Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

(4 / 5)

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While I am a big fan of the superhero genre (in movies and cartoons), this is my first time reading it. I really enjoyed Bardugo’s take on Wonder Woman and her first foray into modern society. Diana was just what you would expect from a budding superhero: hungry to prove herself, yet still unsure of her abilities. The cast of support characters was great: Alia, Jason, Nim, and Theo all had their little quirks and idiosyncrasies, which made them unique and believable. The concept of the Warbringer was interesting, weaving moments of true history into the supernatural tale. The pacing was quick and fun, a great action-adventure read. As a stand alone, the plot is simple enough to be well-contained to this book, but still touched on some broader topics to give the book depth and character. There were a few things that I didn’t love about the ending, but I can’t speak much to them without major spoilers. Overall, a great read.

Spoiler

While I didn’t love Jason’s double cross at the end, I think that had a lot more to do with the fact that Bardugo did such a good job of making him a likeable character that I didn’t “want” him to be evil. What I “want” isn’t exactly what’s best for the story and it made the villain into someone more human, so it’s forgivable. What did bother me, however, is Diana’s death and subsequent rebirth as a “true” amazon. I just felt disappointed that she died at all. She should have been better than that! She should have been able to persevere without the gods intervention! I just felt like that cheapened her character and she would have come out as a stronger heroine without the “oops, do-over.”

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