Product Description

This night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. It's Midwinter's Eve, the day before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. This will be a birthday like no other. Will discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and that he must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202397 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Susan Cooper was born in Buckinghamshire, read English at Oxford and began her career as a reporter and feature-writer for the Sunday Times. Her sequence of fantasy novels, THE DARK IS RISING, won her numerous international awards, including the Newbery Medal. She has also written a Broadway play and several film scripts for TV and cinema. Susan Cooper lives in Connecticut, USA.

Customer Reviews

One of the best young persons books ever written.
At the risk of being overly dramatic this book changed my life. I had never been fond of reading before when, aged 12, I found this book whilst waiting for my father in the local libary. In contrast to the books we had been forced to read at school I found it utterly gripping. Very exciting and mysterious all written from a young teenage point of view. I felt like the author was writing about a world I wished was out there waiting for me to fall into an adventure in. I devoured this book and the rest of the series and have not stopped reading since. A must for all, Susan Cooper transports you to this strange world where things are never as they seem and there are dark undertones. I could compare it to a young version of the start of Weaveworld (clive barker) but that would do it an injustice since it is both richer and darker.

A masterful book, one to be cherished.
I first read this book when I was 9 years old. Unfortunatley the school prevented my teacher finishing the book as he the governers had recieved complaints from parents that it was full of pagan tradition and heathen beliefs. PAH! we say loudly, the book does not go against any religion and certainly not against the Christian values the plaintiffs were so eager to protect. the book acknowledges the church as a place of the light, a place safe fromt he dark forces of the world. What more do you want? Luckily my teacher lived ont he same road as me and leant me a copy my unevolved headmaster had not burned. Anyway, the book grips you from the start and transports you from the grey world of english winter nt he stark white snowy world of fantasy. Susan cooper not only uses her characters imaginativley but creates atmosphere that is both compelling and traumatically beutiful. My advice - Read when your young, read when your old and always own a copy to transform those winter nights curled up by the fire. YOU NEED THIS BOOK!!

One of the greatest books of our times.
I first read this book in school; unfortunately my class never finished it, but I tracked down a copy in my local libary, because I didn`t think I would ever sleep again if I didn`t read the ending. The book grips you from begining to end, thanks to some of the best atmospheric detail ever written (In my opinion). Despite the fact it was written quite a few years ago, it still retains all of it`s dark intrigue. One of the few books that can render the reader powerless untill the last page. Unmissable.