The Dark is Rising
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Dark is Rising |
| Abbreviation(s): | DiR, DIR |
| Creator: | Susan Cooper |
| Date(s): | 1965–1977 |
| Medium: | books |
| Country of Origin: | Britain |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Dark is Rising is a small to medium-sized rarelit fandom based on a sequence of children's/YA fantasy novels by British-born author, Susan Cooper:
- Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)
- The Dark is Rising (1973)
- Greenwitch (1974)
- The Grey King (1975)
- Silver on the Tree (1977)
A film version of The Dark is Rising was made in 2007, starring Christopher Eccleston, but did not find favour with most fans.[1]
In Canon
Set in rural England and Wales in the 1970s, the series melds Arthurian legends and English/Welsh folk tales with coming-of-age stories. The main characters are Will Stanton, youngest representative of the Light; Merriman Lyon, an incarnation of Merlin; Bran Davies, Arthur Pendragon's son; and Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, the Everychildren. The sequence ends with the memories of the Battle between Good and Evil being lost by all the human characters, a Wrong fanficcers are keen to Right.
Fandom
Several hundred stories have been written for the series. The majority of fanfiction is futurefic, set some years after Silver on the Tree when the children have grown up. Memory restoration is a popular theme in both gen & pairing-focused stories. Other common types of gen story include ensemble adventures in which the Dark rises again, and character vignettes for the minor characters, particularly Merriman's servant, Hawkin. Crossovers with other fantasy series are also fairly common.
Slash is very popular, with Will Stanton/Bran Davies being by far the most frequent pairing. The tragic Merriman/Hawkin pairing also has a minor following, providing for bucketloads of angst. In het, Jane is sometimes paired with either Bran or Will, and Simon occasionally gets paired with original female characters. Will/Bran/Jane threesomes also occasionally appear.
Reccers and reviewers include Arduinna, Espresso Addict, kestrelsan, Lunabee, thefourthvine, Shinra Lackey, The RCK and Whispered Words.
Lotesse and Luzula have recorded Dark is Rising stories as podfic.
Example Works
- Summer's Men by Kest -- one of the earliest online Will/Bran stories; widely recommended (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Legacy of Light by Gramarye -- crossover novel with Harry Potter (2002-2003)
- The End of the Summer by Ashura -- Will & Bran futurefic by one of the best-known Dark is Rising fanwriters (2003)
- Protection by Sheldrake -- Will/Bran slice of life by another very well-known Dark is Rising author (~2004)
- To Remember For Always by Genarti -- a popular take on the memory restoration theme; Will/Bran (2004)
- Eirias by Rosemaryandrue -- memory restoration; Jane/Bran (2006)
- Two Worlds by Eildon Rhymer -- futurefic novel; Will/Bran (2007)
- The Ascent by Annakovsky -- gen futurefic adventure featuring Barney (2007)
- Turnings (The Simple Gifts Remix) by Wojelah -- gen piece focusing on the minor character, Ellen Drew (2010)
- Watch for the Greenwitch by Selden -- Jane-centric horror, based in Greenwitch (2010)
- No Second Coming by Aria -- crossover with Arthurian legend; Simon/ofc (2010)
- Alignment by Pares -- Will and Bran reunite (2007)
- A few other well-known authors include Gunbunny, Natalka, and Ninkasa
Archives
- Archive of Our Own -- 150 stories
- The Dark is Rising Slash Archive [1] -- the main fandom archive, maintained by Gunbunny, with ~90 stories in 2008; down as of 2012[2]
- Fanfiction.net -- 265 stories
- Skyehawke -- 20 stories
- Yuletide -- 35 stories from Yuletide 2003-2008
Personal Sites
- The Book of Gramarye [2][3] -- by Gramarye (offline)
- Assorted Fanfic by Me -- by Eildon Rhymer
Resources
- The Dark is Rising: a fanfic writer's guide -- information site compiled by Eildon Rhymer
- The Dark Is Rising Fanfiction Links -- fanfiction listing by Kestrelsan (incomplete)
Meta
- A Place to Call Home: A Will Stanton/Bran Davies essay by Moonshadow_nal (2005)
- Every Step in Faith Betrayed by Cygna-hime -- Merriman/Hawkin essay at the Shipper's Manifesto (2004)
- Wonderful Journey by Ninkasa -- Will/Bran essay at the Shipper's Manifesto (2004)
- Comparison between The Dark is Rising and the Harry Potter series by geri_chan at Snapedom (2007)
- Hate your family? Become a fantasy hero. Or maybe not. by fictualities (2007)
- Bran Davies vs. Disability Tropes (on AO3) (2022)
Communities & Lists
Livejournal
- darkisrising100 -- drabble challenge community; currently inactive
- dir_slash -- slash fiction & art
- light_at_last -- all genres
- thedarkisrising -- all genres
Mailing Lists
- The Dark Is Rising Slash -- on YahooGroups
References
- ^ From thedarkisrising community profile: While it is understandable that some community members might get tired of the constant posts complaining about the movie, I can only ask that you understand the position of those who love the books and truly find this movie to be a slaughtering of a beloved series. thedarkisrising: profile (accessed 25 August 2012)
- ^ Gunbunny. thedarkisrising: slash archive (accessed 25 August 2012)