Probably the reason why I did not borrow this from the library as a child! Love the story as a mature adult now (just read for the first time). #ScaryBookCovers
May 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I loved the part where his brother starts asking him what's going on, and he can't tell him. It's lonely, being a mystical entity, innit? #DarkIsRising
December 22, 2024 at 6:58 PM
I loved the part where his brother starts asking him what's going on, and he can't tell him. It's lonely, being a mystical entity, innit? #DarkIsRising
The only part so far of the dark is rising that stretches credulity: there's a large horse called Pollux and not one of the teenagers in the book have nicknamed it Big Bollocks. #DarkIsRising
December 22, 2024 at 1:18 PM
The only part so far of the dark is rising that stretches credulity: there's a large horse called Pollux and not one of the teenagers in the book have nicknamed it Big Bollocks. #DarkIsRising
I'm drawn to the figure of the Walker - he has something of the Gollum/Smeagol... ambivalent helper/harmer, the slippery ally/assailant. What does agency mean when you're so damaged by the dark/the ring? #DarkIsRising
December 22, 2024 at 9:42 AM
I'm drawn to the figure of the Walker - he has something of the Gollum/Smeagol... ambivalent helper/harmer, the slippery ally/assailant. What does agency mean when you're so damaged by the dark/the ring? #DarkIsRising
So @jennycolgan.bsky.social has pointed out how close in time the first book in the series is to the first episode of Doctor Who and I am now immediately formulating a Grand UK Cultural Theory of Everything (based on two data points) #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 11:58 AM
So @jennycolgan.bsky.social has pointed out how close in time the first book in the series is to the first episode of Doctor Who and I am now immediately formulating a Grand UK Cultural Theory of Everything (based on two data points) #DarkIsRising
"Will. You dont exist." - well that sent shivers. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 10:50 AM
"Will. You dont exist." - well that sent shivers. #DarkIsRising
With the homeless man, the walker, I'm reminded of The Fisher King film. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 10:20 AM
With the homeless man, the walker, I'm reminded of The Fisher King film. #DarkIsRising
I always wonder what happens when wizard mentors go off stage. When they Gandalf off mysteriously promising to return. Do they just go for a pint? A nice swim? Read a book? #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 10:03 AM
I always wonder what happens when wizard mentors go off stage. When they Gandalf off mysteriously promising to return. Do they just go for a pint? A nice swim? Read a book? #DarkIsRising
I like the idea of him as both arthur AND Merlin...but time will tell. #DarkIsRising
So...Will is another Merlin? Or has Merlin-like powers at least. (I did a little cheer when Merlin came back, he was very fun in OSUS, uncle merlin). #DarkIsRising #DarkIsReading
December 20, 2024 at 9:55 AM
I like the idea of him as both arthur AND Merlin...but time will tell. #DarkIsRising
I wouldn't fare well in this world. You have to remember every little thing people say to you in order to defeat evil. Memory is not my superpower. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 9:54 AM
I wouldn't fare well in this world. You have to remember every little thing people say to you in order to defeat evil. Memory is not my superpower. #DarkIsRising
This is a matter of personal taste but i'm always more interested in magical realms that tickle at the edges of ours. I love liminal space, and friction between layers of reality. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 8:54 AM
This is a matter of personal taste but i'm always more interested in magical realms that tickle at the edges of ours. I love liminal space, and friction between layers of reality. #DarkIsRising
Now we've come back from the mystical realm to a bus and THIS is extremely my jam. The magic/bus contrast. @ramzee.bsky.social re our chat about the world of this book being more like real uk society...I like them going into specific Carribbean islands re the bus conductor. #DarkisRising
December 20, 2024 at 8:53 AM
Now we've come back from the mystical realm to a bus and THIS is extremely my jam. The magic/bus contrast. @ramzee.bsky.social re our chat about the world of this book being more like real uk society...I like them going into specific Carribbean islands re the bus conductor. #DarkisRising
The injury of the Lady feels resonant - a wounded god, a sacrificing god (whatever she's an analogue to, that is mythic god behaviour). #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 AM
The injury of the Lady feels resonant - a wounded god, a sacrificing god (whatever she's an analogue to, that is mythic god behaviour). #DarkIsRising
I'm assuming Will is Arthur? But we shall see... in the previous book Barney was Percival in my head. The only one pure (or smol) enough to get the grail. Or perhaps the analogues aren't that tidy? #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 8:09 AM
