Cooper, Susan: The Dark is Rising
The Dark is Rising (1973)
Written by: Susan Cooper
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 244 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Two (The Dark is Rising)
Why I Read It: Since I've made the decision to read this series (and because I want to return the boxed set to its owner in a somewhat timely manner), it was a no-brainer to pick up the next installment as soon as I'd reviewed the previous installment. Lots of people have told me they read book two, The Dark is Rising, first, but I'm a stickler for order, and I'm not sure I would've read the books out of order even if you had a gun to my head. At any rate, what a fine time to read this book, during Christmas, since the book actually takes place at Christmas time. Yay for good but accidental timing!
The premise: ganked from Amazon.com:
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."
With these mysterious words, Will Stanton discovers on his 11th birthday that he is no mere boy. He is the Sign-Seeker, last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to battle the powers of evil that trouble the land. His task is monumental: he must find and guard the six great Signs of the Light, which, when joined, will create a force strong enough to match and perhaps overcome that of the Dark. Embarking on this endeavor is dangerous as well as deeply rewarding; Will must work within a continuum of time and space much broader than he ever imagined.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay, and not only for this book, but Over Sea, Under Stone as well. If you're caught up, feel free to read the full review. If you're not, then feel free to skip to "My Rating" and you should be good to go!
So the difference between Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark is Rising is as stark as night and day. Or rather, Dark and Light. One book is pretty much all realistic with a treasure hunt theme and a hint of fantastic, whereas the other blends reality with fantasy in time-bending ways, and there's obvious magic to boot. Tons of fans prefer The Dark is Rising to Over Sea, Under Stone, and would even tell you to read The Dark is Rising first, that Over Sea, Under Stone is the weakest of the whole series.
I'm not here to say which is better. I'm not here to cast judgment as to whether or not Over Sea, Under Stone is a weak book. Heck, I haven't even finished the series yet!
But: I'm very, very glad that I read Over Sea, Under Stone first.
This is a personal thing. I spent part of my time with Over Sea, Under Stone wrestling with my own expectations of what the book was and what I'd assumed it'd be. Once I let go of my assumptions, I enjoyed the story. And the story, the hint of magic we get, the introduction of Light versus Dark and how neither side ever truly wins, and more to the point, the introduction of Merriman Lyon, gave me exactly what I needed to accept the more obvious magic of The Dark is Rising.
This may not be the case for every reader. Hell, in this regard, I may be an aberration, but I think I would've had trouble with The Dark is Rising without that background in Over Sea, Under Stone.
For example: I was already invested in Merriman, and meeting him in The Dark is Rising made me immediately like and trust him, even though I had some questions about Will's journey and why it had to be him and not some other Old One and all that nonsense. Like Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising is another treasure hunt, but instead of being confined to the real world, it takes place over centuries, and within folds of reality. So it's definitely a more interesting treasure hunt in that regard, but the Old Ones concept was new in this book, and I'm not as accepting of "Chosen One" stories as I used to be, so in my mind, it seemed like the Old Ones had a rather silly system for gathering all the signs. That being said, there was the danger from the Dark and what would happen if the Dark got its hands on the signs. I can see the necessity of needing to collect them all at one time, very quickly, in order to prevent a series of theft over centuries.
That being said, it's rather convenient that everything was within reach for Will, that he didn't have to travel the world to get what he was after. No traveling time isn't enough of an obstacle. ;) After all, he was still relatively in the same place, just in different centuries (for the most part). I had this problem with Over Sea, Under Stone as well, but I rolled with it. The convenience factor may just need to be chalked up to the fact that the target audience is younger and has less patience. But, as an adult, it's noticed.
At any rate: thanks to Over Sea, Under Stone, I was able to roll with this. It helped too that I accidentally happened to read this during the holiday season, and the book takes place during Christmas time. That was a nice, fun touch. So far, the books remind me very much of a Narnian structure: introduce stand-alone stories with their own cast of characters, and I'm guessing (who am I kidding, I think I know by now) that these characters will come back in later books.
But where I had a cackle over the nod to C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in Over Sea, Under Stone, I started wondering about nods and old fantasy ideas here in The Dark is Rising. In this particular case, it was the comment about true names on page 68:
First, I knew her real name. The only way to disarm one of the creatures of the Dark is to call him or her by his real name: names that they keep very secret.
