Dark is Rising

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Summary: The Dark is Rising
Review: This book is a wonderful experience! It is very thrilling and exciting, and you will not be able to put it down! Being new to the fantasy world when I read this book, I was slightly turned off by the wierd illustrations on the copy I read, but after reading the book, I found them interesting and fitting, though I prefer the newer covers.
Will Stanton, age 11, is shocked one day when rooks attack a harmless little old tramp. This is just one of many shocks. When he goes home, the animals are afraid of him, even the most friendly rabbit that he really liked. Eventually he discovers that he is an Old One, born into a life fighting the Darkness with the forces of Light, he has no choice, it is his destiny.
I don't want to tell you what happens, read it for yourself! Journey with Will as he finds the six signs that will be united into a force that will help overpower the continually rising Darkness. And, while I hear others guessed before Will found out, I was very surprise to learn who the Walker, (the "tramp") was.
Wonderful book with a moral base,the battle of God against the forces of Satan, good for kids, but I think adults would get a kick of it, too.

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Summary: The Dark is Rising is Great!!![.]
Review: The Dark is Rising By Susan Cooper is a wonderful book. While I read each of its 244 pages I was constantly waiting to find out what was on the next page. This Newberry Honor book is one that will be kept in my memory for a long time. This book is the second book in the Dark is Rising series. The first book was Over Sea, Under Stone.
Will Stanton receives the surprising news that he is an Old One on his 11th birthday. Old Ones of the Light (good) fight the Dark (evil) against their ill will for the world. Soon after Will finds out this life altering news he must go on a quest to retrieve the six signs, one of the Things of Power. The signs are made out of different materials but every sign is a circle quartered by the cross. The Things of Power will help the Light win the final battle against the Dark. The Dark will try to stop Will Stanton and the Light in their quest at all costs. Guided by only three simple verses, which only the first two he knows Will begins to discover the hidden signs. The verses are:

'When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.

Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of song;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six signs the circle, and the grail gone before.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of old;

Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find light at last, silver on the tree.'

With every sign that Will gains the Dark's anger and force rises. Soon Will must face the final battle for these great signs with the life of himself, his master, and his sister at risk. Will Will Stanton be able to accomplish his quest to keep the Light from losing their valuable signs?
I would recommend this book to people ages 10 and up. This book requires a lot of thought to truly understand but is an excellent story. This has been one of the most interesting and enjoyable books that I have ever read. I would give this story four stars out of five because I thought is was an incredible book but it does not match up to one of the books later in the series. The next books in the series are Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree.

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Summary: KK REVIEW
Review: This is a great book. Although I thought it was boring at the begining it starts getting good around the middle all the way to the end. So if u can endure having to read a couple of information shoving chapters then this is a great book. Im not saying the first chapters are boring well. LOL. I think they are its just that its more like information you need for later on so its kinda of worth it. The rest of the book is nothing but action and adventure thier has been plenty of time my reading teacher has told us to stop reading when i just couldnt put the book down. So i hope u have a great time reading it as
did.

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Summary: A great fantasy for all ages!
Review: In the second book of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Series, Will Stanton turns 11 he discovers that he is not just an ordinary child but much more. He is one of the Old Ones, a group of immortals who dedicate themselves to fighting against the dark. And Will is not only the first one of these immortals born in 500 years, he is also the last. But becasue of this he's faced with a very large task against the dark. The Dark is rising and the only way to stop them is for Will to collect the 6 signs. Will will be able to collect all the 6 signs before the dark rises? In my opinion the Dark is rising was even better than Over Sea Under Stone! Like a lot of series I've seen (such The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and also Harry Potter) the first book was more light hearted and the second one much more dark. Will Stanton is a wonderful charecter and it was great to see Merriman (Great-Uncle Merry) make a return. I reccomend this book to anyone who's read Over Sea Under Stone and wants to continue the series. I reccomend the series to fans of His Dark Materials, Chrestomanci, and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

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Summary: THIS BOOK RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I first read Dark is Rising, then Greenwitch, because the Paperback Version of TDIR didn't say that Over Sea, Under Stone came first. I loved The Signs and now I draw Signs all over my math tests!!! My dad is a blacksmith, and I'm having him make me The Sign Of Iron to put on my belt. (Bronze is a little hard to come by). But anyway, where were we now? Did I mention that my middle name is Lyon?? As in Merriman Lyon!! Now where we?? Ah yes, the Signs. I loved the way S.C. made all the Celtic Myths into "the Will Stanton Story." Just think how great this could be if George Lucas made it into a movie!(He is a genius you know!!) But that might exploit it a little, like what happened to Animorphs, with the toys and TV show and all. I like to think of this series as "the little books that sit in the corner to wait until I come along and read them." (Wow, I didn't know I was so chatty on-line!!) Anyway, I love these books and I recomend these to anyone who liked the C.S. Lewis books!!!!!

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Summary: The Dark Is Rising
Review: Will has a special gift that he has to use against the dark. He is sent on a journey to find the great six signs that will help he in the battle to fight the dark, before it rises, and turns everything and everyone evil.On the journey he goes bak in time to find where the signs are hidden.He has to join the signs together to defeat the dark, before it gets him.

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Summary: A relief
Review: I have read a lot of fantasy books, and honestly, most are very bad. This is a relief mainly because it is just a really awesome story, with good twists. I do have to say that a lot of people will look at the cover and think it's horrible. You can't look at the cover and say that it's pretty. This is not a book I would recommend to everybody (who knows if the person will love it or hate it) but if you liked Harry Potter, thought the Lord of the Rings was downright boring, and loved His Dark Materials, then go read this.

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Summary: The Dark is Rising Review
Review: This book is a breathtaking novel that will captivate its reader. It is so descriptive and it's just beautifully written all around. The style almost imitates Tolkien only less wordy and more action-filled, but nevertheless very descriptive. The main character is Will. On his 11th birthday, he discovers that he is one of the Old Ones, the group of light that forever battles against the Dark. Will is tasked to find the six Signs in order to join the Circle of Light. The Signs are all shaped like a circle quartered by a cross. The Sign of Iron is given to him on his birthday. Later he attains the Sign of Wood, the Sign of Bronze, the Sign of Stone, the Sign Fire, and the Sign of Water.
But Will is not alone in his journey. Merriman, a faithful yet forceful agent of the light, helps Will and often saves his life. He teaches Will the ways of the Old Ones and all of the spells used to counter the Dark through a book called the Gift of Graymare. But in attaining this book, Hawkin, Merriman's most trusted mortal, betrays the Old Ones in a way unforgettable.
The Rider, perhaps best described as the King of the Dark, is the upmost foe of the Old Ones, and the Walker, a tramp carrying the sign of Bronze, soon becomes a legion of the Dark.
Readers will be surprised by the identity of the Walker, the cruelty of the Rider, the courage of Will, and the neverending twists of fate and treachery that continue throughout this book.

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Summary: Scintillating reading
Review: I read this series as a child and I remember having a little difficulty with it at the time. Certainly the books in the series "The Dark Is Rising" are excellent, but they are often prone to long lengthy descriptions that ably bore initially interested children. In this particular case, I suspect I skimmed long sections of this book when I grew bored of its long descriptive passages. The books themselves are complex. It did not surprise me that the author, Susan Cooper studied under J.R.R. Tolkien (of "Lord of the Rings" fame), and I would hasten to add that she, far more than Phillip Pullman, is his current successor. She weaves British and Celtic myth within her stories, beautifully. This book itself is a good one, rare in its kind because the protagonist (your typical pre-adolescent who learns of great powers) has a happy home life and two parent household. I can think of almost no other fantasy series where this is the case. Usually if the child DOES have two parents, one is missing and must be rescued. Not so here. Will has his own adventures and, at the same time, people he cares about who care for him. In this book there is no bully to be defeated or difficulties at school. The Dark and Light characters are well drawn and there is a depth to each and every character that I appreciate. On the whole, I would recommend these books to those kids who are adept readers. Definitely the child who has single-handedly finished a "Lord of the Rings" book will zip through this series with few problems. Harry Potter fans may also wish to graduate to a higher level with this story. Readers may wish to start with the first book in this series, "Over Sea, Under Stone", before moving on to "The Dark Is Rising".

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Summary: Pretty weird, but great
Review: This book is #2 in the series, but I got confused by reading it first. You need to read "Over Sea, Under Stone" first. It is weird, and sort of unGodly in one part. That is why I gave it only 4 stars.

If you have read "Over Sea, Under Stone", Murman is Great Uncle Merry.