Silver on the Tree

By: Susan Cooper

Narrated by: Alex Jennings

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. And Will Stanton, last-born of the immortal Old Ones, dedicated to keeping the world free, must join forces with his ageless master Merriman and Bran, the Welsh boy whose destiny ties him to the Light. Drawn in with them are the three Drew children, who are mortal, but have their own vital part in the story. These six fight fear and death in the darkly brooding Welsh hills, in a quest through time and space that touches the most ancient myths of the British Isles and that brings Susan Cooper's masterful sequence of novels, The Dark Is Rising, to a satisfying close.

Listen to more in the Dark Is Rising Sequence.

©1977 Susan Cooper (P)2002 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an Imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"[Alex Jennings] is a master of dialogue, slipping effortlessly into the cadences of children's voices and characterizing accents from around the British Isles and beyond. This is a satisfying conclusion to the series." (AudioFile)

The last battle.

This is a worthy conclusion to the series. It begins with the Stanton family, all of wom are home for the summer holidays. When Will's elder brother Steven intervenes in the matter of an Indian boy being teased by a group of local villagers, the family finds themselves pitted against the hateful father of one of the bullies, an encounter that reminds Will of the absolute power the forces of the Dark will wield if the Circle of Light is unable to push them back. The next stage of the quest begins that night when Meriman Lyon appears to Will and tells him that the time has come for the six signs of light, gathered during the events of The Dark is Rising, to be recovered from the place where they were hidden following their joining. The time for the final battle between the Light and the Dark is drawing near, and the forces of Light must be ready for that critical moment. Recovering the signs is the easyy part. But Will and his friends must also recover an ancient sword, the one weapon that, combined with the six signs, can bring a final end to the threat of the Dark. This sword, however, lies in the Lost Land, in the keeping of its despairing maker. Only Will and Bran Davies, the latter being the lately revealed son of the legendary King Arthur, have any hope of reaching the Lost Land, and even then they must still reach the tower where the king of that realm has hidden himself in his despair. And once there they must find some way to rouse the king from his despair and persuade him to part with the sword. Will their efforts be enough to turn back the forces of the Dark in their greatest rising?
All in all this is a worthy conclusion to the series. Alex Jennings returns for this final installment and as usual he does an excellent job of narrating it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent

A wonderful story with a wonderful performance. I don't get tired of listening to this series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

after lisning

The audio quality is a bit bad. The ubabridged recording company has to renew the audio. but apart from that, everything is fine.

Awesome!

Just as good as 40 years ago, Thank you Susan Cooper! You are a gifted writer.

perfect tie

What made the experience of listening to Silver on the Tree the most enjoyable?

the actors and the story. everything was done verry well

What did you like best about this story?

how big it felt.

What does Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

his reading brings a certain gravitas into the tone of the book

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

dark times

Any additional comments?

not to spoil but the ending's a tear jerker

The dark is rising

No idea how often I have listened. Always enjoy it. It seems like a good winter story. Highly recommend.

Great story. We'll done.

We want to get the books from the library to read. It will be interesting to check spellings of the Welsh words and see the names of the characters. Susan Cooper has a wonderful imagination, but also she has got a grasp on Welsh language and culture, and even more, a good point of view about what is important to mankind.

Excellent book.

From start to finish, this was an excellent series. My students and I read the first book, and I couldn't stop!

As good as it gets!

Elegant, charming, and I've read them all. The narrator is top drawer. The story is magical and mythical drawing on deep and hidden archetypes and lore.
Extremely well done.

Typical of the other book in the series

All the main characters from the series come together to finish them off and very much reads like the other books.
It took me three tries to get into it enough to finish reading. I wasn't expecting much from this book and didn't get much out of it. Characters continue to lack depth and follow stereotypes. Problems are solved either by coincidence or mysterious magic.This books shows just how rich a world the series takes place in but each section is only briefly touched on.
If you read the others books it worth reading to finish the story.

Final part of one of my favourite sequences

Love this but please can't you get 'Over sea, under stone' and 'The dark is rising'?

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

children's fantasy and magic

The fifth and final ageless classic of "The Dark is Rising' series by Susan Cooper. It is rather surprising that her work is not as widely known as the Harry Potter books.She establishes a great sense of atmosphere in her books which draw heavily on Arthurian legends. Alex Jennings brings her work to life incredibly well.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

great ending to the sequence

I love these stories and they have been beautifully narrated - the only criticism I can make of Silver on the Tree is the appalling Welsh pronunciation throughout.

A thoughtful end to a magnificent series.

rereading (listening to) this volume makes me remember how much ground the series covers. much folklore and myth is brought into this series of linked books.

Has to be one of the best tales ever.

Replayed over and over. A book I will never tire of. Thank you for the dreaming.

Wonderful story

A wonderful epic story! Highly recommend it! This book brings the stories in the previous books together.

Falls at final furlong?

It's the finale of the sequence and everyone is making an appearance! The band of 'riders' adds some dimension to the characters, but they are quickly disbanded and the impetus seems to be lost again with Will and Bran continually guided with their great powers through the quest element. It's a shame really as there have been some excellent parts of this sequence, but this is not one of them.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful