Customer Reviews

Silver on the Tree (The Dark is Rising, Bk 5)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

_Silver in the Tree_ is the fifth and final book in the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. It tells the story of the final confrontation between the Light and the Dark. Here the threads from previous books come together: Will Stanton, Merriman, the Drew children, Bran Davies, the Rowlands, the Stantons, and more. Cooper also introduces new characters, like Gwion, who leave lasting impressions both on the characters and the readers. In this book, the Light tries to find the last thing of power--a crystal sword--that will help them in the last and greatest rising of the Dark.

On a more serious level, this book addresses questions such as: what does it mean to *belong* to a family or a place? What right do people have to make decisions for others? The answers are neither simple nor easy. The disappointment of some of the other reviewer here shows that. (Warning: Some of them give away the ending, so reader beware). Personally I thought the novel's conclusion was fitting--it went well with the message of the other parts of the series. Cooper's prose style meshes well with her story.

Fantasy buffs, especially those with an interest in Arthurian legend, will love this series. I recommend this book very highly to middle school readers or advanced late-elementary school readers. But read the series in its proper order! This book gets its much of its poignancy from what comes before it. The order of the series is: _Over Sea, Under Stone_, _The Dark is Rising_, _Greenwitch_, _The Grey King_, and _Silver on the Tree_. The first two books can be read in interchangable order; I might even recommend reading _The Dark is Rising_ before _Over Sea, Under Stone_, but don't read _Greenwitch_ without reading the first two.

A couple months ago my very dear friend said "You have to read these books by Susan Cooper" Since she usually likes the same books I do, I checked out the first one. I was hooked! Just a few days ago I finally finished the last book, Silver On the Tree. Fantastic. Really, if any adult doesn't read this because they think it's a kid's book, think again. I know many kids my age (13) who wouldn't get the subtle hints that go throughout the series.

Susan Cooper is such an excellent writer. She can make totally realistic, everyday, family scenes, and then turn around and write about journeys through fantastic fantasy worlds. She is also really good about writing descriptive scenes that let you picture something so exactly.

I can't decide whether this ties with The Grey King as the best book in the sequence, or if Grey King is a bit better.

The ending wraps things up just right. Except, I don't think the Drews & Bran should have had to forget. That's was probably the only complaint I can think of.

"Silver on the Tree" is the fifth and final book in "The Dark is Rising" series, and if you have never picked up the previous installments, then don't start here - you won't have a clue what's going on. If however, you have read "Over Sea, Under Stone," "The Dark is Rising," "Greenwitch" and "The Grey King," then here is the big finale you've been waiting for. Finally, all our main characters are reunited for the first and last time - Merriman Lyon, Will Stanton, Bran Davis, the Drew children, the Rowlands and the rest of the Old Ones who have come together for the final battle against the malevolent powers of the Dark.

They have gathered in Wales, following the last lines of the Light's prophecy; "when the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back", in order to find the last talisman of the Light. Whilst Will (the youngest of the Old Ones: guardians of humanity) and Bran (the son of King Arthur who was transported forward in time by his mother) travel across the Lost Land in search of the crystal sword, Merriman and Simon, Jane and Barney Drew face their own challenges when the powers of the Dark catapult them into different time periods. Soon it is a race to the finish line and the Midsummer Tree, but with a traitor in their midst and the forces of the Dark towering around them, it's hardly going to be easy to finally defeat the Dark.

Cooper again introduces several historical and legendary figures from England's past, including Owain Glyndwr, Herne the Hunter, Gwion/Talisan and of course King Arthur himself, and she invokes the landscapes and countrysides beautifully. By the end of the series, we are met with the inevitable sadness of farewells and life-changing decisions that place "The Dark is Rising" amongst the best of children's fantasy literature - this is not simply a hackneyed battle between opposing forces; it involves real betrayal, real heartbreak and real pain - where the climatic moment is not a sword-fight, but a decision that must be made by a human being that has just lost everything he's loved. Our characters have only half-won the battle: for as she points out in the beginning of the novel when a young Pakistani boy is targeted for bullying, the real enemy lies within humankind.

There are a few things that I'm not quite sure on, but before I start pointing them out I have to say that Susan Cooper is an extremely sensitive and subtle writer - if you don't read carefully you can miss half of what she has to say. As I have only read "Silver on the Tree" twice, (once when I was quite young, and once when I was in a hurry), I'm quite certain that I fall into this category. Her themes are deep, her writing is articulate, and she doesn't make it easy for insensitive readers. If you want to get the most out of these books, then you have to work for it.

In saying that, some things came across as rather puzzling. The sequence and timing of events are rather patchy, and often things happen that don't seem to make much sense (although keep in mind, I may be misinterpreting them - I'm sure Cooper knows more about writing than I do). The book is divided into four parts, and although the first provides a promising beginning, and the last an exciting conclusion, the two middle parts are problematic. The situation with the Drews, in which they are transported back into time seems a little unnecessary - they do not seem to learn or gain anything of value that justifies their presence there. Meanwhile, as Bran and Will traverse the Lost Land, they come up against several obstacles that are disposed of rather easily - such as the terrifying spectre of a moving horse skeleton: the boys are saved when the petals of a may tree falls upon it. Huh?

Furthermore, the powers of the Dark just didn't seem that scary this time around. Previously, they were one of Cooper's strongest inventions, whether they appeared as amiable siblings, sullen, half-crazed painters, sweet-faced farm-girls, haggard tramps, a malevolent mountain-presence or the terrifying visage of a Black-cloaked Rider. But here, rather than appearing as a truly foreboding threat, the bad-guys do little but tail our heroes, mock them, and generally come across as annoying. Cooper drives home the point that the Dark can do the good guys no physical harm so many times that we loose all fear for their safety. I had no doubts that they'd make it through with no causalities - but the emotional scarring that they'd been exposed to is also negated when all but one of the main characters loose the memory of their adventures.

