...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
The Dark is Rising
- 1050 statements
- 208 feature instances
- 79 referencing feature instances
The Dark is Rising | type |
TVTItem | |
The Dark is Rising | label |
The Dark is Rising | |
The Dark is Rising | page |
TheDarkIsRising | |
The Dark is Rising | comment |
British fantasy series by Susan Cooper about the epic struggle between immortal forces of good and evil, progressing toward a final confrontation. Chiefly, the fight is a series of bureaucratic magical battles with arcane rules, in which both sides seek to collect items of power to give them the decisive advantage in the final battle between good and evil.The books are: Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) The Dark Is Rising (1973) Greenwitch (1974) The Grey King (1975) Silver on the Tree (1977)While Over Sea, Under Stone was written first, The Dark Is Rising is most commonly read first.The heroes are Will Stanton, a boy who discovers he is an immortal wizard; the Drew children, a trio of average kids caught up in the battle; Bran Davies, a mysterious albino boy; and Merlin. Yes, that Merlin.The series is based on the Arthurian mythos, and is written primarily for older children and young adults. The series is a high-fantasy affair, drawing much of its lore from the Celtic Mythology of Britain and Ireland.The Film of the Book, called The Seeker, was very loosely based on the second novel.A BBC audio drama of the second book was released in late 2022. | |
The Dark is Rising | fetched |
2024-02-22T09:46:00Z | |
The Dark is Rising | parsed |
2024-02-22T09:46:00Z | |
The Dark is Rising | processingComment |
Dropped link to Mabinogion: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Dark is Rising | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheMerchantOfVenice: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Dark is Rising | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
The Dark is Rising / int_12dd1d4c | type |
Rape as Drama | |
The Dark is Rising / int_12dd1d4c | comment |
Rape as Drama: Very strongly implied to be what would have happened had Owen Davies not arrived in time to save Bran's mother from Caradog Prichard. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_12dd1d4c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_12dd1d4c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_12dd1d4c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_137f2d7 | type |
Card-Carrying Villain | |
The Dark is Rising / int_137f2d7 | comment |
Card-Carrying Villain: When you willingly ally yourself with an ancient supernatural order called "The Dark," you're probably not an Anti-Villain. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_137f2d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_137f2d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_137f2d7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_13f7da6 | type |
Instant Expert | |
The Dark is Rising / int_13f7da6 | comment |
Instant Expert: Will, at riding horses. Justified because both the white mare of the Light and the horses in the Lost Land are magical. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_13f7da6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_13f7da6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_13f7da6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_171edb09 | type |
The Wild Hunt | |
The Dark is Rising / int_171edb09 | comment |
The Wild Hunt: The climax of The Dark Is Rising (the book, not the entire series) involves the Wild Hunt, led by the standard Celtic deity Herne the Hunter. In this case the hunt is a wild but ultimately positive force that drives the villains to the ends of the earth. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_171edb09 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_171edb09 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_171edb09 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1777688d | type |
Genre Savvy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1777688d | comment |
Genre Savvy: The Drews show moments of this, especially the boys, when theorizing what will happen if they tell their parents about the map, or try and explain to the authorities who stole the grail from the museum. They also figure out "Merriman Lyon's" pseudonym. The pre-video-game Drews have probably read loads of kids' adventure fiction, which the first book resembles more strongly than the rest. The Black Rider shows moments of this too, from making Jane think he was the vicar of Trewissick (and therefore trustworthy) to deliberately sending the Drews back in time to make Merriman rescue them and miss his chance to enter the Lost Land, and pulling an I Have Your Wife on John Rowlands. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1777688d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1777688d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1777688d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1779f10e | type |
"Well Done, Son" Guy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1779f10e | comment |
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Bran, to Owen Davies. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1779f10e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1779f10e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1779f10e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_18d15922 | type |
Title Drop | |
The Dark is Rising / int_18d15922 | comment |
Also with the ''Grey King"; they reference him often, but the most obvious Title Drop comes with the poem that Will memorized: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_18d15922 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_18d15922 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_18d15922 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1badfb3a | type |
The Heart | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1badfb3a | comment |
The Heart: Jane. Her contributions to the plot tend to come about through emotion; her compassion for others is one of her most prominent attributes, and is what makes possible her biggest success in book three. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1badfb3a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1badfb3a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1badfb3a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c4e308e | type |
The Spock | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c4e308e | comment |
The Spock: The Light in general are this trope—as Good Is Not Nice (above) notes, they're so focused on the big picture they can't really be bothered with details like romance, empathy, or compassion. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c4e308e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c4e308e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c4e308e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c7a7a52 | type |
The Slow Path | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c7a7a52 | comment |
The Slow Path: Hawkin, plus a number of artifacts including the Belt of Signs (hidden in a Roman Coliseum, of all places). A more specific example is the Sign of Wood, renewed in the past but which Will then has to travel back to the present to claim. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c7a7a52 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c7a7a52 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1c7a7a52 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1da46897 | type |
Lady Macbeth | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1da46897 | comment |
The same could also be said for Maggie Barnes in The Dark Is Rising, Mrs. Rowlands in Silver on the Tree, and Mrs. Palk also in Over Sea, Under Stone. Even the Black Rider has his moments. For all her use of mythic archetypes, Colour-Coded for Your Convenience, and Card Carrying Villains, Susan Cooper loves this trope. And despite this, The Reveal about Mrs. Palk and Mrs. Rowlands is still genuinely shocking upon first reading. Even Merlin didn't figure it out until it was almost too late. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1da46897 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1da46897 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1da46897 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1fe4ca78 | type |
Appropriated Title | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1fe4ca78 | comment |
Appropriated Title: The series is known by the name of the second book. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1fe4ca78 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_1fe4ca78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_1fe4ca78 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_20a14df0 | type |
Wrong Genre Savvy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_20a14df0 | comment |
Wrong Genre Savvy: The Drews in Greenwitch, who mistake Will for the Tagalong Kid and think they will have to ditch him to get anything done. Will is actually The Hero, knows far more about what's going on than they do, and his efforts are hampered by trying to keep them safe. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_20a14df0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_20a14df0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_20a14df0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3aa44 | type |
Good Is Not Nice | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3aa44 | comment |
Good Is Not Nice: While the Light does have humanity's best interests at heart, it is very clear that the oldest and most powerful Old Ones, as well the Light's overall philosophy, are all about ends justifying the means, I Did What I Had to Do, and quite often verging on Knight Templar and Well-Intentioned Extremist thinking. Aside from Hawkin's punishment for his betrayal, there's Will's sickness-induced Easy Amnesia which he concludes was caused by the Light to get him to Wales. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3aa44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3aa44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3aa44 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3e32e | type |
Chekhov's Boomerang | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3e32e | comment |
Chekhov's Boomerang: Will's mother's wedding ring. Not only is fixing it the reason Roger Stanton has to call in a specialist, which allows the Black Rider to enter Will's normal life as "Mr. Mitothin", but the "odd runic lines" Merriman comments on needing to examine more closely, when Will envisions it for him, turn out to be the spell of Lir, which the Rider uses to enchant Mary. And then this same spell appears again in book three, as one of those the painter uses to try and control the Greenwitch. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3e32e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3e32e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_21f3e32e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
The Dark is Rising / int_22cf536c | comment |
In the last book, it appears that despite being disparaged by Stephen and James, Gerard's old book of biology and botany has at least some basis in truth: the scarlet pimpernel, which is claimed to be "good against venomous beasts" and which Stephen placed in his buttonhole and forgot about, protected him from the attacking mink. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_22cf536c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_22cf536c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_22cf536c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_256eaa53 | type |
Prophetic Fallacy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_256eaa53 | comment |
Prophetic Fallacy: Thanks to the cryptic vagueness of many of the prophetic lines, the characters have difficulty knowing what any of them mean, even Merlin and other high Old Ones, with some not becoming clear until the moment of their fulfillment and others clear only in hindsight. This is aided by the fact that the introduction of the first prophecy, in The Dark Is Rising, is given piece-meal, one stanza at a time, with Will learning each only when it becomes applicable (or after it might have helped him find the Signs, in the case of the second stanza, which he learns when there's only two to go). Several key phrases are also translations of Welsh and thus don't become clear until Will can find the locations that are their sources. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_256eaa53 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_256eaa53 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_256eaa53 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_26e685c0 | type |
A Mythology Is True | |
The Dark is Rising / int_26e685c0 | comment |
A Mythology Is True Celtic Mythology, especially of the Welsh or Cornish variety. Except for one odd Crossover Cosmology example, the Greek sea goddess Tethys, who makes a random appearance in book three. Book three also contains a reference to the Egyptian deity of the afterlife Anubis, apparently associated in some way with the prophecies of the Dark. (Of course.) In the last book, it appears that despite being disparaged by Stephen and James, Gerard's old book of biology and botany has at least some basis in truth: the scarlet pimpernel, which is claimed to be "good against venomous beasts" and which Stephen placed in his buttonhole and forgot about, protected him from the attacking mink. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_26e685c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_26e685c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_26e685c0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2726d167 | type |
The World Is Just Awesome | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2726d167 | comment |
The World Is Just Awesome: The moment in Silver on the Tree when the Drews are in Wales, on the mountaintop overlooking the panoramic view, is either this or Scenery Porn. It even bookends the series, when the book concludes with them back where they started (and wiped of all memory of what came before). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2726d167 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2726d167 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2726d167 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2737c505 | type |
Shoot the Dog | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2737c505 | comment |
Shoot the Dog: literally | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2737c505 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2737c505 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2737c505 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_27636a1 | type |
Hellish Horse | |
The Dark is Rising / int_27636a1 | comment |
Hellish Horse: While all of the Riders of the Dark have steeds like this, the Black Rider's is especially notable for its dark aura and burning eyes. Made even more unsettling when Mary, under the Rider's spell, sits on the horse's back and acts as if it's perfectly normal and harmless. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_27636a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_27636a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_27636a1 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_289008dc | type |
Incorruptible Pure Pureness | |
The Dark is Rising / int_289008dc | comment |
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: When applied to water—stated to be free of magic when it is moving, so that anything in it cannot be harmed or used by the Dark, and in fact the Dark cannot cross it. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_289008dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_289008dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_289008dc | |
The Dark is Rising / int_28e90e30 | type |
More than Mind Control | |
The Dark is Rising / int_28e90e30 | comment |
More than Mind Control: How the Grey King first influences, then actually takes control of, Caradog Prichard as he gets more desperate to stop Will's quest. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_28e90e30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_28e90e30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_28e90e30 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_291e4f49 | type |
Cold Flames | |
The Dark is Rising / int_291e4f49 | comment |
Cold Flames: Hawkin summons nine large magical freezing cold flames that represent the power of the Dark and the spells of the Deep Cold. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_291e4f49 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_291e4f49 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_291e4f49 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2930a60a | type |
Foul Fox | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2930a60a | comment |
