As it is now December, I'm reading, as I always do, the Susan Cooper books 'The Dark is Rising' sequence. It's a set of 5 books, beginning with 'Over sea, Under stone'. This is the story of how the three Drew children and a mysterious 'great uncle' Merriman Lyon hunt for a golden chalice, hidden in Cornwall in the days of King Arthur. The chalice, or grail is an important weapon in the battle between the Dark and the Light - two forces that have been opposed since the dawn of time, in constant battle for domination over man.

The second book in the sequence is 'The Dark is Rising', which continues the battle with a new protagonist for the Light - it tells how Will Stanton became the youngest member of the great Circle that battles the Dark, from his 11th birthday on 21st Dec, his meeting with Merriman and their quest until 12th Night.

The Drews and Will Stanton meet in the third book, 'Greenwitch'. The Dark have stolen something from the Light and the children must go again to Cornwall to retrieve it, and hopefully take one more step along the path to defeating the Dark.

The fourth book, 'The Grey King' tells how Will met Bran, a Welsh boy of uncertain descent, how they battle with the Grey King at Cader Idris and the tasks they must fulfil.

The final book 'Silver on the Tree' is a stunning piece of work. It brings together the Drew children, Will and Bran, binding elements of the previous 4 books into the last task, culminating in one final, desperate race against the Dark.

I've read these books at this time of year, every year for at least the last 20. When the rest of the country is racing around, spending too much on things people don't really want, it's a wonderful way to step out of the world, to read of people risking all for an ideal, not for themselves or glory, or fame and riches, but that the whole of mankind might have hope.

LTS