I've just had a fantastic trip down memory lane, and re-read the whole Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. I enjoyed it a lot the first time around (when I was eleven, just starting secondary school) and it was quite scary.

Reading it some 23 (!!) years later, it's not as scary, and but it's still very well written. The strongest two books of the five (which are now also available as a single volume) are the second – The Dark is Rising – and fourth – The Grey King. These have a harder, darker edge, probably because they are about a character (Will Stanton) who is far more initimately involved in the struggle between 'the Dark and the Light' than the characters in the first and third books. These two – Over Sea, Under Stone and the Greenwitch – deal with three other children who are also involved in opposing the Dark. I suspect the fact that there are three children – and the two books are set in Cornwall – triggers some memories of the Famous Five.

They are childrens books, with the characters initially around the same age as I was when I read them. I guess this sets them directly against Harry Potter, but to me they are far better.

Originally posted to The Tavern (when it was tavern dot zunder dot org dot uk)