I immediately marched to Wikipedia to find out when Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising was published in relation to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea (a book and series where knowing real, true names is the basis of magic). Le Guin published in 1968, whereas Cooper published in 1973. Sure, that's a five year difference, but it still supposes too much, and I'm pretty sure the notion of magic within true names is quite an old one, that it pre-dates Le Guin. Of course, I have no research to back that up, and would love it if anyone had some handy links that talks about that form of "magic" and when it first made its appearance in the fantasy convention. All that being said, I think it's probably safe to say that Le Guin popularized the notion, because it's certainly a common now.
Again, I'm not saying Cooper stole from Le Guin. I think that's highly unlikely. But because I'm already steeped in Le Guin's fantasy, the same concepts don't hit me as hard when I come upon them later, and that's no one's fault.
But I had to grin a bit when a ring popped up on page 211 in terms of being magical and important, with hidden writing to be discovered by those who knew where to look.
But speaking of overly familiar concepts, I do know that many complaints about C.S. Lewis's Narnia lies in its obvious religious allegory and its tendency to preach. That was on my mind while reading The Dark is Rising. Maybe it's the fact that the story took place at Christmas, which has obvious Christian ties, or maybe it's the fact that forgiveness is a universal theme, but I found myself noticing Christian themes here as well. And that should come as no surprise. We started with Arthur in book one, which has quite the few Christian analogies depending on the tale you read, so it should really come as no surprise that I'm seeing more connections. After all, I imagine Christianity would be some form of Light, despite the little church's inability to keep the Dark at bay during the book. That means nothing: themes were heavy and prevalent, but kudos for the Wild Hunt, which can often be seen as something evil, but in Cooper's rendition, was part of the battle of Light. I liked that touch: it was one of the more unique visions of the Wild Hunt I've seen in fiction (not that I'm an expert).
But I'm curious: page 217 references three great ship burials. I'm certain one of the three was meant to be Arthur himself, and I thought it was Arthur's ship that Will was on, but I changed my mind after reading the passage. Still, that last ship referenced? For the greatest king of all but the ship was never found and never would be? Could be Arthur… could also be Jesus. I don't know. I also don't know if I should expect to have that discovery made in the series itself, or if it's just a nod to the great world of history and myth that surrounds us still today. I'll find out.
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations
The biggest reservation I have about The Dark is Rising is basically this: as an adult reading, I find it harder to fall into the magic of the world and accept everything as it comes to me, an issue that wouldn't be a problem if I'd read this at a much younger age. Still, The Dark is Rising does have a particular charm (but I'm not certain part of this wasn't because I read it during the holiday season, and the book also takes place during the holiday season, so warm fuzzies are naturally abound), and Will's a likable character you want to see succeed, despite my own jadedness about the "Chosen One" kind of story. It's interesting to see that, at least to date, Will's specialness was all about completing a task that just so happens to save the world, but it's also a task that doesn't save the world forever. It reminded me of Frodo a bit, whose task was to destroy a ring, which would, in turn, defeat the evil trying to take over. He didn't have to win any external battles; he just had to avoid the bad guys (and resist the temptation of the Ring, but that's another rabbit). Now that I think of it, there's quite a few parallels between Will Stanton and Frodo Baggins, not the least that both had tasks that could save the world and that both had to run away from scary riders on scary black horses. ;) That's simplifying things too much, and I'm still deciding if -- two books in -- Cooper's nods to previous fantasy stories is a novelty or a bore.
DESPITE THAT: it was an enjoyable read, made more enjoyable for me personally by the fact I'd read Over Sea, Under Stone first because the first book, while not an overt fantasy like this one, introduced an important character and important concepts the author was able to build upon here, in the sequel. I'm ready to keep reading, and that, really, is the most important thing of all.
Cover Commentary: The covered featured in the review is reminding me of Frodo Baggins more and more, and that's a little wrong, since I'm pretty sure Will Stanton was supposed to have blond hair. At least the version I read got it right, and I really like how the scene on that particular cover is directly out of the book. Still, neither cover would ever do much to catch my eye in the store, so I'm starting to hope, for Cooper's sake, that someone finally figures out the artistic sweet spot and re-releases the books with shinier, more eye-catching covers. :)
Next up: Judge by Karen Traviss