Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons Series)

roro

** spoiler alert **
           i was really anticipating this book because leigh bardugo is actually one of my favorite authors, but i was actually a little disappointed. 

there was so much opportunity with this book but it feels like she took a wrong turn. it was a more modernized version of wonder woman and the warbringer, the history of these people were limited and randomized throughout the book it seems. 

we’re also introduced to jason, nim, and theo. there useless bickering and dialogue also took up most of the book and i just feel like this had a chance to be good and she wrote it all wrong. 

this kind of seems like i think it’s horrible but really it was decent. she’s still an amazing writer but i think she could have included more of the backstory of both these characters and more of the culture and legends of both instead of including an unnecessary romance between the characters. 

the plot twist at the end was shocking, i admit, but...was it necessary? like was that supposed to make up for what the rest of the book lacks? after that it’s just quite honestly lame, for lack of better word. 

all in all, leigh bardugo is a great writer. i still enjoyed the book but i just felt like it could have been so much more :/

I love DC Comics, the DCEU, and superheroes. When I found out this series was even a thing, I was absolutely thrilled! Add in that different authors get the chance to write about different characters and that was a bonus! 

This time around it's Princess Diana/Wonder Woman taking the lead written by Leigh Bardugo.

Princess Diana doesn't exactly fit in Themyscira. All of the other warrior women died in battle and were brought there to live. Her Mother crafted her from the earth so she was born to be there, she didn't earn it. It makes her stand out and because she's a teenager (much younger than her immortal sisters) she's different. Her differences in ethics are shown when Alia Keralis' ship is attacked and destroyed, and somehow ends up on Themyscira. Typically, no human can even find them and yet here she is. Diana saves her, which is likely the opposite of every other woman on the island. When Diana learns more about Alia, she decides to help this Warbringer become a normal girl and stop the age of war from coming back.

This book is super well written but it is WAAAAAY too long. It has probably an extra one hundred to two hundred pages that could have been shaved off and given the same effect. Regardless, this was a powerful story of friendship and staying true to yourself (and your ethics!).

Leigh did a marvelous job of making these characters feel real despite the insane events going on around them. And to top it off, the cast was extremely diverse and inclusive! It's a great story that fits Princess Diana and Wonder Woman perfectly. 

Overall, great read but definitely too long.

Briar's Reviews

I love DC Comics, the DCEU, and superheroes. When I found out this series was even a thing, I was absolutely thrilled! Add in that different authors get the chance to write about different characters and that was a bonus! 

This time around it's Princess Diana/Wonder Woman taking the lead written by Leigh Bardugo.

Princess Diana doesn't exactly fit in Themyscira. All of the other warrior women died in battle and were brought there to live. Her Mother crafted her from the earth so she was born to be there, she didn't earn it. It makes her stand out and because she's a teenager (much younger than her immortal sisters) she's different. Her differences in ethics are shown when Alia Keralis' ship is attacked and destroyed, and somehow ends up on Themyscira. Typically, no human can even find them and yet here she is. Diana saves her, which is likely the opposite of every other woman on the island. When Diana learns more about Alia, she decides to help this Warbringer become a normal girl and stop the age of war from coming back.

This book is super well written but it is WAAAAAY too long. It has probably an extra one hundred to two hundred pages that could have been shaved off and given the same effect. Regardless, this was a powerful story of friendship and staying true to yourself (and your ethics!).

Leigh did a marvelous job of making these characters feel real despite the insane events going on around them. And to top it off, the cast was extremely diverse and inclusive! It's a great story that fits Princess Diana and Wonder Woman perfectly. 

Also - that cover! Fantastic.

Overall, great read but definitely too long.

Three out of five stars.

Zaira A 

I was so excited for this book to come out. I loved this young rendition of Diana. It had the same heroism, fierceness and loyalty that Diana is known for. The story is in Diana and Alia POV . I love that the author gave you a human POV . It does gives you an insight how humans see Diana and some her questions and behavior were comical and endearing. Leigh Bardugo has such a talent for making characters relatable and memorable. All of Alia's friend were great and relevant to the story. Definitely can not wait for this DC Icons stories to continue.

alexandra

4.5/5 • i was a little hesitant on reading this because i'm not a huge huge fan of comics BUT i love leigh bardugo and wonder woman and this did not disappoint. action-packed, full of diverse characters, and mind-blowing. i thought i knew what would happen (it's a superhero novel; bad guys always win and there's ~suspense~) but nope. kept me on my toes and enjoyed every second.

