- Find all the latest books, toys, games and DVDs from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in our Harry Potter store.
The Grey King (The Dark Is Rising)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Psychology Today
"Susan Cooper is one of the few contemporary writers who has the vivid imagination, the narrative
powers, and the moral vision that permit her to create the kind of sweeping conflict between good and
evil that lies at the heart of all great fantasy. Tolkien had it. So did C.S. Lewis. And Cooper
writes in the same tradition."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
The fourth powerful book in the classic The Dark is Rising sequence.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
He remembered Mary had said, 'They all speak Welsh, most of the time. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
He remembered Mary had said, 'They all speak Welsh, most of the time. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is my favorite book out of the series, and a large part of that is because it's set in Wales. I have a weakness for the place, most probably because I'm part Welsh, and the places she has used are all described so perfectly. Cooper is a master bard. She makes one see in the mind what she writes about, and that is no mean feat in a world such as ours! Will comes to Wales to convalesce, but he is troubled by snatches or memories he does not quite recall. His mind reawakens, and the adventure begins agains. Bran is a marvelous character, and I remember simply bursting at the seams when I found out exactly who he was at the end! I first read this book when I was twelve, and I now own the series. I'm 22, and I still read these books annually, if not more. The Grey King excells in pulling together many of the various Arthurian legends, but Cooper does it in such a fresh and lovely way. Prepare to get your socks blown off by this amazing book!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Dark Is Rising" is a hard book to top, but Susan Cooper nearly matches it in "Grey King." A stunning, atmospheric Welsh fantasy tinged with Arthurian legend, it also introduces one of the most important and unusual characters in the classic series.
In the aftermath of a nasty case of hepatitis, Will Stanton has temporarily forgotten his mission from the Light: to recover a golden harp, with the help of the "raven boy" and "silver eyes that see the wind." When his family sends him to Wales to recover from the illness, he regains his memory when he meets an albino boy his own age named Bran -- which means "raven." Bran's mother "Gwenny" vanished many years before, and his stepfather has devoted himself to religion and penitance. Bran's only friend is the silver-eyed dog Cafall.
Will acquaints his new friend with more information about the battle with the Dark, while Bran acquaints him with information about Wales that can help Will find the golden harp, and wake the Sleepers under the hill. But the malevolent Grey King is spying on them with magical warestones and trying to wrest the harp from Will. To stop the Grey King, Will must learn the secret of Bran's past and evade the dangerous farmer Caradog Pritchard...
Atmosphere is thick and enticing in "Grey King" -- Cooper has clearly come a long way from the fluffier "Over Sea Under Stone." This book, unlike "Greenwitch," does not handle the Drew family, or even much about Merriman: it's all about Bran and Will, who are given equal parts of the plotline. Though there are many other characters, these two are the core of the story.
Here the Arthurian theme, which has been present in a smaller way throughout the series, becomes more pronounced and integral. Cooper continues interweaving mythic elements into it, such as the Sleepers, Cafall the dog, and the Brenin Llwyd. Fans of mythology and other mythic-themed stories such as the Prydain Chronicles will have a heyday.
Will is very much like he is in "Greenwitch" -- sometimes he's an ordinary preteen boy who starts yelling "Achtung!" at the top of his lungs, and sometimes he is the wise and ancient Old One, with knowledge he learned from the book of Gramarye. Bran is an instantly sympathetic character, a very ordinary boy with an extraordinay past; he, like Will in the second book, gradually grows into a unique and more powerful person. Caradog Pritchard will inspire disgust from his first appearance onward, while the tragic Owen Davies will gain the sympathy of the readers despite his insulated life.
Perhaps the worst thing about reading "Grey King" is the knowledge that there is only one more book in this series. But if that book is half as good as "Grey King," then it will be quite a ride before the end.
In the aftermath of a nasty case of hepatitis, Will Stanton has temporarily forgotten his mission from the Light: to recover a golden harp, with the help of the "raven boy" and "silver eyes that see the wind." When his family sends him to Wales to recover from the illness, he regains his memory when he meets an albino boy his own age named Bran -- which means "raven." Bran's mother "Gwenny" vanished many years before, and his stepfather has devoted himself to religion and penitance. Bran's only friend is the silver-eyed dog Cafall.
