Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots is a hilarious, fun, and devious story about superheroes and villains where you might just side with evil on this one. I certainly did.
Plot Summary:
Anna is a low-level assistant to villains working temp jobs when she is seriously injured by the most famous superhero alive. While recovering from her injury, she ends up calculating the costs of damage done by said superhero and others like him. Suddenly she finds herself employed again and diving into the world of true villainy or is it heroism? And maybe the superheroes aren’t so super after all?
Author bio (from their website):
“Natalie cultivates fandoms, builds new communities, develops character voices, leads interactive fiction workshops, designs alternate reality games, constructs branching narratives, and most mornings opens Tumblr before opening her eyes. Her client list includes scrappy indie game studios, critically acclaimed television shows, mixed martial artists, print magazines, talk shows, NGOs, and a few more that defy categorization.
tl;dr: free lance, writer, memesmith, bailed academic, nerd, gamer, metal head, SJW, world builder, supervillain.”
Review:
I rated this book five stars and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys analyzing data and human psychology that feels like they might have a tiny villain inside.
The author hits on several themes surrounding good and evil as we would call it. How some people we put on a pedestal don’t live up to how high we have built them and how some people we condemn are the farthest thing from evil. And the costs of doing “good” can far outweight the good done and was any good done at all?
One of my favorite discussions that can be had from this book is that of the creation of a villain. How are villains made? And sometimes, are heroes to blame for the existence of evil? How careless acts can damage and how covering it up hurts even more…
At first, this book seemed all fun and games but then by the end, it became a cavern of depth. Heavy on the theme of collateral damage of “doing good”. There was a lot of development of the themes, of characters, of plot action, and suddenly I was so invested, I was figuratively biting my nails until the last page.
I very much enjoyed the found family formed but make it villain. There’s also an aspect of how success can create a space for jealousy and the loss of a former life and contacts.
I was buckled in for the ride on this one and I CANNOT WAIT to start reading the ARC for the next installment, VILLAIN – coming out May 2026.
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Find more information about the author and their books at their website linked here.
