The Dark Is Rising

Calling this Urban Fantasy for Children would be accurate, yet risks giving the wrong impression. When a book is called “for children” you might think that it is overly safe and probably involves characters with cutesy names like “Hogglebottom”.

No, this is a book which can be read by 10 year olds, yet assumes that they have the brains to follow and appreciate quality writing. It does not talk down to them, instead it introduces complex themes and even poetry, making them compelling through excellent pacing, a good central character and thrilling set pieces.

I reread this after a 10 year old of my acquaintance came to me virtually exploding with awe-tinted enthusiasm and told me all about how “ah-maze-ing!” this book was. Having read and loved this book as a 10 year old myself (back when the world was young, dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the book was probably in 1st edition) I thought that I'd give it another go and see how adult-me enjoyed it.

I admit to being a bit nervous - I had really loved it when I was a munchkin. Would reading it as an old fogey ruin my memories?

It did not. I was pretty much shocked at the author's skill. I, a grown-up who has now read Herodotus, Plutarch, Voltaire, Bronte, Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Rumi and Tolkien (as well as Wizard of Id), found myself literally holding my breath with the hairs on my grown-up arms actually, literally standing on end due to the skill of this writer the first time this happened was the scene where the skylight falls in and Will finds a feather. The pacing, description and what was “not said” was just perfect.

I could go on enthusing, but the fact of the matter is that since reading this book the first time I've got a bit taller (a bit wider too) and I've studied Ancient History, Archaeology and Theology. I can really respect how Ms Cooper weaves all these topics together and makes them come alive in a way that both I and my 10 year old associate can both call “ah-maze-ing!”.

For some reason this book has stayed in my mind since childhood. It makes me think of sitting in the old English block at my high school on a dark, winter afternoon. It's a very vibey book, with a strong sense of Englishness and of winter, particularly Christmas. The family Christmas scenes are very cosy and quintessentially English, perhaps even of southern England. The setting was strongly presented and well written, as was the light vs dark trope.

The characters seem a bit flat and under-developed, even the main character of Will. I'm not sure whether that's simply because this is children's literature and so it moves a lot faster than a more adult fantasy novel would. The plot felt similarly under-developed and fast-paced in a lot of places. Again, maybe because it's for children. We just have to accept things as they are without really being given much of a back story as to how they came to be, although I did enjoy the story arc of the Walker—that was more fleshed out and had a satisfying ending.

I'll be continuing with Greenwitch very soon.