Foul Fox: In ''The Grey King" the title character is an extremely evil Lord of the Dark. His minions include the milgwn: huge grey foxes that do his bidding, including slaughtering sheep. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2930a60a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2930a60a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2930a60a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_294ed981 | type |
Bilingual Bonus | |
The Dark is Rising / int_294ed981 | comment |
Bilingual Bonus: Book four has a great deal of Welsh phrases, sentences, and names. The plot-important ones are translated and even pronounced for the reader. The others...aren't. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_294ed981 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_294ed981 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_294ed981 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d4d16d9 | type |
I Know You Know I Know | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d4d16d9 | comment |
I Know You Know I Know: The agents of the Light and the Dark have a few conversations like this. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d4d16d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d4d16d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d4d16d9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d6f00e4 | type |
Psycho for Hire | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d6f00e4 | comment |
Psycho for Hire: Herne the Hunter is implied to be one for the Light. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d6f00e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d6f00e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d6f00e4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d88e42c | type |
Gender Bender | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d88e42c | comment |
Gender Bender: Mrs. Rowlands is also the male White Rider. The White Rider is at one point described as having an almost feminine sneer. This is probably supposed to be extra creepy. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d88e42c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d88e42c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2d88e42c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2eac5753 | type |
Narrative Profanity Filter | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2eac5753 | comment |
Narrative Profanity Filter: In Over Sea, Under Stone the three Drews encounter young Bill Hoover, a local troublemaker who works for the Withers. After running into Jane with his bike, he departs in a rage: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2eac5753 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2eac5753 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2eac5753 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2ffb4a4d | type |
The Nondescript | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2ffb4a4d | comment |
The Nondescript: Owen Davies, Bran's adopted father. Lampshaded by Will, particularly in respect to the sweeping drama and romance of his love story. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2ffb4a4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_2ffb4a4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_2ffb4a4d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_30d2ae29 | type |
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_30d2ae29 | comment |
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A literal example—when the Drews are told by Will and Bran that they need to find the Lady and the only clue they have is the prophetic line "The mountains are singing and the Lady comes", their first impulse is to ask if there's a Welsh place called "Singing Mountain" so they can go there. There isn't, but it's Will singing at the echo rock, so that it seems as if the mountain is singing, which frees the Lady from the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_30d2ae29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_30d2ae29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_30d2ae29 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_314c56b9 | type |
Time Stands Still | |
The Dark is Rising / int_314c56b9 | comment |
Time Stands Still: Another power shared by both the Light and the Dark: the Black Rider uses it to catch Will's family "out of time" while they converse during the Villain Over for Dinner moment, Bran is similarly frozen in the last book while the Dark's challenge of his participation in events is addressed, and both Merriman and Will make use of it at different points (freezing Father Beaumont during the attack on the church at Christmas, freezing the Walker when Maggie Barnes tries to take the Size of Bronze, and more). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_314c56b9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_314c56b9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_314c56b9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_31a27f5d | type |
Evil Evolves | |
The Dark is Rising / int_31a27f5d | comment |
Evil Evolves: Explicitly stated by Merriman, both in regards to why the Dark is so powerful and as a specific power bequeathed to the Black Rider: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_31a27f5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_31a27f5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_31a27f5d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_32e279c4 | type |
Humans Are Flawed | |
The Dark is Rising / int_32e279c4 | comment |
Humans Are Flawed: The ultimate conclusion of the series, and why the Light can defend them and their right to make their own free world—because for all their awful representatives, there are as many or more who are inspiring. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_32e279c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_32e279c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_32e279c4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34dcfc96 | type |
Kick the Dog | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34dcfc96 | comment |
Kick the Dog Something the Dark is very good at. What happens to Hawkin, Will's mother getting hurt and his sister kidnapped and subjected to Mind Rape, the death of Cafall, and who Mrs. Rowlands turns out to be, coupled with how the Black Rider uses her to get John's cooperation, all qualify. It backfires at one point. Will gets the sixth and last sign from a great ship, carrying a long dead king who was an ally of the Light (but not King Arthur), and all his possessions. After he claims it, in an act of spite the Dark sets the whole ship on fire. Will is horrified by it, but Merry points out that the Dark was so eager to be spiteful that they didn't think it through. All they have done is give the King what he deserves. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34dcfc96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34dcfc96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_34dcfc96 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34f1b472 | type |
Mad Artist | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34f1b472 | comment |
Mad Artist: The unnamed villain of Greenwitch. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34f1b472 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_34f1b472 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_34f1b472 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_35b241c0 | type |
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping | |
The Dark is Rising / int_35b241c0 | comment |
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In-universe example, in both heroic and villainous flavors. Will, all-unknowingly, speaks in the Old Speech when he comes into his powers on his birthday, thus immediately giving away that he is an Old One. At the same time, when the Black Rider responds to him in kind, he seemingly speaks English with an odd accent Will can't place. This is because, Merriman and the Lady later explain, the Dark cannot speak the Old Speech without betraying their inner nature. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_35b241c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_35b241c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_35b241c0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3923297a | type |
PsychopathicManChild | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3923297a | comment |
Psychopathic Man Child: The Greenwitch is portrayed as one of these; she has childish and simplistic goals (to be left alone, to be given attention and love, and to have a secret all her own which she will cling to against all reason), she has great power but also childish qualities (specifically, a tendency to throw temper tantrums), and due to being a creature of the Wild Magic she operates under In-Universe Values Dissonance in regards to what is considered acceptable behavior and what is cruel or savage. She comes across as limited in intellect and knowledge, and thus innocent of understanding what her powers and nature can do to mortals. The result is a being that inspires sympathy even as she's also incredibly disturbing and creepy. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3923297a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3923297a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3923297a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3b3d8430 | type |
The Constant | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3b3d8430 | comment |
The Constant: Merriman's vassal Hawkin, who is already a character who had been brought forward through time to serve him (and help guard the Book of Gramarye), ends up cursed to follow The Slow Path after betraying the Light...and after living six hundred years carrying the Sign of Bronze, becomes the ragged tramp known as the Walker. Just before Merriman calls him by his old name, Will recognizes him by his face and voice and realizes he was there all along. This is later underscored when he wears his old green velvet clothing but still appears as his present-day gnarled old self. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3b3d8430 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3b3d8430 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3b3d8430 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3bc88a7f | type |
Foregone Conclusion | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3bc88a7f | comment |
Foregone Conclusion: The Lost Land will be drowned. Arthur will lose the Battle of Badon (or at least, it will only be a partial victory, explained in this case by the absence of the Lady). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3bc88a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3bc88a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3bc88a7f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3c7022ce | type |
Mundane Solution | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3c7022ce | comment |
Mundane Solution: How to stop the mad Walker from bringing the Dark into Huntercombe Manor through the spells of the deep cold? Give him a sedative. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3c7022ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3c7022ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3c7022ce | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3d2c6d30 | type |
Skewed Priorities | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3d2c6d30 | comment |
Skewed Priorities: In the last book, Simon briefly considers his starting boarding school more important than preventing The End of the World as We Know It. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3d2c6d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3d2c6d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3d2c6d30 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3ed17fe0 | type |
Wide-Eyed Idealist | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3ed17fe0 | comment |
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Barney. What is especially significant about this is that he not only remains such despite everything done to him throughout the series, he is more often than not proven right. Judging by Merriman's reaction to Barney's excitement during the journey to the midsummer tree, it is this very trait which is the reason for his inclusion among the Six. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3ed17fe0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3ed17fe0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3ed17fe0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3f70415 | type |
Because Destiny Says So | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3f70415 | comment |
Because Destiny Says So: Merriman knows that Hawkin will betray him as a result of risking Hawkin's life for the Light, but seems to view it as something that will inevitably happen. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3f70415 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_3f70415 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_3f70415 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40c57041 | type |
Manipulative Bastard | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40c57041 | comment |
Manipulative Bastard: The Black Rider, hands down. There's his hypnotism of Barney in the first book as Hastings (preceded by a very charismatic rhetoric in which he almost convinced Barney he was on the good side and Great-Uncle Merry was on the bad side); his Villain Over for Dinner moment at Christmas; his kidnapping, enchanting, and near Mind Rape of Will's sister Mary just before Twelfth Night; his taunting appearance in the rose garden and just before the glass tower in the Lost Land; and his attempt to use Mrs. Rowlands to obtain John's cooperation in outlawing Bran from participating in the final showdown. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40c57041 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40c57041 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_40c57041 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40cc0c7e | type |
Bittersweet Ending | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40cc0c7e | comment |
Bittersweet Ending: While the series itself has one through the combination of The Magic Goes Away and Wistful Amnesia, several of the individual books don't have exactly happy endings either. In The Dark Is Rising, the Dark is driven back by the Wild Hunt and the joining of the Signs, but this is only a temporary victory at best, and it is further tainted by the repentance and death of Hawkin. Though Jane obtains the secret scroll from the Greenwitch in the third book, their parting at the end is rather sad; and the first book in which the scroll was lost in the first place, rendering the grail untranslatable, was something of a Pyrrhic Victory. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40cc0c7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40cc0c7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_40cc0c7e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40fec5b4 | type |
Default to Good | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40fec5b4 | comment |
Default to Good: Just before the climactic battle, the forces of the Dark attempt to stick John Rowlands (who, being human, is a part of neither the Light nor the Dark and, while aware that there is a conflict going on, chooses to stay out of it for the most part) with this choice, bribing him with a promise of freeing his possessed wife from their control in exchange for his deciding in their favor on a matter critical to the outcome of the big battle. He is not fooled, however, and this little move causes him to side decisively with the Light, as he both rules in their favor on the matter in contention, and goes on to play a small but vital role in the final victory. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40fec5b4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_40fec5b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_40fec5b4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_41a0601f | type |
Mind-Control Music | |
The Dark is Rising / int_41a0601f | comment |
Mind-Control Music: Will's encounter with the power of the Dark in The Dark is Rising: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_41a0601f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_41a0601f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_41a0601f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_431e9b2d | type |
Crystal Weapon | |
The Dark is Rising / int_431e9b2d | comment |
Crystal Weapon: In Silver on the Tree, Will Stanton and Bran journey to the Lost Land to retrieve the crystal sword Eirias, which is necessary to fulfill the prophecy of the destruction of the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_431e9b2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_431e9b2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_431e9b2d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47d35854 | type |
Intergenerational Friendship | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47d35854 | comment |
