Seaward

Rating:
Summary: fun but predictable
Review: As a Dark is Rising fan, I had to read Seaward. I found that it fits the typical fantasy motif of the journey, but that the journey is the only plot that there is in the novel.

The book tells the story of Cally and West who, both having recently lost parents, stumble into a fantasy world where they meet up and brave the journey to the sea where they believe they will find their parents. Along the way, they must face the challenges imposed on them by the Lady Tarnis who wants to imprison them in her land, as well as the natural hardships of the land (desert, mountains, rivers, snow). As they travel they learn how to trust others, know themselves, and possibly fall in love. While the journey is long and enlightening, the end comes abruptly and is resolved quickly. While I was satisfied with the ending, it was a hollow satisfaction.

I liked the characters that I met in the book, but I wish that they had been developed more. While I understand that the depth level was created for younger readers, I wanted the emotions and psychological musings to be developed further. Since there was not much of a plot, the effects of the journey on the characters was the main element of the book and I just think more could have been done with it.

While the book does have its problems, it is still a really fun book. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories about journeys.

Rating:
Summary: fun but predictable
Review: As a Dark is Rising fan, I had to read Seaward. I found that it fits the typical fantasy motif of the journey, but that the journey is the only plot that there is in the novel.

The book tells the story of Cally and West who, both having recently lost parents, stumble into a fantasy world where they meet up and brave the journey to the sea where they believe they will find their parents. Along the way, they must face the challenges imposed on them by the Lady Tarnis who wants to imprison them in her land, as well as the natural hardships of the land (desert, mountains, rivers, snow). As they travel they learn how to trust others, know themselves, and possibly fall in love. While the journey is long and enlightening, the end comes abruptly and is resolved quickly. While I was satisfied with the ending, it was a hollow satisfaction.

I liked the characters that I met in the book, but I wish that they had been developed more. While I understand that the depth level was created for younger readers, I wanted the emotions and psychological musings to be developed further. Since there was not much of a plot, the effects of the journey on the characters was the main element of the book and I just think more could have been done with it.

While the book does have its problems, it is still a really fun book. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories about journeys.

Rating:
Summary: This is my favourite
Review: I am twenty-three years old, and I have loved this book since I was in my very early teens.

Susan Cooper is a classic children's author, and her Dark is Rising sequence regularly gets praised as her best, or at least most popular work.

This book, although very different from her previous and following works, blows even the best of that whole series away.

It is the journey of West and Cally, two teens both suffering from grief, through a strange country, where life and death are living beings. All they know is that they must travel to the sea; neither is entirely certain why. This journey allows both teens to come to terms with their own pain, and their different losses.

The landscape is strange and dreamlike; it is known from her comments in essays that Susan Cooper literally uses dreams to inspire scenes in her stories, and this story more than any other seems to me filled with that drifting feeling. The two main characters are well dsrawn, and some of the supporting cast are very memorable. It also makes excellent use of the selkies, a piece of old folklore of which I am particularly fond.

Best of all, Susan Cooper does NOT do here the thing which made Silver on the Tree such a huge disappointment to me; she does not cheat at the end.

(Warning for those who haven't read the book; spoiler ahead)

Where in Silver on the Tree, the characters risk life and limb in the ultimate battle, only to be made to forget all that they have accomplished through the whole Dark is Rising series (thus making the series itself pointless), in Seaward, the characters are made to forget - for a while only , with a promise that they will remember again when they need to. This ending satisfies, where the similar clossing to Silver on the Tree only disappoints.

(spoiler done)

There are some stories which stay in one's mind for one's lifetime. I knew the moment I was done this story that this would be one of those books. It was my favourite when I was younger, and now that I have met more grief of my own, it has become a much deeper part of me. I only wish it were a little better known behind her more popular works.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book, an excellent read.
Review: I just read Seaward for Children Literature, and was throughly impressed by it. I love the sense of mystery that surrounded the book so that I was never quite sure what was going on. West and Calli's journey had mystical quality to it, so that I was never sure what the purpose of their journey was, or what would happen once they reached the sea. Susan Cooper's style reminded me a little of C.S.Lewis's work. She created a fully developed world all to itself, and steeped it in Celtic mythology and symbolism. It is a story about life and the hardships that one faces as one takes the journey of life. This book has become one of my all time favorites, and am truely glad that I read it.

Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: I like the setting of the story, like the way Cally is brought into umm...I cant remember if the world has a name, I dont think it does.
I like the characters, not just Cally and West but everyone, especially the Lady Taranis, she seems kinda sexy in that dark way, hehe : P, my only problem is with Cally and West ( and other than this I like them ), what bothers me about them is that they dont seem really worried about the fact that they've just been dropped into this strange, new world. I mean if it were me I'd be freaking out.Perhaps I'd be running around in circles screaming my head off...but maybe its just me.

