Wonder Woman

by Perry, S.D.; Dennison, Britta

• ISBN13: 9781416598732
• ISBN10: 1416598731
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-30
• Publisher: Pocket Star

Summary

Born of the fallout from mythic wars fought among the Grecian gods and their mortal worshippers, Diana, warrior princess of the Amazon island nation of Themyscira, bursts into the modern world both as ambassador of her people and selfless protector of the innocent. And in so doing, she collides with the ignorance and imbalances of the twenty-first century, battling injustice as Wonder Woman.But even with skills and abilities to rival those of her Olympian namesake, Diana is put to the supreme test as the horrors of the ancient past rise again to wreak havoc upon the world. Now her indomitable will and astounding powers are pitted against the patient and all-encompassing malice of the War God Ares, who feeds on the strife created by humanity's propensity to turn against itself.

Author Biography

S. D. Perry is a novelist living in Portland, Oregon.  She is currently lives with her husband, Myk, her two children Cyrus and Myk Jr, and their two dogs. She mostly writes tie-in novels based on works in the fantasy/science-fiction/horror genre, including Resident Evil, Star Trek, Aliens and Predator. She has also written a handful of short stories and movie novelizations. Her favorite Star Trek series is the original series, with her favorite characters being “The Big Three”—Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

Excerpts

OneGREECE 2814 B.C.There was the chaos of combat, screams and smoke and the ringing crash of metal against metal. The battle had long since spilled from the city where the Amazons had once been slaves. Hippolyta fought fiercely alongside her sisters, their scattered allies rallying to their cause, but the combat was brutal, the soldiers they faced formidable. Savages, man and beast, minotaur, chimera, minor gods and demons... all had come to Ares's call and fought viciously against the Amazonian uprising.Hippolyta caught brief glimpses of the fight, death and grace in equal measure, images there and gone in a blink as she, too, was caught in the fury, fighting for their freedom and her own life. A bellowing minotaur tore a sister from her horse; a bearded man fell to his knees, clutching the spear that impaled him; a woman screamed in bloodlust, hacking at a chimera's reptilian tail. The skies, too, rained blood, as winged horses and their riders swept and dodged, fighting Eris, the winged Goddess of Discord, and the horde of monsters who fought alongside her. But it was her brother Ares who had brought this misery upon the Amazons.Hippolyta buried her sword in a snarling man's chest, then whipped it out again to slash another attacker's throat. To finally unleash her anger at Ares was exhilarating; in battle, her spirit soared, her reflexes danced...but she also recalled the words of Athena, who had warned her to be wary of revenge. Were it otherwise, she half-believed she could take on the army single-handedly, her bitter rage an eternal wellspring of strength. But as queen to the Amazons, she was responsible for her sisters. As well as they fought, too many had already died.Less than fifty paces from her own position, Hippolyta saw a dozen of her sisters engaged with Deimos, one of Ares's terrible sons, who had been conceived with Aphrodite. He was a towering figure with a beard of live, hissing snakes. His powerful sword arm spun like a windmill with a vicious blade at one end. Bellowing, Deimos scooped up one of the Amazons, snapping her neck with one flex of his giant fist. He threw the corpse over his shoulder and it hit a passing rider, the throw hard enough that the horse rolled over the sister riding it. Even over the dull, ongoing roar of battle, Hippolyta could hear the crunch of bone; both sisters were dead. The horse, panicked, struggled to rise in a mist of sun-baked dust.Hippolyta started for the horse. Another of Ares's soldiers leapt in her way, a massive, scarred battle-axe clenched in his meaty fists. He swung back, hefting the bloody axe, swinging it up and over. She stepped in to meet him, swinging her sword down and across. The soldier took the hit just beneath his chest plate, grunting in what seemed like surprise as his belly opened beneath the hammered blade. Blood and black offal spilled from the wound. He fell to his knees and she swept past him, taking the struggling horse's reins in one hand. She sacrificed a few precious seconds to calm the animal before mounting, determined now to put a stop to this insanity. She would find Ares, and kill him.No easy task,she thought, but immediately negated that statement. He was the God of War, true, but her rage would find its way.She rode across the battlefield seeking the object of her fury, her sword drawn. Her mount forged a path between the locked armies of Amazon and oppressor. The bodies of the dead flew beneath her horse's galloping hooves, their leather armor slick with blood.Ahead, she saw a man pull his sword from a woman's crumpling form, saw him step out to meet her as she rode. His attention was fixed on her helmet, a feral grin crossed his blood-spattered face as he realized the Amazon queen was within his reach, and Hippolyta felt a renewed flush of righteous anger at these men who had murdered and enslaved them, had tricked her into sacrificing her trust, and more, anger a