Silver on the Tree is the fifth and final book in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Sequence.
The Dark is approaching its final and strongest rising. As a result, the Six (Simon, Jane, Barney, Merriman, Will and Bran) must retrieve Pendragon’s sword, Eriras, from the Lost Land. However, the Dark knows there is only a small window for retrieving the sword and is determined to stop the Six. Will the Six retrieve the sword? Will the Six defeat the Dark once and for all? Will the Dark reach the peak of its power?
Three of the main protagonists are the Drews. Despite the Drews appearing in Under Sea, Over Stone and Greenwitch (two of the previous books), this is the first time the oldest sibling has been identified. Throughout the series, Barney has been shown to be the youngest, but one line from Jane’s perspective has shown that Simon is the oldest: “‘Course it is,’ said her elder brother with a disarming grin. ‘Utter disaster. Where’s mine?’” The Drew children’ s great-uncle (Merriman) is also a member of the Six and appears in all previous books, except the Grey King. During Lord Arthur’s brief appearance, he seems to know Merriman Lyon well, suggesting that the fourth member of the Six is Merlin. Furthermore, Merriman is suggested to be the first of the Old Ones (a group with mysterious abilities that fight against the dark). Another Old One and member of the Six is Will Stanton. Appearing in all previous books except the first one, Will is the last of the Old Ones. Will is one of the Six’s two members to reach the Lost Land. The last of the Six and only other member to reach the Lost Land is Bran Davies or the Pendragon.
Similarly to the rest of the series, the main theme of Silver on the Tree is good vs evil. Throughout the Dark is Rising Sequence, this classic theme takes the form of the Light vs the Dark. In this book, the Light is represented by the Six (Simon, Jane, Barney, Merriman, Will and Bran). Meanwhile, the entirety of the Dark is the villain of this book. However, it is mostly represented by the Black Rider and White Rider.
To help defeat the Dark, the Six used five of the six signs (the Sign of Wood, the Sign of Bronze, the Sign of Iron, the Sign of Fire and the Sign of Stone). However, the sixth sign, the Sign of Water, appears to have been forgotten and replaced by the Sign of Light which is not mentioned in the prophecy. I am also disappointed that Will did not wield the Sign of Iron, the first sign he received when gathering all six together. However, I was very excited to see King Arthur appear at the end as the legend stated he would return when he was needed most. On the other hand, I was slightly annoyed that the book referred to him as Lord Arthur and not King Arthur. I was also pleased to see the return of previous villains and side characters from the previous books. However, none of these returns were from the third book, Greenwitch, despite the painter from the Dark being the obvious choice.
I would recommend this book to those twelve and older who are searching for a thrilling read of magic.