Hench

A Novel

hardcover, 416 pages

Published Sept. 22, 2020 by William Morrow.

ISBN:
978-0-06-297857-8
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4 stars (47 reviews)

8 editions

4.5 Stars

4 stars

Hench is a lot more serious and deep than you'd expect from some of the flippant descriptions. I went in wanting something as light escapism. That's not what I got, but it was certainly worth a read, and I liked it far more than a few other things I've picked up recently that looked better on the surface.

maybe my standards are too high

3 stars

Content warning proper spoilers - also this is less edited than normal sorry

Enjoyable alternate take on the superhero/villain genre

4 stars

I'll admit I'm totally burned out on superhero media. For a while, it seemed like every week a new movie or TV show came out featuring Marvel or DC comic book heroes, and a lot of them recently have been really bad (I'm still irritated Doctor Strange was so disjointed). At any rate, this book was a fun change to the standard superhero fare out there. This book is a tale of what happens to all of the innocent bystanders when superheroes go on a rampage to save someone or something, and also describes the underworld of temp agencies that support villains in jobs like data management and tech support. The main character works as a temp office worker for a minor villain, but when a trivial job "in the field" goes terribly wrong, her life is changed forever and she starts down a path working for one of the …

Review of 'Hench' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

HENCH is a heady mix of spreadsheets and schadenfreude, with cruel beauty in its precision. 

Because of the focus on the human cost of “heroes” there are long sections threaded through with the slow process of healing, of Anna coming to terms with how her body has been broken and reforged, accepting new limitations and finding joy and freedom in novel tools. Her cane is a great example, she uses it as an extension of herself, to support her, protect her, and to make grand her expressions since every gesture is fancier when punctuated by a cane. 

Anna is very observant of people, both in ways that matter to what becomes the bulk of her work as a hench, and in ways that make the book better to read. Her turns of phrase, particularly when describing someone’s voice or laugh, are perfectly suited to the moment and bring new detail …

Review of 'Hench' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Hot damn I loved this book. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

Ms. Walschots's style is punchy and direct. There's no fat on this book. Ms. Walschots opts to skip the parts of a story that might be mundane and delivers a story with the crisp, action-packed editing of a fight in a Rocky film and the casual obscenity of a Kevin Smith diatribe.

Not to take anything away from Ms. Walschots, but any fan of Mr. Smith's work will be right at home here. Yes, it's a superhero tale, but the protagonist isn't a hero, and isn't super. She focuses on the aspects of superhero-dom that resonate with the same blue-collar vibe as Smith's "what about the independent contractors on the Death Star" speech in Clerks.

There's plenty of space for a sequel here, and I hope to see one in the future... along with a TV show or movie. Because this …

Review of 'Hench' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars






You remember in the Marvel movies when Tony Stark gets confronted about all the collateral damage that the Avengers do when they are fighting? He decides that they need to be accountable for this and Captain America has a meltdown because he is a whiny little baby who considers himself above the law and this sets up the Civil War movie. I seriously can not understand the point of view that Captain America is espousing in the movie. It makes me angry just to think about how entitled the whole argument is. Team IronMan forever!









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Because I feel that strongly about this, I adored this book. It is pretty much the same argument. Anna is invited to a press conference by her new villain boss because she has been doing a good job. The biggest superhero crashes it and casually tosses her aside. She is …

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