British author susan cooper wrote a five book series of which the second book was titled the dark is rising, which came to be the title of the whole series in. As he uncovers mysterious clues, stanton discovers that with the dark once again rising, the future of the world rests in his. Dark rider was loosely based on the black rider in the books, a shadowy horseman with demonic magic who serves the dark and whose goal is to make sure that the seeker cannot find all the signs and in doing so he can. The dark is rising based on author susan coopers the dark is rising series. More praise for seeker, book one in the seeker series. A boys life is turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the dark. Even though a few cgi moments are great fantasy fun, the story is so muddled and so unnecessarily altered from the source material that it. The dark is rising film the dark is rising wiki fandom. As for what the titles means, check out what will finds himself chanting about the dark. Traveling back and forth through time, will hunts for a series of mysterious clues and encounters forces of unimaginable evil. The seeker is a 2007 american family dramafantasy film adaptation of the second book in the fivebook childrens fantasy series the dark is rising by susan.
The dark is rising series by susan cooper goodreads. It had decent characters and very good action scenes, but with a rushed storyline and overused clichas, it could have been better. A genreblending scifi, fantasywith actionpacked scenes. The dark is rising, was released in 2007 and was criticized for major changes to the source material, including by cooper. The audio book of over sea, under stone is good but takes a long time to build up and get the listeners attention. It is a childrens book a series in fact by susan cooper and as a child i loved it, but this is a travesty and our kids found it boring and incomprehensible.
Susan cooper is the creator and writer of the fantasy series, the dark is rising fictional novels. Coopers highly acclaimed seriesover sea, under stone. National education association named it one of teachers top 100 books for children. Creating a movie from a book is always a challenge. Why the dark is rising is the book we need right now. Will stanton, seventh son of a seventh son, seeker of the signs that will save all from darkness, makes a fine hero in susan coopers the dark is rising book series, but the movie adaptation is lousy. The dark is rising is just the latest in what promises to be an interminable series of projects attempting, and failing miserably, to jump on the harry potter bandwagon andor magic wand, as the case may be. Reception, awards, and impact edit the dark is rising was an american library association newbery honor book in 1974. Aug 31, 2010 the dark is rising sequence is easily the best set of fantasy childrens fiction i have read in a long time.
The dark is rising is the first film adaptation of the authors acclaimed the dark is rising sequence. The book features elements of british folklore that are especially associated with the thames valley, with herne the hunter making an appearance. The dark is rising was an american library association newbery honor book in 1974. I have not read this book, but i have a feeling that this adaptation is missing what made the story so interesting in the first place. Its title seeker, seeker means by example when a device in a missile that locates a target by sensing some characteristic of the target, as heat the seeker. Seekers is a childrens novel series written by a team of authors under the pseudonym erin hunter, who also wrote the warriors series. The dark is rising is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that was written by the british author susan cooper and. When the dark comes rising, six shall turn it shelve the dark is rising. The dark is rising isnt a horrible movie, but it doesnt even hold the candle to the book. Susan coopers book won the newbury award, among others, for a reason and the director of this film probably should have stuck to the book. The dark is rising wiki reveals plot details about the series. Comparing it to the film the seeker, you can see how the film telescopes the plot of several novels in the series and leaves a lot out. Kallik a polar bear, lusa a black bear, ujurak a small grizzly bear who can shapeshift into any animal, and toklo also a grizzly bear.
It was what i bought with my first book token, and i used to use any birthday money or tokens i got to get through the rest of the series. The dark is rising begins with will stanton awaiting his eleventh birthday. Its title seeker, seeker means by example when a device in a. The dark is rising cherishing first of all, lets find out about this film. It depicts a struggle between forces of good and evil called the light and the dark and is based on arthurian legends, celtic mythology, norse mythology and english folklore.
Will stantons life is turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the dark. But in the case of the dark is rising, the series is named after the book. The seeker dvd, 2008, dual side for sale online ebay. With alexander ludwig, ian mcshane, christopher eccleston, frances conroy. This was, lest we forget, the series that blindsided its young readers by. Will was instantly a furious old one, so furious that he did not pause to think what he should do. Susan cooper, one of todays most distinguished childrens book writers, won a newbery medal and a newbery honor for books in her fantasy sequence, the dark is rising.
