 | |
| Author | Susan Cooper |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Dark Is Rising Sequence |
| Genre | Contemporary fantasy |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 368 pp |
| ISBN | 0689500882 |
| Preceded by | The Grey King (1975) |
Silver on the Tree is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published by Chatto & Windus in 1977. It is the final entry in the five book Dark Is Rising Sequence.
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, 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 (under his alternate name Gwion), King Gwyddno Garanhir and the Drowned Hundred, the Welsh tradition of the Mari Llwyd, and the Ritual of oak and mistletoe.
The book was compared less favorably to earlier installments in the series, with particular criticism towards its final battle. However, it still received generally positive reviews. Mari Ness of Tor.com praised it for being "beautifully and lyrically written", but was critical of its ending and its use of the damsel in distress trope. Nevertheless, she called it a "solid ending" for the series. [1] 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. [2]
Kirkus Reviews 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." [3] Rebecca Fisher of fantasyliterature.com praised Cooper's subtle writing, but criticized the book's pacing choices and lack of suspense. [4]
Silver on the Tree received a Tir na n-Og Award in 1978. [5] It was nominated for a Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and a Ditmar Award, but did not win. [6]
Susan Mary Cooper 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 legends and Welsh folk heroes. For that work, in 2012 she won the lifetime Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association, recognizing her contribution to writing for teens. In the 1970s two of the five novels were named the year's best English-language book with an "authentic Welsh background" by the Welsh Books Council.
The Grey King is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published almost simultaneously by Chatto & Windus and Atheneum in 1975. It is the fourth of five books in her Arthurian fantasy series The Dark is Rising.
The Dark Is Rising Sequence is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that were written by the British author Susan Cooper and published from 1965 to 1977. The first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone, was originally conceived as a stand-alone novel, and the sequence gets its name from the second novel in the series, The Dark Is Rising. The Dark Is Rising Sequence is used as an over-arching title in several omnibus, boxed-set, and coordinated editions; but the title of The Dark is Rising is also used for the whole series.
Greenwitch is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published by Atheneum Press in 1974. It is the third entry in the five book Dark Is Rising Sequence.
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Jennifer Sullivan is a Welsh writer for children and adults, and a former literary critic. She is best known for her Magic Apostrophe series of children's fantasy books. She is a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award.
Catherine Fisher is a Welsh poet and children's novelist. She has also worked as a school and university teacher.
The Magician Trilogy is a series of three children's fantasy novels by the British author Jenny Nimmo, first published by Methuen 1986 to 1989. It is sometimes called the Snow Spider trilogy or series after the first book and The Snow Spider Trilogy is the title of its omnibus editions. The stories are inspired by Welsh mythology, with elements borrowed from Mabinogion. Set in contemporary Wales, they feature Gwyn Griffiths, a boy descended from Gwydion who discovers and develops some of the magical power in his lineage.
The Tir na n-Og Awards are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards categories, one English-language and two Welsh-language. Their purpose is "[to raise] the standard of children's and young people's books and to encourage the buying and reading of good books." There is no restriction to fiction or prose. Each prize is £1,000.
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A String in the Harp is a children's fantasy novel by Nancy Bond first published in 1976. It received a 1977 Newbery Honor award and the Welsh Tir na n-Og Award. It tells of the American Morgan family who temporarily move to Wales, where Peter Morgan finds a magical harp key that gives him vivid visions of the past. This well-received novel is an unusual time travel story, with its focus on the emotional pain and separation the Morgans experience after the death of their mother and the gradual healing they find through their experiences.
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Fonda Lee is a Canadian-American author of speculative fiction. She is best known for writing The Green Bone Saga, the first of which, Jade City, won the 2018 World Fantasy Award and was named one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time by Time magazine. The Green Bone Saga was also included on NPR's list, "50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade".
Mari Ness is an American poet, author, and critic. She has multiple publications in various science fiction and fantasy magazines and anthologies. Her work has been published in Apex Magazine, Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, Fantasy Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Lightspeed, Nightmare Magazine, Strange Horizons, Tor.com, and Uncanny Magazine. In Locus, Paula Guran said of The Girl and the House that Ness: "subverts and glorifies the clichés and tropes of every gothic novel ever written, in less than 1,800 words"
Justina Ireland is an American science-fiction and fantasy author of young adult fiction and former editor-in-chief of the FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. She received the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Non-Professional Work. Her novel Dread Nation won the 2019 Locus Award, and was nominated for the Andre Norton, Bram Stoker, and Lodestar Awards.
Bethany C. Morrow is an American author. She writes speculative fiction for adult and young adult audiences and is the author of Mem (2018), A Song Below Water (2020), So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (2021), and the editor of YA anthology Take the Mic (2019).
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