As I confessed in my previous post, my resistance to Harry Potter has flagged recently, and under the pressure of direct appeals and subtle gambits by fellow bloggers, I’ve decided to go all the way and crack open Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. As I throw away my jealously guarded Potter virginity, however, I’d like to invite all those Potterphilic Muggles who haven’t yet taken the plunge to crack open the first and/or second volume of a considerably earlier classic children’s series: Susan Cooper’s Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark Is Rising.
As I mentioned in the comments section of the piece on Potter, I’ll be posting a review essay that compares Cooper’s fantasy to Rowling’s in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, if anyone has thoughts of their own about either or both of these series, please post them here or send me a link to the entry on your own site, which I’ll post below. What are the aesthetic virtues of each series? What, if any, are their weaknessness? Which is the superior “classic”? How unfair is this comparison?
Most importantly, will Jim really follow through on his latest promise to actually read one of these books? Will he ever stop lying about his intention to read Rowling? Find out in Stone v. Stone: The Susan Cooper – J. K. Rowling Challenge!
