Henches, superheroes, sidekicks, and villains are back for round 2 in this long awaited sequel to HENCH #1 by Natalie Zina Walschots.
Plot Summary:
Anna and the crew at Leviathan are recovering from the events of Book 1 including the defeat of Supercollider there are some FEELINGS being dealt with. Working through this, they are taking on the Draft. Not a superhero but a super-corporation. And Anna meets her nemesis.
Review:
Being a newcomer to Hench #1 this year, I didn’t realize how long awaited this sequel was…and that the author mentioned having to start completely over about 4 times. Dates were pushed back and it sounds like the author had a hell of a time getting this one done. So, firstly thank you to Natalie for completing this project.
The first book came out in 2020 and a lot can happen in the years since then that the author would have been writing. She mentions herself that she isn’t the same person and Villain is definitely a very different book than Hench. We still have the same relative punchy fun writing style that layers in character development, clever plotting, and social commentary. But as things develop, different themes are explored more heavily and relationships between the characters get a bit messier.
I enjoyed the sequel overall and much of what I loved about book #1 was the same for Villain. That being said, I would check trigger warnings because the heat was definitely turned up a notch in this one. Both for content but also relationship development. I’m not a fan of poor communication and misunderstandings or assumptions (or really any kind of toxic nature) between characters when it comes to intimate relationships but this is a personal preference. There is a lot explored here around power dynamics and agency between people with strong feelings about each other. While it definitely is interesting to reflect on psychologically speaking, it wasn’t comfortable to read (not that books have to make us feel comfortable).
Once again though, I appreciated the diversity of Walschots characters like the first book and there is a lot of representation here. One of my favorite parts of this book is the plotting, the fallout, the scheming, the rebellion/rage against the machine disguised as cartoonic villainy. There is a lot of commentary and themes around social justice, corporations, evil masquerading as heroism.
I love the ending – Walschots is a pro at creating tension and sparking curiosity and the last page was no exception…so, will there be a book 3? I’m not sure this story is over yet but we’ll see.
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.”
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Find more information about the author and their books at their website linked here.
