I was dismayed to realise last weekend that this is in fact the second book of Cooper’s famous Dark Is Rising sequence, not the first; but the majority of my friends on LiveJournal, Facebook and Twitter reassured me that if anything it’s better to start here rather than with the first volume, Over Sea Under Stone.

Well, it turned out to be pretty appropriate to be reading a novel set around Christmas time with unprecedentedly heavy snowfall. Eleven-year-old Will, the seventh son of a seventh son, discovers that he bears ancient powers, and is one of the Old Ones who are trying to prevent the Dark from, er, Rising. I think it’s a great exposition of the desire that most children (and many adults) have of being the secret hero, tying in the magical otherworld with Will’s family life (which is itself disrupted by events). I liked it a lot and will now look out for the other volumes. (And will see if my own eleven-year-old can be persuaded to take an interest.)