A review by craftysnailtail
The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

adventurous hopeful mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I adored this series as a kid, so I thought I'd reread them. I was unaware of just how old this series is, so the racism in the first book really took me off guard and quite upset me. It's simply not something I noticed as a kid in the 90s, but I do understand that it was written in the 60s from a very posh, white-centric view. The later books don't have this sort of casual racism, so thankfully Cooper did change with the times... Still something important to note, in my opinion.

The plot itself is still just as good as I remembered. Not as exciting now that I'm an adult, but I still love Cooper's style of writing and the overall mystery surrounding the light and the dark. It's very easy to get lost in her stories and I found it both fun and relaxing to read, but maybe that's because I knew how it would end. 

If you enjoy easy, adventurous reads with a Narnia/magical realism feel, that focus on Arthurian legend, then you'll probably really enjoy this series. 
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