Otherwise the book was one of the best I've ever read.

So if your ever just sitting around flippin the channels or taking a trip or anything I think you really ought to try this book.

Rating:
Summary: absolutely wonderful
Review: I read this as a child, and it was one of three books that affected me the most out of all my excessive reading. (One of the others was Diane Duane's Deep Wizardry). It changed me with its beauty and poignancy.

Rating:
Summary: I was never the same afterward.
Review: I read this as a child, and it was one of three books that affected me the most out of all my excessive reading. (One of the others was Diane Duane's Deep Wizardry). It changed me with its beauty and poignancy.

Rating:
Summary: Good story? Not really.
Review: In strictest terms, as a story, this book fails miserably. It's more a "slice of life" tale than a book with an actual plot and developed characters. Don't misunderstand me, it's not slow or confusing -- but this book is utterly lacking in closure or an "appropriate" ending. In short, it breaks all the rules of good novel-writing.

But in spite of that, this book is absolutely magnificient. It is a philosophical treatise lightly hidden by a Celticish story. It amazes me that so many people totally miss the philosophical side of this book, or think it is a book merely about life and death and grieving, or growing up and establishing oneself. All these elements are certainly present, but the grande finale, the climax of the book is when West and Cally are told the reason for their adventure: The philosophical statement here is that the reason for the existance of evil is that without evil, man would not be able to see good -- you cannot realise the existance of light if you've never seen the dark. This is the culmination of this book. The consequence is moral, political, religious, and philosophical.

It's a good read. Good because if you consider it, and apply it, this book could change your whole world-view.

And that is what makes a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting tale
Review: Susan Cooper is best known for her epic "Dark is Rising Sequence," but "Seaward" is not as well-known, while also drawing on the same Celtic legends. It's a little darker, a little differently-written, but a great read for people with enough patience.

Westerly's mother was killed by gunmen, and he escaped through a door into a strange land, with three magical bones. Calliope, a girl with strange thick skin on her hands, watches her parents waste away with a strange illness and leave her alone,and she slips through a mirror to the same land. When Cally encounters West, he is trying to escape from the ruthless, cold-hearted Lady Taranis.

A kindly stranger named Lugan seems to be their best hope for escaping Taranis. As the two travellers cross the world that is an echo of our own, they encounter strange creatures such as the sealpeople (selkies), a talking insect that guides them over a desert, creatures made of stone, and the haunting specters of their own pasts and destinies...

"Seaward" seems like a pretty simple story at first, but in that simple storyline Cooper tackles questions about death and life, about grief, about good and evil. Westerly's guilt over his mother's death and Cally's opportunity to be with the selkies are beautifully drawn. Her writing is dreamy, lush, but thankfully never becomes overwrought.

Cally and West are very alike, very confused and lacking in understanding, but drawn "seaward" and both dealing with grief. Taranis comes across as very childlike and petulant, while Lugan is paternal and kindly. There aren't many supporting characters, but the Stonecutter is pretty unnerving, and Peth is endearing and sad.

Probably the biggest stumbling block in "Seaward" is the slightly dreamy tone of it all. Unlike the "Dark is Rising" books, there is no grounded "homey" base -- it's all like a legend right from the beginning. As a result, it takes awhile for the story to really get going, and there are long stretches where the characters are just walking. There's no cursing or violence, although there is one scene where Cally and West experience some pretty strong physical attraction (though nothing happens). Their romance is a little abrupt as well, although hardly unexpected; in fact, it's pretty sweet.

"Seaward" is a fantastic story, with likeable characters and a deceptively simple storyline. Fans of Cooper and Celtic legends will eat this right up.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely
Review: This book is one of the most beautiful love stories ever crafted. I think Susan Cooper is a genius of description and this story about two young people dealing with loss shows her skill admirably. West and Cally experience deep, true love being born in them out of trust and shared experience. This book has all the fantasy and detailed dreamlike settings you come to expect from Susan Cooper, and the only problem with this book is that the peripheral characters, even the main antagonists, are pale in comparison with Cally and West. S.C. has created such strong, rich, personalities for the two of them that the others can't match up. This fact, however, does not really detract from the book, because this really is a story of what happens inside West's and Cally's minds and hearts after their great losses. The other characters are there to personify traits and abstracts; good, evil, loyalty, etc. If you are looking for a smart, deep fantasy story with a dash of powerful romance thrown in (the description of West watching Cally wash her hair is one of the most heartstopping bits I've ever read), read Seaward. You won't be disappointed.