Wonder Woman: Warbringer

By: Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

An Instant New York Times Best Seller

The award-winning DC Icons story of the world's greatest super hero: Wonder Woman by the number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo.

"You’ll enjoy this book whether you’re a fan of Wonder Woman comics, the Wonder Woman movie, Leigh Bardugo, or just YA lit in general." (Hypable) 

She will become one of the world's greatest heroes: Wonder Woman. But first she is Diana, princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning....

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 mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn't know she is being hunted. 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. Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies - mortal and divine - determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

"Feminism is the invisible jet powering this literary revamp of the Amazon princess." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Warning: This novel about the young super hero crossing paths with a seemingly ordinary - but seriously powerful - girl may result in multiple fist pumps." (Seventeen)

Don't miss the rest of the DC Icons series! Listen in any order you choose:

• Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
• Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas
• Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Peña

©2017 Leigh Bardugo (P)2017 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

Nominated, Georgia Peach Book Award, 2018

Nominated, Missouri Gateway Readers Master List, 2018

Nominated, Rhode Island Children's Book Award, 2019

"A hero's journey times two. Alia taps into her own bravery and Diana learns about sexism, racism and something the Amazons have always dismissed: the courage, resilience and ingenuity of mere mortals." (The New York Times Book Review)

“Bardugo breathes zippy new life into the story with a twisty plot, whip-smart characters, and her trademark masterful writing.” (Booklist)

Good narration, but flat characters

What would have made Wonder Woman: Warbringer better?

The characters just didn't do it for me, not even Diana. And if I don't care about the characters, it's tough to care about the plot.

What about Mozhan Marno’s performance did you like?

The narration is very good. Mozhan does a great job differentiating the voices of the characters while never feeling like she is putting on a voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Sadly pretty disappointed in this one. Been getting back into super hero prose lately, and was hoping this would be good. If you want a better super hero book check out Spider-man Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds.

Should have been called Wonder-Girl

I have been a lifelong Wonder Woman fan, so I was very excited to read this book. I know some of the reviews were not good ones but I knew if I gave it a chance and remembered that this could be one of the 52 alternate (New 52) dimensions of a Wonder Woman tale I would be fine with it.

Unfortunately, the book is just not good.

1. It's not really about Wonder Woman, it's about the girl she saves and her family and their drama. At one point I felt the book should have been called Melrose Place meets Wonder Woman. By the end, I realized this book is more of a story for Wonder-Girl not Wonder Woman, She even sees herself in a vision of future looking like the Wonder Woman we all know and love.

2. As I say it really is about Wonder-Girl. Meaning (Spoilers) that Dianna has not come into her power yet and still has not by the end of the book. This adventure in her life is long before she meets Steve Trevor.

3. She is not the smart Wonder Woman we know and love. She is just plain dumb and even gets (Spoilers) killed because she does not know what she is doing. At one point of the story, she learns how to use her slave Bracelets and deflect bullets. However, later in the book she is still shot many times and does not even bother to try and deflect the bullets. She has this healing power that can heal the bullet wounds almost instantly. One guy empties a whole clip of bullets into her side and yet she lives and heals within a minute. At that point, I wanted to ask the author, why even bother wearing the bracelets?

The book is just a boring hot mess and I really don’t see how anyone can enjoy it but if you do, then great! For us, long-time Wonder Woman fans, let’s get back to the Wonder Woman that was smart, strong, and not a soap opera.

Truly Wonderful

I have loved Wonder Woman since early childhood. I am even proud to admit I still read her monthly comic despite my 47 years! I almost did not buy Ms. Bardugo's story for fear of disappointment...and that would have been a shame. What a wonderful, truly epic, yet touchingly human coming of age story for my favorite hero (sometimes demi goddess). Not only is 17yo Diana's character beautifully rendered, but the rest of the characters are also so fully fleshed out that I came to care for them. I loved the humor in this story and I did shed some tears. Ms. Marno's performance was gorgeous! I am lazy and tend not to write reviews even when I really like a book...this review is proof that this story is special and touched me beyond immediate reading/listening enjoyment. So highly recommended.

A whole lot of fun

I thought that this would be a a nice child/teenage type genre. I was wrong. A very entertaining, sometimes quite funny adventure story. I can't wait for the next installment in the series. FYI: I never got into comic books growing up & even now.

Amazing

Amazing book from beginning to end .I hope and pray there's more to come. Thanks for the book

I hope there are more to come

I am a life long fan and am going to look for more books from this author. This is a story that will hook you from the very beginning and not let you go. It’s everything a super hero story should be.

Leigh Bardugo a Warrior of Words

As usual, Bardugo has crafted a story with all the elements that makes her writing so mesmerizing. Her visuals and clear depictions of the actions and thoughts of her characters is enough to draw any reader or listener deep into her world. I'm not a huge comic geek, more like a geek in training, but the background story and all of the explanations of Diana's upbringing was so in depth, the rest of the story was just icing on the cake. I recommend this tale to all my middle school and high school female students ( and boys) for it's empowering statement for women everywhere.

Loves it!

Story is based on current times and it was great! Loved the time spent in Themyscira and the description of life there. Couldn't help but think and mix the story lines of previous Wonder Woman stories but this story is a standalone tale that holds its own. Ready for the next WW adventure from Ms Bardugo! Wonder Woman ❤️

Amazing!

Its been a while since i have read, well listen, to a book so detailed, vivid and interesting. My kids loved it too. Its been less than a week that i downloaded audiobook app and im loving it! The reader also pretty amazing.
Recommend this book for everyone!!

We are all Wonder Woman!!!!

I'm a huge Wonder Woman fan I read the comics watch the animated movies and was the 1st in line to see the 1st motion picture of Wonder Woman. my opinion of this book is fair. Trust me when I say it was great. Diana, Alia, Nim, and Theo are the best. You can see and hear the hero young Diana is to become. And what's even better is Nim and Alia are not as strong as Diana, but they are just as much a hero as she is, and there love and friendship for each other is what makes them really powerful. I can not recommend this book enough for fans of the character or even if you are a casual fan. you will love it.