The Dark Is Rising is a five-book fantasy series written by Susan Cooper that narrates the struggle between the forces of good (the Light) and the forces of evil (the Dark). The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, was written for somewhat younger readers with less of an... otherworldly, for lack of a better word, feel than the rest of the Sequence, and so if you're starting the series, it might be a good idea to read The Dark is Rising (book two) first and the first book second.
From the second book on, it mainly chronicles the adventures of Will Stanton, an Old One of the Light and alternately the youngest child in a family of eleven. Other main characters are the Drew siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney, as well as Merriman Lyon, all of whom are introduced in Over Sea, Under Stone, and Bran Davies, who enters the cast in the fourth book.
The are five books in the series:
- Over Sea, Under Stone
- The Dark Is Rising
- Greenwitch
- The Grey King
- Silver on the Tree
The series takes much of its inspiration from Arthurian myths, and some from Celtic and Norse legends.
The second book was made into a movie, but it was a very bad adaptation and not very successful, which did not lead to the huge influx of badfics that other continua have experienced.