Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising, Book 1)
by Susan Cooper
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Read in October, 2007
Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew have come to Trewissick, Cornwall to spend their holidays with their Great-Uncle Merry (no actual relation, one of the obligatory mysterious elderly men who actually pay attention to children; see the Professor in the Chronicles of Narnia). While playing in the house, the three children happen upon an old map that leads them on a quest to find an ancient Arthurian treasure. But the children are not alone in their search. Powerful and wily enemies also seek the artefa...more
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Read in August, 2001
"That struggle [between good and evil] goes on all round us all the time, like two armies fighting. And sometimes one of them seems to be winning and sometimes the other, but neither has ever triumphed altogether. Nor ever will, for there is something of each in every man."
--Great-Uncle Merry, p. 74
For a series that's about a titanic struggle between the Light and the Dark, The Dark Is Rising sequence has a great deal of grey area. This doesn't arise so much in this first ...more
--Great-Uncle Merry, p. 74
For a series that's about a titanic struggle between the Light and the Dark, The Dark Is Rising sequence has a great deal of grey area. This doesn't arise so much in this first ...more
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Read in January, 2006
I picked this up in the children's section of the library. Sometimes I look there to fish around for books that would be a good read for my kids (to break the cycle of "Goosebumps" books, one after another...). I recognized the author and thought it would be a fun read.
The story deals with tweens in Great Britain who unknowingly fall into a struggle between fantastical forces and creatures of good and evil.
The author is one of those amazingly clever people (like Madeleine L'E...more
The story deals with tweens in Great Britain who unknowingly fall into a struggle between fantastical forces and creatures of good and evil.
The author is one of those amazingly clever people (like Madeleine L'E...more
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Read in November, 2007
This is the third time I've read this book. I read it as a child and again in my twenties. I remember enjoying it both times, so I was a little disappointed that I wasn't swept back into the tale this time. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Harry Potter?
This is still a lovely little book for children and the whole series is one I would recommend to any pre-teen. It still has all the charm of a summer's day on the coast of Cornwall, which, having been there, I can say does have a great deal of ch...more
This is still a lovely little book for children and the whole series is one I would recommend to any pre-teen. It still has all the charm of a summer's day on the coast of Cornwall, which, having been there, I can say does have a great deal of ch...more
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I saw Susan Cooper speak at a writer's conference back in February and have been meaning to read this sequence ever since then. (Never mind that the rest of the conference only had me itching to get back to my keyboard.)
If you haven't yet read The Chronicles of Narnia, you'll love love love this book. If you've already read it, you'll still love this book. Its characters are ever so much more engaging than Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan are, and although the basic premise of good versus evil ...more
If you haven't yet read The Chronicles of Narnia, you'll love love love this book. If you've already read it, you'll still love this book. Its characters are ever so much more engaging than Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan are, and although the basic premise of good versus evil ...more
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Read in April, 2008
My initial reaction was that this felt well-worn: a Lewisian family of British children, summering in Cornwall, find a mysterious passageway behind a wardrobe. However, my initial reaction was dead wrong. The characters here are exceedingly well-drawn. The Drew children are bratty, catty, prone to shortness of breath and leg cramps. They're incredibly real, something that's all-too-lacking in a lot of children's fantasy literature. Barney, the youngest, with an Arthurian obsession, is esp...more
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Read in March, 2008
not a whole heck of a lot new and original going on in this book. a trio of kids go with their parents and mysterious uncle to a rented house at the seaside for vacation, and find a crumbling old treasure map in the house. the map leads to a mythical object that the forces of good and evil both want very much. the story never goes much deeper than that: good is assumed to be good because, hey, he's their beloved fun uncle. bad is assumed to be bad because he says they are "the forces of...more
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Read in December, 2007
While not as compelling a page-turner as the second book in the series, this book definitely pulled me in. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Jane, Simon, and Barney and to their Great-Uncle Merry and how they were going to solve the various clues that the map held in order to prevent the quartet of bad guys from finding the treasure first. The kids are realistic in their attitudes and minor squabbling and you really feel like you’re tagging along beside them as they run around town ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
Young adults
This book was fun and adventurous. Even though I did not read this first book in The Dark is Rising Sequence when I was a teen, it sent me back to those days. I was thoroughly absorbed. I felt like a kid again. I liked this book a little better than The Dark Is Rising, the second in the series. It was easier to read. Perhaps I just needed something lighter at the time. But, The DIR, is more poetic and deeper. The characters in OSUS are much more naive. They do not get the big picture li...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone who likes simple adventures.
I loved this book the first time I read it--probably in the late nineteen sixites--and enjoy it just as much now, despite it's being intended for a younger audience. The action and characters were just as interesting to me now as before--even though I knew what was going to happen.