As mentioned, Cooper's work is immensely subtle and there is too much to be discovered for me to give it all away. I'll just reveal just one: read the descriptions of the Old Ones in the ships carefully at the story's end - she does not give names but "a tall burly figure in a smith's apron, a small man in a green coat and an imperious grey-haired lady, leaning on a stick," are all characters that we've seen before. So read carefully and frequently if you want to get the most out of this particular book, as well of the rest of the installments in this award-winning, immensely rewarding series.

I'm a twelve-year-old from KL and I first read this book when I was eleven, two years ago. Ever since then I have reread it about a million times. This book is the last in the series and one of the best. In the beginning Will begins to see shades of fleeing people. He calls a gathering of the Old Ones, only to find that the Lady is not present. He is drawn into an adventure with Bran Davies and the Drew children, ending in a struggle to cut the blossom from the midsummer tree on the Chiltern hills with the crystal sword, which will enable the Light to vanquish the Dark. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Susan Cooper shifts from time to time and place to place seamlessly. I loved the Lost Land and the climax at the midsummer tree. When I first read this book I was rather upset that Bran and the Drews had to forget their adventures completely. However, after rereading this book a few times, I began to think that the ending was, after all, quite appropriate. I did feel sorry for Will, though, because he had to bear this burden alone. I loved this book.

The last of this fine series is a sweeping effort to bring all the characters from previous books together. Cooper writes well enough, and this is all based on an extremely complicated set of Arthurian mythologies. But by now we are rather tired of these vague metaphysical risings of power, which seem less chilling the more they happen. This novel flies all over the place in space and time, more like a series of adventures than a cohesive whole. It tends to seem a bit long and arbitrary (as when Blowden Rowlands is suddenly unmasked.) In short, this book gets lost in itself. Fantasy mongers may like it more than I did.

The old one, Will, and his friends are on their final adventure together to save the world from the rising dark. Will start off with his brothers at a picnic and he discovers that the old ones cannot slack off and let the dark take over. Merriman tells Will to pick up the blet of the signs to ward off the dark for the final moment. Meanwhile, Jane, Simon, and Barney are vacationing in Wales near where the mountain of the Grey King was. They meet Will at a cliff and they meet Bran, the mysterious albino boy. Together they solve the last piece to the puzzle of the rhyme, the lost city. They find the lost city and enter it to find the crystal sword, the final weapon of the light. Then it is the race to the midsummer tree. Prophesy has it said that the first one to cut off the silver from the midsummer tree will rule the universe. There are lots of surprises in the book and the plot changes ever so slightly. Everything flows together.
I like the book because of the interesting plot, how each book and each event in each book flows into one another. I also happen to like King Arthur and his Round Table so this makes the book very appealing. I like how Susan Cooper uses real language and real places to explain the story which makes the whole story more believable.
My favorite part was when Will and Bran received the crystal sword from the unhappy king. I've always wondered why did the king decide to torture himself with his own thoughts. The book says the Dark has no power to harm but it can contribute to changing a person. Then can't the king resist the Dark's influence? Why must he suffer because he did something right? Great book overall!

The book, Silver on the Tree, fourth in the Dark is Rising series, has a great plot. The main character, Will Stanton, is one of the circle of old ones. The circle is a gathering of immortal beings of the light. Their job is to save the world from the impending dark. Will must find the last of the four "Things of Power." Without it, there is no hope for the light.
"When light from the lost land shall return
Six Sleepers will ride, six Signs will burn,
And where the midsummer's tree grows tall,
By Pendragon's sword, the dark shall fall."
With only this poem and five friends to help him, Will must find the crystal sword before the final and most powerful attack of the dark. The dark lords will stop at nothing to get to the crystal sword before Will and destroy it. There is little time, for the dark is rising and at last, silver on the tree.

Everything in the Dark is Rising Series was really great, eapecially The Dark is Rising. Everything up to The Grey King built up tremendously. When I finally read Silver on the Tree I was somewhat disappointed. I was really happy the the major characters got together, but they weren't together long enough. I expected all five of the kids to do the journey together, and I also thought that the Drews didn't get to participate enough in the story, and Merriman was bearly in it! But I was really disappointed at the ending. I really didn't see the point of what all of them went through if only they were going to forget it in the end! It would have meant MORE to them and the story if they would have been able to remember. But all in all, the book was good. And I thank Susan Cooper for bringing us this excellent series.

The conclusion to the fabulous Dark is Rising sequence brings it all together. The Drew children, Will, Merriman Lyon, Bran, and their human relatives and acquaintances, one of whom will prove crucial, and a traitor will be revealed.

Will and Bran must undergo the most perilous quest, to the find the sword of power.

Again, the clues are poetic :-

I am the womb of every holt,
I am the blaze on every hill,
I am the queen of every hive,
I am the shield for every head,
I am the tomb of every hope --
I am Eirias

At the end, a decision must be made by those who are not mortal, about those who are mortal.

Ending a series well is not an easy task, but Susan Cooper pulls it off brilliantly in Silver on the Tree. This book is far longer than any of the others in the series, which is a big plus. She maintains the same excellent style of writing she showed in the first four books in the series. Pretty much, if you liked the other books in the series you will like this one. It is especially similar to the Grey King, but perhaps not quite as good. The ending to this book was somewhat depressing, but I won't spoil it. Suffice to say that it is bittersweet at best.

Overall grade: A