I love that twist of expectations with the wardrobe. I remember almost fretting as Cooper led up to it, thinking that if she was going to follow C.S. Lewis so slavishly - or rip him off so blatantly - I wouldn't be able to continue.
I'm one of those people who love the series but even I don't think Over Sea, Under Stone is quite as captivating as The Dark is Rising. I'm glad you're planning to continue of your own accord and don't need to be badgered into it. Because I would badger you.
As for your questions about whether the fantasy stays subtle and low-key or becomes more obvious - I feel like a kid in school sitting as tall as I can in my desk and stretching my hand in the air, hoping the teacher will call on me.
But I think you should be allowed to discover that for yourself so I will bite my tongue and just hope that you read it quickly so that I don't have to wait too long for your review. :)
Should have started with The Dark is Rising. This book is like a prequel to the third book in the series.
Can't wait to see what you think of The Dark is Rising. That is one of the books I point to when I talk about how I became hooked on the genre. Read it for a summer reading list in middle school.
Sounds a wee bit critical, eh? Good thing I liked this and have the whole series to read (and planned to do so anyway). If I hadn't liked it and didn't want to read more, then yeah, I can see the criticism, but I'm big on reading order, and intend to read the books in the order they were published, regardless of the quality of each.
Of course, I doubt you meant to criticize. It's just an odd comment to make to a review where I say I liked the book and plan to keep reading. :)
Expectations can mess with your head, that's for sure. Since I'll be reading the whole series, I hope I can provide some objective commentary for you to stew on if you ever decide to revisit it. :)
I was really young when I read this series. I know I liked it, but I don't really remember much of anything from this novel beyond general impressions. I liked the subtlety of the fantasy elements, though tiny-me probably wouldn't have used those words exactly.
I'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts on "The Dark is Rising". I have more memories of that one. :) This is making me wonder if it isn't time to do a re-read of some of these kid's books that I used to love, and now can hardly recall.
I'm one of the people who cherish this series. That said, this is my least favorite book (the last book, in which all the series' characters come together, is also not one of my favorites.)
I do love the Arthurian legend bits - those become more pronounced. And you're right in thinking the next book has a new set of characters, by the way, because it does. It's my favorite of the series. Along with The Grey King, which is equally awesome, but in a different way.
I'm really interested to see how all of these books link together. Because while I had to chuckle at the deliberate misleading nod to Narnia, the structure of the overall series is striking me as similar: different books feature different characters, you know?
That's a good point. I guess I'm always bothered, though, by the fact that nothing in Narnia exists as mere story to me anymore; it's all deliberate metaphor now.
These, on the other hand, stay young for me. I guess it's because the point she's trying to make is more general. And she makes it in the context of history and family and grounded things.
Did you read all of these books (Cooper AND Narnia) as a child first? I read Narnia for the first time during college, and I'm just now reading Cooper. It definitely gives me an interesting perspective. :)
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I'm one of those people who love the series but even I don't think Over Sea, Under Stone is quite as captivating as The Dark is Rising. I'm glad you're planning to continue of your own accord and don't need to be badgered into it. Because I would badger you.
As for your questions about whether the fantasy stays subtle and low-key or becomes more obvious - I feel like a kid in school sitting as tall as I can in my desk and stretching my hand in the air, hoping the teacher will call on me.
But I think you should be allowed to discover that for yourself so I will bite my tongue and just hope that you read it quickly so that I don't have to wait too long for your review. :)
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I'm working on The Dark is Rising now, and hope to have that review up next week. :)
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Can't wait to see what you think of The Dark is Rising. That is one of the books I point to when I talk about how I became hooked on the genre. Read it for a summer reading list in middle school.
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Sounds a wee bit critical, eh? Good thing I liked this and have the whole series to read (and planned to do so anyway). If I hadn't liked it and didn't want to read more, then yeah, I can see the criticism, but I'm big on reading order, and intend to read the books in the order they were published, regardless of the quality of each.
Of course, I doubt you meant to criticize. It's just an odd comment to make to a review where I say I liked the book and plan to keep reading. :)
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I'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts on "The Dark is Rising". I have more memories of that one. :) This is making me wonder if it isn't time to do a re-read of some of these kid's books that I used to love, and now can hardly recall.
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I do love the Arthurian legend bits - those become more pronounced. And you're right in thinking the next book has a new set of characters, by the way, because it does. It's my favorite of the series. Along with The Grey King, which is equally awesome, but in a different way.
And I think you'll like Greenwich.
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These, on the other hand, stay young for me. I guess it's because the point she's trying to make is more general. And she makes it in the context of history and family and grounded things.
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