Wonder Woman: Warbringer
By Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
The Jist
Warbringer is an excellent first book in the DC Icons Series. It’s the action-packed origin story of Wonder Woman and her quest to save Earth from the Warbringer. It’s a touching story about two young girls working together to save the world, and learn about who they really are and what they really desire along the way. It’s a beautiful book and one I greatly enjoyed reading. I found the story Leigh weaved compelling and engaging.
What I Liked:
I absolutely loved the Warbringer plot. The idea that someone could cause wars just for being born intrigued. And it became more interesting when the young girl who is the Warbringer is actually quite nice and couldn’t want anything less than to cause pain and hurt in the world. I thought Diane was done perfectly. She was fierce, strong, and brave. A warrior through and through. But she also had a softer side. She was loyal, and protective and unwavering in her desire to save ALL the people she cared about. This is the kind of Wonder Woman I wanted. I also enjoyed the other characters. Alia amazed me. The struggle she went through when she learned about being the Warbringer felt real but not over-dramatized. I thought she was an excellent partner character for Diane and their dynamic together made their adventures that much more interesting.
The pace of the book was superb. I can’t even remember any parts I thought were dragging. If it wasn’t an action scene, it was a scene advancing the relationship between two characters. It never felt rushed but it also never felt too slow. Those are my favorite kind of books.
What I Didn’t Like:
I only have one major complaint with this book. For a book with Wonder Woman in the title, I felt like the plot was very Alia-centric. Sure, Wonder Woman was in the story a lot, and we heard from her just as much as Alia, but there still were a lot of times I felt it was all about Alia and the battle Alia had to defeat and the trials she had to overcome. Not Diane. Diane’s problems began to feel small compared to Alia’s.
The Recommendation:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and if you are a fan of Wonder Woman or comics in general, I think you will enjoy it was well. It has the action comics are known for and allows you to dive deeper in the the personalities of characters you’ve known for years. The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because I would have liked it to feel more Wonder Woman-centric and slightly less Alia.
Luna’s Rating: 4/5 Lunas
