The fourth book of the Dark is Rising Sequence, the 1976 Newbery winner, The Grey King by Susan Cooper continues the modern Arthurian fantasy, this time set in beautiful Wales. I read the first three books to get ready for this one, because I definitely have a want-to-check-all-the-boxes-and-read-everything-in-order personality, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Cooper basically resets the series at the beginning of each book (in this one she gives the main character Will Stanton amnesia from a fever for a big chunk of the book) and gives enough back story so you’re not too lost on what’s gone before. But I haven’t read the last book (#5: Silver on the Tree), so maybe it will all come together there. In The Grey King, Will (without remembering he’s a magical Old One at first) recuperates in Wales from his hepatitis, striking up a friendship with Bran Davis as they battle for the light against the Grey King who is sending his terrible invisible foxes around killing sheep. The real battle, however, is for the loyalties of Bran Davis and whether he will choose The Light.
What I liked. I loved the setting in Wales of this book: the farms, the mountains, the harps, the sheep, the old ways, the legends and mythology. It was especially nice to listen to the audio book and have all the Welsh names pronounced for me. I’m pretty sure people without dyslexia don’t know what to do with all the Welsh double consonants, but for me listening to Welsh names and places made the whole thing better. (Also, it won the Welsh Books Council’s Tir na n-Og Award for best English language children’s’ book with an authentic Welsh background.)
What was interesting. (Spoiler Alert!) I thought the ending of this book playing around with the Guinevere story was the most satisfying ending of the series, although the second book The Dark is Rising has a good reveal at the end too. I really wasn’t expecting it to be her in the story, and by the time I had a guess it was pretty late in the book. It’s a pretty sympathetic portrayal of Lady Guinevere as a complex but ultimately good character.
What were some limitations. My complaint with this book is pretty much a series complaint: it’s high tension throughout (everything is always about to be terrible, and it is terrible, and then about to get worse) and whether the good guys ( “The Light” ) are good is a little too vague to make it one of my very favorite books. I think that Susan Cooper does address this issue of the coldness at the center of the light a little, having the main characters of Will and Bran Davis talk about it, and perhaps in the last installment of the series she’ll resolve it. I think that I’m invested enough to read the final book, but it’s not on the top of my to-read list.
Similarity to other Newbery winners. It probably shares the most with Lloyd Alexander’s The High King since it’s a modern fantasy set in Wales and then Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (and maybe even more the later books in that series) in terms of modern characters playing with time and fantasy. And there is a big theme of Bran’s beloved sheep dog Cafall who joins other Newbery dogs like Sounder, Nick (Adam of the Road), Ginger Pye, Ramo (Island of the Blue Dolphins), and Uri (Call it Courage).
What it teaches me as a writer. One of the strongest images of this book was the cruel death of the sheep at the hands of the foxes and the crueler death (another spoiler alert) of the innocent dog Cafall. Much like when Harry’s owl Hedwig dies at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I don’t think I needed to spoiler alert that one–if you don’t know about that one by now, then you’ve been living under a rock), some of the most powerful images in high fantasy novels are the deaths of pets. This tragedy that nearly none of us escape in our regular muggle lives can provide some of the most poignant and cathartic reading experiences. Perhaps especially in books for children, it helps prepare them for when their own pets die or comforts them in midst of their griefs.
Have you read The Grey King? What are your favorite modern fantasy books?
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