Intergenerational Friendship: Eleven- to twelve-year-old Will and his white-haired mentor Merriman. Mind you, in their other reality they're ageless Old Ones, but still. Also perhaps the Drew children and Merriman, though he's more like family, being their courtesy uncle. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47d35854 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47d35854 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_47d35854 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47f524ff | type |
Fantastic Religious Weirdness | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47f524ff | comment |
Fantastic Religious Weirdness: In some Early-Installment Weirdness, Over Sea, Under Stone implied that, historically, the Light had been associated with Christianity. It was noted that one of the symptoms of Arthurian Britain collapsing was that it was only in the non-conquered western parts of Britain were places where men worshipped God. Aside from that, though, there doesn't seem to be much relationship between the forces of the Light and the Dark, which is based on Celtic and Welsh mythology, and the Christianity of characters like Father Beaumont. After Will and the Old Ones protect the church and the members of it from an invasion of the Dark, the priest tries to ascribe the powers of the Old Ones of the Light as miracles derived from the Christian God, who he says came first and created all of existence, and claims they won because the Signs are in the shape of a cross—"not of the Church, but a Christian cross nonetheless", implying it only had power because the cross has always and only been a Christian symbol. Farmer Dawson says Beaumont's a "brave fellow" but "this battle is not for his fighting. He is bound to think so, of course, being in his church," while Will calls the priest's theological assumptions "disturbed." He also thinks of saying something to correct the priest, but he doesn't say how he would have corrected him - did God come later? Does God even exist? Do the powers of the Old Ones come from a totally different source but the Christian God still exists? Merriman also later says that humanity can't "lie idly expecting the second coming of anybody now". Will does think at one point that church is "where men give thought to matters of the Light and the Dark" and that no harm can enter a church's walls — but, well, it certainly is true that for a very long time, within the walls of a church was where most of humanity did their thinking about ethics, and the rule about harm entering a church could easily be one of the Old Laws. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47f524ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_47f524ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_47f524ff | |
The Dark is Rising / int_483152c4 | type |
The Resenter | |
The Dark is Rising / int_483152c4 | comment |
The Resenter: Hawkin, regarding Will for both "causing" his fate and for his special Old One powers. Jane becomes this briefly in the last book, thanks to some Dark-induced jealousy toward Bran. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_483152c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_483152c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_483152c4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4852f325 | type |
I Just Want to Be Normal | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4852f325 | comment |
I Just Want to Be Normal: Downplayed with Will—as he puts it himself, when Merriman (Merlin) says that he must sometimes wish he was just an ordinary boy, "Sometimes—but not always." Bran as well, at least in book four when he reflects on how he was always hated and rejected for his Technicolor Eyes and albino complexion. In the end he gets his wish. It's not straightforward with Bran either, since he also has a kind of arrogance about being albino and therefore different and 'special'. Will picks up on this in book four and Jane in book five. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4852f325 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4852f325 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_4852f325 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a3e547f | type |
Leaning on the Fourth Wall | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a3e547f | comment |
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The "theatre of life" Will and Bran find in the City of the Lost Land. From the missing side of the room that makes for a literal No Fourth Wall, to the fact they can later observe the people in it from the outside just as they were observed earlier (and always by the reader), to Gwion's commentary that "all life is theatre, we are all actors...in a play which nobody wrote and which nobody will see. We have no audience but ourselves", it all seems like one long metafictional Lampshade Hanging by Cooper on the nature of fiction. Gwion's wry note that this is "the best kind of theatre there can be" even suggests the idea that authors first and foremost write for themselves, regardless of whether anyone ever will read their work. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a3e547f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a3e547f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a3e547f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a852458 | type |
Big Good | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a852458 | comment |
Big Good: Although both Merlin and later Arthur are powerful figures among the Light, the true focus of all the Light's power, the one who acts as Dungeon Master to Will in The Dark is Rising and to both him and Bran in Silver on the Tree, and the one whose presence is necessary at the Rising if the Light is to win, is the Lady. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a852458 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a852458 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_4a852458 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4efc4fae | type |
Good Scars, Evil Scars | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4efc4fae | comment |
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Thanks to the burning cold of the Sign of Iron, Will ends up with a perfectly healed, neatly formed and pale scar on his forearm. By contrast, after the Wild Hunt chases the Dark off, the next time Will sees the Black Rider, he has a "dreadful scar" across his cheek. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4efc4fae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4efc4fae | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_4efc4fae | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: You could be forgiven for reading most of the first novel, Over Sea, Under Stone, without realizing it's the start of a fantasy series, as it reads like a standard kids' adventure novel. The more fantastic elements show up in the latter part of the book, and even those are much subtler than in any of the other books in the series. Explained by the first book being an entry in a contest for a "children's adventure story" before Susan Cooper went back and properly worked out the mythos on which she based the rest of the series. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4f4372e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_4f4372e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_4f4372e9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_509769e7 | type |
Numerological Motif | |
The Dark is Rising / int_509769e7 | comment |
Numerological Motif: Six signs, six sleepers, seven trees in the Lost Land, four Things of Power, three from the Circle and three from the track... There also seems to be a repetition of things happening twice, or only being able to occur twice: the number of times the grail appears in the series, how many times the cipher manuscript can be read, the appearance of the carnival head and Herne the Hunter, the number of times the horn is blown, the number of times the harp of gold is played... | |
The Dark is Rising / int_509769e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_509769e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_509769e7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_50f85863 | type |
Magic Harms Technology | |
The Dark is Rising / int_50f85863 | comment |
Magic Harms Technology: Implied — One sign of Will coming into his Old One magic is how the radio turns to static in his presence. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_50f85863 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_50f85863 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_50f85863 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_516ac9a8 | type |
Viking Funeral | |
The Dark is Rising / int_516ac9a8 | comment |
Viking Funeral: What the "King of Fire and Water" receives in The Dark Is Rising. Meant to be an act of spite by the Dark after Will gets the sixth and last sign, but instead this just gave him exactly the honor he deserved and would have wanted. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_516ac9a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_516ac9a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_516ac9a8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_527fc5fe | type |
Gotta Catch Them All | |
The Dark is Rising / int_527fc5fe | comment |
Gotta Catch Them All: The artifacts of power. The Dark Is Rising is especially notable, as it involves finding all Six Signs within the time limit of the Twelve Days of Christmas. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_527fc5fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_527fc5fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_527fc5fe | |
The Dark is Rising / int_537dd8fe | type |
Affably Evil | |
The Dark is Rising / int_537dd8fe | comment |
Affably Evil: The Withers siblings in Over Sea, Under Stone. While their Most Definitely Not a Villain cred is established by their beautiful yacht (Simon just so happens to love sailing), pristine white clothes and gleaming smiles, and Polly's loveliness, for most of the book they come off as either genuinely nice, bumbling people or at worst Punch Clock Villains who really are just following orders but otherwise wouldn't hurt a fly. The scene where they dance with Barney at the festival is genuinely fun, if a bit sinister at times. But when Polly tries to take the map and the children feign ignorance, she shows her vicious nature in a truly startling and disturbing moment... and at the climax of the book during the fight for the grail, the masks come off permanently. The same could also be said for Maggie Barnes in The Dark Is Rising, Mrs. Rowlands in Silver on the Tree, and Mrs. Palk also in Over Sea, Under Stone. Even the Black Rider has his moments. For all her use of mythic archetypes, Colour-Coded for Your Convenience, and Card Carrying Villains, Susan Cooper loves this trope. And despite this, The Reveal about Mrs. Palk and Mrs. Rowlands is still genuinely shocking upon first reading. Even Merlin didn't figure it out until it was almost too late. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_537dd8fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_537dd8fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_537dd8fe | |
The Dark is Rising / int_542b8e66 | type |
Bad Powers, Bad People | |
The Dark is Rising / int_542b8e66 | comment |
Bad Powers, Bad People: Discussed by Merriman. He explicitly states those of the Dark, especially the great Lords, have the exact same powers as those of the Light, suggesting there is nothing inherently corruptive about them; all that differs is the purpose to which they put them and, sometimes, how they call upon them. Merriman also states that the Old Ones and the people of the Dark have "some small powers" in common. There certainly seem to be things that each side can do that the other can't really match. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_542b8e66 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_542b8e66 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_542b8e66 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5527dc0c | type |
Plot Coupon | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5527dc0c | comment |
Plot Coupon: Among those to be gathered: the grail; the Six Signs; the secret scroll used to translate the grail; the golden harp; and the crystal sword, Eirias. There are also various items and bits of information gathered along the way which enable their finding, including some of the prophecies. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5527dc0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5527dc0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5527dc0c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5552929 | type |
Albinos Are Freaks | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5552929 | comment |
Albinos Are Freaks: In The Grey King, Bran Davies is an albino living in Wales. The people who live in the area are afraid of him because of his white hair, odd-looking eyes, and pale skin, and consider him to be a freak. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5552929 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5552929 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5552929 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_558f5da6 | type |
Cryptic Conversation | |
The Dark is Rising / int_558f5da6 | comment |
Cryptic Conversation: Happens a lot, not only with prophecies but when Merriman and the Lady are explaining the Light and his powers to Will. He then gets to carry on the tradition with Bran and the Drews. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_558f5da6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_558f5da6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_558f5da6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_55b1f9a1 | type |
Easy Amnesia | |
The Dark is Rising / int_55b1f9a1 | comment |
Partly due to his Easy Amnesia but mostly because of his ignorance of Welsh, Will figuring out where the "door of the birds" and "the pleasant lake" were count as this trope. The latter especially because his realization comes about due to a random comment made by Farmer Ty-Bont. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_55b1f9a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_55b1f9a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_55b1f9a1 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_565106b3 | type |
Women Are Wiser | |
The Dark is Rising / int_565106b3 | comment |
Women Are Wiser: Jane is the only one the Greenwitch will deal with, because she's the only who's ever wished for its happiness rather than her own. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_565106b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_565106b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_565106b3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_586db75d | type |
My Girl Is Not a Slut | |
The Dark is Rising / int_586db75d | comment |
My Girl Is Not a Slut: Owen Davies's defense of Bran's "unwed" mother. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_586db75d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_586db75d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_586db75d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5b965319 | type |
Language of Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5b965319 | comment |
Language of Magic: The Old Speech. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5b965319 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5b965319 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5b965319 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c3206a | type |
Ransacked Room | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c3206a | comment |
Ransacked Room: In Over Sea, Under Stone, when the house is burgled by somebody looking for the manuscript; in particular, maps have been torn out of frames on the wall. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c3206a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c3206a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c3206a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c5ac0e2 | type |
Really 700 Years Old | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c5ac0e2 | comment |
Really 700 Years Old: An interesting case in Will. Physically, he really is 11-15, depending on which book you're reading, but once the Old One in him is awakened, he's very much older than that mentally and emotionally. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c5ac0e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c5ac0e2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5c5ac0e2 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5d8e871d | type |
Sympathetic Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5d8e871d | comment |
Sympathetic Magic: How the Black Rider gets control of Mary, through one of her hairs. May also be how the painter influenced Barney, through his drawing. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5d8e871d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5d8e871d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5d8e871d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4097ba | type |
