Hench is a novel that revolves around Anna Tromedlov, a hench who does data entry for supervillains. Her only “superpower” is being exceptional at spreadsheets and organization. But when she is called to take part in a hands-on mission with a supervillain, an encounter with a hero leaves her bed-bound. With a new cane and a newfound sense of determination, Anna is angered that she was laid-off and considered a casualty to heroes who couldn’t care less about people like her. As she tells the world her story, she eventually finds a job with one of the worst supervillains in existence, Leviathan, who is determined to take out the superhero that cost Anna her ability to walk properly. Narrated in a sarcastic and humorous viewpoint, Anna begins to realize that not all heroes are good- and not all villains are bad.
Hench really wasn’t that bad of a novel. There were MANY times that Anna got simply annoying, and it didn’t really make sense why she was acting like Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool in almost every scene. The plot was a little too slow for me, but I felt as if Anna’s injury recovery took up almost half of the novel. Also, her relationship with the biggest supervillain on the planet didn’t really make sense to me. The author never explains why the two of them got super close. Maybe it’s because of Anna’s skill at spreadsheets. I sort of disliked how the author kept mentioning her spreadsheet skills because, later in the novel, we don’t see any spreadsheets at all. Anna makes a huge jump from spreadsheets to making perfect plans for Leviathan and us readers have NO IDEA what caused her to be extremely skillful in execution of her plans. I suppose you could argue that shattering her whole leg could cause Anna to be more intelligent, but I had slightly hoped the novel would clear it up. Nope! Instead we get Deadpool humor and cliche plot devices.