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Summary: Magical
Review: Cooper interweaves ancient Celtic and English traditions in this book and throughout the series of Arthurian legend. It holds deep meaning for those who probe, yet others only wanting high fantasy adventure will not be disappointed. The action takes place inpresent day, while the conception of th story is deeply rooted in myth and legend. I can understand why some reviewers said they got confused...but try and work your way through it, even re-reading it to make sure you get a feel for the richness of the storyline...you won't soon forget these magical books.
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Summary: The Dark Is Rising...
Review: The main book of The Dark Is Rising sequence is The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. Why is everyone... and everything afraid of Will Stanton? This leads him to a revelation, he is one of The Old Ones. He has got to stop the Dark from rising! Can he do it? Before that, he needs to obtain all the circles of the Old Ones! Will he succeed? Read the book to find out! If you like this book, you can try other books in the sequence: Over Sea Under Stone, Greenwitch, The Grey King and many others.
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Summary: Disturbing, exciting
Review: I actually met Susan Cooper once, and she is a really interesting, fun lady. This book, and the whole series, are rightly considered to be classics of the genre in many ways. The only things I would bring to a new reader's attention, is that you might want to stop and mull over the feelings you get from reading this book. The Old Ones, in some ways, are like the ultimate In-Group, the ultimate club. Some of the things that happen, when the Old Ones are around, e.g. the way they can stop time for ordinary mortals while they talk among themselves, can be read as highly realistic depictions of interactions between, say, the popuilar kids in school, when someone of lower standing is in the room. Watch out for stuff like this. The psychological experience of forming an in-group, of knowing secrets that set you apart and above, is what Susan Cooper is setting in stone here. Considered as a spiritual experience, you should remember that this has its drawbacks. For example, if you look at the descriptive adjectives applied to the defenders of the Light, the words "grim", "cold", and "high" come up a lot, but you almost never hear them described as "kind", or "warm". Also, they are locked in a highly abstract struggle -- how about the actual acts of daily compassion or kindness that someone might perform? These seem to get sort of lost, glossed over, because they aren't as imposing or grand-sounding as ideas about the Light and Dark clashing. My feeling is that a lot of this stuff comes out of Susan Cooper's own experiences in a very class-ridden society, and at Oxford University. The ideals in this book are not things that Thomas Jefferson would have supported, to put it mildly. I am being a little facetious here, but I am serious at the same time. Susan Cooper set out to write an exciting story, and an involving one, and she has certainly done that. I like Susan Cooper a lot, I consider myself very fortunate to have been invited into her home. I love this book, and I know I will read it to my children someday. But for someone coming to it fresh, just try to be a sophisticated reader, while reading this, and ask yourself if you might be being asked to accept things that we might all be better off not accepting. Try to ask yourself whether any of the "magical" ideas in here might be a mythologized way of looking at very real, disturbing parts of social interaction. That's my advice, anyway. Definitely worth reading, but please remember what I was saying about whether these impressive Lords of the Light could be, maybe, a little kinder.
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Summary: The Light will win, and so will The Dark is Rising
Review: This is an excellent book, that tells the classic story of light vs. dark. In the story, you follow a young English boy, Will Stanton, who was just going about his life. Suddenly he noticed strange things that were happening, and they seemed to revolve around him. He was summoned by a man named Merriman, who tells him he is the last of the Old Ones, an ageless race that fight the forces of evil, the Dark. He is the only one who can save the world. This is a great story of hope, and of believing. Will must be convinced that the Light and the Dark exist, he must believe. He also learns to have hope, which he wouldn't have accomplished anything without. A wonderful thing about this book, is that if you think hard enough, you can relate it to real life. If you believe in yourself, know what you're doing is, right, and don't give up, you will succeed. I suggest this book to all fantasy fans, and to anyone who can believe.
