I was going to get to this later in the month, but since some of my livejournal friends and I started discussing it in the comments to the livejournal x-post of yesterdays entry, I decided to bump it up.

Although choronologically Over Sea, Under Stone comes first, The Dark is Rising was my introduction to the adventures of Will Stanton and his friends as they work on the side of Light against the creatures of the Dark, against the backdrop of modern-day England and Wales. It’s also my favorite of the series, though I remain very fond of The Grey King as well.

I have very vivid memories of certain scenes from The Dark is Rising. The rooks, Will’s first meetings with the Walker and the Rider, the caroling party. It will always be a Christmas book in my mind, as I think of Will’s enormous family preparing for and celebrating the holiday, even as he discovers his mysterious heritage as the last of the Old Ones, allied to the Light.

Even now I think I can probably recite the first part of the rhyme from memory:

When the dark comes rising, six shall turn it back,
Three from the circle, three from the track.
Wood, bronze, iron; fire, water, stone,
Five will return, and one go alone.

(Okay, I misremembered “bronze” as “copper”)

I do, however, have a similar disappointment with the ending of the series (in Silver on the Tree) as I voiced yesterday regarding the Prydain books. Thus I tend to stick to re-reading The Dark is Rising and The Grey King and trying to ignore the things that distress me.

Namely, that in the end, all the magical folks go away, leaving the mortal world. And it hurt me even more here, because those left behind (other than Will) lose even their memories of the events. To me, that’s even more grievous a loss than the death of a beloved character. I know that the author makes these decisions because it is how the story works for them. But it still makes me sad.

But tomorrow I will talk about a book I love unreservedly!

Tags: childhood favorites