The Grey King (The Dark is Rising, #4) in Into the Forest

Dec 21, 2016 Kyle rated it really liked it

The fourth book of five in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence is definitely my second favorite thus far, after "The Dark is Rising." Cooper has a way of creating mood and atmosphere that no other children's fantasy writer I've come across possesses. Her books may not necessarily be flawless but her execution definitely makes up for it. You completely feel like you've stumbled into the Welsh countryside yourself when you read the book. The landscape, geography and people are all described The fourth book of five in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence is definitely my second favorite thus far, after "The Dark is Rising." Cooper has a way of creating mood and atmosphere that no other children's fantasy writer I've come across possesses. Her books may not necessarily be flawless but her execution definitely makes up for it. You completely feel like you've stumbled into the Welsh countryside yourself when you read the book. The landscape, geography and people are all described vividly and deftly.

Bran is the main character introduced in this volume and he makes a nice counterpoint to the character of Will Stanton. They seem the perfect pair for each other and they both seem up to the task of their battle against the Dark. Sadly the character of Merriman is hardly present at all in this tale, but I'm sure he'll make a strong presence in the last entry, "Silver on the Tree." John Rowlands seemed to be a "replacement" for Merriman in this story, since he strongly reminded me of him.

How clever of Susan Cooper to also put a little Welsh language study lesson into the middle of her book! I was sounding out the words myself as I read. I felt like I'd actually learned something.

I also thought it was interesting how Cooper included grey foxes as the "evil creatures" of this book in the series. I never really thought of foxes as threatening since most of the time they seemed to be the ones being chased in hunts and things. They made a good adversary for the dogs in the story.

I especially love how major thematic elements in the series finally seem to be starting to come together in this book. We have all the full Arthurian elements in play, and we have a much better understanding of the relationship between Light and Dark.

My only complaint would be that Cooper doesn't give us a clear understanding about Will's powers. His magic does have limits and rules, but we're never told exactly what they are. The first half of the book also seems to be stronger than the second. In the first half we're introduced to all the new interesting characters, there's the exciting fire scene on the mountain, and the atmospheric scene inside the mountain with the finding of the harp. In the second half the only really memorable chapters are the Warestone scene and the spectacular finale. A minor gripe though when looked at the book as a whole.

I'm looking forward with great anticipation to reading the finale of the series, "Silver on the Tree," which I already have on order in a hardcover edition. I've been buying each installment in hardcover since I know I'll be reading them over and over again as time goes on. What a splendid series! Definitely one of my all-time favorites. ...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Sienna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Wales, place that I've never been but for which I nevertheless feel an inordinate amount of love and kinship! What can I say? I own everything Gorky's Zygotic Mynci released, even with the high proportion of lackluster songs at the end of their long, fruitful band-life, and couldn't help singing inwardly (earworm alert) when one of the characters said "Bore da."

Pay no heed to the horrible computer-generated faces on the cover: this whirlwind story is as beautiful as they are creepy, the complete ...more

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