Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark Is Rising Sequence)

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I wanted to like this but couldn't sink my teeth into the plot or characters. Jane, Simon, and Barney, go with their parents to Cornwall to visit their Uncle Merry. The three explore the old grey house and discover an ancient map that puts them on the quest for the Holy Grail. The forces of Dark want the map too for its unlimited power and with the help of Uncle Merry it is a mad race to see who can find it first. The threesome are not sure who is good or bad and their innocent trust oftentimes leads them to dangerous situations. Three stars from the adult me. When I first read and raved about this series (or as much of it as I could find when I was in middle school--I think I never got hold of Vol 5), it would have been a solid five--or perhaps 7! I was King Arthur-mad in those days, and "fantasy fiction" was a relatively new phenomenon in my environment. The story of three siblings (and a dog) who search for the Holy Grail in Cornwall, dodging bad guys as they go, was just my drop in those days. I didn't remember anything at all about it when I came across it again, so it was like an unknown book, except I remembered loving it.

Another thing which gets me is how all the people act like people. Jane and Barney and Simon get scared, they get jealous of each other, they puff themselves up and act important… The adults are indulgent, complacent. And then there’s the poetry of the quiet moments, the moon on the water and the quiet dusty attic and… Yeah. Brilliant writing. Not as compelling as the later books, but even here it’s very fine. Amethysts are a renowned favorite among gemstone collectors and crystal enthusiasts, and can be sourced from a number of coastal areas around the world such as Brazil, South India and Nova Scotia.

Tsavorite

Susan Cooper’s Newbery Medal-honored five-volume series The Dark Is Rising is one of the most enduring works of young adult fantasy in the latter 20th century. Cooper’s mythic tales paid distinct homage to the legends that inspired them — particularly those of King Arthur, and the Mabinogion — and her reverence for this lore suffuses these engrossing adventures without weighing them down with self-importance.

Near the beginning of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, the children enter a wardrobe and discover Narnia; near the beginning of Over Sea, Under Stone Jane, Barney, and Simon move the wardrobe to find the passage to the attic. Are the two novels similar in other ways? (C. S. Lewis was one of Susan Cooper's teachers when she studied at Oxford.) I have to admit I wasn't expecting a lot from this book -- I thought it would be much more geared toward the middle-grade crowd and probably fall in with the books I would've loved as a kid but if I read them now I'd be bored. But! I was happily surprised (and by surprised I mean snagged hook line and SINKER by this brilliance). I think it’s partly that which makes the books survive for me — under the concerns of the children, there’s that darkness and fear.This opaque, blue-green mineral is the pinnacle of beauty, and can be rare and valuable depending on the gemstone’s grading. Mr. Withers and his sister Polly: Over-friendly tourists who invite the Drews on their boat; they are agents of the Dark. It starts out feeling very Narnia-esque; a family siblings go to stay with an eccentric uncle professor and then the kids discover a passage behind the wardrobe. Even if that wasn't the world's biggest Narnia nod, it's still clever and sweet. Once the kids found the map in the attic, it felt very Boxcar Children-esque (my favorite books when I was a kid). They have to work out the clues to solve this mystery before the bad guys get there first (and how bad they were -- creepers!) And by the halfway point it had just morphed into a full-on Grail quest and I'm over here fist pumping. :D Amethysts can be obtained from all over the coast. Finding precious and semi-precious gemstones on beaches is more common than you may think; they can appear naturally in the area, or be carried ashore with the help of the tide – and Amethysts are no exception.

This natural beauty clearly has a stunning secret eager to be told, and we can’t wait to uncover more of its magic. Learning where your gemstone was originally found is always fascinating. Almost all gemstones are formed under the Earth’s surface; however, they can be retrieved through various natural processes such as faulting and volcanism. Some gemstones are also brought to the surface through mining. The setting has great descriptions and its easy to imagine this village on the harbor. The villains are one dimensional. They represent the Dark and sometimes appear nice and fun to the three kids. This is a good reminder that not everyone can be judged by outward appearances. The parents in the story are oblivious to what is happening with their kids and the quest. I wasn't quite sure why one villain had more power over the flunkies who served him. Perhaps the sequel will explain more of their relationships. Bill Hoover reacts rudely and angrily after he has driven his bicycle into Jane. His reaction gives Jane, Barney, and Simon a negative first impression of him, and he later turns out to evil. What other foreshadowings are there in the novel? What other first impressions are accurate?

Peridot

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (1965)". Book Review. ReadingMatters. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007 . Retrieved 12 September 2007. Updated review---Wow! I can't believe I read this almost 7 years ago and still haven't returned to finish the series until now. It really is a great start to a story. Once again, I loved traipsing through the Cornish countryside with Simon, Jane, and Barney. The addition to this story of some King Arthur archaeology is fantastic and still one of the points I love best about this book. I listened to it this time on audiobook, which enhanced the experience. Alex Jennings was the narrator and all I can say is it's fantastic! Over Sea, Under Stone isn't my favourite book of the sequence, but it's still worth reading if you can get into it for the light it sheds on the later books. Among narratives intended for children it features fairly sophisticated use of English, with an extensive vocabulary and complex sentence structures. [6] The children work out the clues on the map and have a number of run ins with the Dark individually and as a group. While looking for the first clue Simon is chased by Mr. Hastings and Bill Hoover Jr.. After the second clue leads them to the headland at night, Simon, Jane, and Great Uncle Merry are ambushed and almost caught by Dark followers. Afterwards Barney is kidnapped and must be rescued. The children eventually follow the clues to a cave off the headland and discover the grail. Unfortunately they lose an important scroll from inside that is the key to deciphering the markings on the outside of the grail.