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Summary: The Light will win..and so will The Dark is Rising
Review: The Dark is Rising is a classic story of good vs. evil, or light vs. dark. In the story you follow a young English boy, Will Stanton, who was just going about his life, when he begins to realize strange things are happening around him. He is summoned by a mysterious man who tells him he is "the last of the Old Ones", the ones that can save the world from the powers of evil. As you go on, you read about having hope, and learning the right from the wrong. There is a powerful story of friendship demonstrated here, too. And the good thing about this book, and the series, is that if you think hard enough, you can relate them to real life: If you try hard enough, and you believe in yourself and know what you are doing is right, then you will win. It is also a story of learning how to believe that anything is possible. Will must be convinced that he is an Old One, and that there are such things as the Light and the Dark. He must accept that if he doesn't do something, and enter into this long-lasting quest, the Dark could win. He learns to believe in himself. I know that any fantasy reader would love this book, and I recommend it for any fantasy fan.
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Summary: Before Harry Potter...
Review: Before Harry Potter, I was hooked with this series' main character Will Stanton. Although he looks like a normal boy, he's the last of the Old Ones. After finding out his true identity, Will embarks on a dangerous journey into a world that overlaps reality but only the Old Ones can participate in. Everything that effects this surreal world effects the real world. Unfortunately the Dark side (a little like Star Wars) has found a way to make these two world collide and only Will can keep it from happening. Mixing folklore with Arthurian legends, Susan Cooper captivates her young audience with suspense, plot twists and loyalty that makes this series worth reading even now at 25! I own all five books in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty bad
Review: U may thik this book is good from the good reviews above...but the truth is..is that the book is pretty confusing to follow...and i found my self lots of times wishing i was reading a different book...but there was a few parts that held my interest....
Rating:
Summary: Read this!
Review: The first impression you receive of Will Stanton and his life is a disturbance, something *wrong* in the air - and there is. There is indeed something wrong, although it is by no means something bad. Will finds out that he is the last of the Old Ones, born to follow a quest for the six Signs of the Light. But after that, during Christmas, you realise that Will lives in a happy world, with his family and friends, and carol-singing. His large family is loving and happy, and you will love his siblings. It is this that makes the book wonderful at times - Will is struggling to maintain the balance between being an eleven-year-old and being an ageless Old One, forced to embark upon a quest that he knows practically nothing about at first. He must find the Signs and withstand the countless attacks of the Dark and the Rider, otherwise known as Mr. Mitothin. But he is not alone; he has other Old Ones to stand by him, and the mysterious Merriman, his mentor, who guides him on his quest. This book is interesting all through. The beginning is extremely unusual and the climax leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat, eagerly reading on. This is one of my favourite books of all time. To my mind it beats any other! Will is my favourite character, maybe because Susan Cooper does not try to make him a *shining hero* who is never afraid. Will is brave, but that does not mean he's unafraid, and he is still a little boy, although that grows less and less. Read this book. Please. I'm begging you.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever
Review: Wow... thats all i can say... actually, i can say more than that. This is the best book i have read since... oh, it must have been Gone With the Wind, and i am obsessed with that book. The Dark is rising is a very excellent book, with all the excitement, suspense and plot line that there should be in a book. It can be hard to follow at some times, but it all makes sense at the end. Susan Cooper has a 'thing' for switching times, as it often happens in the story. I highly reccomend it, and to miss cooper, bravo.
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Summary: Could be Harry Potter's Best Friend
Review: I read The Dark is Rising in my book group. Out of the 6 people who were there, 5 of them really liked it! I have already gone on and read Greenwitch and The Grey King, because I couldn't wait to see what would happen to Will! If you are looking for a good fantasy book to read for anything, book reports, pleasure, whatever, the Dark is Rising sequence is a really good set of books to read! If you don't know what order to read the books, here it is: 1 or 2, Over Sea, Under Stone; 1 or 2, The Dark is Rising; 3, Greenwitch; 4, The Grey King; 5, Silver on the Tree
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