I'm assuming Will is Arthur? But we shall see... in the previous book Barney was Percival in my head. The only one pure (or smol) enough to get the grail. Or perhaps the analogues aren't that tidy? #DarkIsRising
The Other Mother trope is always a banger. Tho this one didn't have a wooden tail as far as I can tell. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 7:58 AM
The Other Mother trope is always a banger. Tho this one didn't have a wooden tail as far as I can tell. #DarkIsRising
Yes, there's "writing a children's book" ie what an adult thinks a children's book is, then actually writing a book for children, the weird wee bastards! #DarkIsRising #KidLitUK
December 20, 2024 at 7:48 AM
Yes, there's "writing a children's book" ie what an adult thinks a children's book is, then actually writing a book for children, the weird wee bastards! #DarkIsRising #KidLitUK
this "six will turn it back" reminds me of the nine walkers against the nine riders. The masked man with the owl eyes...finally makes sense of that old cover I've seen everywhere. Love that he's going to be a "strength" not a villain. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 7:47 AM
this "six will turn it back" reminds me of the nine walkers against the nine riders. The masked man with the owl eyes...finally makes sense of that old cover I've seen everywhere. Love that he's going to be a "strength" not a villain. #DarkIsRising
Cards on the table: I haven't worked out who the old lady is yet. I WANT it to be (non evil) Morgan Le Fey...tho could be Lady of the Lake? #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 7:45 AM
Cards on the table: I haven't worked out who the old lady is yet. I WANT it to be (non evil) Morgan Le Fey...tho could be Lady of the Lake? #DarkIsRising
The scene where the snow is dumped into Will's bedroom is genuinely brick-it stuff, even though it's "just" snow...#DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 7:36 AM
The scene where the snow is dumped into Will's bedroom is genuinely brick-it stuff, even though it's "just" snow...#DarkIsRising
As someone who's written (an iteration of) the Norse version of Wayland (Volund) as an elvish villain, my first instinct was NOT to trust that blacksmith...but assuming he's not going to turn out to be a bad egg in this. #DarkIsRising
December 20, 2024 at 7:34 AM
As someone who's written (an iteration of) the Norse version of Wayland (Volund) as an elvish villain, my first instinct was NOT to trust that blacksmith...but assuming he's not going to turn out to be a bad egg in this. #DarkIsRising
So...Will is another Merlin? Or has Merlin-like powers at least. (I did a little cheer when Merlin came back, he was very fun in OSUS, uncle merlin). #DarkIsRising #DarkIsReading
December 20, 2024 at 7:32 AM
So...Will is another Merlin? Or has Merlin-like powers at least. (I did a little cheer when Merlin came back, he was very fun in OSUS, uncle merlin). #DarkIsRising #DarkIsReading
Right. I'm starting The Dark is Rising on midwinter's eve. This could be inviting some kind of curse... #DarkIsRising
The narrative gets into it MUCH faster than the previous books. Timeslip time! (I wonder...are there kidlit timeslips where people go to the future? There must be...) #KidLitUK
The narrative gets into it MUCH faster than the previous books. Timeslip time! (I wonder...are there kidlit timeslips where people go to the future? There must be...) #KidLitUK
I'm reading Susan Cooper's books for the first time, starting with Over Sea, Under Stone. Apart from the (perhaps inevitable) sexism, racism and colonialism of a 1960s children's book by a (i assume at least) white person, it's a very different reading experience from most contemporary kidlit.
December 20, 2024 at 7:29 AM
Right. I'm starting The Dark is Rising on midwinter's eve. This could be inviting some kind of curse... #DarkIsRising
The narrative gets into it MUCH faster than the previous books. Timeslip time! (I wonder...are there kidlit timeslips where people go to the future? There must be...) #KidLitUK
The narrative gets into it MUCH faster than the previous books. Timeslip time! (I wonder...are there kidlit timeslips where people go to the future? There must be...) #KidLitUK
Merry Solstice to All, and to #DarkIsRising fans who observe, a Happy Birthday of Will Stanton, Last of the Old Ones.
December 21, 2024 at 5:40 PM
Merry Solstice to All, and to #DarkIsRising fans who observe, a Happy Birthday of Will Stanton, Last of the Old Ones.
I also read #DarkIsRising starting on the 21st for the first time but foolishly devoured it in one sitting instead of spreading out over the days in the book. Loving your views on it! I also deeply enjoyed the bus scene and the bits of normal in the mystical.
December 22, 2024 at 8:13 PM
I also read #DarkIsRising starting on the 21st for the first time but foolishly devoured it in one sitting instead of spreading out over the days in the book. Loving your views on it! I also deeply enjoyed the bus scene and the bits of normal in the mystical.