''Silver on the Tree'' is a

contemporary fantasy Contemporary fantasy is a genre, subgenre of fantasy set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenres, occult detective fiction, urban fantasy, low fantasy, supernatural fiction and paranormal fiction. Several authors note that ...

novel by

Susan Cooper Susan Mary Cooper (born 23 May 1935) is an English author of children's books. She is best known for '' The Dark Is Rising'', a contemporary fantasy series set in England and Wales, which incorporates British mythology such as the Arthurian ...

, published by

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his busines ...

in 1977. It is the final entry in the five book ''Dark Is Rising Sequence''.

Plot

Will Stanton and his mentor Merriman, two of the last Old Ones, gather allies and magical objects to help defeat the rising Dark. They ally with Bran, a Welsh descendant of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

, and the three Drew children, to form the Six who are prophesied to triumph over the powers of the Dark. Significant mythical elements in the book include the bard

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...

(under his alternate name Gwion), King

Gwyddno Garanhir Gwyddno Garanhir was the supposed ruler of a sunken land off the coast of Wales, known as Cantre'r Gwaelod. He was the father of Elffin ap Gwyddno, the foster-father of the famous Welsh poet Taliesin in the legendary account given in the late med ...

and the Drowned Hundred, the Welsh tradition of the Mari Llwyd, Arthur's ship Prydwen, and the

Ritual of oak and mistletoe The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred oak, cut down the Viscum album, mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to make an elixir to cure infer ...

Critical reception

The book was compared less favorably to earlier instalments in the series, with particular criticism towards its final battle. However, it still received generally positive reviews. Mari Ness of

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...

praised it for being "beautifully and lyrically written", but was critical of its ending and its use of the

damsel in distress The damsel in distress is a narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has been kidnapped or placed in other peril. The "damsel" is often portrayed as beautiful, popular, and of high social status; she is usually depicted ...

trope. Nevertheless, she called it a "solid ending" for the series. '' The Children's Literature Review'' criticized elements of the book's plot, such as the use of time travel, but praised its setting and descriptive writing. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' was critical of the book's climax, saying "to the end the discrepancy between her grand scheme and the particulars of the story is unbridged, giving a morally and intellectually hollow ring to the whole." Rebecca Fisher of fantasyliterature.com praised Cooper's subtle writing, but criticized the book's pacing choices and lack of suspense. ''Silver on the Tree'' received a Tir na n-Og Award in 1978. It was nominated for a

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by ''Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards. Winners References External links The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries ...

and a

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise ...

, but did not win.

References

{{Reflist Novels by Susan Cooper Novels set in Wales Welsh fantasy novels 1977 fantasy novels Modern Arthurian fiction Low fantasy novels