Customer Reviews

Seaward

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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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.

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.

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.

At the risk of sounding overblown, this is one of the most heartstoppingly, breathtakingly beautiful pieces of literature I've ever experienced. I've had a long and fruitful acquaintance with Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series, but I didn't read Seaward until my sophomore year of college, which is a great shame.
This book will just suck you in, and if you're at all inclined to cry at what you read in books, this will have you in tears. The relationship between Cally and Westerly is touching and very believable - the way it unfolds is fascinating.
The interplay between Lugan and Taranis provides a thought-provoking counterpoint to their relationship, as do the other relationships seen in the book. This story also includes Cooper's own favourite character, Peth, who has to be seen (or read) to be believed.
The setting of the book is also wonderful - it incorporates elements of the Britanno-Celtic myths and legends that permeate so much of Cooper's work, as well as other recurring themes to do with light and dark, and things not being what they seem. The books also incorporates some elements that show Cooper's fascination with time, and also includes a fantastical dreamlike setting that is at times reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's work.
This books is truly amazing, read it without preconceptions and with an open heart and mind and I will be astonished if you find it disappointing. Even if the lessons and discoveries of Cally and Westerly aren't new to you, they are so beautifully described in this book that I can't imagine anyone being unmoved by them.

I have recently re-read this book for the fifth time. I first read it in 1995, after reading, and loving, 'The Dark Is Rising' sequence and 'Dawn of Fear'. My expectations of 'Seaward' were that it would be similar to the first of these - a kind of epilogue to 'The Dark Is Rising'. It wasn't, I couldn't understand the book, and disliked it. A couple of years later I heard someone remark that it was a book about life and death. Having recently lost my grandmother I decided to re-read 'Seaward'. My impressions of the book the second time around were very different from the first. I have re-read the book several times since then and have found, each time, that it has something fresh to say. It does speak about life and death - or perhaps ways of living and dying would be a more accurate description. It also speaks powerfully about friendship, of many different kinds of love, of hanging in there and not giving up too easily when the going gets tough and, like the others of Susan Cooper's books that I have read, of good, evil and the often deceptive or at least confusing faces each of these wears. It is a book for all seasons.

I first read this book in 7th grade, after reading Dark is Rising. It was instantly my favourite. Years have passed. I am now in college, and I lost the book somewhere in early high school. A couple of weeks ago I was somehow reminded of the story, but couldn't remember the title. I spent hours combing through stacks of young adult fiction to find the cover I remember so well! I am so pleased that I have found Seaward again! I am now happily reunited with my favourite fantasy! I wholeheartedly recommend Seaward to everyone who dreams of true love, myths and romance, and mansized mosquito men! Brilliantly crafted.

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.

The first time I read "Seaward" I was in middle school. I found it to be an easy fantasy read by the genius behind "The Dark Is Rising", but even at the age of 12 I could see that there was a deeper level to the story than I was - at the time - capable of understanding. Over the years I have re-read "Seaward" over and over, and each time am amazed at the depth and profundity of her final concepts. While it is a children's book on the surface, many adults can appreciate the moral dilemma of the Peter Pan type, and the dichotomy of sorrows and joys that come with death, life, and most importantly, love.

I read this book when I was about 13 or 14 (I got it from my school library), and then spent the next few years of my life trying to get my hands on a copy of this book here in Singapore,but it looks like there's only one copy of the book available here :) I had to travel all the way to America to get my hands on it... Anyway, the review:

I love this book. Susan Cooper remains, to this day (I'm 19 now) one of my favourite writers for childrens' literature. (Her 'Dark is Rising' sequence ranks right up there with Lloyd Alexander's 'Chronicles of Prydain' for me.)

She renders a mystically wistful textual Picasso of Cally and West, two kindred souls on a journey to somewhere out of time, lovers in mind, not body. The diametric, yet symbiotic relationship of good and evil is also painted in vivid colour on her canvas. The book evokes feelings of unasked and unanswered yearnings deep within you, and it makes you wonder, where's the West or Cally of my life?

I still cry for the faithful Peth.

I was one of those rare children that came to Seward before I came to The Dark is Rising. So, years later, when I did an internet search with a few vague keywords during the dark hours of a read-a-thon to try and re-find this childhood novel that I half remembered I was shocked (no, seriously, shocked) to discover that it was by none other than Susan Cooper. And then... I wasn't shocked at all.

In a lot of ways Seaward is a short story version of all the things that made The Dark is Rising so incredibly awesome. The magic, the danger, the young people caught up and confused in a grown-ups plot, all combined to make this a tense journey as West and Cally attempt to make it to the sea and to find answers to why they are there in the first place.

The symbolism in this book is amazing. There is no way I got all of this the first time around. Everything from the many faces of death, to the constant rebirth of life, from the people of stone, to the selkie, to Snake all had many meanings and additional ramifications that were often just hinted at (since this IS just a YA novel). I have to admit Snake bothered me in this adult re-reading but after some thought I decided to think of him as an inner expression and not an outward standalone person. Before snakes were given such a bad rap in Genesis to deter other religions who glorified the animal, snakes and women were once considered in the same mysterious light. Snakes shed their skin, women bled, and yet they both kept on living, a predominant theme in this book, continued life against all odds.

With the overall message of life and hope amidst death and destruction, I found this book to be really uplifting and much more powerful the second time around. The symbolism was amazing and multi-layered, reaching out to all sorts of different audiences at different ages. Cally and West were an inspiring couple to read about and it was touching watching them discover the world, their journey and ultimately each other along the way. You root for them from page one, and their story is a roller-coaster of magic, excitement and mystery to the last page. I really recommend reading this forgotten Susan Cooper story, or re-reading if you read it once long ago, especially if you are a fan of The Dark is Rising. You won't regret it.