When I started reading (and listening to) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots I would be writing my second blog post review with a comparison to Disney. I have always been a fan of the Disney villains. My favorite is Ursula the octopus, from The Little Mermaid. because she reminds me of myself. If you have not seen Button Poetry's video of Melissa May performing "Dear Ursula", it is very powerful (be aware of some foul language).
Hench is not a book I would typically choose to read, however, the description (and my love of villains) swayed my decision. In this debut novel, Walschots creates a world of heroes and villains. When the main character, Anna, goes to a temp agency, she is sent to the Electrophorous Industries (part of the villainous world), where her talents working with data and spreadsheets turn into a life-changing event. Hench is the story of power, revenge, and relationships. It is the best combination of Disney villains and the Marvel superheroes.
Alex McKenna pulls off great narration for the audiobook by successfully creating voices for all of the book characters and brings them to life. Full disclosure, I listened and read along with the eBook for the first half of the book. I then began to simply listen. I was engrossed in the narration and felt I was able to picture the action better in my mind.
Even if you are not a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, or graphic novel-like books, you should give this book a chance. I never read comic books growing up (yes, I am old enough to call them comic books), but I did watch Batman on TV, and I absolutely love the Marvel movies (Deadpool is my favorite). This is a combination of the best parts of all of these.
Hench is expected to be released on September 22, 2020.
*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Harper Collins and Harper Audio have provided digital complimentary copies of the eBook and audiobook for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.
