The Dark Is Rising
#3634.02 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 1965–1977 Reading commitment Low Susan Cooper Last reviewed 2026-08-12
Overview
The Dark Is Rising is a five-book British children's fantasy sequence by Susan Cooper, weaving Arthurian legend and folk myth into contemporary settings, as the Old Ones (guardians of the Light) resist the rising power of the Dark across centuries. Published between 1965 and 1977, the sequence opens with the more conventional adventure novel Over Sea, Under Stone before its title volume, The Dark Is Rising (1973), introduces Will Stanton, an eleven-year-old who discovers on his birthday that he is the last of the Old Ones born to wield the Light's power. The later books, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree, widen the cast and draw the various threads together into a single confrontation. The Dark Is Rising in particular is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed works of British children's fantasy of its era, winning a 1976 Newbery Honor.
Mythic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Dark Is Rising sequence Susan Cooper
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Over Sea, Under Stone | 1965 | 1 | core | 3.86 (57,344 ratings) |
 | The Dark Is Rising | 1973 | 2 | core | 4.03 (61,579 ratings) |
 | Greenwitch | 1974 | 3 | core | 4.00 (32,572 ratings) |
 | The Grey King | 1975 | 4 | core | 4.16 (40,622 ratings) |
 | Silver on the Tree | 1977 | 5 | core | 4.11 (36,477 ratings) |
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.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Dark Is Rising? The Dark Is Rising's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for The Dark Is Rising? Publication order, starting with Over Sea, Under Stone. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Dark Is Rising finished? Complete (1965–1977).
- How much reading does The Dark Is Rising take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~1,026 pages).
- How is The Dark Is Rising ranked? #363 in this site's official ranking, based on 228,594 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #363?
Ranked #363 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.02 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 229k reader ratings.
- 0.02 behind #362, The Initiate Brother.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 5 books · Complete · 229k ratings · Ranks #363 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)
- The Dark Is Rising (1973)
- Greenwitch (1974)
- The Grey King (1975)
- Silver on the Tree (1977)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Newbery Medal (Medal (Best)), 1976: won: The Grey King; The Grey King (book 4).
- Newbery Medal (Honor Book), 1974: honor: The Dark Is Rising; The Dark Is Rising (book 2).
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.02 across 228,594 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Dark Is Rising sequence admitted; Core Canon = Susan Cooper's 5-book sequence (1965-1977) accepted 2026-08-12
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12
Rule: Core = the complete 5-book sequence (1965-1977), a single continuous story told across generations; no disputed internal chronology.