The Dark Is Rising
Harry Potter did the English magician story very well, but it also overshadowed some incredible books with similar settings. Will is a chosen one of sorts, one of the few that can battle the powers. His mentor is an old, kind wizard, seeking to end the cycle of light and dark. It sounds quite familiar, but other than the setting, that's really where the similarity ends. Arguably, Cooper is a better writer than Rowling, stepping away from a cheery style and into a darker tone. Where JK's story is a mashup of different myths, Cooper's is a careful construct of Celtic and Arthurian legends. That makes for some very clear imagery and some fantastic conflicts. Will narrates the story from two perspectives, his young, content self, and his wise, magical self. As a narrative tool, it highlights the cost of power and the changes of adulthood. It's not an easy journey, and Cooper weaves in heavy themes of loss, unwanted destiny, and darkness. Read if you like: Harry Potter, King Arthur, English settings.
Books in The Dark Is Rising Series (9)
Similar Recommendations
Let's base this strictly on other good Arthurian works of fantasy. You should read The Mists of Avalon if you are even remotely interested in Arthurian fiction. Even if you aren't, read it. Stephen Lawhead's excellent The Pendragon Cycle will fill your Arthur craving with a solid number of compelling books in the saga.
You'll probably like The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart as well, which is another retelling of the Arthur myth but this one is about Merlin. If you want to read the Arthur myth in a different light (some might even argue "a whole new light" even) from a historical fiction light rather than a fantasy one, give Jack Whyte's The Camulod Chronicles a read.
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Other books by Cooper, Susan
The Dark Is Rising
Harry Potter did the English magician story very well, but it also overshadowed some incredible books with similar settings. Will is a chosen one of sorts, one of the few... Read more
Over Sea
Three children on a holiday in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest for a grail that would reveal the true story of King Arthur. Read more
The Dark Is Rising Sequence
One of the best YA epic fantasy series. Well-developed characters that are stereotypical but still exhibit a surprising amount of depth. A standard save-the-world plot, but one that still evokes... Read more
Greenwitch
Includes an excerpt from the next story in the Dark Rising Sequence, 'The grey king.' Read more
The Grey King
Includes an excerpt from Silver on the tree. Read more
Silver On The Tree
"And Where the Midsummer Tree Grows Tall by Pendragon's Sword the Dark Shall Fall." The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. Six individuals... Read more
The Dark Is Rising
A higher-level, more advanced reading than Harry Potter. There was a movie made from the book, but the books are so much better you can just forget the movie ever... Read more
Over Sea
Part of Cooper's Dark Is Rising fantasy, "Over Sea, Under Stone" is now available in this digest edition. Read more
Greenwitch
Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil -- Dark. They... Read more
The Grey King
In this volume of The Dark Is Rising sequence, Will Stanton, visiting in Wales, is swept into a desperate quest to find the golden harp and to awaken the ancient... Read more
Silver On The Tree
"Silver on the Tree" continues the story in Cooper's Dark Is Rising fantasy sequence in this new digest-sized edition. Read more
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