"...Those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun...at the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else...At the centre of the Light there is a cold white flame, just as at the centre of the Dark there is a great black pit bottomless as the Universe."
- a mortal speaking as a free agent to an Old One of the Light, herein

And of all the books in the series, THE GREY KING perhaps illustrates that detatchment of the Light from mortal charity more clearly than any book before it since THE DARK IS RISING, with the hard choices it presented to the Old Ones between their duty to the Light and their private obligations to those they loved. Here, however, the choices made are by mortals, from a man who traded away his allegiance in the hope of becoming a great poet to a woman who left her only child among strangers, one of them a man forever marked in turn by her choices.

In each book of this series, either a previously unknown quantity among the major protagonists of the overall story is introduced to the reader, or familiar protagonists from different volumes work together for the first time. In each case, this serves not only to help join together the mundane waking world with the deeper reality of the battleground between the Light and the Dark, but to re-ground readers in the story so far, thus allowing each volume to function as an independent story as well as part of the greater whole.

In THE GREY KING, the Drews do not appear, and an even greater absence casts a shadow on the story - only the youngest of the Old Ones is an active participant, facing the Brenin Llwyd, the Grey King, the greatest Lord of the Dark whose reasons for binding himself to one small part of Wales are beginning to become horribly apparent. And Will Stanton must achieve this quest independently, having only the clues provided by the outcome of an earlier quest and such mortals as he can trust, who live on or near the farm in Wales where Will has been sent to recover from a serious illness. Several of these mortals are unusually perceptive and have their own roles to play in the quest, which this time is not to gain a tool of power for its own sake as a weapon or a defence, but as a stepping stone to more mysterious ends.

At first I was disappointed to find that Alex Jennings (who narrates the other four volumes' unabridged audio editions) wasn't the reader for THE GREY KING, but I decided to take a chance and get Richard Mitchley's recording of this book, trusting that there was a reason for the change, especially when Jennings was tapped for the next (and final) book in sequence.

I now understand the publishers' decision; THE GREY KING needed a narrator who could speak Welsh (not one of Jennings' strengths). I like Mitchley (particularly as Bran Davies) while still enjoying Jennings on the pre-existing characters. Sigh - if only they'd jointly narrated the last two books so I could've had it both ways...

This is the fourth book in Susan Cooper's wonderfully written Dark Is Rising series. Once read, it is a book not easily forgotten. Unlike other authors writing at the same time, Cooper writes with a mature but lyrical prose which in no way talks down to younger readers and consequently can be read and enjoyed by anyone no matter their age.
The story continues to follow the life of Will Stanton, this time convalescing at his aunt's house in Wales. During his stay, he befriends Bran, a boy with an amazing destiny.
The story is powerful and moving and full of legend and magic.
Susan Cooper paints her setting beautifully.
Will has developed more over the series in to a deep and memorable character.
The book is the only one in the series not read by Alex Jennings, but Richard Michly is an excellent narrator, and I'd be happy for either actor to read any audio book of mine. At least I know they'd be read well. I do feel though that you should stick with the same reader through a series, as it helps lend that extra familiarity to the story and the characters.
All in all an excellent book, can't wait to read the last one.

The Grey King is the 4th book in the 5 part Dark is Rising series, and it is, in my opinion, the best one in the series. This book builds off of the first three (mostly the second), and resumes the story of Will Stanton (of the 2nd and 3rd books) and introduces Bran Davies who becomes a leading character in this and the 5th book. Susan Cooper retains all of the richness of the first three book, and she once again utilizes her skill as a writer to paint a vivid picture of the battle between good and evil (see me review of The Dark is Rising to see my thoughts on how she deals with this topic).

This book goes above and beyond what is brought to us in the first three books of the series. This book is both more mysterious and darker than the first three. I remember reading this book as a child and getting chills from reading it. It was not nightmare scary or anything, somehow it is scary while you were reading it but as soon as you put the book down, so did the fear. I think that it is because Cooper is so skilled a writer that she makes you fear for the characters in her book, not for yourself.

Also, her character development of Will far surpassed what she did in the 2nd and 3rd books with him. She somehow made him more complete, giving him sometimes the confidence and maturity of an "Old One," and, at other times, the timidity and youthfulness of the child of 12 that he was. You can definitely see Cooper's writing skills developing as her series develops. This books is where those skills reach their peak, and they are at a height that only a handful of fiction authors in the last century have surpassed.

Overall grade: A

Light and Dark clash yet again
Up in the hills of Wales
They really are alive this time
There's music in these tales

Deep in a hill there lies a harp
The wondrous Harp of Gold
One of the Old Ones' Things of Power
It's High Magic controlled

It's Will again who has the task
To end the Sleepers rest
Welsh folklore joins with King Arthur
And Will's put to the test

His new friend Bran's a mystery
He's much more than he seems
His mother left him as a babe
And dashed a good man's dreams

The Brenin Llwyd, or The Grey King
Observes their every error
His breath it forms the clammy fog
His Milgwn provide terror

Caradog Prichard is obsessed
Something's killing his sheep
He blames the dogs who aren't at fault
His anger rages deep

Will they stand against the Dark,
Will they fulfill their quest?
"The Dark is Rising" rates above
But this one's second best.


Amanda Richards, January 28, 2006

I did my book review on a book called The Grey King. It is about a boy named Will who goes to Wales for the summer because he is sick. When he gets there he finds out that he is part of the battle between the Dark and the Light. Then he meets a boy named Bran who is supposed to help him with his quest.
There are many farms on the Welsh mountains. One of the farms belongs to Caradog Prichard. He gets in the way of the quest quite a bit. When the Grey King, leader of the dark, begins his attack. Then Caradog Prichard's farm sets on fire because of the attack. Will and Bran use this time to sneak away to another world. There thy retrieve the golden harp which will help defeat the Dark.
Then bran's dog Cafall dies. Bran becomes sad and quits. Will is forced to finish the quest on his own. One day Will accidentally walks into the Grey King's territory. The Grey king warns him him to never come there again. When Will gets back to the farm he finds out that Caradog Prichard is accusing one of John Rowland's dogs of killing a few of his sheep. He threatens to hunt and kill the dog. Then Will hides the dog at a separate farm. Over there he gets gets injured when he falls down a hill. He has to stay there.
Then Caradog Prichard finds out where Will and the dog are. That is when Bran comes and takes the dog to another farm. But Prichard finds Will and traps him. That is when the Grey King takes control of him. Will is forced to play the golden harp to free him. Prichard loses his mind and the Grey King is forced to leave Wales forever.
I would give this book a four star rating because I think the title could be better.