Lacy W

I wanna know who let me read this book, knowing full well it was going to destroy me. I'm basically feeling all the feelings I felt in Illuminae. How I'm going to compose an elegant review of this book when I can barely contain my excitement? I can't even type, I'm that excited. 

Okay, so I don't know much about Wonder Woman. I knew, of course, that was Amazonian and part of the Justice League. I think her and Batman had a thing for a while as well but don't quote me on that. I know that she comes from the island of Themyscira, where they do not allow mortals and men and they worship goddesses. 

Alright, I might know a little more than I thought. Moving on. 

This book was AMAZING. And no, I'm not being prejudice because Leigh Bardugo is becoming one of my favorite authors. Leigh brought Wonder Woman to life! I loved that this was a story of her coming of age. Those are my favorite types of books. I love seeing a hero realize that they are indeed the hero. 

The world building and character development was out of this world. We got glimpses of Diana's childhood and how the island came to be along with flashbacks of Alia's life. Everything was explained in a manner that made sense. There was no info dumping. You can clearly tell that Leigh's strength is in her world building and character development. 

I loved all the rep that was in this book as well. We had a character that was bi, several black characters along with several other nationalities. And it was all just totally accepted. That is incredible! 

I'm very anxious to see if there will be more to this. I know that it's part of the DC Icons series but I would love to see Wonder Woman expanded. I would love to see a collab with other heroes and maybe of her time in the Justice League? The possibilities are literally endless. 

Regardless of whether or not this book gets more, I am satisfied. This was a great first book to the DC Icons series and I am anxious to see more out of the other brilliant authors. Especially Batman. The book may be long but I promise that it's worth it.

Izza

4.25 stars | I was a bit scared going into this; I was afraid this would be a major fail. That it would be Black Widow: Forever Red all over again, but NO!! I never should've doubted Leigh Bardugo's ability to write Diana's story. The writing was great, and that plot-twist (WHAT?? I feel like I should've seen this coming). Just one thing though. What happened to her lasso in the end? If you like YA and you like Wonder Woman you should definitely give this book a try!

jess

I'm going to admit that the only reason I read this in the first place was because Leigh Bardugo wrote it, but after reading Wonder Woman: Warbringer I would like to go see the movie as soon as I can. This was a really wonderful (ha-ha) book to read, and Bardugo did a great job of introducing Diana and an origin story as Wonder Woman to people like me who knew absolutely nothing about the DC world. 

I really loved the characters, like, all of them. Diana was a great narrator and it was interesting and hilarious to see her introduction to the modern world. I loved Alia so much, because she was so driven and determined. Diana and I are alike in that we would both die for Alia, honestly. Nim straight up has my heart, and Theo was a delight to read about. Leigh Bardugo is really good at writing fun group character dynamics like in Six of Crows and this was no exception. The way Diana, Alia, and their team worked together was fun to read about and it felt like there was a very strong connection between everyone. A special shout-out to Nim and Theo, because every time they were together in a scene it was hilarious. It was also really cool that all of the original characters were people of colour. 

The plot was fun and moved at breakneck speed. I really liked the quest structure and all the ties in with Greek mythology - it reminded me of Percy Jackson, which I love. I'm not really versed in superhero tropes but it definitely felt like a superhero movie. I loved the antagonist, which I will not spoil but I will say I was not expecting the antagonist at all. The plot twist was amazing. The fight scenes were too. You got a sense of just how strong Diana was compared to the antagonists and it was brutal but not overly gory. 

What I'm disappointed in is that I don't think there'll be a sequel. I miss Alia and Theo and Nim already. But I'm excited for the other books in this universe. 

This review and more can also be found on my tumblr blog!

Shereen Evans

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast pace and kept my attention. Leigh Bardugo developed each character great. I have always been a fan of Wonder women and this story did not disappoint. I would recommend this to any DC fan or super hero fan. It's also great to have strong female leads and a story that proves friendship is important, and that friends will have your back.

