The Dark Is Rising

Strange things are happening in Will Stanton's world. Rooks are attacking people. An old tramp has come to town. And it is so cold. On his eleventh birthday, Will--the seventh son of a seventh son--learns the truth about his identity as the last of the Old Ones battling the evil forces of the Dark. The opulent voice of Alex Jennings is the perfect match for Susan Cooper's stylish, magical prose. The steady, measured tones of the Old Ones; the stern comfort of Merriman; the thready lilt of the Lady; the silky, evil overtones of the Rider--each nuance of character is skillfully brought to life in this unvoiced reading. One hopes the other books in the Dark Is Rising series will soon be available on audio read by Jennings. S.G. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Will Stanton is a normal boy in a normal, loving family. But on Mid-Winter's Eve, the night before his eleventh birthday, Will senses that things are changing--animals are afraid of him, he sees things that no one else does, and he feels terrified but doesn't know why. On his birthday, Will wakes up and finds himself in a world totally different, yet the same. And he discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to fighting the forces of evil, the Dark. As narrator, Alex Jennings superbly conveys Will's mixed emotions--his fear, joy, confusion, anxiety, and growing acceptance of his two separate, yet occasionally concentric, lives, as well as his understanding of his role and the choices he must make in this battle between the Dark and the Light. Jennings fully voices the main characters; supporting characters are less individualized. Jennings creates vivid pictures of the many landscapes Will travels through, and builds the tension and enormity of this eternal fight up to the climax of this Newbery Honor Book. W.L.S. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine