I haven’t enjoyed a world so much in a long time. This book reminded me why I love sci-fi and fantasy, and reminded me I need to read more of it. Hench captured my attention from the first time I saw it in the longlist, with a synopsis that could not be ignored. 

Hench is about Anna, a woman working as a temp worker for supervillains -- a “hench”, the gendered term “henchman” no longer in use. However, during a placement, she is injured by a hero, and loses her job. During her recovery, she begins to research and blog about the property and collateral human damage wrought by heros, and begins to realize they do more harm than good. Her work captures the attention of the greatest villain of the world, and he hires her as a data analyst to take her work to the next level.

Anna’s temp life is so relatable to any office worker, since even villains need data entry and IT support. Her experience in precarious work, and the outfall when she is injured with no job security, would be no different from an Uber driver. But beyond the office mundanity is police raids and ransom plots. The absurdity couldn’t help but make me laugh. But what really kept me engaged was Anna’s story. It was normal enough to be relatable, but as she got deeper into her project, and farther from what I was familiar with, the book remained engaging with a large, diverse cast of multidimensional characters that support, foil, and antagonize Anna, and by exploring complex questions of what is good and evil. All of this combines into a great, engaging read or listen. The version narrated by Alex McKenna is  excellent.

This book transported me into a world where people are dealing with so many of the same issues as in our world, but with another whole dimension of heroes and villains on top. And also into a Cinderalla story of a woman who is plucked from a temp Hench life into a job where she can really make a difference. It was a life and a world I enjoyed being transported to. 

One warning I have for readers is there is significant body horror, usually after fights: People get hurt, and Walschots is very verbose about how.