Wonder Woman Warbringer

Young Diana, Princess of Themyscira, wants nothing more than the glory that the rest of her Amazon sisters enjoy. As the only child ever born on the island, Diana has trained with her sisters but has never had any of their experiences. She longs to prove herself a true Amazon to her, to her sisters, and especially to her mother, Queen Hippolyta.

One day while attempting to win a race and prove her worth, Diana witnesses an explosion just past the Themyscira border. Diana is torn between winning the race or saving any potential survivors. She can’t leave innocents to their death, so Diana quickly dives into the waters and saves the only person left, Alia Keralis. But the moment Alia sets foot on Themyscira, things go wrong; the younger Amazons, including Diana’s friend Maeve, become mysteriously ill as the weather shifts and earthquakes appear. Alia also becomes mysteriously sick, although Diana is immune to whatever is happening.

Desperate to help her sisters and save Alia, Diana visits the Oracle who tells her Alia is a Warbringers, a descendant of Helen of Troy and the one who will entice mortal men to battle. In an effort to find a way to free Alia from the curse that has haunted generations of girls, Diana and Alia will travel from Themyscira, to New York, and finally to Greece to find a pay to purge Alia from her curse. During their journey, they will develop a friendship that could save the world – or end it.

Wonder Woman Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo is the first in the DC Icons line of stories written by prominent YA authors and focusing on iconic DC characters. Wonder Woman has become one of my favorite heroes at the same time Leigh Bardugo has become one of my favorite authors. Together, they are a perfect combination. I absolutely loved the characters Leigh created for this story, as well as her portrayal of Diana before she becomes Wonder Woman.

I don’t know if I will read the other volumes in the DC Icons series, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first in the series. (It helps that I was able to get a first edition copy through LitJoy Crate that came with an illustrated poster by the awesome Afua Richardson.)

My rating: 5/5

 

Wonder Woman Movie Novelization

Diana is a daughter of the island paradise of Themyscira. She is the princess being the daughter of the island’s queen, Hippolyta. Diana spends her young days in peace, being tutored in the history of her people. But all she wants is to join her fellow Amazon sisters in their combat training under the watchful eye of her aunt, General Antiope. And she would but her mother forbids her training, stating it is unnecessary in their time of peace.

General Antiope disagrees with her sister and queen and begins training Diana in secret. Soon, however, they are discovered; Hippolyta grudgingly allows Antiope to train Diana in preparation for the return of Ares – though she hopes that day never comes.Before long, Diana becomes the strongest amongst the Amazons. It is also at this time that the spy Steve Trevor somehow makes his way to Themyscira (no easy feat considering the island is hidden) and informs the Amazons of the Great War that is occurring in the world. Diana believes it is the Amazons’ duty to fight in the war, a war that she believes is the work of Ares. Hippolyta refuses to engage her Amazons in combat and soon Diana is disobeying her queen and mother, leaving Themyscira alone to aid Steve.

But the outside world isn’t the same as Themyscira. Diana will soon discover that women are not equal to men, and that the war’s end may not be as easy as she thinks.

Like many people, I loved the Wonder Woman movie. As of late, I also enjoy reading the novel version that often accompanies the book. Oftentimes the novel goes into a bit more detail than the movie, and it often allows you into the mind of the characters; you learn what they are thinking when they don’t vocalize it on screen. This novel was quite short – clocking in at just over 200 pages – and I would have liked it to be longer and go into a bit more detail. But overall it is a nice companion novel, I think.

My rating: 3.5/5