Nicholle Urcuyo 

I love this book so much. I Love all the characters in this book

Amanda Jones

Meh, I liked the concept just didn't like the re-telling and it was at most times boring.

cláudia

please please please read this book! you will not regret. 
and lb you are a genius. thank you for another great book! wonder woman is well represented with her words.


ps: theo santos you have my heart <3

Maggie Hotmer

This was the second time I read the book and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. It has a great story of friendship and adventure. The ending is so unpredictable, I would have never guessed it was him! But I would totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys watching Marvel and DC movies, especially if you loved Wonder Woman. 

Julie D.

Leigh's writing fucks me up in every book. 
I loved this take on Wonder Woman and the hero that is Diana, as well as Alia.

Jordyn Wassen

It was so good. I was surprised by how much i liked it considering I'm a huge MARVEL fan but it felt like a mythology book instead of a DC book which i really enjoyed. I had a few times where I just wasn't paying attention and I'm not sure of that was just me or because of the writing but it was very little and didn't really impact my reading experience. I enjoyed how I could go about my day I wasn't thinking about the next time I could continue reading again but once i picked it up, I never had the urge to put it down and could just read it for hours on end.

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

And Leigh Bardugo did it again, friends! Warbringer was an extraordinary take on one of the most well known DC heroines that did not disappoint. 
One aspect I particularly love about Leigh Bardugo's writing is the masterful worldbuilding that I find in all of her novels. The attention to detail and the lavish descriptions made me feel like an Amazon of Themyscira one moment and a busy New Yorker the next, thrusting me effortlessly into both of these very different worlds.
Another recurring aspect I love in Leigh Barugo's writing is the relatability of her characters. I could find bits and pieces of myself in each of them, be it Diana's wide-eyed wonder, Nim's sass, Alia's iron will to do right by those she loves, Jason's determination to protect his family or Theo's ability to make a bad situation better. I loved this team of characters, which only made the inevitable betrayal all the more heartbreaking. What? You thought this was a happy story? This is Leigh Bardugo! Bittersweet is part of the awesome package deal.

Neele Jan

Inês Santos

This was not what I was expecting. It was so better. The characters, the story. I loved it all. I was hoping that this book was amazing, because of my love for Wonder Woman, but it was still able to surprise me and play with my emotions. I am really glad I picked it up

Aleena Korell

Well, that was fantastic.
Leigh freakin' Bardugo. I should have known.

Ren Christina

4.5/5 

Admittedly this took a little while to get into. Mostly because it was new characters and a story I’d never read before. But once I was invested? There was no going back. A wonderful (😏) story with characters who captured my heart quickly. Twists a plenty AND can I just reiterate how much I adore Leigh Bardugo’s writing? Fantastic. 

If you’re a Wonder Woman fan, you don’t want to miss this. I love her all the more for having read it.

Antonia Sobotta

“All wars look the same to those who die in them”

Candyce Kirk

Katie

So. Going into it this book seemed kind of similar to the plot of the recent Wonder Woman movie--stranger arrives on Themyscira, Diana chooses to adventure to the World of Men to do some badass world-saving, yadda yadda. But this went in a ton of different directions I wasn't expecting, and I absolutely LOVED it. My only issue, and the reason this is a 4 star instead of 5, was that there was so much more chemistry between Diana and a female character than Diana and the actual love interest, who was a guy , and I basically spent half the book internally screaming, "MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS!" There was also a plot twist that would have been more surprising if it hadn't come from Leigh Bardugo, since there was an extremely similar twist in the first book of the Grisha trilogy, and it was a little disappointing. I don't know if she did this same kind of twist in the Six of Crows duology since I haven't read it yet, but it kind of feels like she's a one-trick pony. It was still an enjoyable read and I am basically in love with Diana so I will read anything and everything Wonder Woman.

laura

This book was such a different read then what i expected. The highlights of this read were that we did get to see diana as such a young girl. I really liked seeing her adapt to the different environments she was in. I also loved the group of characters that became the gang in this read. I loved how this book was heavily inspired by greek elements and almost remind me of percy jackson novel with a clear plot and clear end point. It was such a fun read and I really loved the strong diversity of this read and also how this book was framed. I loved how this book compare and contrasts diana with the warbringer and that was the highlight of the story along with the focus on female friendships. Very fun read!

Jelke Lenaerts

Oh my god, this was so good. The writting was amazing, so was the world building. I love how this focused on friendship and how it portrayed friendship. I would HIGHLY recommend it !!!

full review: https://jelkelenaerts.blogspot.be/201...