![]() ![]() Walschots invests a lot in her main character Anna and it pays off in dividends – Anna goes from being a casual baddy on the fringes to having a house right in the heart of Wickedville. This happens over and over and draws you in. There were no missteps for me, and whenever I thought the concept for the book might be a novelty that would wear itself out, another layer is revealed. I love its sensibility, nuance, and sheer swagger in bringing this world to life. ![]() The book attempts to be a cultural touchstone, sensitive to today’s issues but never beating the reader over the head. ![]() The heroes are recognizable archetypes, but the villains are the ones with extraordinary depth and pathos. The story becomes a serious take on the consequences of heroism and the collateral damage and years of livelihood lost by those affected by circumstances outside their control. The henches live a precarious life being in the line of fire and one hench’s experience with the novel’s superman creates a ripple effect that changes everything. ![]() It’s quite the achievement in an oversaturated genre where superheroes are a dime a dozen. It starts light and breezy, and its delicious set up – where the bad guys’ minions (aka henches) are the stars – hits on all cylinders the whole way through. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots is confident in its conviction that bad guys can do good by being bad, and it achieves a rare feat – it makes superhero fiction fresh again. ![]()
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