Have you read The Dark Is Rising Sequence? I was browsing a Harry Potter discussion forum when I found a reference to this series.
Written by Susan Cooper, The Dark Is Rising Sequence consists of five books aimed at a teenaged audience. The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, published in 1965, begins the story of siblings Simon, Jane, and Barnabas Drew, who discover a treasure map. They embark on a quest to find a grail that's been hidden for over 1,000 years and eventually confront the forces of evil.
The series sounded like a great combination of fantasy and mystery, so I bought the box set last week. The books run between 125-275 pages, so the series will probably be a fast read. I'll post a review sometime this week.
If you've read the books, you may post a spoiler-free review in the comment section.
Update (1/3): These stories are whetting my appetite for more Christian fantasy. Fascinating stuff. I'm on Book 2 of the five-book series. More later.
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January 3rd, 2006 at 12:02 pm
I haven't read this, but I'll have to check out your reviews. I was wondering if you had read the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker (books titles are "Black", "Red", "White"), I thought of it as a more grown-up version of CS Lewis' idea of the "supposal" (suppose Christ came to another world). If you get a chance, check it out!
Have a happy new year!
January 3rd, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Never heard of the Circle Trilogy, but it sounds intriguing. Thanks for the tip, Rick.
January 3rd, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Ditheism: a belief in two equally powerful gods, one good and one evil.
I didn't have a word for it then, and I may have been mistaken. I read these books as a child (30 years ago), and I remember thinking that both "sides" seemed to be portrayed as equally powerful, equally valid choices. Why choose one over the other?
Am I remembering incorrectly or did I evaluate the themes in the books incorrectly?
January 3rd, 2006 at 11:03 pm
Christian?
I've read the series and love them –but I don't remember them as particularly Christian.
January 4th, 2006 at 11:10 am
For more Christian fantasy, might I humbly suggest browsing at ChristianFictionReview.com? There's reviews of the Circle Trilogy, by Ted Dekker, as mentioned above, along with virtually every Christian fantasy published in the last 3 or 4 years.
In the lead-up to the Narnia movie, I put together a special Focus on Christian Fantasy that can be found here: http://www.christianfictionreview.com/fantasyfocus.html
That's not a comprehensive list, or even a list of all that's on the site, but it's a start.
January 5th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
LMB, the history of children's literature–from Christian hero tales and
fantasy of the Middle Ages–to Victorian writing to (usually) pre 1970's
chldren's writing, shows an almost moralist Christian identity. So
you are enjoying today a powerful tradition. I like Susan Cooper but
her Rising stories are, as Sherry says, grounded in pre Christian England.
Are you interested in young adult fantasy, or that for younger readers, or
adult which is suitable for young people? Mary Stewart's Arthurian works
come to mind as the latter. And I'm not sure how you feel about SF, which in its
beginnings was an attempt to reconcile science with faith. (Today's ID)
January 5th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
I read Susan Cooper's series as a kid - they were wonderfully written, but
even then I noticed she identified Jesus as a "great man" but certainly not
God incarnate. Read them with discernment. (I give them a 9 out of 10 for
entertainment value.)
January 6th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
I read the series multiple times as a child and loved them. Susan Cooper was one of
Tolkien's students. They are terrific books!!
January 6th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Another two books that are fantasy and somewhat Christian in message that I recently read
are DragonSpell and DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul. Very enjoyable.
January 9th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
I read "The Dark Is Rising" as a teenager (not so very long ago). They didn't strike me as Christian but they did give me chills (the good kind) and definitely helped stoke my interest in writing Christian fantasy, which I've been doing ever since…