Harry Potter vs. Will Stanton

[emmbp at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 35525

I have two series of Children's Fantasy that I
absolutly adore: Harry Potter (of Course) and The Dark
is Rising (by Susan Cooper)  As I sat musing last
night, I realized that there are some serious
parallels between the two series.  Let me explain:

Both series feature an English boy who discovers on
his 11th birthday that he has "paranormal" powers. 
Will Stanton of the Dark is Rising, discovers that he
is the last of the Old Ones, a group of magical people
that have been fighting the Dark since time started.

Harry Potter discovers that he is a wizard, and that
he has survived a terribly evil Wizard.

Each embarks on quests, finds friends and enemies, and
finds that Things Are Not What They Seem.  The
friendly seeming persons around them usually turn out
to be evil (ie Quirrel, Moody, etc).

Both are supported by friendly old men who are much
older than they seem:  Will Stanton by Merriman
Lyon(who is Merlin...)  Harry by Dumbledore (order of
Merlin)

Throughout the plots, each boy fails at times, and yet
they succeed at the end.

Has anyone else read The Dark is Rising?  Do you see
any more interesting parallels between the books?

Have a Wonderful Day
Brady

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games
http://sports.yahoo.com