Silver on the Tree

This, being the last in the series, brings it all full circle.

The contrast between the light and the dark, the battle of the future against the past, is vividly presented.

It is a children's fantasy, and as an adult, I can spot a few inconsistencies that I might not have noticed when I was younger.

One of these has to do with time. However, despite these minor flaws, it is still an outstanding series for both the old and the young.

It makes for a great read-aloud for the family.

But here's a tip: start with book 2, then read book 1, and continue with the rest in order.

At the end, I feel a slight tinge of melancholy.

Yet, there is also a smile on my face as I conclude the series.

I will truly miss Will Stanton!

I will miss his world and all those who are a part of his life.

I long for more of him.

Please, Ms. Cooper, can you bring Will to life once again in his adult years?

It would be a wonderful treat for all the fans.

The fifth installment of an amazing children's series is a book that I have read countless times. So many times, in fact, that the spine creases have merged into one large, obscuring curl. It is a beloved possession that holds a special place in my heart.

However, I am deeply saddened by the previews of the upcoming movie adaptation. It seems that the lilting beauty of Cooper's story has been completely distorted. It appears as if it has been fed steroids and "enhanced" with unnecessary explosions. This is not what the story is about.

Moreover, there is the issue of the American protagonist instead of an English one. The Arthurian connection, which is such an integral part of the original story, is also completely absent from the previews. It is truly a horror to think that the movie might completely miss the essence of the book that I love so much. I can only hope that the final product will somehow manage to capture at least a fraction of the magic of the original.

4.25

A spellbinding, heart-wrenching final chapter to a wonderful fantasy series. It’s truly criminal that these books aren’t more widely read.

I first read this series as a child, and I was really worried that by re-reading it as an adult, it would let me down by not living up to my treasured memories of it. However, it most decidedly did not. I loved every single minute of this. The vivid descriptions, the engaging characters, and the thrilling plot all came together to create a magical reading experience. It fully deserves its place on my shelves next to the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings.

If you’re a fantasy lover, do yourself a huge favour and give it a go. You won’t be disappointed. This series has the power to transport you to another world, filled with magic, adventure, and unforgettable moments. So, pick up the first book and get ready to embark on a journey that will stay with you for a lifetime.

Silver on the Tree is the ultimate and most ambitious installment of The Dark is Rising series. Although each book in the series is crafted to be read independently, readers will not be able to grasp the complete narrative without first delving into the other outstanding books.

As the culmination of a broader story, Silver on the Tree is also the most mature of the YA series. It is analogous to the final year of high school, where many of your interests remain self-centered, yet you can no longer turn a blind eye to the greater turmoil of the world and your position within it. The children in the tale not only have to confront the mighty and powerful Darkness that exists beyond time but also have to grapple with racism and the daily indifference to evil in the adult world.

I firmly believe that this is an outstanding series, with its story evolving throughout the books, just as the children in the story mature. I think the highest compliment I can pay to the entire series is that I am certain I would have adored it as a child.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the Light at last, silver on the tree.

This was my Harry Potter, you kids. It is still magic.

September 2013 reread

I vividly remember the day in fifth grade, many years ago, when the school librarian informed me that the book I'd been eagerly awaiting was available. "Silver on the Tree," the fifth and final volume in Susan Cooper's "Dark is Rising" sequence.

I had devoured the first four books. (I think I read the first one, "Over Sea, Under Stone," out of order initially, which was fine as it's somewhat of a prequel to the rest of the series.) With the second one, "The Dark is Rising," I was completely hooked. For some reason, I had to wait for the fifth book. When the librarian handed it to me, I was overjoyed... but also filled with sadness. I remember that clearly. I was sad because I was about to read the last book, and then it would all be over.

I recall loving this concluding volume, but also experiencing profound sadness when I finished because the series had come to an end.

I haven't felt anything quite like that since, until a few years ago when I read the entire Harry Potter series in a month. While the feelings weren't as intense due to my being older and more cynical, and while I can certainly recognize Rowling's flaws as a writer, the fact that Harry and his friends in their whimsical boy wizard fantasy world managed to evoke some of the same emotions I once felt as a ten-year-old is why I credit Rowling with creating something truly timeless and special, even if I can name a dozen fantasy series that are objectively better-written. I don't know what that "special ingredient" is in a children's book series that makes it transcend plot and prose and grip your heart, but Rowling had it, and so did Susan Cooper.

Now, I'm not much of a rereader. I almost never reread books. I understand that many people frequently reread their favorite books. There are those who boast of reading the entire Harry Potter series a dozen times. (I read each one once. That's it.) It's a habit I just don't understand, even though I realize I'm the unusual one. In my view, there are thousands of books I'd like to read and will never get to before I die, so why waste one of the limited "reading slots" allotted to me in my lifetime on a book I've already read?

Still, now and then, I do reread something, usually something I read so long ago that I've forgotten it. Maybe in twenty or thirty years, I will reread Harry Potter.

