Books: Favorites: The Dark is Rising

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.

Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising (Pg. 37)

This is the original 1972 edition--we have the 1973 paperback with this same cover. It's very hard to find this version for sale now.

This is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it since I was little, but I'm rereading it, and it's amazing.

It takes place around Christmas time, and the birthday of Will Stanton. Will Stanton is turning 11, and on his birthday, something odd happens. He is suddenly in a different century, but in the same town and with some familiar people. Through this, he discovers he is an Old One, of the Light, a race which fight against the Dark. One of the powers of Old Ones is to travel through Time in a different way than humans can. Will is the last of the Old Ones and is sent on a quest to find the six signs.

Because of traveling through time (kind of), we still get to know Will's family. Susan Cooper does an amazing job of describing the Stantons's Christmas traditions, and capturing the feel of the Christmas season
.

The Dark is Rising is the second book in The Dark is Rising Series, but it reads well as a standalone.

Go read this book!

Spruce Nogard

Source: The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper ISBN: 0-689-70420-8

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rising-Susan-Cooper-Cober/dp/B002WXOQ5I/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480800949&sr=1-8&keywords=the+dark+is+rising