Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Dark Is Rising

  • Book 2 of The Dark Is Rising Sequence
  • By: Susan Cooper
  • Narrated by: Alex Jennings
  • Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (347 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Dark Is Rising cover art

The Dark Is Rising

By: Susan Cooper
Narrated by: Alex Jennings
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Over Sea, Under Stone cover art
The Boggart and the Monster cover art
The Boggart cover art
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen cover art
The Accidental Alchemist cover art
The Temple of Fortuna cover art
The Stones of Green Knowe cover art
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea & The Story of Is cover art
Kim cover art
Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Eagle of the Ninth cover art
Moonfleet cover art
M.R. James: The Complete Ghost Stories Collection cover art
The Owl Service cover art
The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art

Summary

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift: he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.

This book is a rare act of creative imagination in which the listener will be equally moved by the warm happy village life Will shares with his large family and the nearly overwhelming danger he encounters, often in other centuries and places, while he seeks the Signs and learns their power. Interweaving ancient Celtic and English traditions with the legends of the Buckinghamshire hills and valleys where she grew up, Susan Cooper has written a superlative dramatic fantasy of the eternal conflict between good and evil out of which all myth is made.

©1973 Susan Cooper (P)2000 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"As narrator, Alex Jennings superbly conveys Will's mixed emotions." (AudioFile)
"So perfect is the match between Alex Jennings' voice and this mysterious magical tale that it is difficult to imagine any other voice reading these words." (The Horn Book Magazine)

What listeners say about The Dark Is Rising

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    295
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    256
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    248
  • 4 Stars
    46
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story of magic and darkness at Christmas

I loved this book as a child and thought I'd give it a listen almost 49 years later just to see if it still held up. I wasn't disappointed. Although the magic in it does - if you think about it - have a 'made up as you go along' feel, with flimsy and vague rules which allow the goodies to conveniently benefit, it is written in a style which gives it heft and conviction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magical listening for midwinter

I try to re-read The Dark Is Rising every December for it's wonderful atmosphere and reminder of how important the midwinter festival was before we all forgot the real reason we mark the solstice and the turning of the year. This year I decided to opt for the audible version and enjoyed it with a backdrop of below freezing temperatures and heavy snow in many parts of the UK (not my part of the UK, sadly). It should be remembered that this is a children's book but it has gathered an almost cult following amongst adults who read it for the interweaving of pagan folk tales, Arthurian legend, magic and current day action and adventure.

It was written, along with the 5 other titles in the series, in the 70s and there is plenty of this decade's gender and class stereotyping - mum and the girls are in the kitchen peeling sprouts the boys are out and about collecting hay and feeding animals, There is an almost feudal deference to the lady of the manor, Miss Greythorne, who is apparently rich enough to run a butler. The performance underlines the class differences in the way that will be familiar to listeners of the Archers - the lower classes are portrayed with thick Mummerset accents while the middle and upper class characters are given typical RP voices even though they have (presumably) lived all their lives within 5 miles of each other.

All that being said, it's still a totally immersive read that leaves you feeling the chill of the extreme cold brought about by the forces of the Dark attacking 11-year old Will Stanton who, despite his youth, is coming into his power as the last of the Old Ones who have for centuries protected the world against the Dark. The growing feeling of foreboding is all the more intense as it's set against the chatter and warmth of the Stanton household where Christmas rattles along as usual, oblivious to the cosmic forces that are amassing outside.

There have been several mass readings of the book, usually around midwinter as the action takes place across the 12 days of Christmas, and a radio adaptation by Robert MacFarlane and theatre company Complicite has just started on the BBC's World Service (as at 20/12/22). There was a risible film version made in 2007 which deserves never to be mentioned again.

If you're looking for something to curl up with over the festive season and you want to lose yourself in a world of magic, snow, ice and nostalgia - this could well be the one for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A bit disappointing

I'll admit that I'm about 45 years older than the target market for this book, not having discovered it as a child! But, though it had some memorable moments, I found it unsatisfying overall.

Will, the 'seeker', never has to seek for anything - all the things he has to find just land in his lap or are conveniently given to him. He's flung backwards and forwards in time with no real explanation whenever it happens to be convenient. He never has to discover or achieve anything, or learn anything: he mysteriously just 'knows' things, and we're told that he knows them, so the author never has to explain or invent any back-story. Somebody else's comment about it feeling rather 'made up on the fly' definitely struck a chord with me.

Admittedly, some of these issues might not bother you if you were a 12-year-old, and I did enjoy listening enough to go right through to the end, but for me, the main thing I learned from it was just how skilled writers like Tolkien, Lewis, Nesbit and Pullman are in comparison.

It was well-read, however.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

a lovely story

there's a richness to the storytelling and takes you on a real adventure. very magical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book, excellent storytelling style

The storyline is excellent and the narration by Alex Jennings is brilliant and he brings each character to life without any exaggeration on style or accent. You feel for Will as he progresses along a very dangerous journey to defeat the Dark. Susan Cooper involves as many English and/or British legends in this fast-paced story to a level that never goes beyond the realms of "possibility". I loved this book as much as book 1 in the series, "Over Sea. Under Stone”. About to start listening to "Greenwitch" (book 3) - cannot wait.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun mixture of fantasy and the every day

The narrator does a great job with this book. The story is pretty good, and for those that are into fantasy I'm sure you'll enjoy this mix of everyday events set in the heart of England, with metaphysical strangeness that whisks you into other centuries and a magical battle between good and evil.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So good I just want to start listening to it again

I've read this wonderful story many times for at least thirty years in the run-up to Christmas - it's basically become a tradition of mine. I still enjoy reading it immensely.

I discovered the Audible version of it a couple of years ago and now listen to that during long car journeys in the run-up to Christmas.

It is a truly wonderful performance by Alex Jennings - easily one of the top audiobooks I own.

As soon as I've finished listening to it I just want to go back to chapter 1 and listen to it again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • CM
  • 25-10-23

Wonderful tale, beautifully told

Great book series, with this being the one I revisit nearly every year around Christmas. Excellent narration brings it to life much like I imagined it all these years. Enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing book but some bits were a bit confusing

I think the book is a very complex book but that just makes it better and I really enjoy all the twists and turn it takes you to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great narration

I love Alex Jennings’ voices, especially Merriman. Brilliant atmospheric story told brilliantly. Am listening to the whole series and they do not disappoint.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!