David B. reviewed Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (The Dark Is Rising (1))
Review of 'Over Sea, Under Stone' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Revisiting OSUS after about 35 years during which no detail of the book survived in my memory, I might as well never have read it, so totally unknown were the plot, setting and characters to me on a second read. What prompted me to re-read it was the vague memory of Arthurian themes in this and the other books in the series. In fact, these are much less present in OSUS than in my mis-recollection -- a Grail serves as a McGuffin for the sake of which the protagonists exercise their bravery and ingenuity, and the villains their treachery and wickedness, but the lore is treated very lightly. What I enjoyed most this time around was the depiction of the Cornish coastal town in which the action was set -- the landscape and characters were vivid and detailed. The main trio were curiously underdrawn -- I had no idea how …
Revisiting OSUS after about 35 years during which no detail of the book survived in my memory, I might as well never have read it, so totally unknown were the plot, setting and characters to me on a second read. What prompted me to re-read it was the vague memory of Arthurian themes in this and the other books in the series. In fact, these are much less present in OSUS than in my mis-recollection -- a Grail serves as a McGuffin for the sake of which the protagonists exercise their bravery and ingenuity, and the villains their treachery and wickedness, but the lore is treated very lightly. What I enjoyed most this time around was the depiction of the Cornish coastal town in which the action was set -- the landscape and characters were vivid and detailed. The main trio were curiously underdrawn -- I had no idea how old they were, and the two boys were indistinguishable for most of the book. The girl was a real drip.
