Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (2020) Let's just say that this novel may be the very best literary fiction treatment of the collateral damage wreaked by superhero battles........
Yes, we realize it's possibly the only piece of literary fiction written about the collateral damage wreaked by superhero battles.......
Which makes us love it all the more.
Zipping through the first few pages, the laugh-out-loud moments led us to believe this book was going to be an uproarious romp, a blistering but funny takedown of the glut of comic book characters now infesting our feature films and every other form of multi-media........
Blistering, yes. A takedown, for sure.
But funny? Not really, unless you count the book's withering, corrosively satirical depiction of superheroes, their sidekicks and the supervillains who oppose them......
Okay, come to think of it, in that regard, it is funny.....in the driest, angriest ways imaginable.
Speaking of villainy, our main character, Anna Tromedlov, is merely a temp worker trying to make a few bucks working as a 'Hench' for the villain Electric Eel. But the Eel's foul kidnap caper gets invaded and destroyed by the all powerful hero Supercollider.
In the course of the typical explosive battle that ensues, poor Anna catches a backhand swipe from Supercollider, leaving her with a shattered leg........and a growing thirst for payback.
A skilled statistician, during her long healing process, Anna creates a blog detailing the ruinous destruction of innocent lives and property caused by superheroes. Her efforts bring her to the attention of Supercollider's most dedicated and equally powerful enemy, Leviathan.
Now installed as Leviathan's master strategist,(and given her own super-title, 'The Auditor') Anna successfully sets out to publicly humiliate, and harass all the spandexed', supposed 'good guys', destroying their once solid reputations and derailing their careers. This puts her on a direct, violent collision course with her ultimate target, (her Moby Dick, you could say).....Supercollider.
And the clashes between them are......well, damn super.
The author's own unique collection of comic book characters will put a huge smile on the face of anyone who's had to endure a 2 and 1/2 hour Marvel movie.......such as Melting, Point, Accelerator, Quantum Entanglement and many others.....
And in the final showdown between Anna and Supercollider, you can marvel (no pun intended) at the struggle for female empowerment over male privilege reduced to its absolute primal level.
"Hench" is like no other book we've read this year and it's a grand slam on so many multiple levels (action, satire and gut wrenching drama) that we're givin' it a Zap! Bam! Powie! 4 stars (****).
A fun, fascinating read. Pick it up and you may never look at a superhero move or TV show the same way ever again.
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