Over the past year, I cautiously and with some trepidation revisited my favorite childhood series once more. Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising." I was afraid that the series I loved so much as a child would seem pale and childish when read as an adult who has read thousands of books since. I've read the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings (well, I'm lying, I've never read the LotR all the way through, I need to do that one of these days) and many other fantasy, MG, YA, adult, and grimdark books. So nothing can be as new and fresh for me as Susan Cooper's books were when I first read them, nor as tragic.

To be honest, I enjoyed them on my reread, but yes, I'm an adult now, and these books are written for children, so they just didn't captivate me the way they did when I was ten. It's a fine series, with great, descriptive, and evocative writing — Susan Cooper is far better than J.K. Rowling when it comes to putting words on the page and creating imagery in your mind.

But until the last book, it was a pleasant nostalgia trip, and as I expected, they have aged well but they have aged.

Then I reached the last few chapters of "Silver on the Tree." And... it wasn't quite the same. Not exactly. But I felt it again. That ten-year-old inside me remembers.

"Silver on the Tree"讲述了黑暗与光明之间的最后一场战斗。它将前四本书中一直为光明事业服务的所有角色聚集在一起，有时是一起，有时是分开的：德鲁家的孩子们，简、西蒙和巴尼；威尔·斯坦顿，最后一位旧神，既是一个青春期前的男孩，又是一位拥有所有时代魔法知识的不朽巫师；布兰，那个被从时间中带走以完成一千年前为他设定的命运的白化病男孩；当然还有梅里曼。

黑暗骑手也回来了，还有一位白色骑手，以及所有其他黑暗势力。苏珊·库珀没有像罗琳那样写出充满巧妙彩蛋的情节，但像罗琳一样，她在最后一本书中会利用前面所有书中提到的内容。威尔和布兰必须进行一次充满塞尔特 - 亚瑟王神话色彩的冒险，而德鲁家的孩子们也有他们自己在凡人层面要扮演的角色。所有这些都很有趣、精彩且丰富，仅此一点就足以使这本书成为该系列中最好的一本。

但结局——其中的爱、失去和牺牲的程度，可能只有J.R.R.托尔金或C.S.刘易斯在儿童文学中接近过。绝对不是罗琳。对不起，杀死一只猫头鹰和一两个韦斯莱家的人只是廉价的催泪手段。但是约翰·罗兰兹在最后对决中所扮演的角色，即使在得知他妻子的真相之后，对于一个十岁的读者来说，在传达成人的悲伤和失落感时，可能已经是他们能够理解的极限了。接着是国王的到来，布兰的决定，然后……威尔，独自与德鲁一家在一起，以及他们所失去的。

这是一个幸福的结局——好人当然赢了。而且苏珊·库珀的结局比罗琳的更不血腥。整个系列中几乎没有实际的流血事件；尽管黑暗是人类心中所有邪恶和自私的体现，但儿童主角们总是受到“规则”的保护，这些规则限制了交战势力何时可以直接造成伤害。

但这是一场非常苦乐参半的胜利。你可以看到他们走向夕阳，并且知道一切都结束了。

给每个人心中的孩子打5星。

The finale of the series is something that I can never truly remember.

I must have read it eight times already, yet every time I complete it and put it down, the details begin to fade from my mind instantaneously. There is just an abundance of vague and unexplained magic, strange feelings, mystical things, and time travel upon time travel. It is all very eerie, and you feel just as lost as the Drew kids must feel all the time. However, most of it is difficult to grasp and remember.

I would have preferred it if they had spent less time in the Lost Land. I would have liked it if Bran and Will had spent the entire time, or at least the majority of the book, with the Drews. This is the only team-up book that features all of the Six, and they barely spend one day together. And boy, do I detest the fact that they all are made to forget everything at the end, even Bran. That is just so offensive.

When everything else gets lost in the fog, the aspects that stick with me the most about Silver On The Tree are the relationships. Poor John Rowland and his evil wife. Bran and Arthur. Will's enjoyable and silly family. The bard from the Lost Land and his king. Bran's seemingly pointless fight with Jane. These are what I remember, and to be honest, I wish there had been more emphasis on this kind of thing, rather than a mind-boggling quantity of magical symbolism.

This series was one that I thoroughly enjoyed during my childhood.

However, upon revisiting it, it perhaps hasn't endured as well as I might have hoped. There is an annoying precocious kid, much like Charles Wallace, which can be quite grating at times.

As another reviewer astutely pointed out, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of stakes or a palpable sense of danger throughout the story.

Nonetheless, it does play around with fascinating elements such as Arthurian legend, Welsh myth, and other such things that I have always had a penchant for.

Despite these redeeming qualities, it is clearly the weakest installment of the series.

It lacks the depth and excitement that I remember from my younger days, and fails to truly engage the reader on a profound level.

Perhaps it is a case of nostalgia clouding my initial perception, but it is evident that this series has not aged as gracefully as some others.