The Dark Is Rising (The Dark Is Rising Sequence Series #2)

When Will Stanton wakes up on the morning of his birthday, he discovers an unbelievable gift -- he is immortal. Bemused and terrified, he finds he is the last of the Old Ones, magical men and women sworn to protect the world from the source of evil, the Dark.

At once Will is plunged into a quest to find six magical Signs to aid the powers of the Light. Six medallions -- iron, bronze, wood, water, fire, and stone -- created and hidden by the Old Ones centuries ago. But the Dark has sent out the Rider: evil cloaked in black, mounted upon a midnight stallion, and on the hunt for this youngest Old One, Will. He must find the six great Signs before the Dark can rise, for an epic battle between good and evil approaches.

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-On his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers he is the last of the Old Ones, dedicated to fighting the forces of evil. Will searches for the six magical signs that will be needed for the battle between the Dark and the Light. By Susan Cooper. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Susan Cooper, one of today's most distinguished children's book writers, won a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor for books in her fantasy sequence, The Dark is Rising. She is also the author of King of Shadows, a Boston Globe -- Horn Book Honor Book, and Green Boy, which was called "an intriguing and truly lovely book" by the New York Times Book Review. She lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, and her Web site is at www.thelostland.com.