Hey everyone! Welcome to a new feature, Thumbing Through Throwbacks. As bloggers, we’re always talking about the newest books, or at least the ones that have been published in the last few years. However, for those of us who have been devouring books since we were very small, we don’t really talk about the books that made us fall in love with reading. Sure, there’s the standard: Harry Potter, but I know that’s not the only thing I read as a kid that made me love reading.
So, on Thursdays I’m going to go back and look at the books I loved when I was younger. Please feel free to suggest books that you read and loved as well. Onward!
Originally published in the 80’s, the Dark is Rising Sequence has been around a long time and has gone through many cover redesigns. I was around 10 when I got my boxed set, my first set of matching covers (the above picture is the side of the box). I have always been a big fantasy fan so I drove in with gusto, reading all 5 books in a week and a half.
Set in the UK, the Dark is Rising Sequence weaves Arthurian legend with an original story so beautifully that it feels natural. You meet all of the heroes separately and as the series continues they begin to come together to complete a quest.
While in book one three siblings begin a quest for the Grail, book two follows a boy named Will, the Seeker of the signs. Finding these items before The Dark (obviously the bad guys) will prevent the world from falling into chaos. Throw in some extra King Arthur, an awesome sword, and a strange Welsh boy named Bran and you’ve got a recipe for a great fantasy.
I actually read the books out of order, skipping Over Sea, Under Stone because I thought The Dark is Rising was first. Really you can read those two in any order as they follow different characters. Other than the Arthurian legend, which I was completely obsessed with as a kid, the thing that attracted me to these books were the setting. They go all over: Wales, Cornwall, the English countryside. Places that captured my young imagination. Ever since, it has been a life goal to visit the UK.
Some years back they made an awful movie adaptation of book two, The Dark is Rising. They renamed it The Seeker and I honestly was so pissed off by what they did to it, I never finished watching it.
The books are as follows:
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
The Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree
My copies have been read so often that a few of them are starting to fall apart. I still love reading them today, they hold up just fine. If you love fantasy, quests, and Arthurian legend then I whole-heartedly recommend this series.
Tell me about the books you read as a kid. What do you want me to cover in this feature? Share in the comments.
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I'm excited to see this posted. I actually looked the books up after we talked and I think they sound great. I am ashamed to say that I own the movie The Seeker. I had no idea when I bought it, that it was based on a book.
Is it a good movie from a non adaption standpoint? I couldn't get over the changes.
Makes sense.
I guess that's what happens when you love a book that much and then they adapt it poorly.
Nice! So I read the first one about ten years ago, and somehow I didn't really like it. But I really want to read it again because I really think it might have been a case of wrong time and place for me. Aaaand at my first con I got Susan Cooper to sign a copy of it for me, which makes it all the more special. And one for my daughter, who can't even read yet, but who I really hope will like this later. 🙂
I'm so jealous. Give it another shot! 🙂
This is definitely a throwback Thursday. I love it! I haven't thought about this series in years. I think it's time for a reread.
Always a good time for a reread!
The first book I remember reading was Brave New World. Still love it.