Recent Reads: The Dark is Rising

[mizkit]

I have read THE DARK IS RISING many, many times in my life, far more than I can count (I mean, it's probably a countable number, but it's not like I have been counting!). It is, perhaps, not quite my favorite of the sequence (I have a soft spot for GREENWITCH, which was the first of them I read, and which features Jane quite heavily, which, I mean, like, y'know, female protagonist, so...), but I'm fairly willing to concede it's the best of the series, arguably by a long shot.

The last time I wrote down that I'd read it was in 2006, although I'm quite sure I re-read it more recently when I got copies for my son, hoping he'd be interested. (I should try him on them again, really, just in case.) What I'd forgotten in the interim, or maybe never noticed as actively as I did this time, is how beautiful the actual writing is. I remembered how great the story is, of course, but the writing itself is lovely too. Powerful and detailed and uplifting and gorgeous.

It was the last book I read in 2023, partly because, well, jeez, what a great book to wrap up with, but also because I finally got around to listening to the greatly-renowned BBC audio adaptation, which...

...honestly, I bounced off it. I gave it a good try, I really did, particularly for somebody who really just doesn't do audio dramas/adaptations. I listened to four of the twelve episodes, and quite enjoyed the first one but sort of didn't care for the next couple quite as much, and then Merriman arrived on the scene and it all went to hell.
Part of the problem was that his voice just wasn't deep enough, but the much, much larger problem for me personally was it turned out that on some level I apparently expected him to have a Northern Irish accent. Which, well. I grant you there is absolutely no in-book reason for this, but:

From the book: "[Merriman had] a strong, bony head, with deep-set eyes and an arched nose fierce as a hawk's beak; a sweep of wiry white hair springing back from the high forehead; bristling brows and a jutting chin."

And while the jutting chin is somewhat obscured by the beard, this was my Northern Irish grandfather...



I had absolutely never actively considered the idea that my idea of Merriman was absolutely based on my grandpa, at least not as far as I can remember, but when the actor spoke I just went "NOPE."

So I stopped listening after that episode, and decided to re-read the book so that it was all resettled properly in my head, which it now is. :)

I'll probably re-read the rest of the series this week, although I will, as ever, not read the final chapter of SILVER ON THE TREE. I read it once, hated it, and will never read it again.

(I also hate the ending of the Prydain Chronicles, and Narnia, and several other series written by authors who, in their post-war middle aged years, fashioned worlds in which, at the end of the story, The Magic Went Away. It is extremely arguable that my entire oeuvre is a response to that, an essential, "Screw all you guys, I'm bringing the magic back." I have been aware of this for a long, long time, and am 100% okay with it.)

Perhaps this post is less about the book than it ought to be, but that's what you get with my recent reads sometimes. :)

Comments

[mizkit]

...if you ever have some copious free time and want to look at it...

Honestly, it's the book of my heart and it's not perfect but I wish I could get an agent and maybe get it sold, because it *is* very, very good, and...yeah.

[mrissa]

Yeah, not in January, but it sounds delightful....

[mizkit]

Let me know! Or I can send it to you now and you can read it when you've got time. :)

[mrissa]

If it's not going to stress you out for me to have it and not read it for a while, yeah, go ahead and send it!

[mizkit]

I mean, I wrote it in 2003, almost got it published back then, and since have been told that nobody wants portal fantasies (everybody wants portal fantasies, they always want portal fantasies, i can't help it if EDITORS don't want portal fantasies) or not had an agent to try to sell it, so...it's not any *terrible* rush at this point. :) Do you have a format preference? I can throw it into an epub or mobi if that's easiest for you!

[mrissa]

I read manuscripts on a very elderly Kindle so it's dealer's choice for me, I am just as happy to forward it to my Kindle and let the thing do the autoconversion as to have it be a mobi.

[mizkit]

Okee, I'll send it your way in the next day or two! <3

[mrissa]

PS I also had a near-sale of a portal fantasy in 2003, high fives.