Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)(121)
It has been an honor and a joy to write a chapter in Diana’s story, but I couldn’t have done it alone. Luckily, I know a lot of heroes; I owe them all a huge debt of thanks.
Chelsea Eberly shepherded me through this project with patience and smarts. Thank you for being a brilliant editor and champion diplomat. Many thanks also to the entire team at RHCB, especially Michelle Nagler, Nicole de las Heras, Dominique Cimina, Aisha Cloud, Kerri Benvenuto, John Adamo, Adrienne Waintraub, Lauren Adams, Joseph Scalora, Kate Keating, Hanna Lee, and Jocelyn Lange. Thanks also to Ben Harper, Melanie Swartz, and Thomas Zellers.
All the love to Joanna Volpe, Jackie Lindert, Hilary Pechone, and the rest of my family at New Leaf Literary, aka the League of Badasses, for their constant support on this project. (And a special shout to Pouya and Mel Shahbazian for the last-minute language assist.)
Angela DePace, Kelly Biette, and Clarissa Scholes helped sort the science of this story and lent their gigantic brains to Keralis Labs and Alia’s interests. I’m glad they use their powers for good. Dr. Katherine Rask generously guided me through ancient religions and archaeogenetics and introduced me to Helen of the Plane Trees. She is a stalwart champion of YA lit, and her expertise and creativity were indispensable to the writing of this novel. Andrew Becker and Dan Leon were kind enough to help me sort my choices on ancient Greek. David Peterson brought his conlang genius to the construction of the Warbringer’s many names and found me a kind soul to correct my Bulgarian. Thomas Cucchi talked me through flight protocols and private jets. Poornima Paidipaty gave excellent goddess guidance, and Sarah Jae Jones advised on skydiving, which I can say is something I never, ever want to do. I also want to say a special thank-you to Aman Chaudhary, who let me hash through the starting point of this story with him on the way to San Diego Comic-Con.
Kelly Link, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Robin Wasserman read the earliest pages of this book when I still thought Diana should have a pet leopard. Daniel José Older (who fielded long phone calls), Robyn Kali Bacon (who put up with late-night texts), Rachael Martin (who did both), Gamynne Guillote (prota adelfis), and Morgan Fahey (trusted reader #1) helped me find my footing with Alia and Jason, and helped me navigate the story as a whole.
Thanks also to Marie “Gotham Needs Me” Lu, Amie Kaufman, Kayte Ghaffar, Susan Dennard, Gwenda Bond, the superhumanly adorable Flash Martin, and, of course, my mom, who has put up with my Wonder Woman obsession lo these many years. Speaking of which, I’m grateful to the Superfriends for introducing me to Diana over soggy Saturday-morning cereal, and to Lynda Carter for cementing my love for Wondy forever.
Many books, articles, and essays influenced the Warbringer world, including The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor; Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece: Their Morphology, Religious Role and Social Functions by Claude Calame; On the Origins of War: And the Preservation of Peace by Donald Kagan; “Platanistas, the Course and Carneus: Their Places in the Topography of Sparta” by G. D. R. Sanders; The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore; A Golden Thread: An Unofficial Critical History of Wonder Woman by Philip Sandifer; Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine by Tim Hanley; and, of course, the work of the inimitable Gail Simone.
And finally, to the Amazons of the world, to every woman or girl who fights for peace and on behalf of one another, thank you for inspiring me.
LEIGH BARDUGO is the #1 New York Times bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, and the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University. She fell under Wonder Woman’s spell early and spent a good chunk of her childhood making construction-paper bracelets and spinning herself dizzy in her driveway. These days, she lives and writes in Hollywood, where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band.
leighbardugo.com
@LBardugo
As Bruce rounded another bend, the police sirens suddenly turned deafening, and a mass of red and blue lights flashed against the buildings near the end of the street. Cement barricades and yellow police tape completely blocked the intersection. Fire engines and black SWAT trucks clustered together, with the silhouettes of officers running back and forth in front of the headlights.
Inside his car, the electronic voice came on again, followed by a transparent map overlaid against his windshield. “Heavy police activity ahead. Alternate route suggested.”
A sense of dread filled his chest.
Bruce flicked away the map and pulled to an abrupt halt in front of the barricade—right as the unmistakable pop-pop-pop of gunfire rang out in the night air.
He remembered the sound all too well. The memory of his parents’ deaths sent a wave of dizziness through him. Another robbery. A murder. That’s what all this is.
Then he shook his head. No, that can’t be right. There were far too many cops here for a simple robbery.
“Step out of your vehicle, and put your hands in the air!” a police officer shouted through a megaphone, her voice echoing along the block. Bruce’s head jerked toward her. For an instant, he thought her command was directed at him, but then he saw that her back was turned, her attention fixed on the corner of a building. “We have you surrounded, Nightwalker! This is your final warning!”