The Dark Is Rising
core novel 1973 The Dark Is Rising
Record
| First published | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.03 (61,579 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 244 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780689829833 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
The second book of The Dark Is Rising sequence, and the volume that gives the series its name, centers on eleven-year-old Will Stanton, who discovers on his birthday that he is the last of the Old Ones, ancient immortal guardians sworn to serve the Light against the Dark. Living with his large family in rural Buckinghamshire near the Thames, Will must come to terms with his newfound powers and responsibilities even as ordinary village life continues around him, largely unaware of what he has become. His central task is to locate the six Signs, a set of ancient magical tokens scattered across time and place, which the Light needs gathered before the Dark can gain the upper hand.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Dark Is Rising
- Series: The Dark Is Rising sequence core; position 2 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Susan Cooper
Awards (verified)
- Newbery Medal (Honor Book), 1974: honor; The Dark Is Rising (book 2).
Notes
- From the series record (The Dark Is Rising sequence): Five-book children's fantasy sequence weaving Arthurian and British-folklore "Old Ones vs. the Dark" myth into contemporary settings. Internal chronology matches publication order (per the sources above); no disputed internal chronology found.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Dark Is Rising sequence: position 2 of 5: previous Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) · next Greenwitch (1974)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Dark Is Rising sequence
- Wikipedia: Over Sea, Under Stone
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence
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