Not Distracted by the Sexy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4097ba | comment |
Not Distracted by the Sexy: Will, regarding Jane Drew, to Bran's astonished amusement. (Apparently She Is All Grown Up, at least from Bran's point of view.) Whether this is due to Will's orientation or him having a higher calling that puts him above such things, it still leads to quite the funny moment: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4097ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4097ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4097ba | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4219a2 | type |
Free-Sample Plot Coupon | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4219a2 | comment |
Free-Sample Plot Coupon: In the second book, Will Stanton is given the first Sign, the Sign of Iron, before he even learns that he is an Old One and starts his quest for the other five Signs. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4219a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4219a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5f4219a2 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5fb6411f | type |
We Are as Mayflies | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5fb6411f | comment |
We Are as Mayflies: The Old Ones. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5fb6411f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_5fb6411f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_5fb6411f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6201e8b0 | type |
I Have Your Wife | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6201e8b0 | comment |
I Have Your Wife: A favorite of the Dark. Hastings threatens Simon to get Barney's cooperation, and actually kidnaps and enchants Mary (as the Black Rider) to get Will to give him the signs. Sending the three Drews back in time so Merriman had to rescue them, and later kidnapping Barney and taking him to the time of Owain Glyndwyr, amounted to the same thing. Holding Mrs. Rowlands hostage, and using her as bait to get John to rule in favor of the Dark, was the most cruel form of this trope, since Mrs. Rowlands was actually the White Rider, and always would be, even if the Dark "gave her back" to him. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6201e8b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6201e8b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_6201e8b0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_62051053 | type |
Blue Means Cold | |
The Dark is Rising / int_62051053 | comment |
Blue Means Cold: Hawkin summons nine magical flames that burn blue and are cold instead of hot. They represent the power of the Dark and the spells of the Deep Cold. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_62051053 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_62051053 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_62051053 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_634a2ff9 | type |
Sue Donym | |
The Dark is Rising / int_634a2ff9 | comment |
Merriman Lyon=Merry Lyon=Merlion=Merlin. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_634a2ff9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_634a2ff9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_634a2ff9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6411dac8 | type |
BadassNormal | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6411dac8 | comment |
Badass Normal: John Rowlands. If fighting off the possessed Caradog Prichards, judging in favor of the Light in the matter of Bran, and rejecting the Dark even when it offered him his wife back should he side with it isn't enough, during the final confrontation it's him taking up the Sign of Water and driving back the Black Rider that allows Bran to cut the mistletoe from the midsummer tree. In other words, the Light wins because of a mortal human. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6411dac8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6411dac8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_6411dac8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_656ca350 | type |
Plot Magnet | |
The Dark is Rising / int_656ca350 | comment |
Plot Magnet: Barney, by virtue of being the youngest and (presumably) the most vulnerable of the Drew children. In the first book he is kidnapped and hypnotized by Hastings; in the third he is kidnapped by the painter, compelled to scry in the grail, and then given Laser-Guided Amnesia; and in the fifth book, he is kidnapped by the White Rider and taken back to the time of Owain Glyndwyr, where he is almost executed as an English spy. To a lesser extent all the Drews are this in the last book, since the afanc targets Jane in order to obtain the Lady's prophecies from her, and later all three are sent back to an earlier time at the harbor by the Dark, thus necessitating Merriman coming to their rescue so he could not join Will and Bran in the Lost Land. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_656ca350 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_656ca350 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_656ca350 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66755d29 | type |
Author Avatar | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66755d29 | comment |
Author Avatar: Merriman, most of the time, as well as the Lady. Also perhaps John Rowlands. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66755d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66755d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_66755d29 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66ea7e5c | type |
Brought Down to Normal | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66ea7e5c | comment |
Brought Down to Normal: Bran in the ending, if you take the trope name literally. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66ea7e5c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_66ea7e5c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_66ea7e5c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_67d722d8 | type |
A Storm Is Coming | |
The Dark is Rising / int_67d722d8 | comment |
A Storm Is Coming: One character comments to Will the night before he comes into his power: "This night will be bad. And tomorrow will be beyond imagining." | |
The Dark is Rising / int_67d722d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_67d722d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_67d722d8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
A different sort of Meaningful Name appears with Cafall: he was given the same name as Arthur's hound, so as to reference Bran's true heritage. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_6bda9a30 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6ef09297 | type |
Masquerade | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6ef09297 | comment |
Masquerade: The entire conflict of Light vs. Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6ef09297 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_6ef09297 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_6ef09297 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7317b97d | type |
Awakening the Sleeping Giant | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7317b97d | comment |
Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Played straight in Greenwitch, in which the titular Greenwitch is part of the Wild Magic, which is neutral between the Light and the Dark. She is not powerful enough to present a direct threat to either faction on her own (although Tethys is), but she does end up in a situation where she has something both sides desperately need and can't take without her consent. And once the painter of the Dark pushes her too far in his attempts to make her give it up to him... | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7317b97d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7317b97d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7317b97d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_735b4101 | type |
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience | |
The Dark is Rising / int_735b4101 | comment |
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Used straight (The Dark are the bad guys, the Black Rider is an extra-bad guy), then subverted (the White Rider is also a bad guy). Ultimately, it's an "Only the Sith deal in absolutes" philosophy — white and black are both evil in their absolute extremity. Good would thus be defined by endless shades of grey and a rainbow of colors (or, most of the time, by not drawing attention to simplistic definitions like color or shade at all). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_735b4101 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_735b4101 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_735b4101 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_737c483 | type |
Rain, Rain, Go Away | |
The Dark is Rising / int_737c483 | comment |
Rain, Rain, Go Away: In Over Sea, Under Stone, a rainy day inspires the children to explore the Grey House, in which they find the vital manuscript. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_737c483 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_737c483 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_737c483 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7464705c | comment |
"The Dark is rising." | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7464705c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7464705c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_757bbdb8 | type |
Massive Numbered Siblings | |
The Dark is Rising / int_757bbdb8 | comment |
Massive Numbered Siblings: The Stanton family. Will has eight siblings—Stephen, subject of Will's Big Brother Worship; Max; Gwen; the Polar Opposite Twins Robin and Paul (the former is The Big Guy and a Boisterous Bruiser but actually loves music and singing while the latter is The Quiet One and The Stoic); Barbara; Mary, who is at times a more grown-up version of the Annoying Younger Sibling; and James, Fun Personified and with whom Will has Sibling Rivalry. They even have a dead older brother, Tom, whose existence was unknown to Will (and not revealed until he finds out about being a Magical Seventh Son). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_757bbdb8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_757bbdb8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_757bbdb8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_75b23b58 | type |
Sundial Waypoint | |
The Dark is Rising / int_75b23b58 | comment |
Sundial Waypoint: Two of the clues the Cornishman left on the map are of this nature, one involving the setting sun and the other the rising moon. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_75b23b58 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_75b23b58 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_75b23b58 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7695d5b | type |
Luckily, My Powers Will Protect Me | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7695d5b | comment |
Luckily, My Powers Will Protect Me: Against certain forms of Sympathetic Magic—in The Dark Is Rising, Will points out that the Black Rider's attempted name magic against him couldn't have worked because Old Ones have no names, and the Rider retorts with the fact that the Lords of the Dark have no shadows. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7695d5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7695d5b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7695d5b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_787c6068 | type |
My Significance Sense Is Tingling | |
The Dark is Rising / int_787c6068 | comment |
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: While Will tends to react this way anytime something portentous happens in his dealings with the Dark and the Light, book five is notable for having a large number of these moments. He senses the High Magic at the Bearded Lake and thus knows that is where they will find the Lady, then later senses the afanc as it attacks. He senses the opening of the path to the Lost Land before it happens, senses both the Riders and Merriman when they are nearby and contacting him respectively, and senses the right time to use the golden shield. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_787c6068 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_787c6068 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_787c6068 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_78be795b | type |
Changeling Fantasy | |
The Dark is Rising / int_78be795b | comment |
Changeling Fantasy: Bran finds out that instead of the boring, judgmental, overly-religious Owen Davies, his real father is King Arthur. Owen knows it too, and much of his religiosity is an effort to protect Bran from the consequences of his heritage. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_78be795b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_78be795b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_78be795b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a3dd888 | type |
Real Men Wear Pink | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a3dd888 | comment |
Real Men Wear Pink: John Rowlands, darkly-tanned, rough-skinned, sometimes shirtless, stoic and hardworking farmer and sheepherder...and he plays the harp. Caradog Pritchard writes poetry. Neither is unusual for Welsh men. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a3dd888 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a3dd888 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a3dd888 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a53b67d | type |
Sinister Surveillance | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a53b67d | comment |
Sinister Surveillance: The warestone. (Since "ware" is short either for "aware" or "beware", it's even Exactly What It Says on the Tin.) Also doubles as an Emotion Bomb, able to induce anger, despair, and fear, possibly more. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a53b67d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a53b67d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a53b67d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a614b0c | type |
San Dimas Time | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a614b0c | comment |
San Dimas Time: Even though the Old Ones' Time Travel should allow them to have all the time in the world to perform the task and go from one time to another, and even though in every other instance of the series this was not the case, Merriman tells Will in the last book that he only has "a night and a day" in his own time to recover the Six Signs so they may be used in time to combat the Dark at the Battle of Badon and in the present. This may be because it is the last great Rising, or because it is a rule of the High Magic which is being used to conceal the Signs. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a614b0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a614b0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7a614b0c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7abba202 | type |
The Faceless | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7abba202 | comment |
The Faceless: Most of the Riders of the Dark are this, since they wear hooded cloaks which do not allow anyone to see their faces; for those other than the Black and White Riders, it's entirely possibly they don't even have faces. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7abba202 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7abba202 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7abba202 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7ad2c23d | type |
ShoutOutToShakespeare | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7ad2c23d | comment |
Shout-Out to Shakespeare: When John Rowlands plaintively asks Merriman if any of his life with Blodwen was real, Merriman's response is a paraphrase of The Merchant of Venice. The kids quote from Shakespeare at the beginning of book five. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7ad2c23d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7ad2c23d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7ad2c23d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7aed96a9 | type |
White Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7aed96a9 | comment |
White Magic: The various powers of the Old Ones, who use their magic to save humanity. Although it's not always nice to those who have to endure the effects or after-effects. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7aed96a9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7aed96a9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7aed96a9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7c5960bf | type |
Hall of Mirrors | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7c5960bf | comment |