Though stylishly produced, this clumsy parable will probably engender more boredom than sequels. The dark is rising, the second novel in the series, was published in 1973 the series is sometimes called the dark is rising sequence, which is the title of its uk omnibus edition first 1984 and its us boxed. The dark is rising, so avoid it if you can film the guardian. Here is a story that cries out for the fantastic, and gives us. Amid this slimy osmosis of good and evil, coopers moral dualism of the light and the dark, so stable and impermeable, slices down hard. To take the almost three hundred pages of the novel and condense it into a two hour movie can be daunting at best and involves a process known as adaptation. British author susan cooper wrote a five book series of which the second book was titled the dark is rising, which came to be the title of the whole series in the 1970s.
But watching any film of a favourite book is a perilous business, let alone a film so bad that it made friends angry about this butchery of the text. The dark rider, also known commonly as the rider, is the main antagonist in the 2007 fantasy movie the seeker. The dark is rising is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that was written by the british author susan cooper and published 1965 to 1977. I saw this with a group in which some of us had read the book and some of us. I read the dark is rising years ago, and although its plot details had faded, i remembered its cataclysmic snowstorm, among other. Susan cooper preserves the magic alongside the mundane creating her young characters with skill and managing to effortlessly draw us into their world. The dark is rising sequence is easily the best set of fantasy childrens fiction i have read in a long time. Its not because the performances are bad or even that the special effects are poorly done, which they arent. I loved these books as a child, i picked up and read the dark is rising first, and preferred it to over sea under stone, which is more of a traditional adventure story. Jun 05, 2014 the walker in the dark is rising, part 1 duration. The dark is rising when his family moves from the u.
It carefully and expertly wove arthurian legend and celtic mythology and along the way won the newberry and many other awards. Cunningham and stars ian mcshane, alexander ludwig, frances conroy, gregory smith, and christopher eccleston as the rider. The book that inspired the seeker is called the dark is rising by susan cooper. We are currently editing over 78 articles, and you can help. It was the only one to be nominated that year for a newbery honor medal. Database of movie trailers, clips and other videos for the seeker. Led by ujurak, the four bears search for a place where they can. The characters in the dark is rising are more fully developed than those in the first book in the series, and many readers skip the first book entirely. The dark is rising was one of the first fantasy books, and series of books, i ever read and i was really looking forward to this movies release.
Oct 05, 2007 database of movie trailers, clips and other videos for the seeker. But the audio book of the dark is rising, which is also unabridged, has a good reader, and moves quickly into the plot and keeps the listener engaged. Will struggles with his new identity, and readers see him mature. My copy of this book with one of the worst cover illustrations ever contains all 5 books in the dark is rising series. Ive never read it, and am interested, since one of the books. The dark is rising is a mound of misaligned, uninspired rubbish void of the novels magic or, quite frankly, any real magic at all. On july 27, 2007, the film was officially retitled the seeker. The series is sometimes called the dark is rising sequence, which is the title of its uk omnibus edition first 1984 and its us boxed set edition first 1986. The dark is rising, based on the dark is rising novel series. The dark is rising was booked into 3,141 theaters and bowed against the heartbreak kid and feel the noise. Reading the dark is rising series, especially the namesake novel, is somehow soothing, summoning up memories of time when unambiguously evil people didnt receive glowing profile stories. But his life is turned more upside down when will learns that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the dark.
The dark is rising 2007 full cast and crew director. Susan cooper book cover gallery things of power see also current events for notices of events of relevance to the dark is rising sequence andor susan cooper welcome to the the dark is rising wiki. On holiday in cornwall, the three drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. The third book came out the next year and is titled greenwitch. The dark is rising is based on a very famous childrens novel by susan cooper. In 2012 it was ranked number 22 among alltime childrens novels in a survey published by school library journal, a monthly with primarily u. Though stylishly produced, this clumsy parable will. The first volume of susan coopers brilliant and absorbing fantasy series, the dark is rising. It influenced other book series in the young adult genre. It had decent characters and very good action scenes, but with a rushed storyline and. The dark is rising sequence by susan cooper goodreads. For years, fantasy buffs waited for a film version of the dark is rising, susan. The dark is rising is a 2007 american family dramafantasy film adaptation of the second book in the five book childrens fantasy series the dark is rising by susan cooper. The seeker is a 2007 american family dramafantasy film adaptation of the second book in the five book childrens fantasy series the dark is rising by susan.
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