The Dark is Rising

1974

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper


Although this is the second book in the series, it essentially revamps the character and story and could be considered a good starting point. In fact, the series became known as 'The Dark is Rising Series' with the delivery of this sequel. The first book, cuter and milder in tone and without references to the grander story developed here, can be considered more of a prequel.

Where the first book constantly hints at magic and mythology but never really delivers anything wonderful, this book wastes no time in establishing the characters and plot devices needed for an epic saga. While it is nothing so original as Narnia and Middle-Earth, it certainly predates the story of a young boy awakening one day to a magical inheritance and destiny as a 'chosen one'.
While many parents have enjoyed the more modern versions of this story as novels and movies, no one will forget that this is a short book written for young readers. But it is a must-read for lovers of magic and myth, and I eagerly await tracking down the rest of the series.

My eleven year old son, who is fully versed in all of the pretenders to Harry Potter's throne, found the first book, Under Sea Under Stone, completely uninteresting and didn't read more than a few pages. But I dropped 'The Dark is Rising' on his nightstand and anxiously await his verdict (Update: He never brought himself to read it. A premature teenager, my recommendation frequently has the impact of a bio hazard warning). But to be clear: This book borrows heavily from English mythology and traditional storytelling (Merlin is more of a direct presence here), but most readers will see the Dark is Rising protagonist, Will Stanton, as the exact source material for a certain popular 11-year old wizard boy.

There is a movie based on this book. When every internet contributor in the world can agree on something's awfulness, it's best to avoid that thing.

Bermuda Triangle

1974

This 1973 examination of the Bermuda Triangle starts off as a scientific and factual examination of the myth and events that led travelers to request flights that avoided the western Atlantic ocean, but quickly descends into campy theories that makes the book hard to take seriously. Nonetheless, Berlitz treads the line between science and science-fiction in a way that makes both interesting. There is enough credible research to make you doubt the naysayers and actually get a little creeped out at times.

The bottom line, though, is that despite the author's ability to reasonably present information in a way that makes you view the Triangle and other urban legends with a fresh perspective, he still pushes his love for Atlantis way too hard in this forum (probably to make up enough material for a full sized book), and also the fact that this "#1 bestseller" is tied directly to the "blockbuster movie" titled the Bermuda Triangle completely destroys the last shred of dignity. I had to look the movie up online, and it is a complete mockery of any aspect of the triangle that might be real.
This book is for lovers of urban myths and Atlantis.

Created, The Destroyer

1971

In the early seventies as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and a variety of martial arts schools and styles were emerging in popular culture, The Destroyer arose as a satire or perhaps evolution of pulp novels by combining the excessive violence and gunplay of book serials like the Executioner and merging it with the philosophy of Oriental fighting.

In this first novel Remo's teacher Chuin had not yet rose prominently as a lead character, figuring in rather exactly as Yoda does ten year later in the Empire Strikes Back- a teacher more of wisdom than power who only plays as a mid-story turning point for the protagonist. Hence this book lacks much of the fun interpersonal play that helps the Destroyer series to stand out (and provided the only good bits from the movie adaptation). But Remo stands on his own here in his debut appearance. He is tough as hell, and likable even through his worst actions. Even the villains of the story, short lived and somewhat under-developed, are the type of guys you love to hate.

"I plan on loaning this book immediately to the nearest person I know who enjoys a good action story." That's what I wrote in my GoodReads review three years ago. I then gave the book to a certain co-worker, who is still in possession of said book. I hope he reads it. Or gives it back so I can loan it to someone who will read it. But then again, my bookshelf is filled with books and graphic novels loaned or gifted to me that I haven't touched yet. But at least I provide reasonable anecdotal evidence that I'm working on it!