The six champions of the Light join forces at last to fight the Dark in this fifth and final installment of Susan Cooper’s epic and award-winning The Dark Is Rising sequence, now with a brand-new look! The last great battle between the Light and the Dark has arrived, engulfing Will Stanton; his ageless master, Merriman; the three heroic Drew children; and Bran, the Welsh boy whose destiny is tied to the Light. On a quest through time and space that touches the most ancient myths of the islands of Britain, the six heroes fight fear and death in the darkly brooding mountains of Wales. And in the haunting Lost Land, Will and Bran find dream and nightmare, but also achieve the final talisman against the Dark: the crystal sword. In the dreadful last moment when the Dark rises, all the servants of the Light join to combine the powers of the sword and the six ancient signs. But even with the Signs on their side, can Light prevail?

The six servants of the Light - the Drew children, Will, Bran and the mysterious Merriman - have reached their last, desperate fight against the forces of the Dark. They face one final, daunting task: to find the crystal sword. Their search will lead them from their own world to the haunting, magical Lost Land between sea and shore - and they will each stare death in the face before the battle's final moments. The fifth and final spellbinding book in the highly acclaimed Dark is Rising sequence.

In this conclusion of the "Dark Is Rising" sequence, Will Stanton, the Welsh boy Bran, and the Drew children try to locate the crystal sword that alone can vanquish the strong forces of the Dark.

"And Where the Midsummer Tree Grows Tall by Pendragon's Sword the Dark Shall Fall." The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. Six individuals have come together to drive it back for good: Will, the Sign seeker; Bran, the raven boy; Jane, Simon, and Barney, the grail seekers; and Merriman, the wise mentor who unites them all. Together they stand ready to face the Rider and the full force of the Dark. But the last object of power must first be found. A sword of legend magically forged of pure crystal remains hidden in the Welsh hills. Without it, the Light has no hope against the Dark. Will and his companions must travel through time and space in an epic clash of magical powers that will decide the fate of us all.

Runner-up of the Katherine Briggs Folklore Award 2017 Winner of the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Myth & Fantasy Studies 2019 This book examines the creative uses of “Celtic” myth in contemporary fantasy written for children or young adults from the 1960s to the 2000s. Its scope ranges from classic children’s fantasies such as Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain and Alan Garner’s The Owl Service, to some of the most recent, award-winning fantasy authors of the last decade, such as Kate Thompson (The New Policeman) and Catherine Fisher (Darkhenge). The book focuses on the ways these fantasy works have appropriated and adapted Irish and Welsh medieval literature in order to highlight different perceptions of “Celticity.” The term “Celtic” itself is interrogated in light of recent debates in Celtic studies, in order to explore a fictional representation of a national past that is often romanticized and political.

For centuries, the Arthurian legends have fascinated and inspired countless writers, artists, and readers, many of whom first became acquainted with the story as youngsters. From the numerous retellings of Malory and versions of Tennyson for young people to the host of illustrated volumes to which the Arthurian Revival gave rise. From the Arthurian youth groups for boys (and eventually for girls) run by schools and churches to the school operas, theater pieces, and other entertainment for younger audiences; and from the Arthurian juvenile fiction sequences and series to the films and television shows featuring Arthurian characters, children have learned about the world of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Four British Fantasists explores the work of four of the most successful and influential of the generation of fantasy writes who rose to prominence in the "second Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain: Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Penelope Lively.