Will acquaints his new friend with more information about the battle with the Dark, while Bran acquaints him with information about Wales that can help Will find the golden harp, and wake the Sleepers under the hill. But the malevolent Grey King is spying on them with magical warestones and trying to wrest the harp from Will. To stop the Grey King, Will must learn the secret of Bran's past and evade the dangerous farmer Caradog Pritchard...
Atmosphere is thick and enticing in "Grey King" -- Cooper has clearly come a long way from the fluffier "Over Sea Under Stone." This book, unlike "Greenwitch," does not handle the Drew family, or even much about Merriman: it's all about Bran and Will, who are given equal parts of the plotline. Though there are many other characters, these two are the core of the story.
Here the Arthurian theme, which has been present in a smaller way throughout the series, becomes more pronounced and integral. Cooper continues interweaving mythic elements into it, such as the Sleepers, Cafall the dog, and the Brenin Llwyd. Fans of mythology and other mythic-themed stories such as the Prydain Chronicles will have a heyday.
Will is very much like he is in "Greenwitch" -- sometimes he's an ordinary preteen boy who starts yelling "Achtung!" at the top of his lungs, and sometimes he is the wise and ancient Old One, with knowledge he learned from the book of Gramarye. Bran is an instantly sympathetic character, a very ordinary boy with an extraordinay past; he, like Will in the second book, gradually grows into a unique and more powerful person. Caradog Pritchard will inspire disgust from his first appearance onward, while the tragic Owen Davies will gain the sympathy of the readers despite his insulated life.
Perhaps the worst thing about reading "Grey King" is the knowledge that there is only one more book in this series. But if that book is half as good as "Grey King," then it will be quite a ride before the end.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I'm shocked that one writer from California's 11 year old child struggled with this book. I first read it when I was 10 years old (I was educated in a run down state-provided inner city school in Glasgow, Scotland) and found it magical and compelling. I'm now 35 years old and have re-read this book countless times since. Not as good as "The Dark Is Rising", but still wonderful reading for any child with an active imagination who's brain is not befuddled with too much TV and too many computer games.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
great
great for the money. came within 7 days, i got this for my daughter and she loved it. anything to keep her happy.
Published 3 months ago by Mrs Foster
fantasy.....in Wales
This is a good novel, well written that keeps you wanting more. The story is easy to follow and on the whole, the book is easy to read. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Bill Crawford
Still as Good as I Remembered it
I am involved in a group read that is working through this series, so I re-read this book for the first time in what must be more than 20 years. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by Sir Furboy
Another captivating book in The Dark is Rising series - Book 4
Yet another enchanting story from Susan Cooper in The Dark is Rising Sequence, her Arthurian legend fantasy series. `The Grey King' is book 4, out of a total of 5. Read more
Published on 13 April 2008 by S. Barnes
4th volume of THE DARK IS RISING Sequence
"...Those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun... Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2006 by Michele L. Worley
There's music in these tales
Light and Dark clash yet again
Up in the hills of Wales
They really are alive this time
There's music in these tales
Up in the hills of Wales
They really are alive this time
There's music in these tales
Deep in a hill there lies a harp... Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2006 by Amanda Richards
It is like being in another world in a forgotten time.
The journey of Will Stanton continues as on the day of the dead, he, the youngest, opens the oldest hills through the door of the birds. Read more
Published on 20 July 1999
Plot 4, Writing Skill 1
I am sorry to put in a discouraging word here, but the statement that the book is suitable for readers 9 to 12 is seriously misleading, either as a book to read or to have read... Read more
Published on 21 May 1999
Awsome book!
In this book it gives detail,action and mystery. The Grey King is a legend about two boys named Will and Bran who are on a quest to find a golden harp and destroy all evil. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 1999
This book was very exciting and educational.
This book is about Will, Bran, Pen, and Cafall. Pen and Cafall are dogs. And I feel kids will like this book because it is about two boys and two dogs that have to save the world... Read more
Published on 22 Jan 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
