The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper

Overview
The Dark is Rising sequence is a fantasy children's series set in modern-day England. The forces of Light and Dark are preparing for their final battle, and the fate of the world rests in the hands of a few schoolchildren. It's not a particularly original premise, but it's well-handled and quite fun. The series evokes Britain's ancient history throughout and eventually draws heavily on Arthurian legend. I really enjoyed re-reading the series recently, and I only have two complaints to make, which I'll get to in a bit. This series is a classic though, a must-read for all kids and any adults who missed it the first time around.

The books of the sequence are:
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree

The first two books actually concern two different sets of characters that do not meet until the later books, so you can read them in any order. The others should be read in order though, they tie together in an increasingly complex plot and you don't want to miss any of it.

Recommended for: Kids and kids at heart
Audiobook Comments: Good solid reading with no frills by Alex Jennings.

Ramblings (Spoiler Status: Very Low)
My first complaint is that a very strong thread of elitism runs through the books--normal humans are not considered capable of remembering anything about the events that they stumble into without suffering irreparable damage, and their memories are wiped--this includes major characters. I can understand why the story would suffer if too many people were brought into the secret struggle, but why couldn't it be addressed that way, instead of making everyone seem like weak-minded fools? As it is, I get way too much of a 'high and lonely destiny' feel from the Forces of Good.

My second complaint is that the ending of the last book is absolutely horrible! There's nothing wrong with the actual final battle, the problem is that the denouement destroys everything there is to love about a good fantasy ending. Without giving away too much, imagine the end of Lord of the Rings, the scene where Frodo leaves with the Elves. It's slightly bittersweet, but warm and fuzzy nonetheless. Now, imagine that instead of leaving for the land of sweetness and peace, Frodo is told that he gets to stick around on Earth for another century or so. That's okay though, 'cause he's still got Sam and all his other friends, right? Wrong! Because Sam wants to stick around long enough to have a family, and therefore forfeits his right as Ringbearer to end his days in the Silver Realms. And his memory is wiped, just so that he won't eventually hate his wife and family for making that choice. Merry and Pippin aren't even consulted in the matter, their memories are destroyed without even a by-your-leave, and none of the three remember ever leaving the Shire. So now Frodo's left to mope about for another hundred years, without the companionship of his friends. Warm and fuzzy, or even slightly satisfying? I don't think so!

Perhaps the idea of ending this way is to leave kids with a feeling of 'maybe something like this happened to me, and I just don't remember!' but it seems very silly. Besides, no one reads a fantasy story to find out if the heroes succeed in saving the world--that's a given. One of the joys of reading fantasy (or any fiction, for that matter) is to learn about the characters, to watch them grow and develop. If they end the story with no memory of events, they haven't changed or grown, and they are no longer the people you've come to know and care about.

Now that I've got my gripes out of the way, on to what I do like about the sequence. For one thing, there's some really neat prophetic poems that show up every now and then to foreshadow later developments. It's the poems that stick in my head long after I've finished the books, even more than the characters or events they describe. I also love the descriptions of England and the way that the history of the land ties into the plot.

Another thing I like, call it a take-home lesson, is the idea that the Light can be just as terrible and frightening as the Dark. This isn't the idea that all outside powers and entities are eventually evil, but that the true nature of Good is so bright and perfect that it can be painful to behold. All throughout the story, the forces of the Light inspire not only awe but terror in the heroes, and their actions are sometimes harsher than we might expect. Never so harsh that compassion and pity are ignored, but these are definitely not the indulgent, complacent forces of good that you often get in children's literature.

Overall though, a wonderful story of magic and England and fighting the Dark.