Book Review: Silver on the Tree (1977) by Susan Cooper #Dewithon24 #TDiRS22

Maybe because the Dark can only reach people at extremes—blinded by their own shining ideas, or locked up in the darkness of their own heads.

Set amidst the Welsh landscape and weaving in Welsh and Arthurian legends, Silver on the Tree (1977) brings to a satisfying conclusion Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence where all the characters come together for that final confrontation with the dark, its looming and growing presence at most times palpable but not necessarily tangible, in the process also realising that external darkness is only perhaps part of the darkness we need to ‘fight’.

Told in four parts, as the book opens, we find ourselves back at the Stanton farmhouse where Will seeming at this point an ordinary eleven-year-old is spending time with his brothers, the older Stephen home on leave from his ship. But of course, Will isn’t ordinary but an ‘Old One’ and even when out fishing with his brothers begins to notice stirrings across time, able to see people at different points in the past fleeing the dark which fast catching up. In the present too, this begins to happen with vicious minks suddenly appearing in their surroundings and darkness also materialising in other forms like bullying and intolerance.

Things are coming to a head and while tasks have been done, relics recovered and things accomplished, there are still those final steps before Dark can be finally checked. The scene shifts to Wales and Will’s uncle’s farm where The Grey King unfolded, and here we again find Bran whom we met and whose identity we learned in that book as well as the three Drew children, Jane, Barney and Simon. While the three now understand something of Will and accept him as a friend (Barney and Simon mainly for Jane always realised he was different), they are somewhat sceptical of Bran. As they start out on those final steps of their adventure, dark is on their heels too, the Black Rider and White Rider often visible and the presence of dark felt or seen in other forms, while our characters move between present and past and reality and legend, these times and spaces existing alongside each other and our characters moving almost seamlessly between them. But dark dogs their every step even anticipates them at times—amidst this, do our young heroes manage to defeat their foes?

Cover via Goodreads (not the edition I have)

While Silver on the Tree is structured as and is indeed a fantasy–adventure with a central and several sub-quests, it is also far more, not only in its weaving in of myth and legend but also in the profound questions it brings to the fore whether it be the source/s and forms of ‘dark’ in our lives or the very nature of reality (‘Real is a hard word… almost as hard as true or now …’) issues as relevant in real life that fantasy is only a vehicle to explore.

Once again, I enjoyed the elements of myth and legend that Cooper weaves in be it the Arthurian aspects or indeed the story of the lost islands, or Cantre’r Gwaelod, the sunken kingdom ruled by Gwyddno Garanhir. We visit this latter with Will and Bran in a segment of the story which is much like a fairy tale quest, complete with its riddles, mazes and magic—a magic of its own, unaffected by the forces of light or dark. This segment was an especially beautiful one, and had very much an ‘Arabian Nights’ feel to it. Even within Cooper’s world, it is a curious place, free of all forces but its own—yet even in such a space, neither dark nor light are entirely powerless. And if we needed any more confirmation of Uncle Merry’s identity, we get that too!

At the level of an adventure story, we certainly get a fitting conclusion, various quests and sub-quests being attempted and completed, our characters needing to rely as much on strengths of character as on magic. The final confrontation or task in that sense too delivers as we get our moments of drama and excitement as the scene plays out. But in the ultimate, Cooper wants us to look and think further, at the good versus evil battle being a continual one which surfaces in different and many forms at different times, at ‘evil’ not being only an external force and even when it is, its influence being very much within our control; and as much at our own responsibilities in the world, not awaiting or expecting mythical rescuers or casting blame one way or the other.

A wonderful read not only for children as an adventure but as much or more for adult readers who have many layers and complexities to peel away.

This was my first read for the #Dewithon24 hosted by Paula at The Book Jotter

Edition read: Puffin books, pp. 284; personal copy; this one doesn’t mention the year of publication, only that it was first published in Puffin in 1979