Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

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 known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril.
This is the first volume of Susan Cooper's brilliant and absorbing fantasy sequence known as The Dark Is Rising.

I stopped reading this book quite some time ago, and every time I considered picking it back up, I was reminded of how dreadfully boring the writing was. What annoyed me most was what seemed to be the overdone british-ness of the characters... its hard to explain. The way the characters conversed just got on my nerves!

I'm sure this would be a good introduction to fantasy for younger generations. My own younger self would have devoured these books, just like he couldn't get enough of Dianna Wynne Jones's children's fantasy. Adult me thinks it stretches a pretty straightforward story a little thin, but will still try to get a hold of the next part.

A good book to be the last read in 2022

I'm pretty sure I read the full sequence as a kid, though I really only remember the titular Dark is Rising. That's the book that brought me back to this adult reread, but I figured I'd start with the first book. I have to say I enjoyed it more than I expected to. Sometimes childhood loves don't hold up well—I'm looking at you, David Eddings!—but in the case of this opening novel to the sequence, it really does. There are strong vibes and a sense that this book knows what it is.

And what is that?

I'd say that England is the vibiest part of the book. I know Cornwall pretty well and have visited Mevagissey, the town on which the setting of this book is based, so I had a good time with the location and scenery. The plot was a straight forward grail quest with kids outwitting the baddies in Scooby-Doo fashion. They really would have got away with it had it not been for those pesky kids! They're of a time, when kids weren't helicoptered as they are now. I can just imagine modern parents' horror as the characters set off around a headland at low tide to seek out a grail in a cave in nothing but shorts and sandals.

Character development was thin, with the possible exception of Barney, the youngest of the three siblings. Plot development was fast and also thin, but hey, it's children's literature.