David Ellery’s Reviews > The Dark Is Rising Sequence > Status Update
David Ellery
is on page 236
A definite improvement on the first book, but I also now remember why I couldn't get through this one before: a near-suffocating weight of capital-letters DESTINY, which always feels like a narrative strait-jacket to me, and the always off-putting theme of "nasty things must be done for the greater good", a pretty bleak and limiting mindset. Quite worrying, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
— Apr 01, 2022 04:48PM
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David’s Previous Updates
David Ellery
is on page 469
So far in book four, same as before, just in Welsh, with added evil foxes because reasons. At least there's no Merriman, in this one. I'm pretty much reading on autopilot, now, just wanting to get it all over with so I can move on to better things.
— Apr 05, 2022 05:05PM
David Ellery
is on page 435
Third book read. A lot shorter than the prior two, but mostly the same issues, to the point it almost feels like a retread, just with both casts together and a different MacGuffin. Really hoping book four finally breaks the formula, not least since the feeling of all these kids just being tools and puppets for the Light is unsettling.
— Apr 04, 2022 05:23PM
David Ellery
is on page 364
Book two done. Leans really heavily on the crutch of purple prose, neglects the plot and characters, especially inert protagonist Will, who's just led around so Big, Dramatic Things can happen to him, with very little agency for a Chosen One. Book three is so far much more sparing with the descriptive indulgences, and is better for it, though Merriman is still off-putting.
— Apr 03, 2022 04:54PM
David Ellery
is on page 291
Am I supposed to dislike Merriman as much as I do? He's a hypocrite. Overblown speeches about responsibility, never seems to take any. Stresses the costs, never pays any, never suffers for his choices and actions; other people do. Beautifully written, but really heavy-handed, and pretty bleak in its mindset. Frustrating.
— Apr 02, 2022 05:01PM
David Ellery
is on page 165
First book of the Sequence done. Generic Blyton-esque plucky kid leads, decently menacing but hollow villains, a bit predictable with an ending relying on an unexplained convenience, but also great descriptive prose and good use of British mythology, not least in a Carnival sequence. Really hoping the other books fulfil the potential only partly realised here.
— Mar 29, 2022 04:01PM
