Hench: A Novel by Natalie Zina Walschots: Book Review

Hench is an amazing debut novel by Natalie Zina Walschots. This novel was a CBC Canada Reads 2021 nominee and a Goodreads Choice Award Science Fiction 2020 nominee.

Hench was released in September 2020 by William Morrow.

Synopsis

Anna is a data entry worker. She works for a temp agency. The twist? Her employers tend to be villains.

While working her job one day, she gets severely injured by a superhero. Then she gets laid off.

While she’s recuperating, she starts doing some research and discovers she’s not the only one who the “good” guys have hurt. She starts to get people’s attention and soon finds herself employed by one of the world’s worst villains. If she plays her cards right, she may save the world.

Positives

Hench is a quick read, even at its length of 400 pages. I found it hard to put the book down.

Anna is a great example of a corporate minion who gets fed up with being brushed aside. Haven’t we all felt like that at some point at work?

The settings are beautifully written. You can see what Anna sees. You can even smell what she smells (even if it isn’t too pleasant).

Negatives

As funny as this is to say, my biggest negative with this book is the lack of chapters. While it is roughly 400 pages, there are only 8 chapters. Thus making it hard to say just one more chapter when they are over 70 pages long. Thankfully, there are several page breaks throughout each chapter.

The graphic description of what happens with Supercollider at the end of the book is a bit much. Not necessarily excessive, but it is quite detailed to the point I had trouble getting the images out of my head for several hours.

My Opinion

Walschots wrote a wonderful novel. It’s great to see the other side of the coin when it comes to superheroes. I have always wondered what happens with the collateral damage; who pays for it? Of course, I was thinking of the epic fight scenes in many recent superhero movies, and there is a LOT of damage in a few of those. Who pays for the repairs?

Anna, while a bit obsessive with the minute details, still represents all of us. She is just trying to do her job, pay her bills, live her life. Her path was forever altered by one person’s actions, one person who would never admit they were at fault. The book really makes one think about their actions and how we can so drastically alter someone else’s path.

I say this is a book that many people will enjoy and that they should pick up. I look forward to seeing what else Walschots releases.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.