Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Bittersweet!
Review: The world gets saved from the Dark here, but there is a very heavy human cost to the victory. This is not surprising, since this is a series that takes myth and legend very seriously and does not sugar coat the battle between good and evil. One of the things that seems exquisitely sad to me is that the human characters who have been so heroic and important in this series not longer remember the epic battle they have been such a great part in when the story is over. While I understand this in the context of the story, it seems so very sad. I really loved this series of books.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't believe the ending!
Review: These books are really strong but didn't the Drews deserve to remember everything they'd gone through? It seems like they got cheated.
Rating: 
Summary: The best book in a great series!!!
Review: This is a great book. Some people don't seem to like the ending, but I think it's OK, although a little sad. I reccomend this book and series to any fan of Tolkien, Rosemary Sutcliff, or Arthurian legends. If you also like this book, please feel free to e-mail me about it.
Rating:
Summary: Goes through the motions
Review: This last book in "The Dark is Rising" Sequence goes through the motions of being dark an mysterious, and does so effectively, but the feel is about what you'd expect to get rereading "The Dark is Rising" (book 2 in the sequence). It manages to wrap things up, and could be turned into a movie without some director mutilating the plot to slip in CGI shots. The final battle is pure CGI gold. Overall, I am satisfied, and do not feel cheated in any way by the latter four books of the series (although I hated the first one, and I'm glad I read the second one first, or I would have never continued).
Rating:
Summary: The Dark is Rising Sequence
Review: This series is very unique. Susan Cooper has done a great job of writing an awesome story line with the King Arthur legend mixed in between. She also does a great job of creating a good against evil plot. The characters are unbelievable. If you like fantasy I highly reccomend this series, but hold on. It's one wild ride.
Rating:
Summary: A fantasy author who knows how to wrap up a series
Review: Why do I use the summary line I do? Because it's such a rare find. Robert Jordan drags a series on forever, Weis and Hickman ruin series after series with bad endings and even Tad Williams seems to rush to an end. Cooper, though, brings the series to a non-utopian and realistic conclusion that is in sync with the rest of the series. You get a good sense of conclusion and nothing happens to ruin what is one of the finest series out there in fantasy or for young adult readers (though Cooper writes for all ages, not just a younger crowd).
Rating:
Summary: A well-written, bittersweet ending to a great series
Review: _Silver in the Tree_ is the fifth and final book in the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. It tells the story of the final confrontation between the Light and the Dark. Here the threads from previous books come together: Will Stanton, Merriman, the Drew children, Bran Davies, the Rowlands, the Stantons, and more. Cooper also introduces new characters, like Gwion, who leave lasting impressions both on the characters and the readers. In this book, the Light tries to find the last thing of power--a crystal sword--that will help them in the last and greatest rising of the Dark. On a more serious level, this book addresses questions such as: what does it mean to *belong* to a family or a place? What right do people have to make decisions for others? The answers are neither simple nor easy. The disappointment of some of the other reviewer here shows that. (Warning: Some of them give away the ending, so reader beware). Personally I thought the novel's conclusion was fitting--it went well with the message of the other parts of the series. Cooper's prose style meshes well with her story. Fantasy buffs, especially those with an interest in Arthurian legend, will love this series. I recommend this book very highly to middle school readers or advanced late-elementary school readers. But read the series in its proper order! This book gets its much of its poignancy from what comes before it. The order of the series is: _Over Sea, Under Stone_, _The Dark is Rising_, _Greenwitch_, _The Grey King_, and _Silver on the Tree_. The first two books can be read in interchangable order; I might even recommend reading _The Dark is Rising_ before _Over Sea, Under Stone_, but don't read _Greenwitch_ without reading the first two.
Rating:
Summary: A well-written, bittersweet ending to a great series
Review: _Silver in the Tree_ is the fifth and final book in the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. It tells the story of the final confrontation between the Light and the Dark. Here the threads from previous books come together: Will Stanton, Merriman, the Drew children, Bran Davies, the Rowlands, the Stantons, and more. Cooper also introduces new characters, like Gwion, who leave lasting impressions both on the characters and the readers. In this book, the Light tries to find the last thing of power--a crystal sword--that will help them in the last and greatest rising of the Dark. On a more serious level, this book addresses questions such as: what does it mean to *belong* to a family or a place? What right do people have to make decisions for others? The answers are neither simple nor easy. The disappointment of some of the other reviewer here shows that. (Warning: Some of them give away the ending, so reader beware). Personally I thought the novel's conclusion was fitting--it went well with the message of the other parts of the series. Cooper's prose style meshes well with her story. Fantasy buffs, especially those with an interest in Arthurian legend, will love this series. I recommend this book very highly to middle school readers or advanced late-elementary school readers. But read the series in its proper order! This book gets its much of its poignancy from what comes before it. The order of the series is: _Over Sea, Under Stone_, _The Dark is Rising_, _Greenwitch_, _The Grey King_, and _Silver on the Tree_. The first two books can be read in interchangable order; I might even recommend reading _The Dark is Rising_ before _Over Sea, Under Stone_, but don't read _Greenwitch_ without reading the first two.
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