The Dark Is Rising

My father and I just finished The Dark Is Rising, book #2 of the Sequence of the same name written by Susan Cooper.

Yes it is odd for us to start a series with the second book, but Dad has read book #1 about as often I have the whole series, so we broke our usual rule. Regardless, The Dark Is Rising (both the book and series) is one of our oldest and highest pinnacles of Fantasy, an Arthurian Epic that helped forge our love of the genre and, for me, crafted my view of the world almost as much as The Lord of the Rings. Thus reading it again and basking in the quiet and unmistakable might of the Old Ones of the Light – most particularly Will Stanton and Merriman Lyon – was and remains the among highest of literary joys.

"When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;

Three from the circle, three from the track;

Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;

Five will return, and one go alone.

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Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;

Wood from the burning, stone out of song;

Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;

Six Signs the circle, and the grail gone before.

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Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold

Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;

Power from the greenwitch, lost beneath the sea;

All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree."