Classic fantasy novels for children and adults.

What made the experience of listening to The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One the most enjoyable?

This is the audiobook version of a novel I read and reread as a child. It was lovely to be able to revisit it as an adult and find that it was just as good as I remembered!

Any additional comments?

The narration was clear and unintrusive, the story still a cracking good yarn of Arthurian fantasy brought to modern day Cornwall. My only criticism is that the second book in the series doesn't seem to be available on audible, even though the later ones in the series are!

9 people found this helpful

Brilliant - loved by young and old alike

If you could sum up The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One in three words, what would they be?

Magical, intriguing, thrilling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One?

The moment the three children find the map... this is the moment their lives change forever. The rest of the beautifully told story is a race against time and against their foes.

What does Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Alex Jennings does a wonderful job of injecting each 'voice' with character and adding the right amount of emotion to each event. He was the perfect choice as a reader for this book. You forget you are listening and just become absorbed in the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If we had had the time, we would have listened to this all in one go!

Any additional comments?

Over Sea, Under Stone is just as good as I remembered from my childhood, and it was a wonderful experience listening with my children. Better written than the Harry Potter books, in my opinion (the children didn't agree with me on this one, they think Harry Potter has the edge) but with as much imagination and excitement. Great fun!

5 people found this helpful

A captivating story by Susan Cooper

I read this book when I was 13 years old and at 50 I have just listened to it again on Audible. I am still captivated by it, the characters and the wonderful, detailed description of a Cornish fishing village. It's a great story, set in today's world but based on the legend of King Arthur and a centuries long battle between good and evil. My only gripe with this recording is that Alex Jennings uses a somewhat feeble, pathetic voice for the character of Barney. When reading the book, I remembered Barney as a much bolder character, despite being the youngest child in the story. I still really enjoyed it though and am looking forward to listening to the rest of the books in the sequence now too on Audible.

4 people found this helpful

Great in-car listening

If you could sum up The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, absorbing, adventurous.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jane - pretty positive girl character for the age of the book, adventurous, imaginative and brave.

Which character – as performed by Alex Jennings – was your favourite?

Mrs Palk

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, definitely

Any additional comments?

We listened to this on a couple of long car journeys as a family (mum & dad, 12 year old and 9 year old girls) and found it really good for making the hours pass by - in fact at one point we arrived at our destination (grandparents' house) and none of us wanted to get out of the car and stop listening! We've downloaded books 3,4 and 5 of the series now and are looking forward to continuing book 4 later in the summer - we have a pact that we can't listen unless we're all together! Alex Jennings reads it in a really accessible and absorbing way and his range of voices is such that you can always tell who is speaking. Just a shame book 2 isn't available on Audible - we've read it at home but it would be nice to have the full set of recordings.

8 people found this helpful

Simply perfect

This must be one of the best young person's books of all time. The setting in a Cornish village with that hint of small town weirdness; the characters who are good and evil and we don't quite know initially who's who; the sense if a treasure hunt and fab conclusion. I loved the book back in 1984 and I bought this as pure nostalgia: that sense of summers of times past in a simpler world when I read it. It lived up to expectations. The narration by fine actor Alex Jennings is just perfect: it's a fine narrator who actually manages not to "be there": they just articulate the book in your own head.

2 people found this helpful

Back to my childhood

I remember reading this ffantastic tale of mystery, set in Cornwall, when I was at Infant School. The years rolled away and I remember how this series captivated me. I would highly recommend the Dark is Rising. It is read well and is a wonderful story, what ever your age.

2 people found this helpful

The only thing wrong

with this audible book is the very beginning and the end. 'Audible Kids' is horrible.

2 people found this helpful

a classic

beautifully written, with a nostalgic feel for summers long past, this story catches the imagination. well read too.

2 people found this helpful

Marvellously menacing!

What made the experience of listening to The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One the most enjoyable?

Being able to sit down and have the story read to me. It was just like being a kid again, alongside the characters!

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that that the adventure started in the most ordinary way, with a rainy day and the children stuck in an old house. Once the quest had begun, I almost felt like part of the gang.

What does Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I read the book years ago, and enjoyed it very much, but Alex Jennings made each of the characters come alive in a different way, and I could "see" much more when he described things.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, most definitely! I had to break off because my tablet ran out of charge, so I ended up having a very late night listening to it on my computer!

Any additional comments?

Would very much like to listen to the rest of the series, but I understand that the second book isn't available. Please, please do something about that. The film doesn't do the story any justice, and "The Dark is Rising" deserves to be known properly by a wider audience.

2 people found this helpful

Exciting beginning to classic series

I read this as a child many years ago but it was a much more exciting story than I remembered it being, largely thanks to Alex Jennings' excellent narration. It's a less obviously magical story than later books in the series, but serves as a very good introduction to the battle between the Dark and the Light. There are some lovely descriptive passages and the final chapters are thrilling. I really enjoyed revisiting this as an adult and have only one question - why isn't the second book in the series available?

2 people found this helpful