When the thick fog of the Veil descends again, Dan and Ursula expect to return to present-day Britain. Instead, the treacherous mist transports them to an ancient world very like the one they have just escaped. But the battle they fought in only hours before is distant history to those around them and their deeds on the battlefield are legend. Dan and Ursula have travelled forwards through time, but how far? What has happened to their old allies and enemies? To find a way back, they have to piece the clues together and use all their skills of survival - as it seems they were not the only ones to step through the mist. Subtly and cleverly woven around Arthurian legend, Warriors is action-packed and completely compelling.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-In this sequel to Warriors of Alavna (Bloomsbury, 2002), Ursula and Dan find themselves once again coming out of the Veil into a strange land. During their journey from pre-Roman Britain, Ursula is taken prisoner by Princess Rhonwen and her henchmen. Dan is rescued, renamed Gawain, and taken straight into the political mess that will be known in modern times as the Age of Camelot. By the time the two are reunited, they have discovered that in this world Ursula has no magic, but is a powerful warrior, and that Dan, the legendary berserker, is hyperempathic. With only their old friend Taliesin for guidance, they navigate the treacherous political waters surrounding the Duke Arturus. After a decisive battle, Dan and Ursula once again enter the Veil, only to return to the same land, just in time for the fall of Camelot. Browne has created a strong, fierce young woman, and an introspective, sensitive, young man, and plays with the idea of looking at the "reality" of Camelot, with the glamour worn off. This searching for the roots of myth makes for a fascinating and thrilling story. The only quibble is that at times the language is inconsistent. It is understandable that the two teens would slip into modern phrasing and language, but other characters also make the same slips. That should not detract from the sweet counterpoint of Dan and Ursula's growing love for one another against the graphic and sometimes overwhelming violence of battle or Browne's achievement in crafting a filthy world without hot running water and flush toilets. The teens' final walk into the Veil will leave readers wondering where (or rather when) this pair will wind up.
Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Praise for 'Warriors of Ethandun': 'One of the very best magical adventures of the past 30 years ... [Browne] is a part of the grand Celtic storytelling tradition in British children's literature that began with Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill, continued with T.H. White's The Sword in the Stone and blossomed in Tolkien and Alan Garner' The Times
Library : Fantasy
Universes : Warriors [02]
Formats : EPUB
ISBN : 9781408826287