Hall of Mirrors: Will and Bran have to navigate one in the Empty Palace of the Lost Land. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7c5960bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7c5960bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7c5960bf | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7dbd52b8 | type |
Light Is Good | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7dbd52b8 | comment |
Light Is Good: The Light (though not always nice), with the Lady being dressed in white or pale blue and often with a Holy Halo, many of the manifestations of the Light's powers being white or light-based, the sword Eirias being made of crystal, and the steed of Herne the Hunter being a white mare. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7dbd52b8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7dbd52b8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7dbd52b8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7f38c0cd | type |
An Offer You Can't Refuse | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7f38c0cd | comment |
An Offer You Can't Refuse: Trade the Six Signs for his sister Mary. Will refuses, something which causes even the Black Rider to momentarily acknowledge Will's bravery and determination. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7f38c0cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_7f38c0cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_7f38c0cd | |
The Dark is Rising / int_80eb641c | type |
Straw Nihilist | |
The Dark is Rising / int_80eb641c | comment |
Straw Nihilist: King Gwyddno Garanhir of the Lost Land has become this, thanks to the Despair Event Horizon the Dark invoked upon him after he made the crystal sword. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_80eb641c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_80eb641c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_80eb641c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8296f61d | type |
King in the Mountain | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8296f61d | comment |
This also applies in a more meta sense to all of the Things of Power and the various ways in which they are found. The map leads to the grail, which is in turn only useful once they have found the secret scroll to translate its inscription; that inscription in turn provides the next prophecy which is needed to find both the harp of gold to wake the Sleepers and the crystal sword. The first prophecy leads, one by one, to each of the Six Signs. And of course the words the Lady gives to Jane to tell Will all lead him and Bran safely through the Lost Land's hazards and challenges, and allow them to pick up the five lines of the poem about Eirias they need to convince the king to give it up. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8296f61d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8296f61d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8296f61d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_830b0ac9 | type |
Final Battle | |
The Dark is Rising / int_830b0ac9 | comment |
Final Battle: Every magical character who has ever appeared in the books and is still alive is a part of combating the last Rising of the Dark, as are a number of regular mortals as well. Even those who have died are there, as a part of the Circle, though they are not shown until the departure of the Old Ones and the Light afterwards, thus making this somewhat a Climactic Battle Resurrection. But a very powerful one. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_830b0ac9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_830b0ac9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_830b0ac9 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8409a385 | type |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8409a385 | comment |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Grey House. The Black Rider. The White Rider. The Six Sleepers. And after they wake up, the Six Riders. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8409a385 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8409a385 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8409a385 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_84313b4f | type |
The Three Trials | |
The Dark is Rising / int_84313b4f | comment |
The Three Trials: Occurs multiple times in the series. Structurally, book two is divided into three parts actually called "The Finding", "The Learning", and "The Testing", which accurately describes the overall tasks Will undergoes. In book four, Will and Bran have to overcome three barriers—actually getting into Bird Rock, descending inside of it and making it through the blazing sun, and then answering the riddles of the three lords. And in book five, Will and Bran have to navigate the City (itself being divided into earning the right to be noticed by the Lost Land's citizens by revealing their quest, resisting the Black Rider and drawing on the magic of the fountain of the Light, and navigating the Hall of Mirrors in the empty palace), cross the Country, and then find a way inside the Castle so they can present the king with the five-line poem about Eirias they've acquired. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_84313b4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_84313b4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_84313b4f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_860c8ce3 | type |
Wistful Amnesia | |
The Dark is Rising / int_860c8ce3 | comment |
Wistful Amnesia: At the very end of the series, this happens to the "three from the track". And Bran. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_860c8ce3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_860c8ce3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_860c8ce3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a5b2e6 | type |
Circle of Standing Stones | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a5b2e6 | comment |
Circle of Standing Stones: In Over Sea, Under Stone the Standing Stones at the end of Kemare Head are 3,000 years old and are landmarks used in the search for the Grail. Simon and Jane go out to them at night and are almost captured by the forces of the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a5b2e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a5b2e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a5b2e6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a97dd4 | type |
Stiff Upper Lip | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a97dd4 | comment |
Stiff Upper Lip: Will notices during the snowstorm in The Dark Is Rising that the villagers forced to shelter in Miss Greythorne's manor seem much cheerier than usual, despite the awful conditions. Merriman and his father lampshade that this is the usual English attitude to adversity. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a97dd4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a97dd4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_88a97dd4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88e11e1f | type |
Prophecies Rhyme All the Time | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88e11e1f | comment |
Prophecies Rhyme All the Time: The prophecy at the top of this page goes on for another two verses of rhyming couplets, and there's another one introduced in the fourth book that's even longer. The second prophecy actually starts out with non-rhyming couplets, but falls right back into the rhyme scheme after the first verse. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88e11e1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_88e11e1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_88e11e1f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89631688 | type |
The Chosen One | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89631688 | comment |
The Chosen One: Will is the last Old One ever to be born, the Sign-Seeker who will gather the six Signs, and one of those prophesied to find the harp of gold and go to the Lost Land. Bran is both the chosen bearer of Eirias and the son of Arthur. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89631688 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89631688 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_89631688 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89b8822f | type |
Go Mad from the Revelation | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89b8822f | comment |
Go Mad from the Revelation: What happens to Caradog Prichard in the end, after first being exposed to and possessed by the full power of the Brenin Llwyd, then having it abandon him. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89b8822f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89b8822f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_89b8822f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89d694cc | type |
Place of Power | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89d694cc | comment |
Place of Power: A number of these appear in the books, including places that are naturally magical (Kemare Head apparently, the hill where the ship and the Sign of Water is hidden, Bird Rock, Llyn Mwyngil, the midsummer tree) and ones that are enchanted by the Old Ones or High Magic, either temporarily (the cottages in book three, the Grey House) or permanently (Huntercombe Manor, the Lost Land). The cottages, the Grey House, and Huntercombe Manor are also Places of Protection. Of special note are the Old Ways, magical roads that exist even after physical roads vanish or change position atop them; they can be commanded to expel creatures of the Dark from them and prevent such creatures from passing over them. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89d694cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_89d694cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_89d694cc | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8a4988bb | type |
Mind Rape | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8a4988bb | comment |
Something the Dark is very good at. What happens to Hawkin, Will's mother getting hurt and his sister kidnapped and subjected to Mind Rape, the death of Cafall, and who Mrs. Rowlands turns out to be, coupled with how the Black Rider uses her to get John's cooperation, all qualify. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8a4988bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8a4988bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8a4988bb | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c678d33 | type |
Death by Newbery Medal | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c678d33 | comment |
Death by Newbery Medal: True to the trope, the only book in the series that wins an award is the one in which a dog is killed. The second book, which was nominated for the medal and made a Newbery Honor book, contains the death of Hawkin. The Grey King is Newbery bait in other ways as well. A large chunk is about Bran's identity crisis, trouble with his father and discovery of who he is, and they put their relationship right at the end. This is also the book in which there's the most discussion of things like whether you should put the overall good before individual human beings. You can find similar themes in lots of other Newbery winners. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c678d33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c678d33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c678d33 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c9cad1e | type |
Psychic Static | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c9cad1e | comment |
Psychic Static: Will thinks about his breakfast to avoid getting his mind read. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c9cad1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c9cad1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8c9cad1e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8cb844c6 | type |
Mr. Exposition | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8cb844c6 | comment |
Mr. Exposition: This role usually falls to Merriman Lyon: he explains their quests to the Drews in Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch, and acts as Will's Mentor in The Dark is Rising. (In The Grey King, however, the job mostly falls to Will.) | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8cb844c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8cb844c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8cb844c6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8d23f3a7 | type |
Timey-Wimey Ball | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8d23f3a7 | comment |
Timey-Wimey Ball: Applies sometimes to how the Old Ones travel through and manipulate time. One moment they're in the past, then the present; time passes in an eyeblink or follows The Slow Path; a moment in time can take place in two overlapping periods at once... | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8d23f3a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8d23f3a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8d23f3a7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8dd4a996 | type |
Identical Grandson | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8dd4a996 | comment |
Identical Grandson: When the Drews and the Rowlands visit the past, this is apparently the case, since Evan Rowlands and his wife look exactly like John and Blodwen, while Caradog Lewis is the spitting image of Prichard. In the latter case this is also an example of Generation Xerox, since despite Merriman's warning Prichard ends up making the same mistakes as and becoming exactly like his ancestor. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8dd4a996 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8dd4a996 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8dd4a996 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8e04fdd7 | type |
Dragon with an Agenda | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8e04fdd7 | comment |
Dragon with an Agenda: Well, the painter of the Dark would like to think he's a Dragon, though in this case his agenda is actually to become one. It doesn't go well. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8e04fdd7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_8e04fdd7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_8e04fdd7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_906106ae | type |
Words Do Not Make The Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_906106ae | comment |
Words Do Not Make The Magic: What Merriman tells Will Stanton in The Dark is Rising about the spells and words of power in the Book of Gramarye; even if a human being could read the Book, only an Old One could use it. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_906106ae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_906106ae | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_906106ae | |
The Dark is Rising / int_90e31482 | type |
Laser-Guided Karma | |
The Dark is Rising / int_90e31482 | comment |
Laser-Guided Karma: Villainous version—the Black Rider, the painter, and Caradog Prichard more than get what is coming to them. Heroic—Jane's kindness to the Greenwitch is repaid with the missing scroll. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_90e31482 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_90e31482 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_90e31482 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_916c72b3 | type |
Rule of Symbolism | |
The Dark is Rising / int_916c72b3 | comment |
Rule of Symbolism: Happens everywhere, whether through Foreshadowing, the fulfillment of prophecy, or the syncretization of Celtic, Arthurian, and Welsh mythology, but a particularly obvious example comes in Will's musings on how Arthur, Bran, and Herne the Hunter (who aside from being neutral might as well be the spirit of the Light in its wildest, harshest form) are "all three one and the same". Also, it is likely no accident that the Sign of Fire which breaks the cold of winter (the death of the year) is given to Will from within a flower (spring/rebirth). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_916c72b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_916c72b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_916c72b3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9245d989 | type |
Sinister Minister | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9245d989 | comment |
Sinister Minister: Hastings, the Big Bad of Over Sea, Under Stone and another form of the Black Rider. Turns out he's not the vicar of Trewissick, but merely allowed Jane to believe he was so as to obtain her trust. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9245d989 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9245d989 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9245d989 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_94eb5311 | type |
Geometric Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_94eb5311 | comment |
Geometric Magic: The symbol of the Light is a mandala, and it appears everywhere to mark magical places and objects, but is also used in many of their spells. The Old Ones join hands to form a circle when trying to ward off the Dark, and in The Grey King, Will traces a circle to locate the warestone. The five-fingered hand gesture may also be meant to symbolize a pentagram. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_94eb5311 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_94eb5311 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_94eb5311 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_95a18ad7 | type |
Devil in Disguise | |
The Dark is Rising / int_95a18ad7 | comment |
Devil in Disguise: Blodwen Rowlands turns out to be The White Rider, one of the most powerful Lords of the Dark (the other being The Black Rider). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_95a18ad7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_95a18ad7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_95a18ad7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9622c172 | type |
Christmas Carolers | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9622c172 | comment |
Christmas Carolers: In The Dark is Rising, Will and several other members of his family go Christmas caroling throughout the village where they live. This leads to a major confrontation with the Dark in which Will acquires one of the six Signs. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9622c172 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9622c172 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9622c172 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_97025971 | type |
Special Occasions Are Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_97025971 | comment |
Special Occasions Are Magic: The time of the Dark's first Rising occurs from Midwinters Eve to Christmas Day, which just so happens to fall around Will Stanton's 11th birthday, when he comes into his power as an Old One in the first book. The second great Rising occurs at Midsummer, with both of these times said to be naturally ones of great magical power. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_97025971 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_97025971 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_97025971 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_970c790a | type |
Big Bad | |
The Dark is Rising / int_970c790a | comment |
Big Bad: Averted. Although the Black Rider appears the most often, and is a very powerful Lord of the Dark, and the Grey King is said to possibly be the oldest and most powerful Lord of the Dark, there is no one central figure who serves as the driving force behind the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_970c790a | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_970c790a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_970c790a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9b54d536 | type |
Evil Counterpart | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9b54d536 | comment |
Good Counterpart: To parallel the Black Rider and his Hellish Horse steed, there is the white mare of the Light who eventually becomes the steed of Herne the Hunter. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9b54d536 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9b54d536 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9b54d536 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
In a series based on mythology, archetypes, and prophecy, this is practically required, and shows up quite clearly in the series of tapestry images Merriman shows Will in book two, all of which come true in the series. But a particularly notable example (because like all good Foreshadowing it isn't properly viewed as such except in hindsight) would be the moment in Over Sea, Under Stone when the Drews are worrying what to do with the map, and Simon declares he feels safer carrying it with them. Cooper has to do some juggling to make all the images come true. In The Dark is Rising, there's a throwaway description of a boy a little older than Will with a "dark face" and "light-streaked dark hair". In Silver on the Tree Will sees a reflection of albino Bran with his face darkened by shadow and his hair wet so that it seems to be streaked dark and light. Cooper can't, however, get round having described Bran's "tawny" "owl" eyes in The Dark is Rising like this "...strange cat-like eyes, the pupils light-bordered but almost yellow within." | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9d12bbc1 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9e08b900 | type |
Most Definitely Not a Villain | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9e08b900 | comment |
The Withers siblings in Over Sea, Under Stone. While their Most Definitely Not a Villain cred is established by their beautiful yacht (Simon just so happens to love sailing), pristine white clothes and gleaming smiles, and Polly's loveliness, for most of the book they come off as either genuinely nice, bumbling people or at worst Punch Clock Villains who really are just following orders but otherwise wouldn't hurt a fly. The scene where they dance with Barney at the festival is genuinely fun, if a bit sinister at times. But when Polly tries to take the map and the children feign ignorance, she shows her vicious nature in a truly startling and disturbing moment... and at the climax of the book during the fight for the grail, the masks come off permanently. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9e08b900 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9e08b900 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9e08b900 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9ee065ab | type |
Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9ee065ab | comment |
Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: The time of the Dark's first Rising in the series coincides with the twelve days of Christmas, while Will's coming into his powers as an Old One begins on his birthday, Midwinter Eve/Day. The second great Rising occurs at Midsummer. Justified because these times are said to be naturally ones of great magical power. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9ee065ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9ee065ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9ee065ab | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9f6fb586 | type |
Leitmotif | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9f6fb586 | comment |
The music which plays whenever the Doors open or something momentous happens for the Light. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9f6fb586 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_9f6fb586 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_9f6fb586 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a448674 | type |
Gratuitous Latin | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a448674 | comment |
Gratuitous Latin: Part of the writing on the map to the grail is in Latin. Jane even lampshades why it would be used, even as she also hits on the real reason (because a monk was the author). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a448674 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a448674 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_a448674 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a62dca03 | type |
Year Inside, Hour Outside | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a62dca03 | comment |
Year Inside, Hour Outside: Implied to be how the Book of Gramarye works while being read. It isn't clear how much time passes in the Lost Land versus the outside world, but Will and Bran do seem to be there a lot longer than they are counted 'missing' by the Rowlands. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a62dca03 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_a62dca03 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_a62dca03 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ab19d173 | type |
Art Attacker | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ab19d173 | comment |
Art Attacker: In Greenwitch, a man working for the Dark paints a picture that acts as a spell to control the Greenwitch. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ab19d173 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ab19d173 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ab19d173 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac36578e | type |
Or Was It a Dream? | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac36578e | comment |
Or Was It a Dream?: Jane's encounters with the Greenwitch are played as something the reader is never quite sure is real, all in her head, or a magical interaction, until she awakens with the lost scroll case, and at the end of the book when Mrs. Penhallow talks about the leaves and the smell of the sea filling her room. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac36578e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac36578e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac36578e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac546cd4 | type |
Worth It | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac546cd4 | comment |
Worth It: Will's conclusion when weighing Caradog Prichard's anger at being thwarted versus the hilarity of the two sliced tires. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac546cd4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac546cd4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ac546cd4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad3a0404 | type |
Magical Seventh Son | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad3a0404 | comment |
Magical Seventh Son: Will is the seventh son of a seventh son. He's even born with the traditional caul. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad3a0404 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad3a0404 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad3a0404 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad6593eb | type |
Cut-and-Paste Note | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad6593eb | comment |
Cut-and-Paste Note: The painter of the Dark actually leaves one on Captain Toms' door, warning him away from the Greenwitch if he wants his dog back alive. Yet another mark of him being a Card-Carrying Villain with old-fashioned methods. The Old Ones wonder if the note is more for the Drews' benefit, as they (or at least Barney) would think Toms a monster if he deliberately let the Dark kill his dog. Toms himself is an Old One, and probably wouldn't be swayed by such things. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad6593eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad6593eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ad6593eb | |
The Dark is Rising / int_add14bc2 | type |
Orcus on His Throne | |
The Dark is Rising / int_add14bc2 | comment |
Orcus on His Throne: The Grey King is said to be the oldest and most powerful Lord of the Dark, but he doesn't venture out of his mountain, so he is only encountered in The Grey King. This works somewhat in his favor, as his isolation means the Light has virtually no helpful information on him. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_add14bc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_add14bc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_add14bc2 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ae3d6438 | type |
Deadpan Snarker | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Deadpan Snarker: There are a large number of these in the books, especially in Will's family, but the most prominent would have to be the Drews, Will himself, Merriman, and most of all, Bran. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ae3d6438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ae3d6438 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ae3d6438 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_af3ea0e3 | type |
Face–Heel Turn | |
The Dark is Rising / int_af3ea0e3 | comment |
Face–Heel Turn: Hawkin/the Walker, twice. In the past he is tempted by Maggie Barnes into joining the Dark because of Merriman's seeming lack of concern for how he would have been destroyed had a slip been made while removing the Book of Gramarye from its magical hiding place, and it is this which allows the Dark to make in-roads into the strongholds of the Light. After being discovered and cursed to follow The Slow Path, he has the chance to make amends and redeem himself after giving the Sign of Bronze to Will...but the Black Rider tempts him with power and so he betrays the Light again (specifically by trying to help invite the Dark into Huntercombe Manor, and later aid in the kidnapping and Hostage Situation with Mary). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_af3ea0e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_af3ea0e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_af3ea0e3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b17f6a27 | type |
I Did What I Had to Do | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b17f6a27 | comment |
I Did What I Had to Do: Merriman, quite often, particularly in regards to Hawkin and his punishment. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b17f6a27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b17f6a27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b17f6a27 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b3c730b | type |
Celestial Deadline | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b3c730b | comment |
Celestial Deadline: The six Signs must be found within the Twelve Days of Christmas. The golden harp must be claimed on All Hallow's Eve. The Lost Land can only be entered "at the moment it reveals itself between the shore and the sea". The Dark can only be defeated at the midsummer tree, when the sprig of mistletoe is cut by the blade Eirias. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b3c730b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b3c730b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b3c730b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b5f5824e | type |
Linked List Clue Methodology | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b5f5824e | comment |
Linked List Clue Methodology How the Cornishman made the map to lead to the grail. (And using clues which depended on location, season, and even year to make it that much harder to decipher.) This also applies in a more meta sense to all of the Things of Power and the various ways in which they are found. The map leads to the grail, which is in turn only useful once they have found the secret scroll to translate its inscription; that inscription in turn provides the next prophecy which is needed to find both the harp of gold to wake the Sleepers and the crystal sword. The first prophecy leads, one by one, to each of the Six Signs. And of course the words the Lady gives to Jane to tell Will all lead him and Bran safely through the Lost Land's hazards and challenges, and allow them to pick up the five lines of the poem about Eirias they need to convince the king to give it up. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b5f5824e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b5f5824e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b5f5824e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b707726f | type |
Hypocritical Humor | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b707726f | comment |
Hypocritical Humor: Perhaps this is only to be expected in a British series starring mostly British characters. The last book alone has two prominent examples, very close together. First Will chides his sister Barbara for being "shamefully naked" in a sunsuit, when he's wearing only a pair of shorts himself. Then there's this exchange from the Welsh mountaintop: | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b707726f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b707726f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b707726f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b77a6d82 | type |
Evil Is Deathly Cold | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b77a6d82 | comment |
Evil Is Deathly Cold: The Dark uses powerful cold-based magic to prevent the retrieval of one of the six Signs. However, the ice candles are actually neutral, and end up being reclaimed by the Light. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b77a6d82 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b77a6d82 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b77a6d82 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b9123661 | type |
Welcomed to the Masquerade | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b9123661 | comment |
Welcomed to the Masquerade: On Will Stanton's eleventh birthday in The Dark Is Rising, all sorts of amazing things start to happen. Later on he meets a man named Merriman Lyon who explains that both he and Will are Old Ones, powerful magical beings who serve the Light and oppose the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b9123661 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_b9123661 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_b9123661 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bb03c099 | type |
