| Mizz 14/6/2000
Rating 5/5
Ursula and Dan take a school trip to Hastings and become lost in a thick yellow fog – and the adventure begins. Our heroes find themselves in 75 AD joining the fight against the Roman control of Britain .This is an exciting story full of action and magic which'll keep you turning and wondering what happens next.
Independent 29/7/00
Extracted from 'A spell in the real world' by Susan Elkin
...Warriors of Alavna by N.M. Browne and The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley Holland might be hits because of their compelling honesty. In Warriors, two teenagers on a school trip to Hastings are ducked by a time slip into the horrors of the wild Combrogi tribe's struggle against the invading Romans two millennia ago. Pretty it isn't. People die horrible deaths. Dan and Ursula find they have a vital role and, of course, they develop as 21st century people too.
Independent on Sunday 6/8/00
Extracted from 'Page Fright' by Amanda Craig
…Rosemary Sutcliffe's The Eagle of the Ninth is another historical classic set in post –Roman Britain , but older readers should also try Warriors of Alavna by N.M. Browne, an engrossing time travel story about a boy and a girl fighting with the Celts to defeat the Roman army.
School Library Review Winter 2000
Ursula and Dan are two very different classmates. Dan fits in and is liked by everyone; Ursula is a loner and finds it difficult to get on with her contemporaries. However, they find themselves lost in a strange fog and, when that clears, Back in Roman times with the Combrogi who are engaged in a bloody and brutal war with the Romans for survival. Ursula and Dan must join in with this in order to survive.
This is an interesting and unusual time slip novel. The world Ursula and Dan have entered has quite different values and they find it difficult to come to terms with both the violence and the restricted role of women. However, they do adapt. Dan becomes a ferocious killer, respected for his killing skills, and Ursula gains magical powers that allow her to shape change, even to the extent of becoming a male warrior. Their discomfort with these new skills allows the reader to explore these issues- although the book is fast paced and with plenty of action as well. Perhaps it is not for everyone – and certainly school librarians need to be aware that it is very violent – but it is well written and original. N.M. Browne is a striking new writer and someone to watch out for. ( Linda Saunders)
American Reviews of Warriors of Alavna
School Library Journal
Gr 7-10-An absorbing fantasy with thought-provoking issues to ponder. A field trip to the battlefield at Hastings turns into much more when a mysterious yellow mist transports Dan and Ursula to A.D. 75 Britain . The indigenous Combrogi tribesmen are fighting the invading Ravens for their land and their lives, and Combrogi Princess Rhonwen has used magic to summon the present-day teens to help her brother battle the enemy. Dan is popular and athletic and becomes an incredibly effective but mindless killing machine. Ursula, who is too tall and bulky to fit in at home, once again becomes the butt of teasing and torment until she realizes that her talent in this world is the same magic that Rhonwen used to find her and Dan. Gradually she learns to use her powers and, in the end, it is she who raises the Warriors' Veil, first to bring an entire Roman legion to help the Combrogis, and then to try to get her and Dan home again. Both teens find themselves wondering who the good guys are-the blood-thirsty Combrogi, who butcher as much as battle and collect severed heads as trophies, or the "more civilized" Ravens, who fight in organized legions but slaughter entire villages of men, women, and children. In the end, Dan and Ursula leave the Combrogi wondering about their place in their own world after what they have experienced. Combining the thrill of a video game come to life with the tempering of both a strong heroine and hero finding themselves in a difficult world, this novel deserves a wide audience.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy , PA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
On a field trip, British students Ursula and Dan disappear into a yellow-colored fog. The other side of the fog is an alternate Britain in the time of the Roman conquest. The central characters-one a six-foot-tall, overweight teenage girl, the other a short, always-doing-the-right-thing male classmate, are fully developed and likable. Ursula may be an outsider, but she has grit and humor. Dan is a popular, smart jock, but he is also protective and empathetic. The characterization proffers enjoyable ironies: Ursula becomes a warrior and a sorcerer; Dan becomes a "berserker." Secondary characters are important. In addition to their reality as people, they portray the beliefs of the time and lend depth to the story. The plot is great: short periods in which the characters grow and develop skills sandwiched between the violence of battles. The world-building, in which ecological, historical, and cultural elements both support and energize the plot, is masterful. The climax works-barely-because the deft plotting leaves little time for thought. An unfortunate number of loose threads, in both characterization and resolution, provide an unsatisfying ending that leaves readers wondering if the story is really finished or if the author plans a sequel. These are minor cavils against a skillfully written, involving fantasy. The mysterious beginning and the plot's brisk progress will catch the interest of YA readers; the development of unlikely friendships among the very different characters and the coming-of-age story will sustain it-author victorious. (Fiction. YA)
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