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Title | Over Sea, Under Stone
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Author | Susan Cooper
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Cover Art | Jeffrey Lindberg
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Publisher | Scholastic Inc. - 1989
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First Printing | 1965
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Title | The Dark is Rising
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Author | Susan Cooper
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Cover Art | David Wiesner
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Publisher | Scholastic Inc. - 1989
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First Printing | 1973
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Title | Greenwitch
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Author | Susan Cooper
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Cover Art | David Wiesner
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Publisher | Scholastic Inc. - 1990
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First Printing | 1974
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Title | The Grey King
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Author | Susan Cooper
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Cover Art | ---
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Publisher | Scholastic Inc. - 1990
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First Printing | 1975
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Title | Silver on the Tree
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Author | Susan Cooper
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Cover Art | ---
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Publisher | Scholastic Inc. - 1990
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First Printing | 1977
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Category | Children
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Merriman Lyon, Will Stanton, Bran Davie, Simon Drew, Jenny Drew, Barney Drew
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Main Elements | Magic, Legend, Folklore, Myth, Arthur, Wizards
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Website | TheLostLand.com
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Over Sea, Under Stone
On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that - the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil know as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril.
The Dark is Rising
On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift - that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.
Greenwitch
Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to help recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil, the Dark. They are not at first aware of the strange powers of another boy brought to help, Will Stanton - nor of the sinister significance of the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck in fishing and harvest.
Their search for the grail sets into motion a series of disturbing, sometimes dangerous events that, at their climax, bring forth a gift that, for a time at least, will keep the Dark from rising.
The Grey King
There is a legend in North Wales about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes - a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he came to Wales to recuperate from a severe illness. But when he met a strange boy named Bran and Bran's white dog Cafall, he began to remember. For Will was no ordinary boy, but the last-born of the Old Ones, servants of the Light, immortals dedicated to saving the world from domination by the force of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's duty, as he now learns, to wake - with the sound of the lost golden harp - the six sleepers who must be roused from their long slumber in the ancient Welsh hills to prepare for the last dreadful battle between the Dark and the Light.
Silver on the Tree
During high summer in England, a dreadful warning disrupts Will Stanton's peaceful world - the Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. For Will is no ordinary boy, but the last-born of the immortal Old Ones, servants of the Light dedicated to keeping the world free.
The great battle catches up Will, his ageless master Merriman, and Bran, the Welsh albino boy, whose destiny ties him to the Light. Drawn in with them are the three Drew children, who are mortal, but have their own vital part to play in the story. In a quest through time and space that touches the most ancient myths of the British Isles, these six fight fear and death in the darkly brooding Welsh mountains. And it is there that Will and Bran are taken to the haunting, timeless Lost Land, to find the crystal sword that alone can ultimately vanquish the Dark.
When I read a series of book, I generally read one or two, then switch to something else and then come back, so I don't overdose on the world and its characters. But Susan Cooper had me so caught up in this wonderous tale that I read all five books without a break.
It starts off as nothing too special, just a tale of three normal kids and their mysterious uncle, who uncover a treasure map to an object of Power, none other than the Holy Grail. But aside from the legendary target of their quest, the story itself only hinted at the magics behind the scenes. I had expected more fantasy and less mystery from a sequence of books called The Dark is Rising, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the first book.
The second book, and all those that follow, make up for the lack of magic in the first. You encounter both the eldest and the youngest of the Old Ones, and their main adversary, the Black Rider. You are taken on a magical ride through space and time and are caught up in a grand adventure with goals no less lofty than the fate of mankind.
I have to add here one critic's review, as I couldn't say it better myself: ...is one of the few contemporary writers who has the vivid imagination, the narrative powers, and the moral vision that permit her to create the kind of sweeping conflict between good and evil that lies at the heart of all great fantasy. Tolkien had it. So did C.S. Lewis. And Cooper writes in the same tradition"
There is the grandness of Lord of the Rings, the children protagonists of Narnia, and when one mixes in a little Arthurian legend and Celtic folklore, you are left with a combination that is truly something unique.
I think by now you've guessed I liked the books....no loved them. And to think I had them sitting unread in my closet for years, but only motivated to read them after hearing a movie might be in the making, and felt I should read the books first. I should have read them years ago, so I could be enjoying them for the second time instead of the first.
These books are meant for children, and have won the Newberry Honor Book and Newberry Medal, much deservedly, but I am far from my pre-teens and I still enjoyed them. If you haven't read them, you should. If you already have, what better reminder to read them again than to prepare for an upcoming movie.
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