Cool Gate | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bb03c099 | comment |
Cool Gate: Powerful Old Ones (such as Merriman Lyon) are able to summon a magical gate (which looks like a pair of doors) that allows travel through time and space. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bb03c099 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bb03c099 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_bb03c099 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bddced73 | type |
Victory-Guided Amnesia | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bddced73 | comment |
Victory-Guided Amnesia: John Rowlands is made to forget everything that happened at the end. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bddced73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bddced73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_bddced73 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_be8416ea | type |
Shrouded in Myth | |
The Dark is Rising / int_be8416ea | comment |
Shrouded in Myth: Lampshaded by Will when he, Bran, and the Drews visit Carn March Arthur.Of course then, Carn March Arthur and the afanc from the Bearded Lake turned out to be the genuine article, not a fake legend at all. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_be8416ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_be8416ea | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_be8416ea | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf414570 | type |
Cunning Like a Fox | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf414570 | comment |
Cunning Like a Fox: The milgwn, or grey foxes, of the Brenin Llwyd. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf414570 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf414570 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf414570 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf487e2b | type |
Translator Microbes | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf487e2b | comment |
Translator Microbes: When the Drews are sent back in time at Aberdyfi harbor, a magically-induced version of this occurs, shifting the Welsh being spoken around them into English to their ears whenever something significant is about to be said. What makes this odd is that it was the Dark that sent them back in time, yet the translation was still provided. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf487e2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf487e2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_bf487e2b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c1c97b4e | type |
Littering Is No Big Deal | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c1c97b4e | comment |
Littering Is No Big Deal: In Over Sea, Under Stone, Barney tosses away an apple core when they are exploring the attic. Simon then tells him that this will bring the rats out, and sends Barney to find the core. Barney then accidentally finds the important manuscript. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c1c97b4e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c1c97b4e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c1c97b4e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c3b40ab8 | type |
Evil Redhead | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c3b40ab8 | comment |
Evil Redhead: Caradog Prichard and his entire extended family are redheads and choose to serve the evil Dark. The Black Rider is a redhead and a lord of the Dark. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c3b40ab8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c3b40ab8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c3b40ab8 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c6e0455d | type |
Afterlife Express | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c6e0455d | comment |
Afterlife Express: The train in the fifth book, Silver on the Tree. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c6e0455d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c6e0455d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c6e0455d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Simon alludes to Great Expectations by calling his parents A.P.s, for Aged Parents. On having the abbreviation explained to him, Bran says, "Believe it or not, they teach Dickens in Welsh schools too." | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c75df49a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c78c0896 | type |
Big Friendly Dog | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c78c0896 | comment |
Rufus in Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c78c0896 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c78c0896 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c78c0896 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c928d01d | type |
Magic Music | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c928d01d | comment |
Magic Music: The golden harp which wakes the Six Sleepers, and which (being High Magic) is able to negate any magic to protect the player. The music which plays whenever the Doors open or something momentous happens for the Light. Gwion's music seems to have at least a calming effect if not also providing a protective barrier at times. But this only makes sense since he is Taliesin. Will is a gifted boy soprano and sings spells a couple of times. "The mountains are singing and the Lady comes..." Nearly Will's entire family is musical, particularly his older brothers Paul, a flutist, and James, also a boy soprano. Bran, Bran's mother Guinevere and John Rowlands all play the harp. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c928d01d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_c928d01d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_c928d01d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cd87bdbe | type |
Purpose-Driven Immortality | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cd87bdbe | comment |
Purpose-Driven Immortality: As a punishment for betraying the Light, Hawkin is forced to become the Walker and carry the Sign of Bronze for seven hundred years. He's hounded by the Dark all the while, until the time comes for him to give it to Will Stanton, the last Old One. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cd87bdbe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cd87bdbe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_cd87bdbe | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cdfe12c3 | type |
Nothing Is Scarier | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cdfe12c3 | comment |
Nothing Is Scarier: Night on Kemare Head, among the standing stones, in the empty shadows and windy quiet, with Hastings and the Dark somewhere, watching... | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cdfe12c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_cdfe12c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_cdfe12c3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ceed5759 | type |
Villain Over for Dinner | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ceed5759 | comment |
Villain Over for Dinner: While Will Stanton is enjoying Christmas morning with his family, the Black Rider (a Lord of the Dark) stops by to drop off a ring. He can get through the house's defenses because Mr. Stanton (Will's father) invited him to enter. Will can't force him to leave because using such powerful magic would endanger his family, so he has to be polite to the Black Rider until he leaves. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ceed5759 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ceed5759 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ceed5759 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d129e13e | type |
"Eureka!" Moment | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d129e13e | comment |
"Eureka!" Moment The Drews have a series of revelations while following a Linked List Clue Methodology to decipher the map to the grail's location in Over Sea, Under Stone. Partly due to his Easy Amnesia but mostly because of his ignorance of Welsh, Will figuring out where the "door of the birds" and "the pleasant lake" were count as this trope. The latter especially because his realization comes about due to a random comment made by Farmer Ty-Bont. The realization in book five that Cantre'r Gwaelod is the Lost Land, and the various insights Will and Bran have into the Lady's words while they are then traveling within the Lost Land. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d129e13e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d129e13e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d129e13e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d151c83a | type |
Call on Me | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d151c83a | comment |
Call on Me: Merriman tells Will that he will appear to him again "when the Walker's circle is on your belt next to the first". When he later gets the Sign of Bronze but is caught by Maggie Barnes, the milkmaid taunts Will by placing it on his belt next to the Sign of Iron. Big mistake. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d151c83a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d151c83a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d151c83a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1cedb73 | type |
Slap-Slap-Kiss | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1cedb73 | comment |
Slap-Slap-Kiss: Some of this comes through in how Jane treats Bran when they first meet, crossed with jealousy on her part for him intruding on the special relationship she had with Will in Greenwitch. Considering the fact Will has a higher calling, that Bran seems to notice Jane's attractiveness, and that at the end even after the Wistful Amnesia Bran gives her a stone from the Lost Land (complete with a cute nickname), a case could be made that she and Bran may get together when they're grown up. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1cedb73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1cedb73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1cedb73 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1f4d528 | type |
Treasure Map | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1f4d528 | comment |
Treasure Map: Found in the attic of the Grey House in the first book; leads the Drew children to the grail. (No, not that grail, although it is said to be "made after the fashion of" it.) | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1f4d528 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1f4d528 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d1f4d528 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d2b59903 | type |
Cool Old Lady | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d2b59903 | comment |
From that same book, the horn which Miss Greythorne gives Will becomes very important later on—first to gather the Six for the last Rising of the Dark, and then to get Will and Bran inside Caer Wydyr. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d2b59903 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d2b59903 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d2b59903 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d397657d | type |
Hoist by His Own Petard | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d397657d | comment |
Hoist by His Own Petard: In The Dark Is Rising, the Walker and the Dark summon the nine candles of winter to attempt to freeze all the villagers staying at Huntercombe Manor. When this scheme is foiled by knocking out the Walker (who was the Dark's ticket in), the Light is able to grab the candles before they fade and use them to fill the candle-ring, thus fulfilling the prophecy and obtaining the Sign of Fire. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d397657d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d397657d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d397657d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d3b02ffb | type |
I Know Your True Name | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d3b02ffb | comment |
I Know Your True Name: A power over other supernatural beings by knowing and invoking their true names is explicitly described as a method of the Light in the Book of Gramarye. The reader first sees it used by Merriman on Hastings/the Black Rider at the climax of the first book; he does so again to Maggie Barnes in book two. In that same book, the Black Rider attempts a spell based on the same premise when he uses the Christmas ornament which was carved for Will at birth and a strand of Mary's hair to take control of his sister and exert leverage upon him. Unfortunately for the Rider, the ornament in question had actually been carved to resemble the symbol of the Light, and he was thus powerless against it. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d3b02ffb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d3b02ffb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d3b02ffb | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d532ff95 | type |
Villainous Fashion Sense | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d532ff95 | comment |
Villainous Fashion Sense: Whether appearing as Hastings or in his usual look, it can't be denied the Black Rider knows how to dress, speak, and act. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d532ff95 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d532ff95 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d532ff95 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d6514291 | type |
Named After First Installment | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d6514291 | comment |
Named After First Installment: Subverted; the series is named after the second book, which is the one that turns it from a children's adventure story into a mythological fantasy series. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d6514291 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d6514291 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d6514291 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d72b162f | type |
Technicolor Eyes | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d72b162f | comment |
Bran as well, at least in book four when he reflects on how he was always hated and rejected for his Technicolor Eyes and albino complexion. In the end he gets his wish. It's not straightforward with Bran either, since he also has a kind of arrogance about being albino and therefore different and 'special'. Will picks up on this in book four and Jane in book five. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d72b162f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d72b162f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d72b162f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d9764d48 | type |
Dangerous 16th Birthday | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d9764d48 | comment |
Dangerous 16th Birthday: Though of course in this case it's Will's eleventh birthday. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d9764d48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_d9764d48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_d9764d48 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_da53340 | type |
Religious Horror | |
The Dark is Rising / int_da53340 | comment |
Religious Horror: Disquieting undertones of this come through in The Dark Is Rising when the Dark makes its assault on the church on Christmas itself, and again in Greenwitch with the titular effigy even before it comes to life (complete with shades of The Wicker Man). | |
The Dark is Rising / int_da53340 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_da53340 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_da53340 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_db126a0b | type |
World Tree | |
The Dark is Rising / int_db126a0b | comment |
World Tree: The midsummer tree, where the final conflict with the Dark takes place. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_db126a0b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_db126a0b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_db126a0b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dbca2c99 | type |
Red Herring | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dbca2c99 | comment |
Red Herring: Merriman acts as this for Hastings and the Withers in Over Sea, Under Stone. Then Mrs. Palk sends him off on a wild goose chase instead, leaving the children at their mercy. The bag of stones found in Caer Wydyr are also this, since many readers likely thought they would turn out to be significant or at least magical. All they end up doing is serving as a reminder of what was lost in the memory wipe, and perhaps imply a future relationship for Jane and Bran. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dbca2c99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dbca2c99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_dbca2c99 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcb9c541 | type |
Ship Tease | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcb9c541 | comment |
