Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Grey King

  • Book 4 of The Dark Is Rising Sequence
  • By: Susan Cooper
  • Narrated by: Richard Mitchley
  • Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (198 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Grey King cover art

The Grey King

By: Susan Cooper
Narrated by: Richard Mitchley
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Over Sea, Under Stone cover art
The Boggart and the Monster cover art
The Boggart cover art
The Accidental Alchemist cover art
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen cover art
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story cover art
The Stones of Green Knowe cover art
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea & The Story of Is cover art
Dragonsong: Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 1 cover art
The Owl Service cover art
Weaveworld cover art
The Wolves of Savernake cover art
The Devil Rides Out cover art
Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Very First Damned Thing cover art
Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: Series 1-4 cover art

Summary

There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes - a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he traveled to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he met Bran, the strange boy who owned a white dog, he began to remember. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's task to wake with the golden harp the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light.
Listen to more in the Dark Is Rising Sequence.
©2007 Susan Cooper (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group.

Critic reviews

Newbery Honor Book

"Susan Cooper is a consummate storyteller, and Richard Mitchley is an extraordinary narrator. His voice resonates with the atmosphere of the British Isles. The power and depth of his voice as the Grey King cause the listener to cower, and his icy tones create chills as the Brenin Llwyd blows by. As Will comes to understand the eerie might of the warestones, Mitchley brings goose bumps to the listener's skin. The interplay of past and present is compelling and believable, given his masterful presentation. This is a fabulous listen!" (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Grey King

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    164
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    151
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    146
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful🌸

Susan Copper is such a wonderful writer. Her stories weave ancient and modern, the known and unknown in a deeply spiritual reality within the pages. The reader was excellent, blending the English and Welsh and keeping the flow of the narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully read great story

Where does The Grey King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I thought it was very well read and also thought the narrator must be Welsh. The previous narrator of the series Alex Jennings is good but Richard Mitchley'svoice was superb for this tale set in Wales. very evocative.

What other book might you compare The Grey King to, and why?

It is part of a series by Susan Cooper. I read one "the dark is rising" and wanted to read the whole series

Have you listened to any of Richard Mitchley’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No but I will now be looking for his other books I think the narration can make a book and will often choose audio books based on the narrator. Mind you Richard Mitchley reads Allan Carr's how to stop smoking so I might draw the line at listening to that purely for his dulcet tones. (I am not a smoker. 😀)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No I preferred a bit at a time I found it quite exciting.

Any additional comments?

Would recommend the series and the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • MR
  • 07-12-14

Wales. Its people and its Legends

What made the experience of listening to The Grey King the most enjoyable?

I got this book because I am learning Welsh (for fun). I have been travelling to South Wales from England each week to work for about a year now and want to immerse myself more into the way of the Welsh people.

What did you like best about this story?

This story is my idea of Wales and the Welsh people as it excellently weaves the everyday life of those farming the hills and mountains with the stories and Legends brought about by this mystical countryside.

What does Richard Mitchley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I didn't hear a narrator only lots of Welsh people so I guess he did a good job.
I thoroughly enjoyed his pronunciation of Welsh and equally the voices of the many people in Wales who speak English with an accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I also enjoy hill walking alone. One day out of the fog or cloud that often cover the hills, shall I meet, Bran, Caradog Prichard, the Milgwn, or Brenin Llwyd himself !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good

I loved it. however, every time the narrator stared talking in a Welsh accent, he got very loud. This made it hard to listen to at night

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

hope you like Welsh

narration lovely but narrative left much to be desired. plodding and obviously derivative of Welsh legend in a way that previous books in the series were not

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not soothing to listen to

I'm a huge fan of the entire Dark is Rising Sequence and have read them multiple times over the decades.

However, The Grey King is probably my least favourite of the series and the problem I had with with this Audible version is that the narration by Richard Mitchley veered between quiet scene setting and loud excitable dialogue particularly for the character Caradog Pritchard at the end of the book. It left me wincing and reaching for the volume control whilst listening to it my car. I couldn't imagine listening to it whilst drifting off to sleep in bed. Sorry, but I prefer Alex Jennings' narration in the rest of the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic children’s book

I have loved this series since a child. It doesn’t feel too dated, although for a female author in particular, women barely feature in this story. This book deals with some relatively adult themes of love and grief.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic series

Loved it as a child in the 80s. Loving it all over again with my daughter. Mythical tales from ancient Britain with exciting, compelling modern stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • JL
  • 16-07-21

Not the best

Lost its sequence with its narration sadly. Doesn’t ‘feel’ the same as I have read them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Grey King

Love this story & it was entertaining & beautifully read full suspense & drama

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!