Susan Cooper wrote an engrossing tale of one battle in the eternal struggle between good and evil. The setting is an English coastal town, in a simpler age, when children were polite to adults, obedient to parent...more
Susan Cooper wrote an engrossing tale of one battle in the eternal struggle between good and evil. The setting is an English coastal town, in a simpler age, when children were polite to adults, obedient to parent...more
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Read in January, 1981
I can't remember when I first came across this book, but I think it was passed to my sis and I by a nice Canadian missionary lady at the seminary we were growing up on. I remember being enthralled by it, as I was big into the Arthurian legend stuff via T.H. White's "The Sword in the Stone" and following series.
I recently bought this book again while hanging out at the Harry Potter VII release at Borders, passing the time. It's a fun read, though I found myself skipping passages to...more
I recently bought this book again while hanging out at the Harry Potter VII release at Borders, passing the time. It's a fun read, though I found myself skipping passages to...more
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Read in September, 2007
I still can't quite believe I missed these books when I was a kid. They are so up my alley.
This is the first book in the series, which I didn't know until I'd already read the second one (The Dark is Rising). But really that's ok because this book involves an entirely different set of kids.
One of the things I like best about these books is that they stand the test of time. They don't feel particularly dated, which is really nice.
And I also like all three of the children in this bo...more
This is the first book in the series, which I didn't know until I'd already read the second one (The Dark is Rising). But really that's ok because this book involves an entirely different set of kids.
One of the things I like best about these books is that they stand the test of time. They don't feel particularly dated, which is really nice.
And I also like all three of the children in this bo...more
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Read in February, 2008
Jacob has been a fan of this series for years, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have to say it wasn't my favorite, although Jacob did tell me that this book is not the best in the series. It is fun and a fairly quick read. My biggest complaint is that the "bad guys" always seem to be one step ahead, which is the same complaint I have with most books that feature Nazis, for example: They seem to have some sort of "in" and know where the "good guys" are going next, e...more
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I re-read this series recently and found that I did not like them as much as I had originally. Now that there are more children's fantasy books out there, this one suffers by comparison. The characters are not as well-rounded, the plot seems too driven -- the characters seem to be too constrained by 'destiny.' Rarely do the heroes behave heroically -- none of the brave determination of Lyra Silvertongue or the unflagging courage of Harry Potter. The series is still a good read and the Arthur...more
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When I reread this book for probably the 20th time (at least) since I first read it at age 7 or so, I realized that it is ridiculously full of old-fashioned Britishisms and the major female character is completely useless. It's not particularly progressive in any sense of the word.
That said, however, I adore it. One of my all-time favorite books in my all-time favorite series. I'm a sucker for atmosphere and for plots that make my collective unconscious shiver. This book is a good excuse to...more
That said, however, I adore it. One of my all-time favorite books in my all-time favorite series. I'm a sucker for atmosphere and for plots that make my collective unconscious shiver. This book is a good excuse to...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of magical realism and classic children's lit
Originally written in 1965, this book is definitely a product of its generation. The story is predictable, the children naive and simplistic, and the quest interestingly safe even though the characters are chased by an ancient evil. With that said, there were some interesting elements referring to Authurian legend and a feeling of magical possibilities. While often classified as a fantasy story, there are only implied fantastical elements, none ever truly manifest. I would recommend this to ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Erikka by:
myself, and my future boss Alicerecommends it for: Young Adults, fantasy seekers, magic dwellers
As I will soon be a middle school librarian, I'm trying to brush up on my Young Adult (YA) reading. Thinking back to which books rocked my world when I was in middle school, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising Series came to mind.
The language of this book is not complex, nor is the plot, so that led to the 3 star rating. I wavered at 4 for a little, but just because this is a YA book does not excuse the writer from being a GOOD writer. The writing was mediocre and I feel she made is too simple wh...more
The language of this book is not complex, nor is the plot, so that led to the 3 star rating. I wavered at 4 for a little, but just because this is a YA book does not excuse the writer from being a GOOD writer. The writing was mediocre and I feel she made is too simple wh...more
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Read in April, 2008
Chronologically and sequentially the first in "The Dark is Rising" series. Years ago, the great librarian at Jefferson Elementary in San Francisco told me I should know about these books, and I finally have gotten around to them. For children and adults who are fans of "Harry Potter" or other literature grounded in Arthurian and English myth, they are must-reads. "Over Sea, Under Stone" introduces the reader to Simon, Jane and Barney Drew (as well as their myster...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers
I read this book this summer in preparation for a fantasy themed Summer Reading Program at work (I'm a children's librarian). I have read many a children's fantasy book in my day, and this one is right up there with the best. I am very eager to read the rest of the series. The dark, ominous tone of the book is so gripping. I recently saw a movie preview for "The Dark is Rising" which peaked my curiosity even more.
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Read in July, 2008
A lot of the themes in this book aren't particularly new. Three children (Simon, Jane, and Barney) and their mysterious great uncle are caught up in a battle between Light and Dark, in a quest for a mysterious Arthurian object. But the way that Susan Cooper presents the themes is new: the plot is intriguing (and to my nine year old mind even a little scary) and the characters are believable. I just started re-reading this series, and have enjoyed it almost as much as I did as a kid.
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