Elle's Reviews > Hench

Hench didn’t end up being what I thought it was going to be. I suppose that’s my fault, because halfway through I went to re-read the synopsis and it turned out to be pretty faithful to the events of the novel. Suffice to say, I was expecting more action. What this was instead was essentially ‘super accounting’ with some mean-spirited pranks thrown in for good measure.

I don’t think that’s necessarily a knock against the book. Natalie Zina Walschots writes with a lot of momentum and charisma. Her characters are interesting, even if some end up being a little flat. But I initially used a gif of Homelander from the Amazon Prime show The Boys and I don’t think that was an apt comparison at all. It wasn’t a comparison I came up with myself, but one that was used in some of the marketing material by the publisher. I just want to dispel any assumptions that might be made about Hench resembling something like The Boys or Watchmen so that people don’t go into this expecting one thing and then leave feeling disappointed.

What Hench is very successful at is larger societal observations and critiques. There are parallels between the ‘Heroes’ and the damage and cost inflicted by, say, the military industrial complex. There’s commentary on the role of social media in spreading both information and misinformation, some of which may be applicable to the #MeToo movement. The way that the super-powered act with impunity and are glorified to the point of being worshipped resembles how law enforcement in this country are treated much the same way. It’s impressive the way Walschots is able to extract some of these finer points which are typically ignored in superhero stories.

That said, the story itself was pretty mundane. A lot of time is spent analyzing data or trying to cause interpersonal conflicts between supers. For someone supposedly working for one of the great ‘Super Villains’, Anna’s antics are fairly benign. There’s also a substantial part spent going over her various injuries and healing time and procedures and physical therapy, etc. I just got bored when it felt like her story had stalled yet again. I understand this is probably one of the more realistic depictions of what a society with super-powered people would be like, but to be honest I didn’t go into a book like this hoping for someone struggling to pay medical bills or dealing with roommate drama. That’s just a little real for me, with not enough of the fantastical mixed in.

I still think this is a good book, and I’d read more by the author. But I just don’t know if this is one that I would prioritize in an already bloated genre. The ending also gets unexpectedly gruesome in a way that was difficult to sit through. I don’t know, maybe someone who usually avoids the Marvel of it all or is just *deep* into the lore would enjoy this more. I just can’t stop thinking about some of those earlier Agents of Shield episodes where they had Phil Coulson with a broom and dustpan cleaning up whatever mess the Avengers had just made. It’s all a little to bleak and ordinary for me to really enjoy.