Hench

Starred review from May 11, 2020
Walschots (Doom) gleefully blurs the line between heroes and villains in this hilarious peek behind the scenes of supervillains’ lairs. Apathetic millennial Anna Tromedlov works through a temp agency for “henching gigs,” doing data entry for minor supervillains. But then a tumultuous gig with the Electric Eel leaves Anna hospitalized, fired from the temp agency, and newly furious about the state of the superpowered world, which is dominated by reckless superheroes who don’t care how many people they hurt in the name of saving the day. Luckily for her, the notorious, A-list villain Leviathan hires her as a hench. Her new position marks her first experience with supervillain field work, leading to a mind-altering run-in with the world’s most powerful superhero and a deteriorating personal life. Though the closest thing Anna has to a superpower is her ability to analyze data, that might be just what it takes to put an end to the hypocrisy of superheroes once and for all. Walschots playfully pokes at both office politics and comic book absurdity while offering gripping action and gut-wrenching body horror. The inventive premise, accessible heroine, and biting wit will have readers eager for more from this talented author. Agent: Ron Eckel, Cooke McDermid Literary.

July 15, 2020
An aggrieved Millennial henchwoman sets out to prove that not all heroes are super in poet Walschots' fiction debut. Shortly after freelance "hench" Anna Tromedlov lands a full-time job entering data for Electrophorous Industries, her boss--a minor supervillain known as the Electric Eel--offers her some fieldwork. Anna is nervous but excited--until she discovers that she's simply female set dressing for the Eel's latest press conference. When her employer publicly announces that he's holding the mayor's son for ransom, Supercollider--an A-list superhero--crashes through the window, saving the boy but killing multiple henches and shattering Anna's femur in the process. Upon learning that her surgically repaired leg will take six months to heal, a laid-off Anna moves in with her best friend, fellow hench June. While convalescing, Anna starts calculating approximately how many dollars and life-years the Supercollider and other so-called "heroes" have cost not just her, but the world at large. She posts her findings online, earning public scorn--and the attention of Leviathan, the world's most infamous supervillain and Supercollider's archnemesis. Evocative prose, acerbic wit, and patient yet propulsive pacing complement Walschots' sophisticated plot, which juxtaposes philosophic profundity with brutal, meticulously choreographed action. Boldly drawn characters of sundry ethnicities, sexualities, and gender identities engage in realistically complex relationships that evolve (and devolve) over the course of the tale, illustrating the relativity of good and evil, the corrupting influence of power, and the necrotic nature of revenge. A fiendishly clever novel that fizzes with moxie and malice.

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Starred review from August 1, 2020
Hold on to your capes, there's a new superpower in town in the form of, um, data analysis? In Anna's world, Superheroes and Supervillains are very real, so naturally they have their trusty sidekicks and evil henchmen. In reality, henching isn't as evil or dangerous as you might think?most henches are just regular folks trying to get by. Anna does temp work for villains, but she's just a data nerd. If she had a superpower, it would be making spreadsheets. But her boring, static life gets rocked when she has a quite literal run-in with the national icon of heroes: Supercollider. Angered by being cast aside as collateral damage, Anna decides to dig into the data. How much death and destruction do heroes cause as a consequence of their heroism ? What she finds shocks her and catapults her into the heart of the battle between heroes and villains. In this refreshing, subversive, and darkly humorous debut novel, poet and journalist Walscholts slowly reveals the nuances of her superpower-filled world, keeping readers guessing. Hench reads like a comic without the illustrations and is packed with subplots and rapid-fire wit. With a diverse and inclusive cast of characters, Walschots' original tale performs a brilliant and exciting variation on the superhero trope and is not to be missed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2020

Walschots's (Doom: Love Poems for Supervillians) adventure-filled new novel takes the lead character of a villain's henchwoman, with all the potential for evil, and creates a reluctant and sympathetic antihero. Anna does boring temp desk jobs for villains and is questioning her career choices until one job places her in the middle of a superhero vs. villain fight. She ends up being severely injured by the superhero, which turns her life around, but not quite the way the hero imagined. She realizes how much damage superhero fights cause to the people who become unintentional victims. With her data analysis acumen, she is able to catch the eye of villainous mastermind Leviathan, who hires her to oust his opponents. A superb marketing strategy causes people to begin questioning whether the good and evil personas are as clear-cut as they seem. There is a price to all this so-called justice and Anna means to reveal both its ugliness and its potential. VERDICT Smart, witty, and at times bloody, this book will please comic book fans who wish to take a jab at the superhero tropes, as well as readers who enjoy dark humor with a bit of satire tossed into the mix. [See Prepub Alert, 3/4/20.]--Lucy Roehrig, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

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