Ship Tease: Between Jane and Bran at the end of Silver On The Tree. In particular, Bran gives Jane the nickname "Jenny", which is of course short for "Jennifer", which is the Cornish version of "Guinevere", which mirrors the fact that Bran himself is King Arthur's son. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcb9c541 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcb9c541 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcb9c541 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcbe8a6e | type |
Chekhov's Gunman | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcbe8a6e | comment |
Chekhov's Gunman: Mr. Penhallow from the first book. What seems just a random villager introduced to add flavor to Trewissick ends up becoming far more useful than could have been expected—telling the children about the Lady Mary, then mentioning the very low tide which allows the kids to walk around Kemare Head to the cave, and finally piloting the boat that allows Merriman to come to the rescue. He also appears in Greenwitch, though of far less significance. The Walker in the second book. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcbe8a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcbe8a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_dcbe8a6e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_df2b3ec | type |
Kindly Housekeeper | |
The Dark is Rising / int_df2b3ec | comment |
Kindly Housekeeper: Subverted in Over Sea, Under Stone. Mrs. Palk appears to be one of these, but turns out to be The Mole, an agent of the Dark who sabotages the protagonists. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_df2b3ec | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_df2b3ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_df2b3ec | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dfcb2c08 | type |
The Evils of Free Will | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dfcb2c08 | comment |
The Evils of Free Will: Why the Dark remains so powerful, since people like Hawkin and Caradog Prichard can always choose to join it, or at least give in to their jealousy, hatred, and other wicked impulses...but it is also this which the Light champions, since Hawkin, being "no more than a man", always had the power to choose and could thus find the right path even as he was dying. And of course, it is John Rowlands' choice in the end that saves the Light and the world. This last is most important of all, since Will had stated that the Light cannot afford to think of the needs of the one when the needs of the many were so pressing...but the choice which allows the Light to triumph is made precisely by placing one (Bran) over the many. John's free will even is generous enough to grant Mrs. Rowlands the right to follow her own path, too. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dfcb2c08 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_dfcb2c08 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_dfcb2c08 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e0e8cce6 | type |
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids! | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e0e8cce6 | comment |
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: How Owen Davies treats any notion of magic, fairy tales, or anything that is beyond the real, normal world. While he is a devoted Christian and therefore denies the supernatural as a matter of dogma, it becomes apparent that deep down he does know what's going on and hopes to keep Bran Locked Out of the Loop in the hopes that he will lead a normal life as a result. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e0e8cce6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e0e8cce6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e0e8cce6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e3cee2e7 | type |
Empathic Environment | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e3cee2e7 | comment |
Empathic Environment: Played entirely straight for most of the series, with the rising of the Dark accompanied by blizzards and cold, a tornado, and a great deal of storms, shadow, and lightning in general. But on at least one occasion, this is subverted—the day on which the harp must be played to wake the Sleepers, when the power of the Grey King is at its height and crushing Will with his malevolence...it's the most beautiful, peaceful, sunny day you could imagine. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e3cee2e7 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e3cee2e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e3cee2e7 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e52a0cac | type |
He Who Must Not Be Seen | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e52a0cac | comment |
He Who Must Not Be Seen: Captain Toms, for all of the first book. Made more conspicuous by the fact he must have known the Treasure Map was in his attic (and Merriman even implies as such), yet remains conveniently on a trip (just as Merriman leaves the Grey House to lead the Dark astray) so that the children can have the freedom to solve it. He later finally makes an onscreen appearance in Greenwitch, and it is worth the wait. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e52a0cac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e52a0cac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e52a0cac | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e543a655 | type |
Light Is Not Good | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e543a655 | comment |
Light Is Not Good: The White Rider, robed and hooded in white, representing the evil in beings totally "blinded by their shining ideas". | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e543a655 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e543a655 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e543a655 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e70127 | type |
The Mole | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e70127 | comment |
The Mole: Mrs. Palk in the first book, Mrs. Rowlands in the last. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e70127 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e70127 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e70127 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e7b0229a | type |
Laser-Guided Amnesia | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e7b0229a | comment |
Laser-Guided Amnesia: Used by the painter of the Dark on Barney to make him forget the grail (but not Simon), and on all the Drews by Captain Toms to make them forget Will and Merriman jumping off Kemare Head to visit Tethys. Also John Rowlands' fate in the end. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e7b0229a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_e7b0229a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_e7b0229a | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ecf510f4 | type |
Puberty Superpower | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ecf510f4 | comment |
Puberty Superpower: Will comes into his power at the age of eleven. Eleven comes up as a magical age in British fantasy quite often, because apart from the association with puberty it's the age where British children start senior school, and therefore take their first step towards adulthood/a new world. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ecf510f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ecf510f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ecf510f4 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ee19033d | type |
Atlantis | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ee19033d | comment |
Atlantis: Two sunken lands from British legends are mentioned in the series. The sunken Cornish kingdom of Lyonesse is briefly referenced in a book Hastings shows Jane in Over Sea, Under Stone. The legendary Welsh kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod, meanwhile, plays a much larger and incredibly important role in the books since it turns out to be the Lost Land of prophecy—not only do Will and Bran get to go back in time so as to traverse it and obtain the crystal sword there, they get to experience its destruction by the Dark firsthand. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ee19033d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ee19033d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ee19033d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_eedee4d | type |
The Starscream | |
The Dark is Rising / int_eedee4d | comment |
The Starscream: The nameless artist in Greenwitch. He plans to retrieve the scroll case containing the ancient prophecy from the Greenwitch, going against the wishes of his masters. It doesn't end well for him. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_eedee4d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_eedee4d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_eedee4d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f06b07ff | type |
Locked Out of the Loop | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f06b07ff | comment |
Locked Out of the Loop: The families of all the children, obviously, but usually the three Drews are as well. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f06b07ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f06b07ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f06b07ff | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f1492605 | type |
Redemption Equals Death | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f1492605 | comment |
Redemption Equals Death: Hawkin. After betraying the Light twice, he himself is betrayed by the Dark when the Black Rider has no more need of him...but after falling from a great height and lying dying in Merriman's arms, he finally comes to understand how worthless he was to his evil masters and that he still has the chance to be redeemed, simply by asking for it. He does so and dies as himself, with twinkling eyes "like they were in the beginning". | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f1492605 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f1492605 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f1492605 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f217cdab | type |
Great Big Book of Everything | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f217cdab | comment |
Great Big Book of Everything: The Book of Gramarye, which teaches Will about the history of the Light and how to use his powers as an Old One. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f217cdab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f217cdab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f217cdab | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3d5d15f | type |
Creepy Child | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3d5d15f | comment |
Creepy Child: Will, though only if one manages to catch him doing something magical. A point is made when the Drew children meet Will that he seems utterly mundane, boring, ordinary: just a cheerful English country boy. When he's in the role of an Old One, though, his Dissonant Serenity and air of immortal wisdom get rather disturbing. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3d5d15f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3d5d15f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3d5d15f | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3da74ff | type |
Creepy Crows | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3da74ff | comment |
Creepy Crows: The rooks of The Dark Is Rising are servants of the Dark — to their eventual regret, as they are savaged by the Wild Hunt. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3da74ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3da74ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f3da74ff | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f4061d83 | type |
Capital Letters Are Magic | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f4061d83 | comment |
Capital Letters Are Magic: Far too many examples to count, but notable ones would be the Six Signs, the Doors, the Lady, the Light and the Dark, Old/High/Wild Magic, the Lost Land, the Sleepers, and the Old Ones. Especially notable is that, at least according to Stephen, the capital letters are audible. Interestingly averted however, with the other Things of Power (the grail, the harp of gold, and the crystal sword), with the latter only being capitalized when referred to as Eirias since that is a proper name. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f4061d83 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f4061d83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f4061d83 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f8351d7b | type |
Self-Destructing Security | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f8351d7b | comment |
Self-Destructing Security: The protection surrounding the Book of Gramarye in The Dark Is Rising. The Book of Gramarye is kept in a grandfather clock with a magical security mechanism. If the Book touches the clock's pendulum while it's being removed or returned, it is totally destroyed. The same thing will occur if an Old One tries to remove the book and they're not touching a specific human being note who, unlike the Old Ones, could be killed by the Light if necessary to stop the book from being removed at the time. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f8351d7b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f8351d7b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f8351d7b | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f88bba7c | type |
Detect Evil | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f88bba7c | comment |
Detect Evil: Eirias, the crystal sword, glows blue whenever the Dark is near. When the Dark is near, the six signs either glow, or burn with a cold fire. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f88bba7c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f88bba7c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f88bba7c | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9636192 | type |
Prophecies Are Always Right | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9636192 | comment |
Prophecies Are Always Right: The series of prophecies that guide the Light come true exactly as written. This even applies to the mysterious words the Lady gives to Jane to pass on to Will, which all come true in the order they were given, and which are quite clear and obvious in retrospect but initially quite puzzling. It's stated that the Dark has its own set of prophecies, but we aren't told anything else about them. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9636192 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9636192 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9636192 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9a8e95e | type |
Place Beyond Time | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9a8e95e | comment |
Place Beyond Time: After winning the final battle against evil, most of the Old Ones go outside of time. A different form of this is said to be where the forces of the Dark are cast when they are defeated, and this is also where Bran would have been taken if the Dark had won their challenge against him. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9a8e95e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9a8e95e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_f9a8e95e | |
The Dark is Rising / int_fe61495d | type |
Grail in the Garbage | |
The Dark is Rising / int_fe61495d | comment |
Grail in the Garbage: The map in the first book is hidden under the floorboards in an attic full of dust, cobwebs, and junk. Ironic, since the map actually leads to a grail. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_fe61495d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_fe61495d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_fe61495d | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ff6ae1f6 | type |
Evil-Detecting Dog | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ff6ae1f6 | comment |
Evil (And Magic) Detecting Dog: In The Dark is Rising, Raq and Ci, who are both aware of Will's burgeoning Old One powers and the presence of the Dark. The rabbits can also sense the awakening of Will's powers the day before his eleventh birthday. Rufus in Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch. Pen, Tip, and Cafall in The Grey King. | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ff6ae1f6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_ff6ae1f6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_ff6ae1f6 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_name | type |
ItemName | |
The Dark is Rising / int_name | comment |
||
The Dark is Rising / int_name | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising / int_name | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dark is Rising | hasFeature |
The Dark is Rising / int_name | |
The Dark is Rising / int_name | itemName |
The Dark is Rising |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.