Books one through five of
The Dark is Rising Sequence:
“Over Sea, Under Stone” ©1965 by Susan Cooper
“The Dark is Rising” ©1973 by Susan Cooper
“Greenwitch” ©1974 by Susan Cooper
“The Grey King” ©1975 by Susan Cooper
“Silver on the Tree” ©1977 by Susan Cooper
I haven’t read a book series straight through for many years. This series looked intriguing and also doable in that there are only five books, (rather than, say, twenty-five) and none were over 300 pages long. One of the books is a Newbery Medal Winner and one is a Newberry Honor book, which, for me anyway, was a good indication that while I had never heard of this series, it was at one time well known and liked.
The over-arching story is the battle between the Light and the Dark. It is a war that that has been going on forever, with periods of heightened battles. The Dark is Rising Sequence is leading to the final battle to determine if the Light or the Dark will have the last victory.
The common threads are the significance of King Arthur and his time, Great Uncle Merry (who is more than he seems), a different quest in each book to gather the magical tools to help fight the Dark, magic and time travel.
The main characters in each book are children who help find the magical tools. There are three different sets of children and in books three to five the different groups of children start to work together. Great Uncle Merry is a significant character in each of the books.
I enjoyed this series! It was fast paced, the children were relatable and the quests interesting. The time travel could sometimes make the story a little choppy, but all in all the time travel bits helped to move the story forward as well as to fill in the history of the war between the Light and the Dark.
“Ordinary Grace” ©2013 by William Kent Krueger
This story is told from Frank’s perspective as an adult remembering the summer of 1961 in a small town in Minnesota.
That summer, Frank was 13. He had an older sister and a younger brother. Their father was the local Pastor. Several deaths occur, including Frank’s sister.
While this book pulled me along, (rather like slowing down for an accident) I did not like it. Is life really this sordid and gross? It just left me with an ickiness.
This is the second book that I have read by William Kent Krueger. I can safely say, “It is enough”.
“A Sand County Almanac” ©1949 by Aldo Leopold
The first part of the book is a month-by-month almanac of the weather, plants and wildlife around Aldo Leopold’s cabin in Sand County, Wisconsin. It is a delightful read.
The second through fourth parts are essays about various parts of the country and the local ecosystems and how by changing something dramatically, such as when the prairie is mowed or plowed, it changes what grows and lives there. There are essays about the general education system for conservationists as well as land ethics and conservation.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
“Dead Water” ©1963 by Ngaio Marsh
Inspector Alleyn’s old French tutor inherits an island/peninsula (depending on the tide) of land. She (Emily) discovers that the occupants have exploited a little natural spring as a miracle cure-all, and Emily wants to stop the nonsense.
Threats are sent to her via mail, notes left, rocks thrown and etc. Then one of the biggest promoters of the Miracle Spring is found murdered. Was it mistaken identity or something else? Inspector Alleyn is there to find out and keep his favorite oldster safe. Good read!
