Book Review: The Dark is Rising (Books 1 & 2)

    Over Sea, Under Stone is the first book in this series (which works more like a prequel) and follows the Drew siblings as they go on holiday in Cornwall and discover the secrets of Arthurian legend buried deep within the town's many landmarks, with help from their family friend Merriman. The Dark is Rising is the second book in this series and follows an 11-year-old Will Stanton after he finds out that he's the last member of the immortal Old Ones, set upon this earth to battle the forces of the Dark to serve the Light. Will's task is to seek out six Signs of Light in order to combine them to combat the Dark and prevail over evil.

    When our group met to discuss this book, I think we were all in agreement that it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Some of our group had experience reading fantasy while others didn't care for it as much, but regardless of our love for fantasy literature, this really didn't hit the mark for any of us. I began reading the first book, or the prequel, to this series, which took a very long time to get to the main action or plot points in the story. The first two books are only barely connected, following different characters in different places. I think the main reason most of us disliked this book is that the pacing was slow in comparison to what we are used to experiencing, even from a younger reader's standpoint. Our group's discussion covered topics ranging from the similarities to other middle grade series, such as Harry Potter, to the way female characters are portrayed during this time period (the books were published during the 1970s). As far as story, I thought that The Dark is Rising was more engaging in plot than Over Sea, Under Stone. Since I had never read this series before, it was difficult for me to compare it with series that I grew up with, such as Harry Potter, which are apparently very similar in story line. I think discussing this book series with others was a great way to express our thoughts and questions about the book that maybe weren't easily understood or obvious at first glance. Discussion gives people a chance to overturn ideas that others may not have thought of originally. Despite minor technical difficulties, I think our virtual book discussion group was a great success and a great experience and I'm looking forward to the next one.