By Susan Cooper

Born to the sea, it rises in anger.

The grail is gone, taken by the Dark. Now the Drews must reclaim it, before the Dark can complete their plan. Aided by their great uncle Merry, and a young boy named Will, the Drews will face the Greenwitch, an ancient power bound to neither the Light nor the Dark, though both will seek it out, in an attempt to secure the secret it guards. For without that secret, the Light cannot prevail.

The story opens in a flurry of abrupt scenes. Brief expositions serve as both conflict and characterization. As always, the Light and the Dark struggle to gain an advantage, but this time the heart of their conflict is in appealing to an outsider, the Greenwitch. From the beginning the Greenwitch becomes the focus of the story. Evocative prose create a rich sense of otherness, both fearsome and pitiful. Regrettably this makes other scenes pale in comparison. The characters make a valiant effort, but gradually the main conflict is subsumed by one character’s personal struggle. Once that resolves the rest becomes a formality. Still, the story does manage to finish on a high note, a brief moment of bittersweet beauty.

+Strong Descriptions
+Strong ideas
*Multiple perspectives both enhance and undercut the story
*Young story
-Very lean plot

3.5/5

Next Time…
Grey King-DiR 04
2017/01/12