is a missed opportunity, instilling numerous problematic assumptions that can only mislead a child. The book is not "Arthurian" to those who know what that means. It is the opposite. The link is that poor old King Arthur is exhumed from the grave and reanimated as a magical totem. There is no exploration of civilization based on codes of honor and the subsuming of human kings under a transcending divine. Absolutely the opposite of the Arthurian tradition. There is no insight into what evil is. The bad guys merely project an inexplicable sense of foreboding and darkness while engaging in cryptic banter. Evil, apparently, is an emotional feeling one "senses" without knowing or understanding. The good guys (Uncle Merry), always "suddenly stand erect" and start fighting evil with incantations, magical talismans and arcane tasks. Human action is irrelevant. One starts to wonder why Uncle Merry is slouching such that he always needs to "suddenly stand erect"... So mystical forces clash. The idea is there are elites BORN with special knowledge (instincts, really) who act to protect normal people. We must assist them and do what they say. That nature is magic beyond understanding. That the "fight" between good and evil is a sort of game, not real, in which representatives of good and evil meet in council together to decide matters. Then go out to play-act their roles. That good and evil NEED each other. All while appealing to create tribal sensibilities and notions of Celtic racial heritage. This will seem harsh to many who have gradually incorporated such beliefs or like the books, but most of what is contained in this series reflects the 1930's ideology of German National Socialists i.e. fascism, gradually mainstreamed since then, now resurging in popularity behind a "kinder, gentler" face under the banner "New Age", "PC", etc. If the world were different, this could be a "fun" book. But there is increasingly nothing out there to illuminate the truth behind such ideas; to show were they must inevitably lead. There is a reason why almost every TV show directed to teens revolves around witchcraft and demonology ... why the generations are increasing into violence, body-piercing, open and aimless sexuality (basic primitivism). Treating this series as if it has value is part indicator, part contributor
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch reading
Review: I first read these books, like so many others, in my youth. I agree they are NOT just for children. I still, to this day, remember the poem/rhyme from the Dark is Rising that I memorized for a recitation contest in grammar school. What I remember most about the books are the parts in Wales, where I lived when I was even younger, and how much I wanted to be Will. Buy them for your kids and for yourself too! Thank you Ms Cooper! God Bless! Please sign up with an email address so we call all write you!
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